KENYA - Treetops and Sweetwater

We all suited up for some game watching and headed to Treetops Lodge, an old English establishment that literally started out as a treehouse where the Queen of England was staying when she got the call that she was going to be Queen. Pretty cool. Now it's a very big treehouse where they lock you in at night and you are in the middle of the park right in front of a watering hole where you can watch the game come and go. You eat cafeteria style with the rest of the lodge and they send your food down the middle of the tables on a conveyor belt. I heard they served Spam there but that turned out to be a cruel rumor.
THe next day we went to Sweetwater Reserve and I saw my first RHINO!!! Although it was in captivity, and was at the time being reintroduced into the wild, it was amazing to see up close. They are HUGE. And not a little bit scary. Afterwards we drove around the park and got to see another rhino in the actual wild, along with cape buffalo, lots of elephants, and warthogs (which for some weird reason Gerald decided were his favorite. I think they look like guys from Jersey with mullets).

KENYA - Masai Mara Game Park

Our stay in the Mara Lodge in Masai Mara with Gerald and Rebecca was definitely a highlight of the trip. First of all, the company was fantastic! Rebecca recommended we stay at the Mara Lodge, and it didn't dissapoint. After the car decided to embarass us in front of our friends (suspension arms broke, relay was knocked loose after Rob hit a pothole at alarming speeds, all our controls were knocked out, etc), we had a bit of a hairy trip to the park. But the struggle was so worth it. We would take game drives during the day and then come back to the lodge and settle in next to a fire, and right in front of us was a river with hippos, crocodiles, and tons of birds. We all had such a blast and will definitely go back to stay there again.

Zanzibar recap

Kenyan/Tanzanian coast

We have had a relaxing time in the last few weeks cruising up the coast. From Dar Es Salaam we crossed to Zanzibar before heading up into Kenya for Tiwi, Mombasa, Watamu and the highlight Lamu up by the Somali border. Our chill out came to an end in Nairobi for the US elections. The city was fun - and we were out very late last night - but rather more subdued than we expected. Still, Kenyans seem ecstatic about Obama's victory. In parallel we have been trying to get a Sudanese visa. No progress in Dar or Nairobi. We are hoping it will happen in Addis.

Makuzi Beach on Lake Malawi

After Cape Maclear we headed north to Nkhata Bay, another small village on Lake Malawi.  Again, as you can see, it was a stunning setting.  Beautiful sunsets right in front of you with hardly anyone else around.  Talk about a romantic place!  Rob took a kayak out and snapped some amazing photos of the fish eagle.  We hung out with another couple from England who were doing a little trip around the east to check out some of the hotels as research for their future business.  And the hotel owners were so kind that on our last night, they decided to make it extra romantic for us and put our dinner table out on the beach and lit by candlelight.  The night was perfect, with the exception of one small problem...  There are these swarms of insects that you can see out on the lake during the day that are ENORMOUS.  Literally from miles away they look like huge plumes of smoke coming up out of the water.  As they come on land, the locals take baskets and capture them and then grind them onto a paste and eat it for its protein value.  Yummy... Well that night just a hatch came onland and you couldn't believe how many there were!  They were everywhere - in your nose, your ears - but we stuck it out on the beach while everyone else locked themselves indoors.  All I have to say is I am happy it was so dark out there cause I am sure I got way more protein than I would have liked out of that meal.... 

Cape Maclear

Mt Mulanje

While Wendy took a day to chill in the relaxing Lukhubula Forest Lodge, I raced up 3,000m high Mt Mulanje. It is known for its steep ascent and thick mists, but since it is the dry season here it was just steep ascent, burning hot sun and fairly hazy air so the views weren't as great as they could be. The mountain is very interesting with a rolling plateau at 2,000m, crossed by valleys and with peaks rising out of it. I spent one refreshingly cool night up on the plateau before getting up at 4.30am to hit the summit just after dawn. The air above about 2,900m was clear but the haze below obscured the views out over Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. My guide Anthony had a urgent message from his Mum so we didn't linger too long at the top and decided rather foolishly to run the majority of the way down. I hobbled into the lodge just in time to join Wendy on her way down to town for a well-earned pizza.