We have driven 6,000km into the heart of Africa, and are currently near the Capital of Malawi. The last week has seen us leave the sun soaked islands in the southern archipelligo off the coast of Vilinkolous and struggle into the only game reserve in Mozambique.
I could say many wonderful things about the islands in the archapelligo, but a picture says a thousand words....most likey 'sux to be you all at work!'
Our drive north to the reserve was a bit of a drama. We were travelling quite fast on a good road, when out of nowhere there was a perfectly square cut hole in the road about 2ft square and 1ft deep. We hit it doing at least 80km/hr....it was a quality show stopper (damaged sump, tie rod, etc) After a bodgy road side repair we had to drive 40km on the worst corregations I have ever been on. At low speed it was simply not possible..and would have taken 4+ hours. I recalled the 'Mythbusters' episode where they found driving at speed (reaching the same frequency as the corregations) smooths the ride out.
We went for it!
The myth turns out to be mostly true...it is smoother, just stopping and steering become 'challenging'. I spent a day fixing all that was damaged and Larry is whole again for those deeply concerned for his welfare.
At the park we did a community walk for three hours in the stinking heat...clearly Tanya's idea.
We were warned that the older elephants in the park survived the war of independence and then the civil war..which finished in 1994. Apparently the soldiers were quite cruel to the herds, nearly wiping them out. The good news is we saw one herd that had 83 elephants in it...the bad news is they HATE man.
As we approached the herd, they all drew into a huge circle with the calves in the midle, then all of them put their trunks up to catch our sent.... once confirmed, one would charge. I got one of the charges on video, which is amazing ( the highlight being two African girls hiding under the back seat)
This is the photo just before the charge.
Our next blog will be from the beaches of Lake Malawi.
You've taken some absolutely amazing photos! They are fantastic. I look forward to reading up on your adventures. Sounds like you've had a great time. The Elephants are just so amazing - can't wait to see the video of the charging.
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