After hiking on mount Mulanje, it was time to see some animals again. We had heard nice stories about Liwonde National park, which made it to our to-see list.
After the pizza in Mulanje town, we first drove to Zomba. This is another plateau on which we could hike. We decided to skip the hiking and do some chilling, admin and showering. We planned to camp, but feeling very dirty and in dire need to rearrange our stuff, we decided to upgrade to a room. The lodge had great food and nice coffee, so we were able to quickly recharge.
The next day we took off for Liwonde National Park, where we booked at Liwonde Safari Camp. In hindsight, we probably wouldn't have needed a stopover in Zomba, as the roads were much better than expected. Before coming to Malawi, we had spoken to many people. They all warned us about the terrible roads, so we came prepared. We planned trips between 2 and 4 hours, except for the first trip (we knew the road was fine there). The roads were not nearly as bad as we had expected and we cruised through the country faster than we anticipated. Zomba was a lovely stopover, and we were happy to arrive at Liwonde quite early.
We quickly set up our tent and we went to explore the lodge. The lodge is built in a style we like and it has 2 raised platforms from which one has a view over a watering hole. We spent the entire afternoon relaxing at the watering hole, photographing animals, blogging, and relaxing. We spotted a Böhms Bee-eater, which is quite uncommon in the area. Lucky us.
After dinner, which again was tasty, we went to bed early (surprise!). The next day we planned an early morning game drive.
The next morning we woke up early to be at the safari vehicles first. We have been on many game drives and we have become very spoilt. We have had our fair share of impala and we have heard the difference between male and female impala one too many times. To avoid this from happening again and again, we try to sit as close to the guides as possible, so we are able to discuss this. Of course, other people should also have a great game drive, as they also pay good money, so we won't interfere. Instead, we try to work together with our guides, share knowledge, and help spot animals.
Jeroen took the camera gear to the safari vehicles, to meet the guide, ask where to put the stuff, and discuss the plan for the morning. We knew we wouldn't be the only ones in the car as a large and loud group had just arrived the day before. We had planned an afternoon game drive as well and the guide said 'Hopefully you will be alone in the afternoon'. Fortunately, the plan was for us to share the vehicle with another duo and 3 people in the group.
Jeroen joined Emma for the morning coffee and Emma went to the safari vehicles. As Jeroen checked whether we had not forgotten anything at the restaurant, the lodge manager explained the idea to the group. 3 people were in the car in which our stuff was already placed and the rest were in the other vehicle. For some reason, the entire group started to run and 8 people arrived at the vehicle with our stuff. We were fortunate to have been early, as we were able to get nice spots. Emma was seated next to the guide and Jeroen had a seat on the first row.
When brushing our teeth before meeting in the morning, it was very clear that most people in the large group had never been on a game drive. They wore the most colourful clothes, including a guy wearing a bright red shirt. The guy in red was the last one of the group to arrive at the game vehicle, and he was sat right next to Jeroen. The first thing he did when he sat down in the car was to get his vape and start vaping.
After registering at the gate, our guide with the great name Brave, told everyone to be silent inside the park, as we wanted to respect the animals. He had told Emma he had gotten tired of the loud group very quickly. Inexperience in Safaris is not something people can help. Some people simply have never been on safari. There is a big difference, however, between just not having been on safari, and being ignorant and not respecting any of the wildlife. Their ignorance was displayed a few times, with questions like 'Can we pet that elephant, as it is so close' and 'Do you feed the animals' and by them shouting at animals on several occasions, including at a cheetah sighting. Emma didn't hear any of it. She had the best of times with Brave, a marvelous guide, looking for birds and sharing experiences. Brave would point at warthogs, for the inexperienced safari-goers, and then proceeded to make use of the time to show Emma the birdlife.
As the morning progressed and Brave repeatedly told everyone to be quiet at sightings, most started to listen and we had a really nice morning. It was not an easy park for spotting wildlife, due to its dense bushes, but we were still able to see quite a lot of different species, including the highlight: a cheetah. Happy with the morning game drive, we went back to the campsite for breakfast.
After breakfast, we relaxed at the viewing deck and we were able to spot the Böhms Bee eater again, this time giving away an amazing show and providing us with an opportunity for a dream shot. It sat in the thickets, but found a spot illuminated by sunlight protruding through the leaves. From our position, we could see it through an opening which provided a beautiful frame for us to photograph. We absolutely loved the shot, even though many might not understand why we would make such a fuzz about it.
In the afternoon, we had another fantastic game drive. Brave was our guide again and we were accompanied by the duo who should have been in the same car as us in the morning. Everyone introduced themselves and the two women, both colleagues, were happy to give us the best spots (Emma next to Brave again and Jeroen again on the first row), but only if we would help spot animals. One of the ladies REALLY wanted to see a cheetah. No promises, but we would do our best. Brave showed us another part of the park and despite it being very bushy as well, we again saw many different species.
We hadn't seen any cheetahs though, and Brave took a turn to the open area where they might reside. We drove through the savannah-like terrain, but we didn't see any cheetahs. Brave even stopped the car, got out, and scanned the savannah with his binoculars on foot. Jeroen did the same, and suddenly said 'cheetah'. In disbelief, the rest of the car asked him where, and surely everyone was able to see not one, but two cheetahs. They were very far away, but we were able to get a little closer. After having had her dream sighting the lady shed some happy tears.
We drove back to the camp while seeing a beautiful sunset. The bushes and trees in Liwonde were very different from the other parks we have seen before. We loved the silhouettes of the palm trees and the baobabs against the illuminated sky.
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