Malawi and Zambia

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Once in Malawi we headed for Kande beach on Lake Malawi where we spent several days. Very peaceful with beautiful country side. We also visited the Zomba plateu, a pine forest plantation. We stayed at a trout farm were it was freezing cold. As we had driven in we had noticed a beautiful cabin on the hillside. Having thought twice about spending two cold nights in a tent we asked at the farm and were told we could stay in the cabin. This turned out to be a good choice as it was beautiful with fantastic views and a bed. We spent the afternoons on the balcony watching the world go by.

From Malawi we then crossed the border into Zambia. Our time in Zambia could be summed up by Luangwa National Park and Victoria Falls - both wonderful in their own way.

The Luangwa NP is very professionally run and the guides are both knowledgable and very well aware that the wildlife is their livelihood - consequently you do not get any more than 4 trucks watching an animal at one time wheras it had been quite different elsewhere.

We stayed in tents by the river and during the night animals would cross to feed - we woke several times to find Elephants and Hippos outside the tent - you are told that they see the canvas as rock and you must be quiet - this is all very easily said but until you are there it is quite a different matter - amazing and terrifying at the same time. Needing the loo in the middle of the night does become a bit of an adventure.

By day we would sit in the bar after an early morning game drive watching the animals on the river bank - Hippos chasing each other (and boy can they run), Elephants crossing the river and more to boot. We also did a night drive where we were fortunate enough to sit in an open jeep and watch a Lioness come close to the 4x4 and then make a kill. Once she had done that her mother wanted half of it but she wanted to feed her cubs - so for 10 minutes or so you had this tug of war and eating/crunching of bone.

The Victoria falls are on the border of Zimbabwe so you can look at them from both sides. We chose to stay in Zambia. We walked along the walkways stepping in and out of the waterfall spray admiring the rainbows created. We also decided to fly over them as well, just the two of us and a pilot in a helicopter - it does take your breath away and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We saw elephants on the islands and hippos all lined up in a row in the water from the air, and we also flew into the gorges. Staying at the campsite was also entertaining, watching as the monkeys ran riot in the park stealing anything you left lying around such as washing as well as using the tent canopy as a trampoline when jumping out of the trees.

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