KASUNGU NATIONAL PARK

Day one and, after stocking up for tonight's BBQ, we're off 100 miles north for a few nghts in Kasungu National Park



Stretch at the gate where sadly the Malawian flag didn't want to show itself



though one local resident did welcome us


And here are our homes


- each rondavel is partioned in two comfy little en suite rooms


 and scattered around were what we were reliably told were euphorbia trees (after I'd wondered whether cacti really bloom like this!)







The huts stand in lovely wildness grounds, with countless flowers and insects

 



(some, looking for lunch)

 




and spots to stop to admire...


... the view over the dammed Lifupa river (yes, hopefully hippos tomorrow!). 

Many pied kingfishers hovered and dived for their own dinner in front of us our eyes but my photographic skills were sadly no match



But meanwhile perfect for a sundowner  


At dinner time, a braai appeared


as did solid velvet darkness and the Milky Way, alongside a magical golden moonrise.  Extraordinary star-gazing, accompanied by the eerie sound of hippos, hooting


6am start next morning, and Lou and Duncan went for a walk with an armed guide who showed them animal tracks of African wild cat, mongoose and hippos (and serval and hyena - worryingly near our tented camp!)
 



and peculiar fruits
 


while mother and I took a drive (yes, this was allegedly a road)


around the waterside



and caught a glimpse of the odd beast



Back at the ranch, there were a few beasties indoors too


including the lizard to the left who tried to take on his dinner on the right (you've got to admire his ambition, though he only managed a nip before he realised he'd bitten off more than he coud chew)


On the other side of the water's edge, 



it's all action



After two nights, bye bye Kasungu and it's back southwards to Lilongwe





(via some more shopping)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE SILK ROAD - SEPTEMBER

Image
We're following the Silk Road (popularly known as the trade route from China through Central Asia and Northern Africa to Constantinople).  We're on just the part that passes through Uzbekistan: Tashkent (the capital) to Samarkand, then Bukhara, and Khiva.   Stopping off at the end in the biggest city in Kazakhstan, Almaty (capital until 1997) , and an overnighter (when our flight times home were changed at the last minute!) in the new capital Nur-Sultan (until recently, 'Astana'), as we're flying with the national carrier, also 'Astana'. Quick quiz before some facts about the Silk Road and Uzbekistan: name the other 5 '-stan' ('land of...' by the way) countries, alongside Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan... The Silk Road (or Route) seems to wander about between China (some even say Japan) and Turkey, depending on what period you're looking at and whom you believe.  Some routes go north via Russia, others dip into...
Read more

TWO MORE ALMATY NIGHTS

Image
After a good nigt's catch-up sleep and hearty breakfast, it's a short walk up to Central Stat e Museum, one of the largest in Central Asia, established in the 1930s and contained within this building since 1985.   The museum houses the most significant collection of Kazakh historical, archaeological, and modern cultural and political artifacts.  A few highlights...     And a nice cafeteria in the basement for chicken+veg lunch  It’s a 1 mile walk to the Kok-Tobe cable-car which feels rather like an out-of-season seaside town with horrible piped music, sad-looking golden eagle for costumed photos; good view of town though, the mountains and tall Almaty Tower The Ferris wheel gives that little extra height       but the 'Beatles'(!?) statue is quite bad Coffee and view-admiring until sunset   ...
Read more

SECOND TRAIN JOURNEY - SAMARKAND AND ARRIVAL IN BUKHARA

Image
And so onward for our next train trip (post-Soviet but notice the identikit station design!?)   Bukhara ('Buxoro') is Uzbekistan's fifth-largest city (300k inhabitants) but I reckon that number must by doubled by all of the tourists.  The area has been inhabited for five thousand years, with the present city existing for about half that time, serving as a centre of trade, scholarship, culture and religion. Our cab drops is in the Lyabi-Haus area, a plaza built around a pool in 1620 (Lyabi-Haus means 'around the pool' in Tajik) which is one of the tourist centres... and to give you an idea of what I was looking at and the surrounding architecture And, yes, the obligatory bridal couples in search of a picturesque backdrop As well as pools, until the 1900s, Bukhara was watered by a network of canals where people gathered to gossip and wash.  As the water was not changed very often, the city became famous for plagues and water-borne...
Read more