Vwaza and Lukwe

Apologies for the later than usual blog post but I’ve had quite a bit of catching up to do after returning on Tuesday from a five day trip up to the North of the country.

Last Friday I set off with Judy, Natalie, Chris and Cenk for Mzuzu. Being surrounded by mountains Mzuzu is considerably cooler and therefore greener than the rest of the country, this makes for some stunning scenery and a much wider variety of crops including coffee which the area is renowned for.

On the Friday night we stayed with some other volunteers that are stationed in Mzuzu and went on a short hike to the local reservoir which was a much needed leg stretch after five hours in the car.

Holding locals up as usual

First thing on Saturday morning we set off for Vwaza which is a national park and nature reserve that is little visited by tourists but hosts a great variety of big game and bird life.  We camped overnight in wooden chalets, right on the banks of the lake which is home to several herds of hippo. There is no electricity or running water at the camp but staff are happy to help you build a fire and will cook any food you bring with you.  

We went on two game drives during our stay at Vwaza and saw a great variety of wildlife, below is a couple of my favourite shots but be sure to check out the flickr link at the bottom of the post for the full set. The only no-show was the elephants, we saw some dung but unfortunately that’s as close as we got – maybe next time

The lack of electricity at Vwaza meant there was no light pollution at night and I was able to get some great shots of the African night sky; 

The following day we moved on once more to a little village called Lukwe near Livingstonia.  Lukwe sits right at the top of the rift valley overlooking lake Malawi, to get there we had to navigate 23 hairpin bends on a 15km dirt track which took us the best part of an hour in the car – thank god for 4 wheel drive! We stayed in an eco-lodge there for two nights, one of the most romantic and peaceful places I have ever been, the views were jaw dropping!

The lodge itself was really special too with composting toilets and gravity showers completing the eco feel. The onsite restaurant serves food all grown locally or even within the lodge grounds and was some of the best I’ve tasted since arriving in country.

During our full day in Lukwe (the Monday) we went on a long hike up into the mountains and visited a local waterfall that offered up even more stunning scenery

Tuesday was a long drive back to Lilongwe that took us the best part of 7 hours. Can’t wait to get back on safari now!

Full pictures available here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGTJsyR