"Debriefing" Safari at Mvuu

After we said our farewells to the staff of Somebody Cares, we left on the 3.5 hr journey southeast of Lilongwe to Mvuu which is located in Liwonde National Park.

In our three weeks here we have become quite accustomed to poor road conditions but we again reached a new low. In our last ½ hour we literally crawled along pothole filled dirt roads most of the time at 5 – 15km/hr. Simone, Nettie and I sat in the back and are comparing bruises from being banged and jostled about! The track was popular with locals either walking or on bikes, carrying huge loads of wood, straw, etc. At one point we also saw a bike being pushed along with two 45 gallon barrels!

At our arrival at the parking lot for Mvuu, we were greeted by 100’s of White Breasted Cormorants perching in the trees and calling rather loudly. It was reminiscent of arriving at the Malawian communities we have visited! We were picked up by boat and crossed the Shire River which drains Lake Malawi.

“Mvuu” means hippo and we were about to discover that it was very appropriately named as we saw our first hippo within minutes on the boat. Upon our arrival at the resort, the first thing they did was give us a talk on safety issues around the “camp” i.e. you must be escorted to your chalet by a staff member after dark. Lunch was served after this on a covered but open air terrace in the main building and then we were shown to our rooms. While it was rustic, it seemed luxurious and charming after our two week stay in Lilongwe. Our “chalet” was a few feet from the banks of this river that is teeming with crocodiles and hippos. As we stood overlooking the river, I pointed out to Simone that there was an enormous lizard on the bank directly below us only to have her laugh at me and inform me that this was a baby crocodile…

Tea was served in the main lodge at 3:15 and then we were off on our first game drive. It did not take us long to find herds of elephants. One large matriarch claimed the road. The park is also filled with impala, warthogs, Kudu, waterbuck, and an exotic assortment of birds. The game drive eventually turned into a night drive where the assistant to the guide sat in the front of the jeep with a red torch that he shone into the bush at the side of the road, looking for game. We were mildly concerned that he might turn into dinner for some wild animal but there are no lions in this park.

As we crawled into our beds that night I jokingly said to Simone that I’d like to sleep with one ear open and not miss out on any of the sounds of wildlife that night. I’m not sure if it was that comment or my excitement of being at a safari camp, but all night long I heard the bellowing of hippos in the muddy river in front of our chalet. Another special memory of Malawi I will carry with me forever.

Debbie