Malawi - Lovely Liwonde

April 16-18

Hello everyone!

To kick off our latest Malawian travelling adventure, we went to arguably my favourite place in the country: Liwonde National Park.

One of many, many elephants seen at Liwonde National Park

The herd of 60 elephants seen from our boat

Unlike Hannah and her family, who I am with, I have been here once before. I had a magical time with my parents when we came in June 2017.

The drive, at about 5 hours, is longer than it looks on this map

Mum and Dad's visit in June 2017

We saw many elephants up close

You may assume it would be more of the same but much has changed in those two years. A company called African Parks are helping to restore the park to its former glory, before neglect and poaching took such a negative effect after the 1970s.

Hippo numbers are on the rise

A colourful caribou stalk

Between the two visits, lions were moved up from Majete. We didn’t spot them, though we saw footprints. They aren’t the first set of cats to move to Liwonde, either. Shortly before I visited with my mum and dad, four cheetahs were relocated from South Africa. We didn’t see them at that time. Bit different this time…

Cheetahs in Liwonde National Park

Nine cheetahs in total were relocated during that period, and many more have been born since. They quite like hanging out near the luxury camp, Mvuu, where we were staying.

This cheetah was less than a 5 minute drive from camp

The evening before, we had witnessed the end of them taking down an impala. Other impala seemed confused, calling out to their fallen brethren.

Three cheetahs were in the bush with the stricken impala

The impact of predators arriving to Liwonde was something I was fascinated about. Last time I enjoyed watching warthogs pottering about without a care in the world. We were told that the behaviour of various prey has changed since the big cats arrived; one example was that the herds of waterbuck and impala now tend to stick together for protection.

The impala were very concerned about their friend

The other difference to last time is the time of year. This is the back end of the ‘green season’ - code for rain. A short, sharp storm just as we were about to board our wooden boat was a reminder of the power of the rain.

A gorgeous sunset over the Shire river

Green season is often cheaper than other times in the year, partly due to the difficulty of accessing much of the park but also the volume of rain gives animals more places to drink. The consequence of that is supposedly they are less likely to come to the river.

Moody skies towards Lake Malombe

A monitor lizard found far away from the river

Obviously some animals will always be near the river, such as hippos and crocodiles.

Still one my favourite animals

This croc was next to another which was about 6 metres long but hidden

Similarly, many birds rely on the river for food, so bee-eaters, stalks and kingfishers are omnipresent. The fish eagles are particularly majestic when perched on the branches.

A beautiful bee-eater

A fish eagle perched proudly on a branch

My highlight last time was seeing the elephants drinking at the Shire river. Similarly, Liwonde didn’t disappoint this time either.

A herd of elephants on the bank of the river

On our final morning boat ride, we coasted into the marshes beside approximately 60 - yes, sixty - elephants of all ages. Babies were flopping in the water, teenagers were wrestling with one another, mothers and fathers were chomping on the reeds. The swishing noise was incredibly relaxing. The experience was truly special.

Babies playing in the water

We saw some elephants inland as well. Some got quite close to us…

This elephant crossed less than 10 metres ahead of us

There is the potential for Liwonde to get even better. Our excellent guide Duncan told us that there are plans afoot to bring leopards and giraffe into the national park in the near future. For now, I can confirm that this is my favourite place in Malawi, and one which always seems to create magical memories.

Love you all,

Matt

Malawi – The Big Smoke in the South

April 2-5

Hello everyone!

I live in Lilongwe, the capital of and biggest city in Malawi. Though it has been capital since 1975, it has only recently become the most populated city. For a long period of this country’s existence, that honour was bestowed upon the main city in the southern region of the country: Blantyre.

Downtown Blantyre, as seen from the new Amaryllis Hotel

21 Grill - a tradition for each Blantyre visit

  

I’ve actually been to Blantyre many times but have never felt the urge to write about it. Partly it’s because there isn’t too much to actually do in the city. It is Malawi’s financial centre and not a place you would be desperate to visit if you came to the country.

Many banks have their offices in Blantyre

One visit was to support Hannah in the Malawi Open, where she got to the semi-finals

  

More than that, however, is the fact that I’ve generally been to Blantyre with school. There are three large international schools here (ours is really the only one in Lilongwe), meaning that most sports competitions will take place in Malawi’s second city. Spending almost all time looking after children who are 10 or 11 years old, and attempting to get them to play rugby, leaves little time to explore and enjoy the surroundings.

The two cities are connected by the M1, Malawi's main motorway - one lane in each direction...

Mandala House is Blantyre's oldest building

  

Being Malawi’s financial capital and hosting a surprisingly large expat community has resulted in Blantyre having many international amenities. There are several good restaurants, with the crème being 21 Grill. Though the food was a bit disappointing on my most recent visit, it is generally the best place to get a steak in Malawi. It is a fancy place – they even have a dress code…

My favourite is the Jack Daniels steak, which is lit on fire
at your table before being served. Sucker for pyrotechnics...

The interior of 21 Grill contains a tree and
many books from Reader's Digest

  

21 Grill is in the complex of Ryalls, an extortionately-priced hotel. It is a nice setting but not worth the cost of a room.

The gardens of Ryalls

The hotel has a swimming pool - this is me celebrating
finishing part 1 of a training course next to it

  

Blantyre’s setting is quite pleasant, sitting between a triangle of hills. It is easy to see why missionaries set up a base here in 1876.

Internet image of Blantyre

One of the hills is called Soche - rumour has it that it was renamed
after an upmarket hotel, from which you could see the hill...

  

There are some differences between Blantyre and Lilongwe. Blantyre’s outer regions seems greener, a reflection of the landscape and how the rain falls during the rainy season. Blantyre also feels more like a city – there is an obvious centre, the financial district, which is compact and has a complex one-way system.

View from above of the area just north of Blantyre

Blantyre also has had a dual carriageway for a
while - Lilongwe has just had one built!

  

There are also many similarities which you won’t see elsewhere in Malawi. The international supermarkets and fast food chains, such as Food Lovers and KFC. The airports which get more than one plane a day. The intoxicating traffic. Both have a President’s Palace – I didn’t realise Blantyre had one until accidentally running up to it on my most recent visit. The security guards didn’t seem convinced by my naivety, warning me to, “Never do this again. Never.”

Chichiri Mall used to be the largest in Malawi

Blantyre's runway has many cracks in it - they're
actually closing it in May for 2 months

  

As more investment and infrastructure is poured into the capital, I wonder what will happen to Blantyre in the future. At the moment Lilongwe seems to be ‘first among equals’, though there is still lots of construction in the second city. The hotel I was at for a training course, the Amaryllis, is an example of that.

There are quite a few slums visible on the way out of Blantyre

The food at the new Amaryllis Hotel was sensational

  

Blantyre is a useful location for someone travelling around Malawi. It is a good place to stock up on supplies, enjoy a different cuisine if you are fed up of nsima, and a pleasant and busy enough city to spend a day in before heading to more exciting or exotic destination, whether that is north to Lake Malawi, south to the Satemwa Tea Estates or Majete National Park, or east to Mount Mulanje.

Blantyre Sports Club has an interesting 9 hole golf course

Love you all

Matt

Malawi – Contrasts in the North

February 28-March 4

Hello everyone!

Due to the lateness of Easter this year, our school used one of Malawi’s national holidays as the basis for a long weekend. Once again, this offered us the chance to escape the confines of the capital. This time we headed north, to two very different locations.

South Viphya Forest Reserve

Nkhata Bay

Firstly we drove just under 4 hours north to the South Viphya Forest Reserve, a relatively vast area of local and exotic trees. Within the protected area is a village called Luwawa.

The Lodge at Luwawa is difficult to get to without your own car

Luwawa Dam

  

I have been here twice before but this was a very different experience. This time I was visiting in the lush rainy season, whereas my previous trips were in the relatively arid month of August. Oh, and this time I don’t have to look after a class of 9-year-olds…

Flowers like these are rarely seen in August

A Year 5 trip in September 2016

Luwawa is a lovely place with a different climate and atmosphere to Lilongwe. It is situated about 1700 metres above sea level, meaning it is above the malaria zone. It gets pretty chilly at night and dew is prominent in the morning.

One of the walking trails involved balancing over slippery logs

Pine trees dominate many areas of the forest

The weather had transformed the forest and its hills into a scene reminiscent of the British countryside. Rolling green speckled with tall, thin trees was a sight to behold, often in 360’. It was a lovely backdrop for running.

Mini enjoying a stroll through the forest

The trees looked beautiful in the evening light

  

Less lovely was running through those trees when they became clumped and the branches hung low over the earth footpath. In one such instance, I made the mistake of looking at my feet rather than what was directly in front of me. The result? Getting covered by a sticky, icky spider web. Luckily I missed the eight-legged freak, who was quite big…

This was the path I was following. The web was strewn across it.

It didn't come out well on the GoPro but
there's a spider in there somewhere!

Other critters were making themselves seen as well, such as these caterpillars. Larger animals do exist, though they are few in number and none of them are remotely dangerous.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Local villagers use the wood for fire

  

Luwawa is tricky to get to without a car so is relatively peaceful and free of tourists. Our next destination, on the other hand, is one of Malawi’s most popular spots.

Mayoka Village has huts dotted precariously on the
cliff face - this is their restaurant and relaxing area

The calm waters are perfect for paddle boarding and kayaking

  

Nkhata Bay is one of the few places in the country which I would describe as having a backpacker vibe. The drive down to it, via the city of Mzuzu, has some spectacular views and very windy roads.

Nkhata Bay is less than 500 metres above sea level -
it's a long way down from Luwawa

Mini enjoyed the ride...

...when she wasn't dozing!

The reason we have a long weekend is because of an event that happened in Nkhata Bay. Martyrs’ Day commemorates the killing of about 40 people who were protesting the arrest of many resistance leaders. Some Malawians believe that the events on this day in 1959 accelerated the drive towards independence from the UK.

Nkhata Bay is predominantly a fishing village

The town itself is at the bottom of the hill -
running up even a little bit of this was very hard!

  

Nkhata Bay is a lovely place to visit, free of the crocodiles which occasionally haunt the southern shores of Lake Malawi.

Most of my time was spent relaxing here...

...or playing with this little one.

  

These two contrasting places show how diverse and magical Malawi is, particularly during the green season. Though difficult for us to realistically reach and enjoy on a regular weekend, both Luwawa and Nkhata Bay are beautiful spots which made our long weekend very relaxing.

Sunset at Luwawa Dam

Sunset at Nkhata Bay

Walking Mini through the forest near Luwawa

Love you all,

Matt