face to face with an elephant.....

Hello everyone

Well, what a week this has been!  I went to Lilongwe on Monday so that the car could be serviced on Tuesday - all went fine.  Then on Thursday I picked up two students who have come for three weeks to see what Early Childhood in Malawi is all about.  However, as it was their first weekend I thought it would be a good idea to take them to Vwaza Marsh to have a 'wildlife' experience!  Fidelis and Nicolas joined us.  We packed up the picnic lunch and off we went!!

Deborah, Fidelis, Helen and Nicolas

It had  been really cold in Mzuzu but once we went north the weather changed and it was lovely and sunny.  When we arrived (around 8am) the group decided to go for a walk with a ranger while I stayed at the camp.  It was very peaceful, I was reading my book - a hippo decided to come out of the water,

followed after a few minutes by some friends........

and so they kept on coming - it was a great show!

Then, right in front of where I was sitting, a lovely baby hippo appeared with his mother - I just assumed it was a he!  This is the time when hippo's are most dangerous as they protect their young.

It was great to see two hippos having a real fight - unfortunately I didn't manage to get a great photo but this was just at the beginning.

Somewhere behind me there were elephants as I could hear them crashing through bush and pulling branches off trees, but the undergrowth was thick so I couldn't see anything.

Baboons were around in abundance - many with babies as well.

and some of the antelope kept appearing in the distance - kudu and impala.

The Vervet monkeys were hunting through the elephant dung looking for seeds... they made a lot of noise but it was fun watching them.  They always put on a good show.

And of course there were lots of birds but some too far away for me to capture - here is a Hammerkop...

and a heron....beautiful bird!  There were other birds like the yellow - billed stork, the hadeda, weaver birds and a black headed oriole.

I always like to see elephants when they are walking away from me - I have had too many close encounters with elephants over the years in various African countries.  

This elephant just wandered down to the water to drink....a peaceful scene!

After the rest arrived from their walk which they really enjoyed - they saw quite a lot of animals, we had our lunch.  Another group of visitors then alerted us to the fact that there was a herd of elephant near by.  After talking with the ranger, he said the elephants were on the road so we should not attempt to leave just now.  No problem, we were enjoying the sunshine and just having a laugh!

More hippos kept coming out of the lake in front of us..

and ended up looking like rocks on the sand......

It really is a beautiful spot!

By this stage another two cars with visitors had come into the campsite.  They had lunch quickly as they were travelling on to Karonga.  However, when they went to leave they found elephants all around and so had to come back.  After the third attempt they managed to get past the elephants and leave the park.

Then the other group decided to leave and we thought we would also go - we followed the other car until it stopped as there were elephants in front of it and began to turn around, so we quickly turned around and went back to the campsite to wait until the ranger told us it was safe to go.  There was a lot of trumpeting from the lake as the elephants in the water were having fun splashing around!

The other group eventually managed to leave the park also.

After some time the ranger told us it was safe to leave as the herd had split into two and one half was in the water splashing around while the other half had moved on.  We all got into the car together with the park manager, Godwin,  and off we went.  It was not far to the main gate of the camp, but through dense bush and sandy underfoot.  The first part went smoothly, and then someone said there was an elephant on our left side.   Godwin  told me to drive on slowly.  All fine and good - we had made it.  However, more elephant were now on the right side of the vehicle - Godwin told me to drive on  - we didn't have far to go to the gate now - all was well.

Suddenly the matriarch of the herd arrived right in front of the car flapping her ears and looking none too pleased.  Literally I was face to face with an enormous and quite irritated female elephant.  I was aware now that we had elephant all around us and one wrong move could be fatal.  From behind me in the car there was tension as we all waited to see what would happen next.  Godwin told me to be calm and wait.  The elephant continued to look at us and flap her ears.  By this stage there was nothing else for it - we were at the mercy of the elephants and just had to sit it out.  Eventually after some minutes (where time seemed to stand still),  she waved her trunk wildly and rushed into the bush on the left side of the car - after a few seconds a  baby elephant and a few other young elephants crossed the road running in front of us.  We waited again and then Godwin told me to drive on.

This is not the actual elephant - I was driving so couldn't take a picture
and the others were all petrified and taking a picture was the last thing on their minds!!  This elephant
is one I met on a previous wildlife experience in Tanzania a few years ago!!

Godwin, who I have known for a long time, and without his guidance
I do not know if we would have made it out of the park!

We reached the gate and had to stop to pay the ranger but I asked if we could park outside the gate as my passengers by this stage had just realised what they had witnessed and there was much excitement and fear and almost panic at the same time!  I think it is an experience they will never forget.

For me, I am always in awe of God's creation - elephants, hippos, kudu.... all the animals are amazing and I have great respect for them in their natural habitat.  I really thank God that we made it out of the park safely, and for Godwin's skill in reading the movements of the elephants.  Just the night before the elephant had gone to his grass thatched house and ripped off the roof to eat some maize that he had stored.  I love African wildlife and appreciate that we were in their territory and that the matriarch was just protecting her children.  I have been in a few sticky situations with elephant in my time in Africa, and three of them have been in this very park - maybe I should choose somewhere else to take visitors next time!!

Deborah and Helen are going into nursery schools tomorrow and while I hope they have an enjoyable experience, I pray it will not be quite as dramatic as their encounter with the elephants!

Wishing you all a blessed week.  Please continue to pray for our safety on the roads of Malawi as we visit different early childhood centres through the next few weeks.

Blessings,

Diane