Days 288-290 – Malawi

July 20-22, 2010 – Nyika National Park, Malawi

The next few days feel like we’re at a cottage – we relax by the fire, play cards, read and go for walks around the area.


Andrew even lets us take turns driving around the park, which is a lot of fun considering he has a proper 4x4 for us to use.


And thanks to Nellie, we enjoy some fantastic baked goods – she makes us bread, cornbread and cake, all from scratch.

While Nellie is spoiling us with her treats, Andrew is spoiling us with his hospitality – he makes us some fantastic meals, teaches us a lot about the nature in the park and he shows Eric how to kill & clean a chicken.


In fact, this is a very educational trip for Eric because we also teach him how to play cribbage, much to my pleasure.


During our walks and drives we see lots of wildlife – zebra, bustards, warthogs and numerous antelope, including the roan. The roan is a new type of antelope for us – it’s the second largest antelope in the world, next to the eland and they have their largest concentration within Nyika National Park.


Nyika is often compared to the highlands of Scotland because of its rolling hills, greenery and flowers, but we’re here during the dry season, so it’s not that green. In fact, in some places it’s black because of the control burns taking place – burning needs to be done as a precautionary measure to prevent areas of importance, such as the rain and juniper forests, from catching fire due to lightning-strikes and poachers.

But despite the harshness of the land you’ll find close-up at this time of year, the vistas are still stunning.