Day 11: Part 3 begins .... Zambia to Malawi

We started today with a 4.30 alarm to get us ready for our final day in the wonderful South Luangwa National Park. Before our final day we had to pack up all our kit and put the tents away. It was an early start but completely worth it as we were on a mission, a mission to complete our BIG 4. We were sad to hear that we were not going to see the BIG 5 (Elephants, Lions, Leopard, Water Buffalo and Rhino) as sadly all the Rhino had been poached in the park in the last few years. We had seen this week Elephants, Leopards and Water Buffalo. But no Lion. It was something we all really wanted to see. So our lion adventure began. After a big bowl of porridge, we were off. Akim (our safari driver) picked us up at 6am and got the instruction from Sharon "LIONS!!". We headed into the park. We were again lucky enough to see even more elephants, giraffes and zebras. After 2hrs 30 mins of searching for lions, Akim got a call and we were on the lions trail. We spotted a 4 year old male lion. We could not believe our luck. Akim then drove off around the corner, and we were 3 metres away from a pack of 15 lions sitting under a tree with their cubs. We were incredibly lucky to have such amazing Game Drives. And seeing the lions this morning topped it all off. We came back buzzing from our lion sighting, but it was time to move again. 

Back on the bus and off to Malawi! Part 3 of our journey was about to begin. 

Doc plugged in the group iPod which went down really well and we sang for nearly 2 hours. It took 2hrs 30 mins to get to our first stop, Chipata where we stopped for lunch and did a quick shop and were delighted when the leaders said they were treating us to takeaway pizza!. 

We then completed border control for the second time and arrived back in Malawi. It was a short 2 hour drive to Mabuya campsite in Lilongwe. We managed to arrive before dark and were happy to have got all our tents set up and dinner on by 6. Whilst waiting for dinner we all sang campfire songs and then tucked into Steak, Mash and Sweet corn, (not your everyday Girl Guiding camp dinner). An early night was definitely in order and nearly everyone is now tucked up ready for a nice long sleep, after an eventful day. 

EOK