Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Koma Croc: A crocodiles' paradise
KOMA CROC: A CROCODILES’ PARADISE
By
Patrick Achitabwino
What comes to mind when people think of Mangochi is the azure Lake Malawi and Malawi’s pride, Chambo fish. The current strong advocacy for turning Mangochi into a tourism haven in a bid to turn tourism into Malawi’s gold has heavily been based on the presence of Lake Malawi and its wonderful shores highly spiced with numerous holiday resorts.
A trip to Koma Croc will let you realize that Mangochi has more to offer beyond the lake and delicious Chambo fish. Ever heard of anywhere in the country where the most feared animals, crocodiles, are bred for tourism? Koma Croc is the place. A single trip to the place will assure you that Malawi has more to offer in the tourism sector than meets the eye. Perhaps we only lack the vision, will and desire to diversify our minds.
The crocodiles’ haven is almost 25 kilometers away from Mangochi boma towards Monkey bay. A few kilometers before reaching a path to Lake Malawi National Park is a sign post written “Koma Croc” pointing a dusty road to the right that snakes through the edge of a hill. It is that road that leads to the amazing land of crocodiles.
The place looks more deserted with a few buildings. A single glance at the office of the Koma Croc is enough to tell you that you have dared to visit crocodiles in their territory. On the wall is nailed a skin of a slained crocodile.
Cast your eyes on a large tree close to the office; you will be assured that perhaps some crocodile hunters once challenged the mighty crocodiles. There is also nailed another skin of a crocodile, a rare sight indeed.
The adventure starts with a payment of K50 per head. You will not walk anyhow. The office has a guide, who for stage one will take you to a waist-high, roofless building. It has a small dam within. You stand by the waist-high wall as he courageously jumps into the building. Small crocodiles gather in groups, basking in the sun.
Drama begins when the tour guide gathers courage to challenge any of the small crocodiles. He is trained to catch them, perhaps the making of our own “Malawian crocodile hunter”. He provokes one small crocodile with a stick then it jumps towards it and as it falls to the ground he slightly pins it down to the ground with the stick around its neck. It wriggles its head and tail powerlessly. Next, he grabs it by the mouth and tail then takes it close to you. Finally he throws it back into the little dam.
“If that has to bite you, it can not cause great harm,” he assured me though I could not be that courageous to follow suit.
The next destination is some cages where middle sized crocodiles are kept. Perhaps they are then grown up into more lethal animals, he dares not touching any of them, let alone stepping into their cage.
Finally you are taken into a large building, over two meters high, roofless. In it large crocodiles are in different compartments. There is one pavement for visitors to walk through in admiration of the crocodiles. The pavement is separated from the crocodiles with wire fences.
You see large crocodiles basking in the sun, others swimming lazily in the dams within. It excites to learn some tricks crocodiles use to catch their prey. I saw a crocodile with its eyes closed, mouth agape. You might think it is dead.
“Its mouth stinks,” the guide told me and my colleagues. “That’s why you can see all those houseflies flying into its mouth.”
A crocodiles is clever, once many houseflies fill its mouth, it closes it and swallows them. The trick continues over and over.
But just as many tourism places are in the country, the crocodile farm needs a face lift. It must be highly cared for to attract the attention of tourists. With the Blantyre zoo existing in history books, if well cared for and publicized, the Koma Croc can be the best place where families might be going for a closer look at the fearsome animals. It can also be a good place for educational visits.
Author is Membership Services Officer for the Society of Accountants in Malawi (SOCAM) in Blantyre
By
Patrick Achitabwino
What comes to mind when people think of Mangochi is the azure Lake Malawi and Malawi’s pride, Chambo fish. The current strong advocacy for turning Mangochi into a tourism haven in a bid to turn tourism into Malawi’s gold has heavily been based on the presence of Lake Malawi and its wonderful shores highly spiced with numerous holiday resorts.
A trip to Koma Croc will let you realize that Mangochi has more to offer beyond the lake and delicious Chambo fish. Ever heard of anywhere in the country where the most feared animals, crocodiles, are bred for tourism? Koma Croc is the place. A single trip to the place will assure you that Malawi has more to offer in the tourism sector than meets the eye. Perhaps we only lack the vision, will and desire to diversify our minds.
The crocodiles’ haven is almost 25 kilometers away from Mangochi boma towards Monkey bay. A few kilometers before reaching a path to Lake Malawi National Park is a sign post written “Koma Croc” pointing a dusty road to the right that snakes through the edge of a hill. It is that road that leads to the amazing land of crocodiles.
The place looks more deserted with a few buildings. A single glance at the office of the Koma Croc is enough to tell you that you have dared to visit crocodiles in their territory. On the wall is nailed a skin of a slained crocodile.
Cast your eyes on a large tree close to the office; you will be assured that perhaps some crocodile hunters once challenged the mighty crocodiles. There is also nailed another skin of a crocodile, a rare sight indeed.
The adventure starts with a payment of K50 per head. You will not walk anyhow. The office has a guide, who for stage one will take you to a waist-high, roofless building. It has a small dam within. You stand by the waist-high wall as he courageously jumps into the building. Small crocodiles gather in groups, basking in the sun.
Drama begins when the tour guide gathers courage to challenge any of the small crocodiles. He is trained to catch them, perhaps the making of our own “Malawian crocodile hunter”. He provokes one small crocodile with a stick then it jumps towards it and as it falls to the ground he slightly pins it down to the ground with the stick around its neck. It wriggles its head and tail powerlessly. Next, he grabs it by the mouth and tail then takes it close to you. Finally he throws it back into the little dam.
“If that has to bite you, it can not cause great harm,” he assured me though I could not be that courageous to follow suit.
The next destination is some cages where middle sized crocodiles are kept. Perhaps they are then grown up into more lethal animals, he dares not touching any of them, let alone stepping into their cage.
Finally you are taken into a large building, over two meters high, roofless. In it large crocodiles are in different compartments. There is one pavement for visitors to walk through in admiration of the crocodiles. The pavement is separated from the crocodiles with wire fences.
You see large crocodiles basking in the sun, others swimming lazily in the dams within. It excites to learn some tricks crocodiles use to catch their prey. I saw a crocodile with its eyes closed, mouth agape. You might think it is dead.
“Its mouth stinks,” the guide told me and my colleagues. “That’s why you can see all those houseflies flying into its mouth.”
A crocodiles is clever, once many houseflies fill its mouth, it closes it and swallows them. The trick continues over and over.
But just as many tourism places are in the country, the crocodile farm needs a face lift. It must be highly cared for to attract the attention of tourists. With the Blantyre zoo existing in history books, if well cared for and publicized, the Koma Croc can be the best place where families might be going for a closer look at the fearsome animals. It can also be a good place for educational visits.
Author is Membership Services Officer for the Society of Accountants in Malawi (SOCAM) in Blantyre
