Safari Weekend

Last weekend we went with two doctors, Adam and Khalid, to South Luwanga park in Mfowe. It took us 4.5 hours to get there in a taxi on a road not fit for cars! It was the worst washboard and in places the potholes took up the entire road. A couple of times there were paved sections of the road in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. When we asked about them we learned that they only pave ‘the hills’ so that the road doesn’t wash away in the rainy seasons. Arriving at Flatdogs safari campground around 8:00pm we were taken to our tents. We were escorted everywhere on the campground because of the hippos and elephants! Our tent was amazing and we were experiencing culture shock at the luxuriousness of it all. Most people staying there had flown in and had come just for the safari. The tent was right on the river and there were many hippos living in that river. They are noisy creatures and would call to one another all night long.

On Friday morning we had all worked and had to be back at work on Monday so the trip was quick. We went on two driving safaris and one walking safari. There were baboons, monkeys, crocodiles, impalas, hyenas, zebras, giraffes, and African cape bulls. One of the best parts was seeing a leopard eating her kill in a tree late at night as well as driving beside a pack of lions! It was truly incredible. The animals are stunningly beautiful and the land is phenomenal. We went on a walking tour and saw footprints of all sorts of animals. The most impressive of course were the elephant and hippo prints that were so very big! Our guide, River, showed us where a Zebra had had a dust bath and we were thinking how he could know that and then he picked up two Zebra hairs…one white, one black!! Also, we were able to walk up close to a mama giraffe and her foal. River showed us the water marks on the trees left over from the flood. The water had been higher than 6 feet deep! Then we stumbled upon a hippo skeleton. It was amazing to see how large its bones are. River told us many stories about the park and how poaching has taken many animals lives. He is happy to be a part of protecting the animals now. It was a very good weekend.

On our way back to St Francis our car swerved off the road and we thought we were going to die. We got out and discovered that the bumps had wiggled a bolt loose and it had fallen out of the front axle. Our driver, Leonard walked off and we were all standing in the road wondering what to do next. A group of South Africans came driving up and offered us a ride in the back of their truck. We hesitated in leaving Leonard but given the fear of being out in the middle of nowhere for hours and hours we decided to get a ride to Chipata. On the way the truck nearly ran over a boy on a bike and again we were swerving all over the dusty road. Sitting in the back we could see the boy throw his bike and start to run away. Wondering why he was running the man in the back of the truck explained that he should deserve a good beating! Shocking! Thank goodness the driver kept on going. When we arrived Leonard called to say that he had fixed the car and was on his way. We all made it home safely but Aly hasn’t wanted to get back in a car, truck or bus for a long time!!