Heading to Liwonde National Park
After a very good breakfast at the place where I’m staying, it was time to go to Liwonde National Park. Looking at the map, it looks like there are two entries, one on the east side and one on the south side. The east side seemed more obvious, but my Garmin pointed me to the south side, so that’s where I ended up.
Just before getting to the park, I needed four-wheel drive because there was a river to cross and some water to go through. That was going where the trucks go. The part where the cars go, which is higher up, looked a little bit more flimsy. Four-wheel drive was probably a good thing anyway because I needed it for going through the park.
Entering the Park
The entry has two gates. The first gate has wires for about 6-7 feet, with wire just a few inches from the ground that you drive over. That is to discourage any animals from slipping through the gate, and there is also an electrified fence around the whole park except on the water side.
At the second gate, there was a building with reception and some knickknacks one could purchase. A ticket for the car and myself was about 65,000 Kwacha, which is somewhere south of $40 depending on the exchange rate. A guide cost 15,000 Kwacha for about 2 to 3 hours — less than $10, so that was definitely worth it. It was good to have the company and know where you’re going in one of those parks.
The Game Drive
I was very aware that if you want to get the most benefit out of a game drive, you need to do it in the early morning. But not being into getting up too early these days, it was more like 10:00 in the morning or even later. As it turned out, the guide had gone in that morning and had seen some lions, so he knew where to look.
My main interest was elephants since so far I’ve only seen a few elephants, mostly far away, and it was time to get a little bit closer. We went on our way and had some challenging roads, but it was still dry season, so it was probably nothing compared to what it could be.
We spent a few hours and saw some interesting animals. We did get to see one crocodile on dry land. I didn’t see any hippos because we didn’t get close enough to where they were. No zebras and no giraffes, but waterbuck and some other animals. Look for the pictures!
Discovering Malawian Coffee and Meeting Samuel
Coming out of the park, there was a place that supposedly had coffee. I almost drove by but changed my mind. They had Malawian coffee — I didn’t know there was such a thing, but it was very, very good indeed. It kind of tastes like Ethiopian coffee.
Then I got to talk to Samuel, or Sam. There was a vehicle with “”Kutcheyr Lodge”” written on it. Samuel explained that he actually owns the lodge, and the story behind it was absolutely flabbergasting.
The Incredible Story of Kutcheyr Lodge
Samuel bought the property 8 years ago. It’s inside the game park — the land was owned by the chief of the local tribes and was sold for just $800. It sits just a few hundred feet from the edge of the park, but inside the fence, so animals can sometimes wander through the lodging area.
He bought the land without having enough money to do anything with it. By coincidence, some people came from abroad. He borrowed mattresses from a store, promising to bring them back the next day. The guests slept there and he charged them $6-$10 each.
The group loved what he was doing and told him they’d each give him $1,000. He didn’t believe it, but they gave him the money. He went to town, bought the mattresses (did not bring them back!), got bags of concrete, and started building. Now he can accommodate 100 people. About 80% of his clients are from the Netherlands.
Visiting Kutcheyr Lodge
I had to go and see this place. It’s a very basic place, but so much fun — knowing you could have a crocodile at your doorstep makes it really special. Some of the signs are in Dutch, and there were 4 Dutch medical students from the University of Groningen visiting. They were doing an internship at a hospital in Malawi and having a weekend to relax.
I wished I could have stayed, but I had already committed to my own accommodation. If you ever get the chance, this is a really special place to visit.
Checking Out the Hippo Lodge
Back in town, I decided to check out the Hippo Lodge, which was a little further away but along the river. It is humongous — they have room for 500 people and it looks very solid, clean, and well kept. They had a restaurant where I got some Chinese-type soup that was absolutely amazingly delicious.
The food was more expensive than the other place I dined at the night before, but room rates were half — 160,000 Kwacha per person, which is still 2.5 times what I’m currently paying. They can host big weddings, conferences, and more. Really amazing place.
Time to get back and go to sleep. Thanks for being along!
