As many of you know, I like to jump right in when I get to post. If you remember, I was at Photography class on Day 5 in Manila and Spanish Lessons on Day 7 of Lima. In Malawi, my goal was to get out to see some legit African animals as soon as possible. Well, I’m pleased to say, we made it happen on Saturday!
We took a day trip with our neighbors to Kuti Wildlife Reserve, a 2000 hectacre private game reserve that’s about 90 minutes outside of Lilongwe. The reserve does not have a huge variety of animals, but more than enough for us to enjoy on our first safari. Kuti is home to 200 species of birds, 10 types of antelope, 1 giraffe, 1 camel, 1 ostrich, loads of zebras and monkeys galore. They do not stock any dangerous game, so you can walk, bike or drive unguided in the park.
One of the highlights of the day was coming across 2 Sable Antelope fighting it out in a territory war. It was incredible to watch and I got a ton of gorgeous pics that you can see HERE.
We also saw loads of zebras throughout the day. Such an amazing animal to observe.
Their beauty is incredible, especially in a natural setting like this.
And although we were not allowed to touch or feed the animals, they did get really close to us! Evelyn the ostrich was particularly exhibitionist, coming right up to the pavilion while we were eating lunch!
The one-humped camel, though not native to Malawi, was also a favorite of the group.
We were grateful to see such cool animals so close to home. Hard to imagine what we’ll find in peak season and in some of the parks touted as ‘world class’.
Now it’s Sunday afternoon and we’re gearing up for a big day tomorrow. We attended a lovely brunch today and met several other new families. Funny how we’re not even the newest arrivals anymore. You know it’s transfer season when… Â :)
After brunch it was driving practice in preparation for our big day tomorrow. Nia has her first day of preschool and Nick will no longer be using motorpool to get to work, so I’ll need to drop off Nia, drop Nick and successfully get myself home, all without road signs. That would be challenging enough in itself if I didn’t also have to master the whole driving-on-the-left-side-of-the-road-thing too. Seriously, pray for me. I need all the support I can get. I’ll write more about the driving in another post and see if I can even provide a little video footage so you can really understand the craziness of it all.
