A boat tour on the Shire River

When we were at Liwonde National Park, we went on a boat tour. The river is chockfull of crocodiles and hippos. While people always say that the mosquito and the hippo are the most dangerous animals, in Malawi, it is the mosquito and the crocodile. As the Shire River area has mosquitoes, hippos, AND crocodiles, I would have to say that that boat tour was me living life on the edge.

Hippos tend to be shyer creatures unless you encroach on their territory, in which case they're lethal. But they're so large that it's hard to miss them, so it's easy to stay away. There were only 2-3 deaths by hippo last year.

There were upwards of 60 deaths by crocodile last year. They lay in wait and jump out at fishermen who stand close to the banks. It's pretty terrifying if you think about it. That's upwards on my list of top ten worst ways to die.

So here's a couple of photos of the animals that we saw:

The night before, we had seen hippos grazing on the banks of the river.  They were huge. This time around, we saw tons of them in the water. 

A monitor lizard.

A raft of hippos. They rest on each other's backs.

One of the many crocs we saw. 

I think crocodiles are some of the meanest-looking creatures that exist on God's green earth.

Animals come to the river to drink, braving the crocodiles to do so.

A fish eagle and white-breasted comorent (sp? I have no idea). We saw lots of other really cool birds as well. 

Warthogs at the bank of the river.

Baby croc. This is when they're most vulnerable. Even their parents will eat them. 

Birds.

Post-boat tour. Drinking fanta on the river bank.

I love being on boats. The river was deceptively peaceful and it was a nice, sunny day. I felt so sleepy by the end. After we got back on land, we packed up and peaced out from Mvuu Lodge. It had been a lovely two days.

We went back to Lilongwe for Saturday and Sunday night. We usually stay at Mabuya Backpackers Lodge while we're in Lilongwe. It's simple, but sufficient. It's full of good vibes, and we always have a good time.

Oh, one more thing! On the way to Liwonde we drove by fields upon fields upon fields of cotton. I've never touched raw cotton before, so I asked Akim to stop the van. I got out and asked a lady by the field if I could pick a bit of cotton. She said yes, so I picked some cotton for the first time ever. She even gave me some cotton to keep. Best souvenir ever.

Cotton!