Malawi: Preparing base

Update from our Malawi expedition volunteering with elephants, hippo, cats, pangolins and African biodiversity

We have made it to Vwaza base camp – a long day’s drive from Lilongwe on roads that alternate between good tarmac and bumpy dirt tracks.

It’s always a pleasure to arrive at base camp and find it in good working condition. There is still much to do to get everything ready for the arrival of the expedition team on Saturday, but the camp infrastructure is in place and working. Luka, our cook, is happy with the kitchen, which is especially important!

We heard hippos and elephants near the camp on our first evening and could make out the shadowy forms of both on the open ground in front of our campfire. The elephants were close enough for us to retreat to the safety of the camp’s communal area and carry on watching them. They seemed at ease with us and eventually wandered off.

The grunts of hippos continued through the night until the birds started calling at dawn: exotic sounds for the European ear. Today we have had good sightings of elephant, baboons and impala opposite base camp, and hippos, kudu, warthogs and many birds as we have explored around the lake side in the 4×4’s.

We have a long list of tasks over the next couple of days – checking kit and protocols, reacquainting ourselves with the wildlife reserve, and generally getting everything ready so we can start the expedition smoothly and efficiently tomorrow.

Update from our Malawi volunteer expedition including elephant volunteer Africa and lion volunteer Africa