Liwonde

It took us for ever to reach the Safari Camp outside the gates of Liwonde National Park. The car was overloaded and we hit stones all the time. Since it was rental car we were a bit worried. We camped near the Lodge and cooked some vegetables we bought on the way. Elephant and hippo footprints and turds were surrounding us, but during the night no animals showed up. But it was possible to hear them. Sadly it rained during the night and everything got soaked. I was getting increasingly weak because of small appetite during the last few days and felt like I am going to be sick soon.

We did a canoe safari in the morning, which took us into a swamp with high gras. We saw a big group of elephants 50 meters away and observed them for while. The guide was extremely afraid because in the thick vegetation its impossible to move fast with the canoe and the elephants hate humans because they were poached in Mozambique during their civil war. We moved on and made are way up river. A group of hippos was chilling in the cool water after grassing all night. Some antelopes and war hogs were grassing on the shore. The wildlife was nice, but rather scarce. The morning mist over the water and in the rainforest was a nice sight by it self.

After a snack in the camp, we took the car of the German girls and visited the National Park by road for one hour. Baboons, different types of antelopes, more war hogs were all we saw. Then we had to leave because the girls had to rush to Blantyre and drop the New Zealander and me of in Zomba. The suspension of the car rear, right wheel broke and the tyre scratched on the chassis. To get rid of weight the girls went on by themselves and we took a minibus to Zomba.