Day 29. Sat 15th May
Mwabvi, second trip, day 2.
Today Lester takes me for a walk around the south-eastern end of the park.
Auxies drops me off at the gate house just after six and asks Lester when
we will be back. Lester says about 1. I assume he is overestimating, but
he isn't - we walk for seven hours. It is a good walk, and we see a variety
of landscapes and habitats, as well as some wildlife, kudu, greater kudu,
impala, grysbok and common duiker, the first mammals I have seen in Mwabvi.
At one point Lester stops because he hears voices and thinks it might
be poachers. I ask what he will do if it is, and he shows me his handcuffs.
I nearly ask what he will do if there are more than two and they are bigger
than us, but it turns out that they are on the other side of the boundary
river and so not within the park. Nevertheless there are clear signs of
poaching to be seen, such as a healthy tree felled simply to harvest honey
from the bee hives in it.
By the time we get back to the gate house the sun is at its zenith and
I am exhausted - I knew I should have got fitter before I came out. My
condition is not helped by the fact that I foolishly only took 1½
litres of water with me, and when Auxies rolls up with the cool box I drink
the best part of 2 litres straight off.
Auxies very kindly gives me some of his Chambo fish for lunch, which
looks revolting but is actually very tasty. After lunch I rest up and supervise
the building work.
I get sausage, beans, rice and some unidentified "green vegetables" for
my supper - still, it's dark so I can't actually see what I'm eating, and
it tastes OK. After supper Auxies offers me a sample of local beer which
he has picked up at a shop in Bangula. It looks like tea, has the consistency
of flour and water and tastes foul, also I think he drank out of the bottle
first. Oh well! I force a few sips down, and then return it with thanks
and fetch a can of Castle from the cool box (which is beginning to pong!)