This is the first time, I drove more than 5:30 hrs on a stretch. The driving to Liwonde was a good experience. Could see very nice landscapes, the roadside small colonies/villages, the people, the markets etc. One cricket travelled with us from one small town to another (took a ride on our car and I was a bit worried that it will be all alone in the new town as it left it’s family behind).
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
We parked the car at the Hippo View Lodge and joined the guided tour to Mvuu Camp. Chinguni mountain was seen from that lodge.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
The boat journey from Hippo View Lodge to Mvuu Camp was fantastic. We sailed through the Shire river which has it’s deepest point of 4 – 5 meter.
Hippos – Lots of hippos enjoying (with family or alone) in the water. They do not swim / dive. One group/family of Hippo is called pod or raft. They are territorial in water and spend the day in water and go out for grazing and sleeping at night. Although they spend most of their time in water, they can’t swim. But, they can cross the river by walking deep in the ground under water and then come up then again go deep. They can be under water for 5-7 min without breathing. Usually, if a hippo is found in the middle of the river, it is expected that the river is shallow in that area. They communicate by sound and can hear lot of noise by the time they are about to leave the water at dusk. When one female have a baby, it carry the baby on its back and go separate from the raft for 2-3 weeks to make the baby strong.
Big termite mounds also could be seen on the river journey.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
We got an interesting piece of information about a Sparrow weaver. The adult males got their plumage a bright and beautiful yellow colour during the breeding season to attract the females and otherwise in a dull colour. During the breeding season, males full time job is to make nests. The females inspect the nests and select the best one for their breeding :). So, each male is very busy making several nestsin the breeding season. They make very beautiful nests.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
White-browed sparrow weever – They are intelligent to make 2-3 nests together to confuse the predators. While breeding nests have only one entrance, roosting nests have two doors, entrance and exit.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
The Camp
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Waterbucks
They have a oval shape white line on their back.

SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSC
Zebras have very poor eyesight and therefore usually follow other antelopes like Impala or try to be with giraffes. Impalas can sense the predator quickly and start running. Then zebras can also escape from the predator. When they are with giraffes, giraffes can have the view of higher horizon and zebras can look for the lower horizon and both helps each other to escape from the predators. Each zebra has its own pattern of stripes (like our finger prints). Saw a pregnant zebra and Zebra’s gestation 360-390 days. Usually giraffes, zebras and impalas stay closer in the bushes.
Impalas– Like to spend the night in open area. So, it makes them easy to spot the predators when they arrive. A bachelor herd consists only the males who are waiting to win a female herd. Usually, only one winner male found with 200 females during the mating period, which is April/May. During the mating period, the other males (who lost the battle) practice fighting to win their next turn for mating. The other seasons, we may see males, females and babies together. All females of impalas give birth at the same time within 2 weeks. And thus having always a huge herd. This helps them maintain the population as they are attacked by all kind of predators. Male Impala is guarding and securing the territory.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Termite hill – 25 years

SAMSUNG CSC
Saw a nocternal cat fight with a mongoose. Couldn’t catch the fight in the camera though.
When they come out from water, they use the same particular narrow path every time and the guides named it as ‘HIPPO HIGHWAY’.

SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSC
The hippo highway begins from the river. Whe its getting dark, the hippos start their jouney to inside of the bushes via this highways :).

SAMSUNG CSC
Crocodile can go deep in water and breath inside gill for nearly half an hour. Crocodile usually eat fish, but may go for antilopes. They can eat hippo too when hippo is dead and drowned. The crocodile take to the dead body of the hippo to the bank and let the skin become soft and then start eating from one point. Crocodiles fight and even eat each other. Crocodiles sometimes, waiting for the birds to fall down from the tree to eat them.

SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSC
Elephants – They eat for 18 hrs and sleep for 6 hrs intermittently. Can lying down and got up easily. Can eat 300 kg/day. Male tusk is curved.
Elephants poor eye sight.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
The guided evening tour
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Birds watch
Coudn’t remember all the names. Spare-winged Geese eats grass seeds and pick up ticks from Kudus, a symbiosis relationship. Grey-headed parrots are beautiful.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
White-breasted cormorants – 28 continuous days for hatching. Both male and female switch turn on hatching period on eggs.
Turpid/tortoise – hatch by temp.high temp – more females (crocodiles opposite)

SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSC
Trupe of baboons – the female is in heat and that’s why the male is hanging around.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Village visit
They have a lodge with the set up of a village home if anyone wants to stay and experience the village life. It contains a room, bathroom, toilet, and kitchen where a family 3 can stay.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Usually, a house contains small rooms, kitchen, (sometime both rooms and kitchen are the same), if people are in a better position, they do have boys quarters which is occupied by the unmarried children of the house, goat house, toilet, bathroom and washing area.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
School, children, Dance and music
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Traditional healer – He gives a paste, called as ‘love portion’ to make people fall in love :). Beads in a chain is given to respectable business customers.

Inside the village
They makes big woven baskets for the maize storage for the non productive season.

Mvuu camp 3rd day
Mappane trees hold the 85 % of the bush. They have butterfly like leaves and containes high protein, so the animals like and eat a lot of that tree. The stem is used to make ropes.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Baobob tree
It’s a tree found in most of the rural areas. Baobab tree hole is used a dentby warthogs, but hyenas can compete for the dent.The parrots can make their home in the tree trunk. The animals eat the bark of the tree during the dry season to get water.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Yellow fever tree – At old time, there was a belief that malaria comes because of this tree. The trees grows in svamp area and obviously a good place for mosquitos. And that may be the reason people get malaria.

SAMSUNG CSC
Just before we left, the guides got a message that a big herd of elephants are enjoying at the river bank. So, they asked us whether we want to visit the place before leaving. Of, course we said yes and they took us there in a hurry. There were nearly 40 elephants gathered at the river bank and then after sometime, the families splitted (to avoid competition on food). They washed the grass in water and ate. They drink 50 liters of water per day. One has short trunk (without fingers), might be a crocodile bite.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Cactus

SAMSUNG CSC
Mancala
Our Pallanguli (பல்லாங்குழி) – mahagoni seeds are used (we used tamarind seed to play pallangkuli when we were children)

Squirrel

SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSC

SAMSUNG CSC