Project African Wilderness: Welcome to Mwabvi

Website designed and maintained by Nathan Dixey

Last updated 18/05/2009

All photographs except where otherwise stated are copyright Nathan Dixey

SAFARI DESTINATIONS

Project African Wilderness (PAW LTD) is Registered in Malawi (7175)

Visiting Mwabvi can fit well with a trip to other National Parks both in Malawi and Zambia. Some are close enough to visit as a day trip, while others are real destinations in their own right. If you would like to visit one or more of the Parks listed below, PAW will be delighted to arrange bookings. We even offer bespoke fully inclusive tours or if you prefer independent travel, we can also suggest itineraries to suit your specific requirements.

Lengwe National Park: Lengwe National Park is the northernmost limit in Africa where the beautiful Nyala antelope can be found. With the parks dense vegetation sighting animals is more challenging than in Malawi's other national parks although the parks bird life is very attractive, with over 300 species recorded. This 887km² national park lies along the Mozambican border west of the Shire River. Only the eastern extension of the park has been developed for tourism, but within this small area there is a good network of roads, as well as several viewing hides and a camp and campsite. With a ranger it is possible to hike all day in this majestic park.

Majete Wildlife Reserve: This Reserve can be found forty miles south of Blantyre in the Lower Shire Valley, just off the M1 road. Many animals have relatively recently been trans-located into Majete and the Reserve's infrastructure has been much upgraded, including the construction and maintenance of 150km of new roads.

Majete boasts two black rhinoceroses, 73 elephants, over 350 buffalo many waterbuck, sable antelope, nyala, zebra, Liechtenstein’s hartebeest, kudu, and many more species. It is estimated that over 2000 animals now roam the 14,000 ha Sanctuary, making Majete Wildlife Reserve a unique place with a very well-balanced eco system.

Liwonde National park: Although only 220 sq miles (580 sq km), Liwonde is perhaps the most popular of all Malawi’s game parks. It is about 100 miles (160 km) north of Blantyre and only rather more than half that distance from the hotels on the southern Lakeshore.

Game viewing is enhanced as a consequence of the Shire River flowing along its western border. The wildlife one might encounter includes quite large numbers of elephant, hippo, crocodile. kudu, sable and bushbuck. There are lions and leopards, although it is very unlikely that they will be seen, but more recently, the black rhino has been re-introduced. Birdlife is exceptionally varied. The river attracts fish eagles and weaver birds build their nests in the thin woodland. Pel’s fishing owl is often seen at dusk along the river’s edge.

Lake Malawi: This National Park, was appointed as a national park in 1980 to protect the unique diversity of tropical fish inhabiting its waters, nearly all of them being endemic to the park, which makes the underwater game viewing just as spectacular as the game viewing on land.

The Lake occupies one fifth of Malawi’s total landmass, stretching 575 kilometres in length and 85 kilometres at its widest point. The 23,000 square kilometres of this vast inland sea, is fed by 14 rivers but drained by only one, the Shire. This sluggish river begins its course to the sea at the lake's southern tip, and odd though it may seem, accounts for the dispersal of only one per cent of the lake’s volume. The lake has witnessed bloody massacres between tribes now long disappeared, as well as the horrific Arab slave trade, which terrorised its inhabitants and resulted in a large proportion of them converting to Islam. It was even the scene of the first naval ‘battle’ and British victory of the First World War! The third largest in Africa, Lake Malawi ranks twelfth in size in world terms, and is the fourth deepest. One important feature is the abundance of fish - over 350 endemic species! Senga Bay is essentially a large inlet at the eastern end of the peninsula that juts into the lake from Salima, and provides excellent beaches and crystal-clear water. It’s the perfect place for a sunset boat cruise (optional). The area is a popular destination for water sports, such as water-skiing, snorkelling, or windsurfing and is the perfect retreat for visitors with its sandy beaches, calm waters, rocky coves and a plethora of tropical fish. We have the opportunity of visiting the only cichlids fish farm in Malawi or to participate in the water sports optional.

Vwaza Wildlife Reserve: The vegetation in Vwasa Wildlife Reserve consists mainly of plain and marsh. The parks birdlife is plentiful, with more than 300 recorded species. Herds of thirty or forty elephants are regularly seen and Lake Kazuni is famous for its hippo population.

Nyika National Park: Nyika is Malawi's largest park with an area of no less than 3200 km². The name, Nyika means "where the water comes from" as the plateau's elevation makes it wetter. There is a wide variety of wildlife to be seen and the majestic scenery of Nyika National Park makes your visit worthwhile. At the heart of the park, averaging over 2000m in altitude, lies the gently undulating Nyika Plateau, where montane grassland and fern heather communities, notable for their prolific wild flowers during the rainy season, are interspersed with isolated stands of indigenous forest and exotic pine and eucalyptus plantations.

Mount Mulanje: Mulanje is one of the most picturesque towns in the whole of Malawi set amid tea estates at the southern base of the country. It is visited by most people who plan to hike on Malawi’s highest mountain. Mulanje Mountain is the rugged island in the sky high above the gentle tea-growing country of Thyolo and Mulanje districts, the oldest tea in Africa. The heights of a staggeringly proportioned granite outcrop dominate the eastern skyline. This is the Mulanje Massif, the highest mountain in Central Africa, rising almost 2km above the surrounding Phalombe Plain to an altitude of 3002m.

Zomba Plateau: Zomba Mountain rises immediately to the northeast of Zomba Town. It is one of the most popular areas in Malawi for walking and hiking. Zomba is noted mostly for its scenery and birds, but a good variety of mammals are present in small numbers. Leopards are seen from time to time, as well as the bushbuck, klipspringer and red duiker which are Antelope species. Monkeys and baboons are reasonably common in Zomba.

Zambia’s Luangwa Valley: No Trip to Malawi is complete without visiting the Luangwa Valley! This is one of Africa’s greatest remaining wildlife areas and still preserves high densities of big game along with the wide open spaces allowing visitors to feel they are really deep in “the bush”.

The Luangwa lies two days drive from Mwabvi. The Valley is in fact part of the great Rift Valley system, with lake Malawi forming a parallel leg to the East. The 2 main parks in Luangwa are the North and South Parks.

South Luangwa has always been the most popular destination for visitors. It cannot be beaten for a combination of its wildlife, birds and most importantly lack of visible developments which tend to detract from the experience of other great parks in Africa.

Having said that there are now a number of lodges coming up at the central Mfuwe area. But the park is huge and has camps in outlying areas offering equal scenic beauty and wildlife experiences for visitors moving both on foot and by vehicle.

If you are planning a safari and would like to include South Luangwa we can help you book a suitable camp to stay at and arrange your transport there and back.

North Luangwa is the real wilderness cousin of the South! It also offers some spectacular game viewing and specialises in walking safaris, but in an area 20 times the size of Mwabvi there are only 3 widely spaced lodges. For this reason you really are out there on your own amongst the animals. The park management is assisted by a project from the Frankfurt Zoological Society which has controlled poaching and allowed the game to increase after the destructive decades of the 1970s and 80s.

Luambe National Park is a small park wedged between North and South Luangwa on the east bank of the river. It is a beautiful area with some good bird watching and game viewing. There’s a lodge in the park and it makes an ideal stopover for adventurers driving between North and South Luangwa.

For information on planning and booking a safari to Mwabvi and other destinations please contact us.

Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders of the modern World. For centuries, these dazzling waterfalls were considered to be sacred and local people came here to pray and make their offerings. Only following the visit of David Livingstone on 16^th November 1855 did they come to the attention of the western world. Soon they became an integral part of the grand African tour for the adventurous and wealthy. However, only with the explosion of air travel have more people been able to view them. There can be few experiences on earth as gratifying as watching the gushing white waters of the magnificent Victoria Falls. The experience is enhanced by the fact that it is possible to walk in front of them, unlike many other waterfalls, which are seen from the side. Well-kept paths lead to different points for the views of the falls. But the most astonishing view is from the Knife Edge Bridge. This is as close as you will ever get to the falls.