Finally sitting and time on my hands to blog! Yesterday was somewhat “blog worthy” and today was also. Not sure if I will split them up or just have one long post….lets see what happens 😉

I guess it really started Sunday night when Scott and I headed down from the lodge for bed after dinner. We got out of the car and my gosh was it dark!!! Darker than its been the entire trip. I think the moon was very small or not in the sky at all. I am staying just 2 huts down from Scott so we parked next to his hut and I took off with my flashlight. I heard Scott call for the night watchmen ( just as he does every night before bed) typically he is just near the huts sitting so Scott calls to him to make sure he is there (and awake ;)) I was already at my door when I heard him call out….there was no answer….so then I called out to Scott asking if everything was ok….no answer…so now I had a decision to make. I could either stay quiet in case something was wrong or call out again with the hope he just didn’t hear me. I decided to call out again and quickly Scott responded…phew! All was well and I locked myself in for bed. I woke up like I usually do around 4am. That morning when I woke up and opened my eyes I couldn’t see anything. When I say I couldn’t see anything I mean not even my hand in front if my face. For a moment the thought crossed my mind that I may have gone blind during the night…I kept blinking and waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but they wouldn’t. So then in order to ease my own mind I reached for my cell phone to see if I could click the light and SEE it. I had not gone blind!! Haha I was fine, it was 4ish so I laid my head back down and closed my eyes. Just another exciting adventure in the huts!

Around 7:30 Isaac picked me up and we headed to get a few more people before getting on the road to Zambia. I had no idea who else would be riding with us so it was great when we picked up the other 4 and i found out there were two ladies my age and two kids. One lady Ally had her son with her who is 11 and named Flynn. They are from Scotland. The other woman is living in Malawi teaching and decided to bring her friends daughter along on safari. Georgina (the teacher) is from  South Africa and her friends daughter who is 10 is Zimbabwean. Ally and Georgina are friends
Ally and her son had come on holiday to stay with her. So off we went with a car full and Isaac behind the wheel.

The first stop would be at the Malawi Zambian border where we would exit Malawi “officially” and then enter Zambia “officially” both at 2 separate offices situated at the border crossing. It only takes about an hour and half to reach the border so that part of the trip went quickly and smoothly. We all chatted along the way and Flynn and the other little girl (who for the life me I can’t remember her name!) were busy saying “how much longer?” And “what time will we arrive?” And “how much longer now Isaac?” It was funny to have little ones in the car asking questions and playing games 🙂 we arrived at the exit post for Malawi and all went in filled out our forms got our stamps and went back outside to wait until everyone was through. All but Georgina were outside…she called for Isaac saying there was a problem so he went back inside to translate for her. Turns out that her friends daughter had a resident visa in Malawi but it had expired in 2011. The place to pay for the extension is on the other end of the country….we called her father, but in the end there was nothing that could be done…hummmm nothing??? We all knew that wasn’t the case, but the 4 of us Ally, Georgina, Isaac and myself all had to do the “dance” with the immigration agents. There were several “meetings”, some with only Georgina and the guard, some with Isaac, Georgina and the guard, some with the little girl and Georgina and the guard, some with only Isaac and the guard…this went on for a good hour. Georgina always kept some $$ in her hand…..long story short. The final “meeting” ended with Georgina in the main immigration officers office. I was told a desk drawer was opened something was put in the drawer and then the drawer was closed and then the smack! of the stamp was placed neatly in the Zimbabwean passport 😉 all sorted and we could be on our way!

The stop at the Zambian entry point was short and sweet. I also found out that I don’t have to extend my visa in Malawi since I have left the country and when I enter back in I automatically am given another 30 days 🙂 yay for that!

We had another 5 hours or so on the road so we decided to skip stopping to eat our packed lunches and just eat on the road. The kids were so anxious to arrive at the national park so we wanted to avoid as many stops as possible.

 When I made the same trip 2 years ago it took about 10 hours. Now that the majority of the road is paved things go much more quickly. The dive is mostly along paved roads, but where there is still construction we have to weave off onto a dirt road. Usually not for more than a mile or so before we can weave back onto the tarmac.

The kids actually started counting goats in order to help pass the time 😉 if they were on one side of the car one got the “points” and on the other side of the car the other did. There were a few arguments, but it all just made for good laughs. We arrived outside the national park at Croc Vally Camp first. This is where Isaac and I are staying. Isaac then left to drop the others at a lodge inside the park. I was sad they weren’t staying at the same spot as I was because we had been getting along so well. Would have been nice to spend the next few days with all of them. Off they went though and I will see them Wednesday when we drive back together. I’m sure I will hear all kinds of cool safari stories from the kids so that will make the drive go quickly.

I was pleasantly surprised at my accommodations here at the camp. I have a family “tent” all to myself. It sleeps 4 and has a huge bathroom!! I was so excited to see running water that I quickly jumped into a hot shower 😉 gosh that felt good!! No game drives were scheduled for me so I had the afternoon and evening to just relax and settle in. I met a group from Colorado who had been working with another nonprofit in Lilongwe. Some high school students and a few of their moms. I also connected with a woman who is ex peace corps. She spent time in Madagascar and now is traveling with her boyfriend. They are from Daytona. I mentioned the few people I know from that area and actually she knew one of them! Small world! (Dinah-she is also a member of the DMC so we talked for over an hour at the bar. Nobody except for Dinah will get this comment but I wanted to throw it in for her)

I got to sit along the Luangwa river enjoying the hippos and crocodiles. A beautiful night for stars too! I went to bed around 10 because I had to be up at 5am for the game drive. I was escorted by a guard to my tent and I happily cuddled up in the fluffy warm bed. I woke a few times during the night to the LOUD sound of snorting hippos and the screaming wrestling of monkeys. All good though as I felt safe and locked in. The tent really isn’t a “tent”. It sits on a wooden platform and is as large as a regular 2 bedroom apartment. The back side where the bathroom is is bricked and then connected to the canvas tents. It even has an air conditioner in it!!

I will post about my game drives later tonight. We had one this morning and are now back for a break before the evening drive. Hope you enjoyed the post 😉
Erin