From Mkulumadzi Lodge To Huntingdon House, Malawi, 1 October 2013

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If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November 2020

Woke up at 3:50 to the sound of torrential rain. Made an executive decision to cancel our 450 appointment with the alarm, as it was clear that the boat trip was not going to happen.

Went back to sleep and woke again around 530 at which point we had an early coffee and watch the rain come down. We saw an elephant elephant demolish a small tree on the island and took some photos of that.

Took breakfast around eight-ish and learnt that our driver had arrived early at 9:30. Got ready to leave (including a safe opening ceremony with Chris – battery problem!) and said our goodbyes. Gillian and anonymous husband came with us across the wobbly bridge, while the Taylors (a.k.a. the Audley couple) await their driver. As it happens, their driver turns up as we cross the bridge and seems very keen to haggle with Mike over who takes whom – Daisy reckons that he saw us tipping and got a bit excited.

The splendid news is that the Audley couple is joining us at Huntingdon. So we tell her driver, Mike, to drive like the wind, in the hope of getting to our destination first and securing the best privileges.

As it happens, the paperwork informs me that we have been allocated the chapel.

Anyway, no one could drive too fast that day – the rain was relentless. This is the dry hot season, so called (in our experience) because it is cool and wet.

We see Gillian and anonymous husband at the Majete Gatehouse – or rather what is left of it – some wire netting on the roof of their vehicle has hit the thatch on the Gatehouse. Might have been an idea to exit on the other side, which is higher and which we did.

We drove through Blantyre and took a few snaps but there was little to see, especially in the rain and on and on market day.

We got to Huntingdon around lunchtime and took position possession of the chapel.

Amos showed us around (I don’t think he’s my cousin) [One of my many characters is a rogue named Amos who pretends to be my cousin].

We fiddled unsuccessfully with the safe. Amos offered us bacon pasta, then came to tell us that we were having vegetable quiche, but when I offered to go without, the order was changed again to steak sandwich – which was rather good. Daisy had a giant glass of red while I had a glass of stout.

We met Anette – Chip’s daughter-in-law – a glamorous looking Swedish lady, highly strung and with email address @fruitcakeunchained.com – says it all. The place might drive anyone around the twist mind you – she couldn’t make the safe work either, so gave me the key (which still didn’t do the job, as the key releases only). Nor did our own fresh batteries do the job – “He’s dead Jim.”

Eventually we went for a walk, but as it was close to dark and I was nervous of getting lost at nightfall. In the end we did a slightly bigger loop on the map suggested but still got back in good time.

Enjoy the early evening power cuts (more fiddling about) but were able to shower and went for dinner at eight.

Actually our early arrival had achieved something, as the team had assumed that the two couples arriving from Majete was a foursome and had set one table for four – that would’ve been nice – so Daisy disabused of the staff of that assumption & the tables had been reset. Us in the dining room adjacent to the chapel, theirs [The Taylors aka The Audley Couple] in the main dining room/lounge area.

Quite an austere set up for dinner (pumpkin soup – very good, chicken roulade – bland – chocolate brownie thingie – sweet and OTT but nice) with the generator shut down at nine and us left in the dinge with paraffin lamps and candles.

Still very pleasant and an early night seems in order/more or less compulsory.

Birds, Turds & Words, Mkulumadzi Lodge, Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi, 30 September 2013

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If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November 2020

We rose early – 4:50 – because we are going on a dawn walking safari today. Daisy complains that it isn’t light yet, but she has barely had time to explain [her concern] when the day breaks rapidly.

No glorious sunrise today; in fact quite cloudy.

We make a coffee with the hot water generously deposited for us outside the chalet. Then we go down to the lodge just after 5:30 to meet Chris and Scout John. We set off circa 5:40 and walk across the wobbly bridge and across to trail which is relatively easy but also on the side of the river.

Chris calls this type of walking safari “birds and turds” because that’s mostly what you see. Daisy loved the green bee-eaters. the horne bills, some eagles etc – often only fleeting glimpses though.

The most exciting turd was rhinoceros, identified as it’s similar to elephant but it has some sticks of regular shape – cut with neat 45° angles in its composition. No wonder rhinos are so grumpy if they eat that stuff for roughage.

The hyena turd was also rather harsh looking, white and calcified, although it probably had some antiquity.

Daisy quiz Chris about Josette, “Mrs Nervous-Traveller” – turns out she is a journalist – blogger who wants to write up the place – sounds like a good wheeze – anyway that’s Daisy’s theory down the toilet. [Indeed, so much for the notion of Josette being a nervous traveller! Just anxious to get her pictures and information, I now guess.]

We get a little sprinkling of rain, hope for better things as the sky in the distance shows mixed messages. The sprinkling soon stops.

We don’t see many mammals, other than Impala and water bucks. Indeed you couldn’t help but think that a more stunning array of creatures comes to a lodge. Still the walk was lovely.

We saw aardvark and warthog holes and the remains of an old village – less remains than another which Chris discovered yesterday with Gillian and her anonymous husband (Nick?) – too far for us to walk.

Back home by 8:45ish for a quick shower/bath and a late breakfast.

By that time the rain proper started and we were grateful for early starts.

While we took our breakfast, the other guests returned from their abandoned activities in varying states of sodden-ness.

After breakfast we chewed the fat with Chris for a while and then retired for a lengthy read & siesta, watching the spectacular safari in front of our chalet – vervet monkey, elephant, bright yellow birds and even three woodpeckers. Water bucks too.

Having rejected lunch we had some tea so went down and chatted there with anonymous husband and then Gillian too. Carrot cake with walnut was not for Ged but they rustled up some vanilla cake so all was well.

Gillian told us about the Audley couple moving her from one lounger to another – we weren’t surprised.

Quick change job for dinner and early shift for that. We have another early start booked for tomorrow, but unless the rain relents it will be cancelled.

Chat with Emma and Chris over pre-dinner drinks on and nibbles (tempura beans). Then a vegetable strudel starter, lamb chops with couscous etc (not Guy’s best dish) and a sweet chocolate surprise.

Early to bed, after threatening to mess up several generations of Malawian community when we move on to Huntingdon by stirring things up!

Yes, I recall that “everyone knew everyone else” in that segment of Malawian society, so the gossip was rife. It was not really our mission to stir things up though and we did not.

A Restful Day At Mkulumadzi Lodge, Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi, 29 September 2013

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If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these are going up during November 2020

Rose late by our standards – circa 7:45.

Breakfast was the English variety – well cooked, quality bacon and pork sausage for the highlights.

We decided to have a restful day when all the others Safari like crazy. So basically spent the day poolside, Reading and writing up this journal.

Daisy went back to shower etc and was gone ages. Mostly she was washing my shorts and top which had been smothered with coffee in the “morning breeze at breakfast” incident, just as Andrew had made a fresh pot for me – remarkable breeze to blow over a full mug.

Meanwhile I read while a family with kids swam. Then they went and Daisy joined me, I wrote and the Safari came to us – elephants, the odd hippo, antelope, waterbuck etc.

Lunch was chicken kebabs, the tea came from Huntington Lodge, the choc cake was ordinary.

As the sun started to go down, we returned to the room – I saw a fish eagle but Daisy missed it.

I only managed to snap a woodpecker…
…and several type of monkey

Once it was dark, we saw eyes sailing down the river, should I torches on them and realise that they were crocodiles!

Down for dinner where Guy (a.k.a. Mrs Fry’s son) has done is proud by cooking a pork with a super crackling rich with apple sauce and mash and veg. A Pavlova dessert t0o – he is into desserts he tells us. He also promises to spoil us tomorrow night!

Strangely, the inseparable triplets were separated tonight with Mrs Nervous-Traveller chatting up Chris almost all evening until Chris and Emma joined her for dinner. Daisy speculates, Ged merely observes. We shall see.

Malawi Journey Day One: Johannesburg, Blantyre & On To Majete Wildlife Reserve, 28 September 2013

Click here or below for a placeholder with links to the photographs, itineraries and even (if you dare) scans of the hand-written journals from our amazing journey to Malawi.

If you prefer to read the typed up journals illustrated with pictures, these shall be going up during November 2020,

Johannesburg airport was not fun. You cannot check your baggage through from London (thank goodness, perhaps, as rumour has it that your chance of getting back what you put in a quite slim if you check your baggage through via Johannesburg).

So, you have to go out through immigration, collect your baggage, clear through customs and then start checking in all over again in another part of the airport.

When we landed, about three hours before our next flight, we imagined that we had bags of time to transfer, but after a while it started to feel a bit tight. Indeed later, Daisy spoke to a couple who had been on the same Heathrow flight as us (but economy) who were so far at the back of the immigration queue, they eventually alerted an official and got themselves whisked through.

The scale of Daisy’s problem

Then there was also Daisy’s weight problem. Most people don’t think of Daisy and weight problems as connected terms, but Daisy does consistently have one particular type of weight problem. The weight of her baggage when we fly.

Yes she does tend to pack the tennis gear (although not this time and anyway I weighed it once and it was not all that heavy). It used to be [received wisdom that] her old suitcase was to blame, until she bought a modern, lighter one, to no avail.

Yes she does carry the medicaments, sun creams and toiletries (some essential, some not so vital).

Still, she promised to pack light this time.

The first sign of trouble was when the poor minicab driver from West Acton cars asked me to help him lift it into his car.

At Heathrow they accepted the 25 kg monstrosity because we were Club Class but warned us that we get short shrift in Johannesburg if we tried to check that on economy. So, after collecting our own baggage at Johannesburg, we were soon on our knees (in my case agonisingly painful knees) moving some heavier items from Daisy’s case into mine.

Come check-in for Blantyre, I saw some people having their luggage weighed but no one called us forward so I guessed it was a “miscreants only” affair.

But when we came to checking in our bags, the lady asked me for our weighing slip. I shrugged. She asked me why we hadn’t weighed. I said that we had been invited, which was true. She shrugged and checked us through.

We were in good time by now and relaxed for a few minutes before timing our approach to the gate well again. And irritating delay of nearly an hour while some no-shows bags were found and removed.

The steward announced every variant of South African airlines product available, but at the end of the flight apologised they had not had time to sell us duty-free goods.

Blantyre airport was hot and equipped with novel kit for fingerprinting and photograph in arrivals, so that’s what they do. We were towards the back of the plane and the last to disembark.

We finally got through formalities to find that we were sharing our transfer (irritatingly) with other people who seemed equally or more irritated that they had to wait for us.

Quite a long drive. We see people and a few sites, although the viewing point the driver took us to had very little going for it.

We saw a wedding convoy which stops at the house for the reception – the house apparently has a lovely garage garden.

Soon enough we were on the outskirts of the Majete reserve. We stopped and went through a painstaking process of triplicate form filling the like of which Daisy and I have not seen for many a year.

The lady of the irritated/irritating couple (who are travelling with Audley I noticed) made a mistake on her form, which we chose to talk about for a while – not least the delay.

Once inside the reserve the other lady who seemed uptight and was asking the driver zillions of questions was soon in her element – spotting creatures and identifying their rareness level.

We saw baboons, kudu, warthogs are plenty and then she spotted a sable which is apparently very rarely seen and she was in heaven. My idea of heaven by then was the thought of some cool liquid to go in and a chance to get rid of some of the warmer liquid. It was very dusty too.

I’m a kudu. How do you do?

Still, the adventure continued as we arrived at a wobbly walking bridge and then said goodbye to our driver who is generously tipped by no one other than me!

Over the bridge and onto an open vehicle for the last few hundred yards. Warm welcome from Chris and Emma who are local white folk who seem to know their stuff including the other places we are staying.

Quick shower and attempt to sort out basics before dark as you don’t want lights on much in those beautiful open chalets.

Barbecue dinner of chicken and marinated beef – chef Guy revealed the marinade but not the spices!

Nice puds too – choc mousse and two other chocolate treats. A bottle of Passchendaele Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot in the chiller for a short while. Lovely.

Early night under air-conditioning mosquito net and boy did we sleep.