When we first moved to Malawi, we found a car pretty quickly.  There was an Irish missionary who was leaving the country and needed to sell her car.  It wasn’t the most stylish car and had more than its share of a rusty bumper, but it was 4-wheel drive and had high clearance.  At the time, we didn’t know how important those factors would be!

We loved our “green car.”  We could haul all kinds of stuff, go to the village even in the rainy season, and do just about everything we needed to do.

But after a few years, the 1991 Toyota Hilux Surf started showing her age.  We had liked this car so much that it was tempting to keep fixing the many signs of old age; however, we knew that the longer we waited, the more money we would be pouring into this car.  It was time for a new car.  So we started looking, and this time it wasn’t as easy as the first time around.  We looked for months. Because Malawi imports all their cars from South Africa, England, or Japan – right-side steering wheel! – cars are expensive.  And because you don’t know the car’s history, there are a lot of questionable cars.  Eventually we found a great deal on a 1997 Toyota Hilux Surf (same as the green car, just newer model), and decided to buy it to keep us mobile in between the “green car” and “the car we really wanted.”  But as mentioned, it was a great deal, so we figured there must be something very wrong with this car.

We drove the “white car” for several weeks before we had to take it in to get something fixed.  We took it to one of the best mechanics in Lilongwe (um, not the one pictured above…) and asked his opinion on the car.  We’d started to grow fond of it, but didn’t want to get too attached because the plan was to replace it as soon as we could find “the car we really wanted.”  But the mechanic surprised us and said that the car was in great condition and would likely last us many years.  There was just one other thing that bothered us.  The car was a good deal… had it been stolen?  A quick trip to the Interpol office cleared that up.  With our minds at ease about the reliability and legitimacy of this car, it suddenly dawned on us – we had already found “the car we really wanted.”

So this post is a thank you to the many of you who read of our need for a car in our newsletters and graciously helped us raise the money for it.  Between what was donated and the sale of the “green car,” we were able to cover the costs of “the car we really wanted.”  We’ve enjoyed the reliability (and air conditioning!) of our new car immensely, and are so thankful to have a great car that we can do everything with, from grocery shopping to taking extra people to church camp.  Thank you!

We found a little window for vacation a couple weeks ago.  The Biedebachs are back in the country now, Rachel’s not TOO pregnant yet, and Abi was still 2 (read that as “free admission, room and board”).  So with still-valid multiple entry visas to Zambia, we jumped at the chance to see one of the best game parks in southern Africa: South Luangwa.

All packed and ready to go!  We’re used to camping here in Africa, but we decided to do this trip a little differently.  With border crossings, an unknown location in a foreign country, and pregnancy at 6 1/2 months, we decided to ride on a 15 passenger bus with 11 strangers and stay in a lodge.

The lodge we stayed at had stone and canvas chalets.  It was a cute little place, complete with our own bathroom and room enough to add an extra bed for Abigail.

One of the lodge staff would use this drum to call us all to meals.  Once Abi showed up, his job was in jeopardy! =)  As a side note, the trees right behind Abi are part of the lodge property, and the trees in the background are across the Luangwa River, actually in the national park.  We sat on the edge several times a day and watched baboons, impala, puku, crocodiles, and lots of hippos.  We were so close to the park that at night we had to be escorted from our chalet to the lodge for dinner because elephant regularly walk through the grounds foraging for yummy trees and fruit.

The lodge took good care of us.  Most meals were served in the open-air lodge, but one day for lunch they put us all out under the trees on the river’s edge – truly dining al fresco.

On to the safaris… South Luangwa has some of the best game viewing in southern Africa.  We’ve read lots of different claims, but it’s something like the largest variety of game in the smallest amount of time/area.  We discovered a little late in the trip that we didn’t have the greatest guide, but we were still able to see a lot of animals on our 2 morning and 2 night safaris.

By “morning safari,” they meant “wake up at 5am.”  This was a little much for Abigail, who would crawl out of her bed and straight into our bed!  But that grin should tell you that she wasn’t missing a thing and would be in the Land Rover as soon as possible!

 And by “night safari,” they meant “it’s very dark and you can only see what the spotlight will let you see.”  South Luangwa is one of only a handful of parks that allows night drives, but it was on the night drives that we saw lion and leopard!

We weren’t sure what we were going to do with Abi while on safari drives.  We’ve been practicing using a normal or quiet voice, but she really likes to talk loudly – especially if she sees an impala, her favorite animal.  So we thought we’d take her on the first morning drive and see how she did.  As it turned out, we were put in a safari vehicle with 4 college students from southern California, and I’m pretty sure they made more noise than Abi did, so it was all good!  We did end up leaving her with a babysitter for the first night drive, and then Rachel stayed back with her for the second night drive.  Baby Flo 2.0 had had enough of all those bumpy roads…

We saw sunrise and sunset from the back of an open Land Rover.  Even without animals in sight, this is an amazingly beautiful park.

But animals we did see!  Giraffe, impala, puku, warthog, elephant, guinea hens, lilac breasted rollers, waterbuck, leopard, lion, hyena, genet, mongoose, serval, monitor lizard, crocodile, hippo, baboons, monkeys, Cape buffalo, love birds… I’ll bet you had to look a couple of those animals up. =)  We did too!  And if you want to see more animals – the professional shots – check out Matt’s Flickr page.  He has already posted 35 pictures from our first 2 safari drives, with more from drives 3 & 4 coming in the next couple weeks.  Seriously, they’re good, and I (Rachel) will shamelessly promote it on this blog!  =)

Speaking of photographers, we apparently have another one in the family.  Abigail took this picture of Matt setting up a shot on the river’s edge.

And she’s learning how to track animals.  Give her a few more years and we won’t need to hire a guide any more.  She’s already an expert at tracking hippos.

Matt recorded our safari routes on GPS, and we were surprised to discover that we’d covered only about 1% of the park during all 4 safari drives we were on.  I can’t imagine how many more animals there are out there…  Abigail was eager to see as many as possible, so kept encouraging our driver to go faster!

But every once in a while, a 30 second nap was required to keep her going.

All in all, it was a good trip.  Lots of photos, good family time, and we came home saying “that was good, but it’s also good to be home” – the sign of a good vacation.

Happy safaris to the rest of you!

Abigail is getting to the age where she loves to explore, and Africa is the perfect place for explorers!  She comes shopping with me every Tuesday morning, and while she has explored most of the shops we regularly visit, we have discovered a new favorite place to visit on Tuesdays…

ProtoFeeds is our stop to buy dog food, but we’ve also discovered that they sell day-old baby chicks for about $1 apiece.  Each box contains 100 peeping little furry friends!

The guys always ask if she wants to hold a chick, but Abigail prefers to sit and watch… and tell everyone else in the store what’s in the boxes!

This week we spent our free day (Wednesday) exploring the southern end of Lilongwe, which is nicknamed “India Town.”  It’s a busy place full of little shops crammed into long buildings, lots of pedestrians, and all kinds of interesting things to see.  Including the man in the foreground of this picture who is climbing into his hand-peddled wheelchair.

We also went to the open market along the banks of the Lilongwe River.  This place is even busier, with bartering, over-eager salesmen, and piles of clothes, electronics, fabrics, shoes, pots, soap, headphones, hand-painted signs… all kinds of treasures.  This picture is actually outside of the market so doesn’t look too busy, but the fence on the right side of the picture is full of black suit coats for sale – every shape, size, and pattern!

Back in the main shops, while I shopped for fabric, Matt and Abi stayed outside the shop and watched the tailor work his old Singer treadle machine.

The old Singer machine isn’t the only “old fashioned” tailoring item used here.  I found this gem in the ditch right next to the tailor, filled with coals and ready to iron!

It may be winter here in sub-Saharan Africa, but it’s still warm enough to stop for a cool orange Fanta on a busy day.  And then we’re off for more exploring!