MALAWI TRIP, PART 1

In the spring of 2022 Dick and I made the long and arduous trip to Malawi to visit our partner there, Wildlife Action Group (WAG). We started in Cleveland, OH and flew from there to Newark Liberty airport where we boarded a United Airlines 787 Dreamliner for the 15 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. We cleared customs and stayed overnight in a small guesthouse near the airport. The next day we went back to the airport and took an Ethiopian Air 3 hour flight up to Lilongwe, Malawi. Lynn Clifford, the WAG field operations manager met us and took us on a 2 hour drive back into the WAG base camp in the Thuma Forest Reserve. Lynn had taken the trip to the city as an opportunity to pick up supplies for the camp. Dick rode up front with Lynn in the Land Cruiser and I rode in the back with the supplies and Lynn’s dog, Tarik.

Upon arrival at the base camp Lynn gave us a quick tour and showed us our quarters for the next two weeks. We had two grass huts about 9 ft in diameter. Inside was a bed surrounded by mosquito netting, a chair, a shelf unit on which we could store our gear and a small table with a candle and matches. The floor was dirt covered by a grass mat. There was just enough room to stand up to get dressed. I shared my hut with a small lizard who skittered around chasing bugs, a bat which flew in and out occasionally and a large black spider who climbed up the netting. I dispatched him with my shoe the second night. Dick shared his tent with the camp cat, Kango, which means lion or panther.

Down the hill from our huts was a shower hut. About every second or third day the camp crew would light a fire under a large drum to heat water for our showers. Further down was the latrine which Dick christened our Martha Stewart toilet.

Up the hill was a small flat area with a table at which we had breakfast and lunch if we were not in the field. Further up was the camp office and a small room with a table and chairs where we ate our dinner.

Our meals were prepared by a cook and were simple but surprisingly good. Breakfast was usually scrambled eggs, sausage if you wanted it and toast with butter along with strong black coffee. Lunch, if we were not away in the field, was usually a thick vegetable soup with bread. Dinners were roast chicken, spaghetti, or beef accompanied by potatoes and a salad. What might be left over one night was served again the next. Previous to our meals was usually ‘Sundowner Time’, wine or a G&T and we sat around a fire and listened to Lynn and Dick exchange stories about their time in the bush. It was entertaining to say the least.