Majete Wildlife Reserve - Chimwenya Private Game Reserve

The first thing we notice when we get up this morning, is the fact that the elephants have brought down a couple of large trees at some stage during the night, right outside our room.

Thawale Lodge Waterhole

One of the things I really love about this lodge is the waterhole with ringside seats where I can sit and wait for the wildlife to come to me.

This morning our first visitor is a Hammerkop.

Impala

Nyala with wonky horns

This is what regular horns look like on the magnificent fully grown male nyalas

TrailCam

As we are moving on to another lodge today, David retrieves the TrailCam from the tree where it has been since yesterday afternoon, overlooking the waterhole.

This time we have captured a herd of elephants in the evening sun.

Some Waterbuck also enjoying the waterhole

There was also one sole elephant coming in after dark. That would be the one we heard after we went to bed last night.

That's probably the one that tore the trees down.

Breakfast

We take breakfast at a more reasonable time today, rather than grabbing a quick cookie at 05:30 and not eating a proper meal until we get back from the morning game drive much, much later.

Fruit salad with granola and yogurt

A plate of butternut muffins, still warm from the oven, are brought out. It would be rude not to, right? They are nicely crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, albeit a little samey throughout, and a rather dense consistemcy.

My eggs on toast

David's Full English

One of the unusual questions we have received here is whether we want our fried eggs soft, hard or medium.

On the road again

Before we even get out of the park, we see a pair of Bataleur Eagles with a nest.

I can't make out what he is eating, but it is - or was - furry

You can clearly see the chick here

Knobthorn Tree

Jim points out the Knob Acacia, which gets its name from the knobbly bark.

Its leaves are a favourite with giraffes, the tree is resistant to drought and termites, and its wood is often used to make drums amongst other things (drums are popular as a non-violent way to scare elephants away from villages).

As we make our way back towards Blantyre, I do my usual drive-by-shooting (take photos from a moving car), as well as Jim stopping to explain about things we see along the way. This is one of the many reasons why I prefer to have a driver-guide rather than self-drive.

Sodom Apple (so named as it was referred to growing in the biblical area of Sodom) contain a toxic milky sap that is extremely bitter, as well as a having a complex mix of chemicals, some of which are poisonous to humans and livestock.

Brick Making

Mud is dug out of the ground, shaped into bricks by hand using a rudimentary mould, and air-dried before being fired in a huge kiln.

Digging for mud

Bricks laid out to dry

Brick oven

Laundry

Fishing

Pushing a wheelbarrow full of animal fodder

Sesame seeds drying

Open-air church service under a tree

Marula Tree

This incredibly versatile tree (think Amarula, the delicious liqueur made from its soft fruit) is central in a number of traditional African medicines (as well as a multitude of other uses). People will cut a piece of bark off the tree to make a potion to treat illnesses such as dysentery, malaria, diabetes, fever, and even snake bites. Each time a section of the bark is removed, the tree attempts to repair itself, creating these strange growth formations.

This large old specimen has been cut down, and the soft wood will be used for carving (such as wooden spoons), furniture, or panelling.

Sadly this old baobab tree has also been cut down, much to Jim's dismay

Bicycle taxi

Planting rice. Because of the proximity to the Shire River, the soil around here is wet enough for rice to be grown at any time of year.

Dyeratu Village

The name means “ready to eat before travel”, as can be seen by the produce sold alongside the road.

Kids selling small fruits known as buffalo thorn

Pigeon Houses

These come in many shapes and sizes and are used to keep feral pigeons for human consumption. Inside the house are bars for the birds to sit on – just like you’d find in a canary cage – and superstition says that if you tie two calabashes together underneath, every pigeon will lay two eggs.

Madziabango Village

Today is Saturday, which means their huge, colourful, weekly market takes place.

Dried maize used as animal fodder

Manioc plants

Lunch at Blantyre Mall

We stop at a fast food restaurant called Krazy at the popular modern shopping mall in Blantyre. Jim drops us off right at the entrance, then argues with the security guard who eventually – and reluctantly – removes some bollards for Jim to be able to park in a bay close to the restaurant.

Jim and David both have cheeseburgers, whereas I have a chicken sandwich. The chicken is crispy and tasty and the roll is fresh and soft

Since Jim was here last a couple of weeks ago, they have introduced charges for the car park, with a barrier at the entrance where you collect your ticket. Jim struggles to remember where he put said ticket, and while he searches every pocket for it, he chats up the lady attendant. Jim has a winning way with people and a kind word for everyone he meets.

We head back out of Blantyre in the opposite direction to whence we came from - with more drive-by-shooting, of course.

Local public transport - cheaper than the alternative closed-in minibuses

Caster oil tree

Sugar cane

Chimwenya Private Game Reserve

As usual, there is a book for signing Jim, the vehicle, and us in.

Game Haven

From the entrance, a grand avenue leads up to the main building of the lodge.

Our room isn’t ready yet when we arrive, so we sit outside overlooking the gardens and order a couple of cappuccinos. The weather is surprisingly cold, and we are both wishing we’d worn something warm. I joke that the room will be ready as soon the coffees arrive – and guess what? Before we’ve even had a chance to take a sip out of the drink, the receptionist comes along with our keys.

Our room

We don’t just have 'a room’, we are given a lovely chalet (and the nearest one to the main building, at that!) with a large lounge area, a spacious bedroom, and a terrace outside overlooking the game park.

Game Drive

This vehicle is easier to get into than the one in Majete, in that the door has been removed so I don’t have to climb quite so high.

Chimwenya is a small fenced, game reserve with a lodge and a golf course within its grounds. There are no predators in the reserve, so the animals are not as skittish as they can be in other parks.

Animals found within the park

The first animal we see is the park’s one and only giraffe, known as Miss G.

Southern Fiscal Shrike

Plains Zebra

Down by the small lake, a small number of zebra graze in the late afternoon sun.

Helmeted Guineafowl

Eland

Historically, these large animals (the largest antelope in Africa) have been hunted for their delicious meat, and will usually run off as soon as they spot a human or vehicle. Here, however, where there are no predators, they have no fear and graze happily as we stop the car alongside them.

The park is beautiful, bathed in sunshine

One of the paths leading through the reserve

A young Waterbuck trying to hide behind the reeds

David and Jim in the vehicle

Chicory plant - apparently good for skin burn

Red Billed Quelia

Cabanis Bunting

Impala

I love how they skip and jump when they run – they can leap up to ten feet high and cover a distance of 30 feet. It’s very impressive to watch (but not today).

They are affectionately known as ‘McDonalds’ as a result of the distinct M on their rump.

Blue Wildebeest

On the golf course

With a Hammerkop underneath

I guess they help keep the grass on the golf course trimmed

Stephen (the safari driver) delivers us directly to our room at the end of the game drive. We pop outside the back of our chalet to take some photos of the park from here, and discover a giant spider on the terrace.

Me on the terrace

David photographing me on the terrace - note the wildebeest in the background

Giant Orb Spider

It's really colourful

Trying to get photos from every angle

David's hand for size comparison - the spider is about the size of his palm!

Wildebeest seen from our chalet

I love the long shadows

Dinner

Much to David’s delight, this lodge has his favourite South African cider.

My starter - vegetable spring rolls with a minty yogurt dip. The rolls are crispy but without much taste. Jim offers me a VERY hot chilli sauce to remedy that!

David chooses a very thick cream of mushroom soup

David's main course of penne pasta with carrots and courgettes in a spicy tomato, herb and garlic sauce. Not very spicy, according to David

I opt for a local dish – Chicken Khwasu Khwasu – crispy fried chicken served with vegetables (sauteed mustard leaves - very nice), nsima (the staple food in Malawi, a thick porridge made out of maize flour and water), and a tomato relish.

The traditional way of eating this dish is with your hands, tearing the nsima apart, and dipping it in the relish/vegetables. I find it unbearable hot to handle (I have been accused of having wimpy fingers that are very sensitive to heat), but I battle on. The chicken is easy with a very tasty skin!

Baked Amarula Cheesecake to finish - very rich, but I cannot taste the Amarula

By the time I get into bed, I am so cold that I am shivering, but I soon warm up under the thick covers

Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this amazing Great Africa Trip 2024.