Beautiful Liwonde – Malawi’s natural world treasure

Liwonde Nationwide Park is one among Malawi’s most lovely. Positioned at the southern tip of Lake Malombe, simply south of Lake Malawi and close to the Mozambique border. Liwonde with its unbelievable natural world reintroductions and translocations, is a haven for natural world.

Liwonde is a tale of a park again from the edge of destruction and now a Large-5 safari vacation spot and one among Malawi’s key safe spaces. When tourism to Malawi was once at an rock bottom, the 548km² park fell into disrepair. Poaching and human-wildlife struggle escalated. With extra cord snares than natural world within the park, huge mammals and predators had vanished. Liwonde was once a park in terminal decline.

Reinforced via the unbelievable good fortune of close by Majete Natural world Reserve, a forward-thinking partnership was once shaped between Malawi’s Division of Nationwide Parks and Natural world (DNPW) and the non-profit organisation African Parks. In 2015 African Parks assumed control duty for Liwonde and embarked at the painstaking procedure of reworking the park right into a viable ecosystem and a promising safari vacation spot. Similarly vital was once the construction of excellent relationships between communities surrounding the park and the park itself – no safe space can flourish with out reaping rewards its human neighbours. During the last 9 years, Liwonde has been reinvented and revitalised.

After extremely efficient conservation legislation enforcement measures, utilising complex generation to give protection to and track natural world, and casting off greater than 40,000 cord snares, it was once time to convey the animals again.

In 2017, African Parks started re-establishing Liwonde’s predator inhabitants via bringing again cheetah, which have been absent from the park for a century. This was once adopted in 2018 via the reintroduction of lions. In 2021, after a 60-year absence, Liwonde won a pack of 8 endangered African Wild Canine. As good fortune would have it, some of the women was once pregnant, and the pack welcomed 9 doggies six weeks later – the primary clutter of untamed canine born in Malawi in a long time! In 2019, 17 black rhinos had been relocated from South Africa to Liwonde, in some of the greatest global black rhino translocations in historical past. The now thriving Liwonde ecosystem additionally helps large herds of over 1000 buffalo, and the park may be some of the very best puts in Africa to peer the endangered sable antelope. Natural world translocations and reintroductions have remodeled Liwonde into an actual sanctuary for Malawi’s natural world.

Unfortunately, in November 2022, tragedy struck in Liwonde. The GPS collars at the grownup wild canine went silent and after in depth looking out, the tracking workforce discovered all the pack of 18 lifeless. Poisoned. A tragedy. However in some contemporary thrilling information, African Wild Canine at the moment are again in Liwonde! In February 2024 a brand new pack of untamed canine arrived in Liwonde from South Africa. After spending a number of weeks in a protecting boma for acclimatisation, the canine had been launched into the bush and at the moment are roaming loose within the park.

One bonus of accelerating the predator numbers in Liwonde was once the go back of aerial scavengers. When African Parks took over the park in 2015, vultures had been absent. These days loads of sightings, of a minimum of six vulture species, had been recorded. Vultures apart, birding in Liwonde is phenomenal all yr spherical, with over 460 species recorded, together with some birding specials like Lillian’s love birds, Pel’s fishing owls, Boehm’s bee-eaters, and Livingstone’s flycatchers.

When to talk over with Liwonde

The most productive time to talk over with Liwonde is right through the dry season, from April to October. Because the park is dry, natural world clusters round the remainder water of the river techniques. Then again, the wet season provides its benefits. When the primary thunderstorms darken the November nights, the bushveld transforms from a veritable dustbowl to an emerald-green paradise.

5 causes to talk over with Liwonde

1. One of the very best river-based elephant, crocodile, hippo and normal natural world viewing in Africa.

2. House to the uncommon and seriously endangered black rhino.

3. Fabulous cathedral-like woodlands with just right populations of buffalo and sable antelope.

4. The fantastic perspectives of palm-studded floodplains.

5. A chook watcher’s haven with simple viewing of Pel’s fishing owl, Boehm’s bee-eaters, Lilian’s lovebirds, and Livingstone’s flycatcher.

The place to stick

As one among Africa’s better-kept secrets and techniques, the Liwonde revel in is unbelievable price for cash, with price range to high-end lodging choices to be had.

Kuthengo Camp

Positioned on a big open simple stretching in opposition to the Shire River in Liwonde Nationwide Park, Malawi, you’ll in finding Kuthengo Camp, with 4 spacious, en-suite safari tents, each and every with a bath an outside bathe, nestled amongst fever bushes and baobabs. From adventurous sport drives and strolling safaris to tranquil boat cruises alongside the grand Shire River or cooling off within the plunge pool, there’s something for everybody.

Mvuu Hotel and Mvuu Camp

Hidden among the long-lasting fever bushes of the magnificent Shire, Mvuu Hotel overlooks Namagogodo lagoon, because it flows from the park internal out in opposition to the river. 5 at ease tented chalets with personal viewing decks, 3 impressive secluded suites with plunge swimming pools and out of doors showers in each and every room. That is the easiest spot for early morning bush walks, gradual crusing at the Shire, exciting sport drives or significant neighborhood engagements.

Mvuu Camp has a impressive vantage level at the banks of the Shire River. The river is a magnet for natural world and attracts an abundance of fauna to its banks. The camp, comprising 14 devices, is a mixture of spacious stone and canvas chalets and specifically designed circle of relatives tents. An outstanding thatched eating and living room space provides an impressive river vista this is framed via two huge baobab bushes. Dinners are from time to time held below the celebs in a specifically built boma. Mvuu Camp is an ideal choice for circle of relatives commute and is most suitable for households with smaller kids because it provides a two-bedroom chalet designed for this objective.

Chimwala Bush Camp

Chimwala Bush Camp is a self-catering camp that includes 4 ensuite canvas tented suites with stone partitions and a stone circle of relatives cottage this is become independent from the principle camp. The increased thatched central space – living room, eating space, bar and swimming pool – overlooks the Shire River and floodplain beneath. The camp is tucked up in opposition to Chinguni Hill within the coloration of mopane and miombo forest. Chimwala has a fringe fence. The camp is deep throughout the park close to the best sport viewing spaces. Chimwala Bush Camp can be transformed into an absolutely catered camp in 2024, whilst the circle of relatives cottage will stay self-catering. The camp is operated via African Parks and 100% of tourism earnings earned via African Parks is going to conservation and native communities

Sarah Kingdom

Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, earlier than transferring to Africa on the age of 21, Sarah Kingdom is a mountain climber and information, commute author, yoga instructor, path runner, and mom of 2. When she isn’t hiking or touring she lives on a livestock ranch in central Zambia. She guides journeys ceaselessly in India, Nepal, Tibet, Russia, and Ethiopia, and takes climbers up Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro a lot of occasions a yr.