Woo wah wee wah. Did you all enjoy last weeks interlude?
Somebody else’s thoughts as opposed to just my drivel. Good.
Normal service is resumed this week, it was a once in a year
long sabbatical thing.
Last week I had a good week. We had struggled all the
previous week trying to get things done and sorted and it was frustrating. The
solar panel frame was, well lets just say not built to exacting standards. The
front didn’t line up with the back and the sides didn’t line up with anything.
To say it isn’t square would be like saying blancmange isn’t a strong
construction material. But we had no choice and I don’t know how many times we
put the first four panels on, then took them off and tried a different four
panels. We even got up to sixteen panels and had to straighten them all out.
But through a lot of determination and trial and error I walked into work on
Tuesday morning to see this.
 |
| The solar panel array |
And that is from this.
 |
| Car park last year |
It was a glorious sight. I kind of feel like the solar
canopy is my achievement. When I arrived here the football field was already
underway, MDC site across the village had been thought about and will be
ongoing for another couple of years but the solar canopy, although designed,
hadn’t been started when I arrived so I feel like I have achieved something.
It’s interesting though because it is not what has made the
biggest impact out here. The solar panel will provide power to the centre,
saving them money and allow it to run when the power cuts occur but the thing
that I got stopped in the street for, the one thing I have done that a woman
said thank you over and over again to me and said God bless me was the
drainage. Now before you think that Malawians have some weird affinity to storm
pipes and sewage systems they don’t. But they do like their water to be clean
and free.
The drainage run we have installed from the football field
takes all the ground water from under the netball pitch and the football pitch
and channels it away lest it become water logged. We took the decision to
expose that pipe outlet. The two previous water options were to buy it from the
local public tap, but that costs a fee, or to collect it from the previous
drainage outlet. The new one provides a much higher platform so larger buckets
can be added and it is a much higher flow rate. I think I may have mentioned
this previously but I have pictures to demonstrate the difference.
 |
| The old clean pipe was a small trickle that could only take small bowls |
 |
| New super dooper version |
 |
| Much faster flow |
I guess that is one of the big thinks out here. The haves
and have nots. On one side of the street (literally) the biggest achievement is
the solar panel canopy array and on the other is free clean water.
Incidentally it is the biggest solar panel system in Malawi.
It is not powered up yet be we are getting there.
The other thing that was achieved was the official opening
of the netball court. The extended schools workers team organised a tournament
for three local schools. We had a round robin competition with an awful lot of
vocal support to come and use our new facility. Man do they take their netball
seriously out here. The eventually winners then went on a singing dancing tour
of the whole of Chilomoni showing off the trophy. They could be heard singing
all around the valley for the rest of the afternoon – and fair play to them.
 |
| From this... |
 |
| to this. |
 |
| with these! |
The second week was our holiday.
Whoop whoop. Six intrepid
explorers decided to brave the wilds of African border crossings and travel to
Zambia for a safari, more specifically to the South Luangwa National Park. The
drive itself was not bad, although a whole day to get there but I would like to
explain a little about getting a car across a border here. I have never done it
but I am pretty sure in Europe it is a quite straight forward endeavour – ah
the good ol’ EU. But here nu-uh!
First job was to get the certificates from the police
station to demonstrate the cars weren’t stolen. When we arrived to a foul
smelling police station – the toilets were not pleasant and the whole place
stank – we proudly produced our Registration Docs. We were then told that as
one of the cars was borrowed we needed to have a letter from the owner giving
us authorisation. We went and sat in a coffee shop and ‘obtained’ said letter
and returned. We then handed over the fee and got the certificates per car.
Jump to the border (we didn’t jump to the border we drove
but this is demonstrate that I have now skipped forward in the story to
illustrate the bureaucracy – saves writing space and time – or was supposed
to!)
At the Malawi border we had to fill in a large log book
which holds a record of every car that has left the country – it’s like a
signing out book for cars. Then we have to apply for an export license, then we
have to pay for our export license and receive our receipt.
Cross the border.
In Zambia we then have to sign the cars into the country in
their signing in book. Apply for an import license which again we have to pay
at a separate window and receive our receipts and the import tax.
A little woman then came up and provided us with insurance
documents.
A then a man told us we have to pay the local authority road
tax to drive on the roads.
We had paper coming out of our ears – twice (two cars!)
But to be fair it was actually, despite the forms and number
of pieces of paper, all straight forward.
And then boom we were in Zambia!
Our safari package was thus;
Tuesday – arrive eve – evening meal – we got a free bottle
of wine as it was our wedding anniversary (I knew those 8 years weren’t all for
nothing!*)
We had two full days;
5.00am woken up by a
small Zambian at the window saying ‘hello’.
5.30 breakfast – tea, coffee, juice, the best toast
south of the Sahara ( I don’t know if they have good toast in the Sahara but
it’s definitely toastie there)
6.00 leave on first game drive.
8.00 have mid game
drive break of tea/coffee
10.30 get back from game drive, sit in comfy chairs by river
and watch crocodiles and hippos whilst reading books.
11.30 lunch followed by more sitting and reading and
watching.
3.00 Afternoon tea/coffee with cake.
3.30 evening drive
6.00 Sundowners and roasted nuts/popcorn
8.00 return from drive for dinner.
9.30 roll into bed because all we have done is sit, spot
animals and eat!
Day two
Repeat day one. J
As you can see we ate pretty well. But you don’t want to
know that you want to know about the animals! Well firstly the crocs there are
freakishly huge!
 |
| Smile at the crocodile |
The second thing you need to know is we saw this little
girl.
 |
| hello kitty...(alice) |
 |
| this is without zoom! |
Was she beautiful. Just sitting in the road as we came round
the corner. Padded up to us, had a look around, fixed her eyes on Debbie,
walked all the way up to Debbie, scared the crap out of Debbie who thought she
was going to jump into the car so she moved away and practically sat on Kate’s
lap, then sauntered off – the leopard not debbie. A.Maz.Ing.
The lions on the first night drive were pretty darn cool as
well. Four males. All on a mission, they were not stopping for anyone and simple
swayed passed our car as if we weren’t there. Loads of giraffes, zebras. A baby
Elephant was bouncing around as well. In fact the herd that he was part of was
very funny. Our driver parked up in front of them and turned the engine off.
Maybe 20 elephants then came wandering over and split to go both sides of the
car, so close that one decide to give it a little back heel as he went past –
most have been watching the world cup. It was a delight to be in such a nice
place watching all these birds and animals.
 |
| Mr Lion |
Full list of animals we saw ( in no particular order)
Giraffes – only place in the world to see the Thornicroft
Giraffe,Zebra – collective noun is a dazzle! Puku, waterbuck, impala, water
buffalo, elephant, hippo, crocodile, bushbuck, warthog, bush pig, leopard,
lion, hyenas (night drive and looked exactly like Whoopi Goldberg in that there
Lion King movie), Civet, genet, bushy tailed mongoose, banded mongoose, scrub
hare, four toed elephant shrew (too quick to check his toes though), yellow
baboon, vervet monkey and kudu.
Birds; emerald spotted wood dove, saddled billed stork, open
billed stork, spoonbill, lilac breasted roller, paradise wydah, white browed
sparrow weaver, greater blue eared glossy starling, long tailed glossy
starling, brown crown tchagra, white browed robin chat, dark capped bulbul,
yellow bellied bulbul, forked tailed drongo, red billed hornbill, ground
hornbill, malachite kingfisher, pied kingfisher, giant kingfisher, white
fronted beeeater, little bee eater, red faced mouse bird, go away bird, African
fish eagle, bateleur, western banded snake eagle, helmeted guinea fowl, red
necked franklin, crowned crane, white crowned plover, African jacana, Egyptian
goose, spur winged goose, sacred ibis, yellow billed stork, hamerkop, grey heron,
black headed heron, cattle egret, red billed oxpecker, red billed buffalo
weaver, steel blue indigo bird, honey buzzard, red billed fire finch, red
billed quelea, bennets woodpecker, crowned hornbill, trumpeter hornbill, green
wood hoopoe, night jar, white backed vulture, white browed coucal, laughing
dove, ring necked dove, water dikkop, swainson francolin, ringed plover, hadeda
ibis, great egret, tawny eagle, and a marsh harrier.
And that was that.
 |
I reckon I could 'ave em Dad.
Go on then son. |
 |
| Think they've had a fight! |
We then proceeded to proceed back to Malawi (no forms at the
border just handing back the licenses) and up to Cape MacLear for the boat race
and some sun. Every two years they have a catamaran race up the lake so we went
along to watch them. Saturday was the capsizing drills which was very funny
seeing grown men fall off a boat they are trying to right. Then Sunday was the
first race round one of the islands. I didn’t get up at 6 to watch the start (
enough 5 o’clock starts the week before) but I didn’t see them coming back and
man they guys that won smashed the rest of the field. The rest of the weekend
was pretty much beverages, silly games and watching the football!
Woo wee.
And people that was the week that was!
STATMAN
Solar Panels - 120
Weight - 25 kg each
Power - 220watts
Kids at netball - I'd say around 500
Teams - 3 of U14s
Miles driven on holiday – 1547 kilometres
Animals seen – 24
Birds seen - 62
Catamarans at the lake – 20
Lions seen – 5
Leopards seen – 2 (one was a fleeting glance)
Journey games played – too many to count
Pieces of paper required for two cars at the border – 17
People who will go back and count the birds and animals -
half
* If there is no blog next week that’s cos Pam’s gone and
read this weeks blog and I is in a lions belly or something.
