I do hope that you are all fabulously well after another splendid weekend. This week we are going to hear from Sarel who is over in Malawi at the moment and he is going to fill us in with all that is happening over there. Sarel over to you:
“Hello from all of us here at Mkulumadzi Lodge where it’s been a roller coaster of a rainy season and unfortunately the lodge was severely hit by Cyclone Ana. We are however, making great progress and the team has been hard at work to get the lodge back in shape before we open again.
While camp maintenance may not sound much fun, I can tell you that it’s been a really exciting time overall being in this beautiful part of Malawi during the green season!
I arrived here in October – the hottest time of the year (a.k.a suicide month) and have had the privilege of watching Majete Wildlife Reserve transition from dry to wet – and boy what an experience that has been!!
I could not imagine what lay in store once the cyclone hit and was blown away at the sheer force and capacity of the mighty Shire River. There was water EVERYWHERE! Out of this came the most stunning vistas, vegetation and some of the best game viewing I have had while working here at Mkulumadzi Lodge.
After the heavy rains, the vegetation has become thick and the ground quite swampy in some parts. This caused a lot of the wildlife to retreat to the drier roads and thus creating some of the most phenomenal traffic jams with everything from elephants to lions, elands, giraffe, leopards and more. I looked forward to the supply runs into the local town (where we get our building materials) because the journey through the park was always so rewarding! Shout out to African Parks who have a fantastic job in making sure the roads are always clear and drivable!
John Adendorff ( the park manager at Majete) always has his camera at the ready and managed to capture some of the magic we have witness over the last month. Take a look for yourself…
And just when I thought things could not possibly get any better on the wildlife front, lo and behold, a pack of 6 wild dogs came trapsing through the lodge, not once but twice! Second time around I managed to get a quick snap.
I have had many wild dog sightings while working at Nkwali Camp over the border in South Luangwa National Park, but these two encounters in Majete were particularly special as many of the Mkulumadzi staff had never seen wild dog before and so it was lovely to see their reactions to the dogs. It has been confirmed that at least one of the wild dogs are expecting a litter so we are looking forward to some pups at some point soon!
Before I say cheers, I am happy to say that the team are also hard at work at Kuthengo and Pumulani with some maintenance and preparation as we look to kickstart the year in the beautiful Malawi.
That is all from me for now and I wish you all a fantastic week ahead.”
Thanks so much Sarel and sounds like you guys are hard at it. Here in the Luangwa the countdown has also begun to the opening of the 2022 season and we are going to kick start proceedings in the next week or so and I shall be filling you all in with progress as we get there.
In other news though the guests that have been visiting have been bombarded with sightings great and small and up at Nsefu the guests had an incredible opportunity with a sighting of a very relaxed large bull elephant and they walked through the bush very stealthily following him for quite a while. Countless crocodiles and hippos as well as 11 giraffe in camp which was a lunch time treat for everyone. As for the Stork Colony well this year it is a sight to behold and there seems to be a huge number of Storks so many that the usual trees are full and they have spread out to neighbouring trees which the guides don’t remember seeing them use before. Some nests are still being built and others are being protected and maintained as there are already eggs in there. And as for the noise well it is something else and the peace and quiet of the bush is definitely not an option in that particular neighbourhood.
I most definitely could go on however I think that for this week I am going to put a stop to my ramblings and bid you all a very fond farewell and have a wonderful week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
