Well, hello there. I hope that you are smashingly well and had a fabulous weekend and ready and raring for the week ahead. Today we have a little safari and sand round up for you. First off lets head to Pumulani with a little round up from Kascha:
“We are approaching the end of our rainy season; all the dust has settled, and we can’t wait for our guests to arrive. The lush green Malawi is waiting to greet you with all the flavors, colors and feel of Africa – grilled corn on the cob, fresh fish, and ripe tomatoes, crispy red onions, and bright green cabbage next to the roadside, beautiful sunsets over the Lake, and that raw feeling of life at its essence.
This time of year has its own wonder – Monkey Bay fields and surrounding areas are filled with rice, maize and other crops that have sprouted -the locals are working their fields daily, the markets are filled with fresh produce and the lucky ones have caught a fish or two.
Here at Pumulani the Lake’s water levels are rising daily – taking over most of our beach. The landscape has transformed with all the vegetation in all the colors of green. With a sense of serenity, the bush buck have been spotted at the main area of the lodge. The birds were also enjoying the wonderful green surroundings while entertaining us with their “beauty routine” and agile hunting skills. We’ve also had the privilege to come up close a small falcon in the main building.
The Team has been working endlessly to prepare the lodge with various maintenance projects. New hammocks are inviting you to come and laze at the Lake with a good book, bright blue pools are awaiting some laughter and fun and the Dhow is ready to set sail on the endless Lake.
As always, the sunset here is unique and a perfect way to end your day at Lake Malawi. We appreciate the last few days of ‘downtime’ before the doors are opened. Taking in the beauty, before we can share all the adventure, laughs, joy and fun with our guests.”
Wonderful, thanks so much Kascha. Here in Zambia, we are slightly less waterlogged and have closed up Nsefu after River Journeys just in time as the levels have suddenly started dropping. As luck would have it the water galloped up despite being uncommonly dry and the last few weeks were a breeze compared to what they could have been.
Guests have had some truly wonderful sightings and Nina Bain has been kind enough to share some photos with us from her recent trip as they even managed to get to the stork colony almost all the way by boat. Cruising through the gulleys and exploring the Nsefu sector in this strange and magical way and when the route was no longer passable out of the boat and the exploring carried on by foot. The birdlife has been extraordinary with not only hundreds of storks but weavers busy making their nests, delicately weaving the grass in and out so carefully to make their perfect little homes. Crowned cranes perched on top of trees and then some even dancing together, paradise flycatchers and Wydahs flitting past showing off their magnificent tails and some guests even spotted a lilac breasted roller dashing in and out of its nest.
The mammals have also been out on show with a few “Ah help! where do I look?” moments when in one scene there are elephants, wildebeest and buffalo. There was also a rare sighting of eland being spied on over the riverbank as the guests floated past but in their usual fashion it was mostly bums that were seen as they are so shy. The hippos are nice and chilled as there are plenty of lagoons for them to relax in so there is no competing for spots, but the occasional leopard has certainly had something to say about having been spotted!
Nina, thank you so much for sharing your photos with us. Sounds like a truly wonderful trip and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
So, as you can see, it has been all systems go here and as Nsefu closes we open Luangwa River Camp. We are so excited about the new season ahead and will soon be sharing news from there, I am sure. But for now, I should leave you to your day and get on with mine so I shall bid you a very fond farewell and hope that you have a fantastic week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter.
