5 June update

It has been a while!
Managed to access internet in Lilongwe, Malawi, but couldn't access the blog, so this goes back a while.

22 June
Drove to Senga Bay on Lake Malawi.  Got to watch soccer and saw SA beat France but pity it wasn't enough.  Weather still pretty cold and windy.  Nice camp other than the raiding monkies and baboons.

23 June
Took a drive round the bay to the Wheelhouse camp site which was obviously nice in its day.  Had lunch at Horizon Hotel.  was Ok. 

24th June
Headed further up the lake to Makwazi camp just north of Kande Beach.  Most expensive of our camps but almost had the bay to ourselves.  Was a stunning beach and the moon rising over the lake was a definite highlight.  Got to do some sun tanning and book reading.  What a treat!

Sun 27th
Took a drive up to Nkwazi Bay and Kande Bay just to have a look.  Glad we had camped where we did.  Lots of Vaalies at Kande - all camped on top of the loos!  Dad and Keith ordered their hand painted T-shirts from Cheese on Toast and Sugar & Spice!  They did actually get delivered that evening.  Had  a great evening.

Mon 28th
Headed up the lake to Nkhata Bay before going inland though the rubber plantations.  Tense moment in Mzuza when we didn't get to do the big shop we'd anticipated.  Doris (the GPS) said there was a shopping mall that most definitely was not!  Ended up on very slushy road to Luwana Forest Lodge.  Had a freezing night camping but the sauna was good.

Tues 29th
Headed for Lilongwe.  Found a pricey but divine lodge (Sanctuary Lodge) with dinner , bed and brekkie - 100 times better and cheaper than the ripoff lodge in Blantyre!  Was really  good to have some luxury.  Had Erin's birthday dinner that night as folks wouldn't be with us on the night of Erin's birthday.  Erin got spoilt again.  Lovely dinner.

Wed 30th
After a lovely breakfast but frustrating attempt to do Internet banking and update the blog, we left with intrepidation for the the South Luangwa dreaded road.  had heard it took 8- 12 hrs from S Luangwa to Lake Malawi.  We could cut off about 2 hrs being in Lilongwe, but was still going to be long.  It started with rd works off and on being as bad as each other, then corrigations from hell, then rocky road and dust like you can't believe.  It definitely lived up to its reputation.  were especially worried about James' windscreen rattling out but with tape and propping it was actually ok.  Passed lots of SA cars leaving which was encouraging.  We'd heard half of SA was there.  Eventually got to Croc Valley Lodge and campsite and a site right on the Luangwa river.  Plenty of crocs, hippos and storks to look at.  It really was beautiful.  You can see why everyone braves the rd.  Heard lion and hippos in the night and were warned to leave all fruit and veggies behind the bar, not in the cars or tents as there were marauding elephants!  Had an uneventful night! Thank goodness.

Thurs 1st July
I woke up feeling rotten.  Still not sure why but we had a moring in camp (and out of the car) while Mom, Dad, and James, and also Margs and Keith went into the park and had a good day.  We did a night drive with a guide and saw leopard and lion which was a highlight.

Friday 2nd
All went into the park early and spent the day there.  saw lots of ellies and hippo and added buffelo to our list.  Ellies are much smaller than ours and the giraffe were too. The zebra had amazing markings.  Ab did some driving - she did very well.

Others did the evening drive that night.  We would all have loved to spend another night but were nervous of the road and the long trip ahead.  Had to drag Ab away from chatting all night!  That was 12h30.  At about 3 we heard a huge camotion.  The elephants were at our bin!  There was a mum , 2 teens and a baby.  It was very scarey wondering how they would react to hearing or smelling us, and seeing what she did to the bin.  After throwing it on the floor with her trunk and stomping on it with her foot, she eventually got it open and emptied everything out.  Mum, Dad  and James had seen an elephant with a T-shirt the day before and it seemed very angry and had stomped all over it, so we were very nervous.  Everything they could reach they checked.  Emptied Mom's tea basket, knocked everything off the tables they could reach.  It only lasted about half an hour but seemed like a life time!  Poor James heard and felt a trunk sniffing along the side of his tent right by his head.  Fortunately they didn't seem to interested in us and possibly saw the tents as bigger forms than themselves.  After tea to calm the nerves, we went back to bed and half an hour later we had a big male hippo munching grass just ouside the tent.  After the ellies though, he wasn't even a worry and we went back to sleep!  Nic and Erin slept through everything!  Probably fortunately.

Sat 3rd
Had to get a shock fixed on the landrover before we left so we only got away about 11h00.  Margs and Keith stayed on and will meet us later.  Seemed silly for them to come down to Lusaka if they didn't need to.  Headed for Lusaka and BridgeCamp en route.  Only got there after dark so missed what loooked like it would have been a beautifal pass back down towards the Luangwa River at Bridge Camp.  Bridge Camp was rather a rip off at $27 pr person for the shacks (with mozzie netting but no windows). Folks stayed in there and we camped in a very crowded and dusty camp.  Was very cold.

Sun 4th
Moved on to Sue and Chris on their farm near to Lusaka.  Had a divine home cooked dinner with them.  erin loved having Lyle to play with.

Mon 5th Erin's birthday!
Got more presents.  after a fantastic breakfast we said goodbye to Mum, Dad and James.  They head for James' friend Mark just south of Lusaka.  Hope the rest of their trip home is good.  we're staying another night with Sue and Chris before taking Ab and Nic to the airport tomorrow morning.  Going to be very sad. Not looking forward to it. 

Lots of love until next time