Being One with Nature

Tuesday & Wednesday, June 4th & June 5th 

 

            SAFARI DAY. Today and Wednesday I was one with the wild. I am not that much of an outdoorsy person but this was absolutely out of this world amazing even though a tad bit terrifying at certain points. We traveled 2 hours to a place called Camp Mvuu, which is where the safari took place. From the moment we got off the bus the workers treated us like queens and kings. We were first greeted with fresh fruit juice and given a tour of the campgrounds. The little villas that we got to stay in were called chalets and were the most adorable little huts I have ever seen. When I was first told about the safari I thought we were going to be sleeping outside in tents and rough it for a couple of days but the chalets blew me away. I honestly thought I was on a paradise island when I saw them. The chalets were two separate rooms; each with a huge bed and everything was made of this beautiful stone. The bathroom was so detailed and absolutely beautiful. The windows surrounding the whole chalet were screened in with shades so that the warm breeze was constantly blowing; it was wonderful. The chalets were all right on Lake Shire and we all had such an amazing view.

            Around 12:30pm we had lunch and I just want to say that I have been missing American food from pretty early on in the trip and this lunch made any American food I was craving go on the back burner. We were served homemade bread, bean salad, pepper salad, couscous, vegetable stir-fry, pork stir-fry, and a dessert of fruit crumble. I have been used to eating peanut butter sandwiches and trail mix for every meal here that this lunch changed my life. I am pretty sure I ate 5 times my body weight but I had no shame at all; it was that delicious.

            After lunch we browsed around the chalets a little and ran into some warthogs! It was crazy how close we were able to get to them and how they didn’t care at all. I must say that warthogs are probably some of the most unfortunate looking animals I have ever seen. They kind of look like they have mullets (no offence to mullets because they are great) but I am not sure the hog could really rock it. A lot of us were just running around with them and singing, “When I was a young warthog” from Lion King; it was great.

            At 3:30pm we were given coffee, tea, and little tea cookies before we set off for our first Safari adventure. I haven’t been drinking coffee here because it’s the powder kind but this coffee was so so so so good. It was actually made out of a coffee pot and it couldn’t have satisfied my longing for coffee more. We then got into these safari trucks and headed out. I was in a truck with Amy, Liz, Leigh, Emily, Messiah, Emma, McKenzie, and our tour guide Moden King Davis, who is so great! The first sightings of wild life we saw were the baboons. They are such little cuties. I loved how they just sat and stared at us like we were crazy, plus they have the funniest little butt ever. They honestly look just like Rafiki from Lion King and it made everything so much better. We also saw a lot of impala (which are said to be like the American squirrel, aka…everywhere), some antelopes, water bucks, Cybil impala, mongoose, white browed sparrow weavers, hippos and last but not least: elephants. We were one of the only cars that spotted an elephant and it was so exciting! Elephants are probably one of the most beautiful wild life animals I have ever seen, they are so large but so elegant. The big guy was just chowing down on some greens when we spotted him. Elephants, although beautiful, are not very friendly so we had to keep our distance from them. Moden King Davis said that they have one lion but they haven’t spotted him since November so unfortunately we weren’t able to spot him.

            The sun started setting so we went out to this field, had some drinks with the group and drove back for dinner. To experience a sunset on a safari, in Africa, is unlike any experience I will ever have. The contrast of the colors in the sky just took my breath away. There were perfect sections of just red, orange, and yellow lined in the sky; it was beautiful. The stars that I mentioned before at Annie’s didn’t even compare to the stars I saw tonight after the sun set. I was in awe of how bright they were. I felt as though I was in a snow globe of just stars surrounding me and for once I didn’t want the sun to come back up.

After the 3-hour safari we headed back to the lodge for dinner. I was expecting to eat in the main dining room like we did for lunch but Mvuu had something much better in mind. We followed a path into the front part of the woods only to see tables, chairs, a bar, and a campfire before our eyes: all set up for us. There were men sitting around the fire with drums that were singing and dancing right there. We were served an amazing dinner of chicken, beef, rice, vegetables, bread, and a pudding. After dinner they had a ritual dance around the campfire and everyone got up to dance. Yes, even I, Brianna Gorman, got up to dance. I will say at first it was not willingly though. Liz had told one of the workers to come over and snatch me up and that’s exactly what he did. We met a group of students who were here for a mission’s trip only to find out that they were from South Western College in Texas! I told them that I was from Trophy Club and they knew exactly where it was. It’s crazy that I met people, half across the world, who could potentially live 10 minutes from me at home.

After dinner and dancing we headed back to our Chalets to get ready for bed. Our morning safari started at 6am so we all knew we needed to get rest for such an early morning. The chalets are in the middle of the safari so it’s not uncommon for the animals to wander around them in the middle of the night; it’s actually designed because it’s very common. Due to the chalets just being screened in, we heard everything. I mean everything. From the hippos swimming and stomping around to the baboons and birds making high pitched sounds. Also, there aren’t any lights outside because it may disturb the animals so it was dark. And when I say it was dark, I mean it: pitch black times a million. In the middle of the night when I opened my eyes to turn over or because I heard a hippo by my window, I wasn’t sure if I actually had my eyes open because it looked the same as it did when they were shut: complete darkness. Now this, I was NOT a fan of. Even at the age of 21, I am still very terrified of the dark and not being able to see anything while hearing wildlife steps outside caused me to be alert 85% of the night. Which, I guess in hindsight is a good thing because I will probably never get an experience quite like this ever again. I remember Liz and I fell asleep around 10:45pm and I woke up around 1:30am because of some noises I heard outside. Probably 5 minutes after I woke up I heard this very loud scream come from what sounded either like a baboon or bird. It was extremely loud and very close and sounded like a high-pitched yell. Liz and I grabbed one another’s hand at the exact same moment and were very terrified together. I fell asleep after that but woke up again around 4:20am and I have been up ever since. I really cannot put into words how excited I was for the sun to rise so that I could see my surroundings again. I am very thankful for the experiences I got from that night but you can bet that I will be bringing a nightlight next time.

            After the blessing of the sun coming up we got ready and headed up to the lodge. Breakfast wasn’t for another 2 hours but they did provide coffee and tea for us, which was so nice due to very little sleep. We all climbed back into our safari trucks and headed out for our morning safari walk. When we got to the location we all hopped out and walked about a mile to see if we could spot any wild life. Unfortunately we just saw a lot of impala’s and their droppings but it was nice to see a Safari so early in the morning. It amazes me everyday how beautiful Malawi is; I love this place.

            We then headed over to breakfast and got ready for the lake safari! This safari was so relaxing and we got to see dozens of hippos, 6 elephants, and about 4 crocodiles. The baby hippos were absolutely adorable and we were also lucky enough to also see a baby elephant (I died of happiness). The animals look so different in person than they do in the movies and storybooks we have been exposed to all of our lives. It was pretty surreal being only a few feet away from these animals and not in a zoo setting but actually in a true free and open wildlife setting. This time around I wasn’t seeing these animals through entertainment but I was seeing them in their most natural environment and for who they truly were, it was very life changing. Even though I was terrified some of the time during this safari, I am so lucky that I was able to experience it. I have been able to take away such a greater appreciation for the wildlife around us. This is truly an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

            After the safari adventures we headed back to Zomba but first we stopped at a local school to the area. We got to meet Herbert, who was the head instructor and we were also able to meet a volunteer who came over to Malawi 9 months ago to be a teacher. I cannot remember her name but I do remember her telling us that she is from Ohio and went to school in Miami. As said before, she came over to Malawi 9 months ago to teach in the primary school and will be staying here for a period of 2 years. She was telling us all how to get more involved with a program like this and was such an inspiration. Even though I am not sure teaching abroad is for me, I still loved hearing about her experiences thus far and I know that she impacted a lot of the group. After the 30-minute stop at the school we went to a local market to shop at some of the vendors. Remember when I told you about the vendor experience at Mt. Mulanje and how Dr. Kelly had us go out and see what we liked, then get back on the bus and “drive away” to get the owners to cut the prices? Well, I was really into it this time around. I was having such a blast with it all, it’s so exhilarating. I was able to get the items I really loved and then some for ¼ of the price they originally wanted it for. I think that I have improved remarkably at bargaining but I do fear that when I get back into the States, I will be at a place like Target and still be in the bargaining mindset, which won’t work there, haha.

We finally arrived back at Annie’s after two days of being away and I am so glad to be back and to get back to our Standard 3B babies tomorrow! We will be teaching tomorrow and Friday and then we will be visiting an orphanage on Saturday along with doing something at Annie’s. In exactly 1 week we will be leaving Zomba to travel to Lake Malawi and come to the end for our trip. It’s crazy to think that I have been here for 2 weeks because I feel that I have been here so much longer.

Until then,

xoxo