Game Count Part 2: Transect Walk

October 6-7

Honestly I wasn’t looking forward to the transect walks this year.  The water hole count was so amazing, there was no way the transects could compare.  Not to mention last year’s walks were really really hot, people ran out of water and food, and got lost. 

The drill was that we hike a transect the first day, and sit in a hide down by the river the second day.

For our 10.5km transect (which probably turned out to be more like 15km because we didn’t know where we were going) we got in the vehicle at 4am in the morning and hiked from 5:30am – 9:00am.  I wasn’t a fan of waking up so early at first, but it was a blessing in disguise because we finished the hike before it became deathly hot. 

The hike was essentially a bust as I had anticipated.  We didn’t see much of anything; a few impala, bushbuck, warthog, roan antelope, and lilian love birds.  But what do you expect when you’re trudging loudly through the bush?

And of course no story in Malawi would be complete without its transport troubles.  We waited 3 hours before being picked up in a truck with not enough space because one of the groups found an impala that had died that morning and loaded it up in the back row of the truck.  The rangers cleaned and boiled it up for us for dinner.  The impala was a dark meat that was very tender and chewy, and tasted a bit like beef.

Later that evening we were visited by the US Ambassador and her husband.  She recognized us as Peace Corps volunteers and shared a few pleasant words with us.  But half of us (including myself) didn’t know who she was.  At the time, she was just the nice woman who interrupted my turn in Dominion.  And my friend next to me was embarrassed because he didn’t have his shirt on. 

Went to bed, but woke up to a lion roaring, circling the camp looking for scraps.  No one died (or saw the lion), but the guards were all around the camp with guns in hand.

The next morning we were up again at 4am for our turn to sit in the hide.  Turns out by “hide” they meant 8km hike.  It was okay though because we got to see some cool things, like recovering a wire snare laid by poachers (which started a discussion about poaching and corruption in the park), a massive hippo skeleton, a 2-day-old bushbuck (who clumsily bounded right up to us out of the bushes), croc tracks, turtle shells, hippo, elephants, waterbuck, bushbuck, warthogs, impala, roan antelope, water buffalo, sable antelope, and lilian love birds.

We got back to camp (after only waiting an hour this time), packed up.  And after a lost transect group was recovered, we loaded up the truck and headed home.  There were about 40 volunteers all trying to get to Lilongwe, creating an Amazing Race scenario that my travel partner and I won – the finish line being a shower at the lodge.

Sidenote: PCV’s aren’t eligible for Amazing Race.  Probably a good move for them because PCV’s would crush it every time!