All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small by Louise

There was great excitement for most of us at 3.30 as a bunch of elephants decided to come down by our chalets to eat the leaves of the trees down there. It was quite scary but really interesting.

At 5:45 a group of our team went out on a walking safari, they learned all about different bird’s plants footprints and POO! We all came together for breakfast at 7:00. We got to choose between a fried or scrambled egg or an omelet with cheese, tomato and onion alongside sausage and bacon – it was yummy. We also had a muffin although some of Mr. Boyd’s muffin was pinched by a cheeky monkey who quickly ran away to eat it.

After breakfast we got into two jeeps and our guides took us on a safari. We went down a little hill and we asked if we would see any rhinos today. The men said that they were in a special enclosure and that it would cost an extra $5 to go and see them although there was no guarantee that we would actually see them as the enclosure was 10 square kilometers and there were only 10 rhinos. We all decided to go into the enclosure but although we didn’t see any rhinos, it was a brilliant experience. 

 We saw a lot of different animals including warthogs and impalas. We also had a seat on the bonnet on the jeep and one person got to sit on it so Callum Murray, Calum Couper, Bjorn and Gavin got to go on the front of my jeep. We were driving for a wee bit and we saw 3 baboons - they were great. Then we kept driving and saw 2 zebras but they were hiding behind a really twiggy bush so they were hard to see. After that we were driving for a good 20 minutes when we saw nothing. It was pretty boring but then we went round a corner and saw a watering hole. We saw an elephant walking down the road. Then another one came out then another one and another one until there was 15 elephants of all shapes and sizes drinking around this watering hole only a few meters away from our jeep. It was very satisfying to watch the mummy elephant’s sook up the water and then pour it on their babies. After a wee drink, they were all marching out in time with one another in single file it was amazing how in time they were. After seeing the elephants, we finished the safari.

When we got back to mvuu camp we had lunch it was quiche and other bits and bobs it was very nice. The monkeys actually stayed back for this meal. After lunch we had a bit of chill time - some of us were sunbathing some were chilling inside and some were reading

Next on our timetable was a boat safari we got into 2 boats but we went in the same direction we saw this really pretty bird called a malicate kingfisher it was luminous orange and blue I loved it then we saw a MASSIVE crocodile just sunbathing and we saw a lot of hippos and we learned that hippos can’t swim they just float. We saw more crocs, loads of crocodiles and loads of different birds. We had to head back as Ben was desperate for a wee and didn’t fancy stopping on a bank in case the crocs got him. Obviously we were very sympathetic as it was clear he was suffering a bit. Just to help him, we started singing “Let It Go”.

Before dinner we were escorted down to the bonfire and we were treated to some traditional dancing and drumming. It was really interesting and a bit weird. Dinner was traditional Malawi fayre – rice and chicken with more nseema and loads of other stuff. For circle time tonight we all lit a candle and said how Malawi had changed us. We placed all the candles in a saltire – it was really nice. Then it was time to be escorted to our chalets for bed.