Liwonde National Park, Malawi

Mvuu Lodge private guest bath. Liwonde National Park, Malawi with vacationtechnician.com

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Livingstone's Africa

The Shire is not a river whose name carries the evocative resonance of the Nile, the Congo or the Zambezi. Outside Malawi, few people even know how to pronounce it. Fewer still would be able to place the Shire (and that's pronounced Shi-ree, by the way) on a map.

But the Shire should not be denied its 15 minutes of fame. This was the waterway followed by David Livingstone after his dream of using the Zambezi as a highway into the African interior was dashed against the impassable rapids now buried beneath the dam at Cahora Bassa. Had Livingstone not followed the course of the Shire into Malawi, then the wave of Scots missionaries who arrived there in his wake would in all probability have stayed at home. Indeed, it is unlikely that Malawi would exist as we know it today.

So, the Shire has secured its place in history. It is also Malawi's largest and most significant waterway, flowing from the southern tip of Lake Malawi through the Rift Valley into Mozambique, where it merges with the mighty Zambezi. For much of this length, the Shire today would be unrecognizable to Livingstone, but there is one small section that has retained the feel of untrammeled Africa, one place left where the herds of elephant and innumerable hippos that haunted the river in Livingstone's day can still be seen. That place is Liwonde National Park.

Liwonde National Park covers a 548-square-kilometre area of dry grassland and dense mopane woodland between Lake Malombe and the town of Liwonde in southern Malawi. Its dominant physical feature is the Shire River, fringed by raffia palms, papyrus beds, baobabs and riparian woodland. This is the archetypical African river scene, where pods of hippos snort and splash around every bend, murderously large crocodiles slumber on the banks, elephants appear from deep in the reeds to drink, and birds are simply everywhere.

The eastern bank of the Shire is the setting for Mvuu Camp and Lodge, the only accommodation in the park. Most visitors reach Mvuu either by boat from the small town of Liwonde, or by road to the west bank of the river opposite the camp and are ferried across. Whichever route they choose to approach the park, they cannot help but notice its most striking aspect: the abrupt transition from the degraded vegetation and impoverished villages that characterize modern rural Malawi to the more timeless scene of quintessential Africa.

This sense of crossing from one reality into another seems all the more remarkable considering that Liwonde faces the same human pressures as any comparatively small conservation area in a densely populated country. Like many reserves in Malawi, it suffered heavily at the hands of poachers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and even today attracts an unacceptably high level of subsistence poaching. However, recent improvements in training and funding mean that the perimeter is now patrolled regularly, and the staff of Mvuu report that the number of snares being found is a mere fraction of what it was a few years ago.

We noted a visible increase in mammal populations between our first visit to the park in the winter of 1995 and a later trip at the same time of year in 1998. Waterbuck and impala are numerous in the open country around Mvuu; bushbuck lurk in the nearby thickets, which are also the favored haunt of yellow baboons and vervet monkeys; and the mopane woodland away from the camp supports a stable population of roughly 500 sable antelope. Current estimates place Liwonde's elephant population in excess of 600, a marked improvement on the 1995 census figure of 414. And it doesn't take long to understand why the camp is called Mvuu, the local name for hippo. Some 2000 to 3000 of these aquatic beasts are resident in the stretch of river running through the park - not quite wall-to-wall hippos, but an average of 50 to 75 for every kilometer.

By contrast, predator populations have declined in recent years. Leopards are thought to be present in significant numbers, and a recent sighting of a female with five sub-adults bodes well for the future. Spotted hyaenas are seldom seen according to the rangers, but we came across their distinctive white droppings several times, and even heard one calling at night. Lions, once common, are locally extinct. In 1996 the last remaining pride of 12 wandered into an agricultural area where five of them were shot, one was stoned to death, and one was captured and returned to the park, only to disappear again within days. The other five are thought to have crossed into Mozambique.

Talk of re-introducing lions to Liwonde is unlikely to translate into a firm plan until the authorities can be reasonably certain that the big cats can be contained within the reserve. There is, however, an exciting programme of other re-introductions underway, with buffalo, zebra, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, eland and reedbuck all scheduled to arrive before the end of 1999. Liwonde's most celebrated re-introduced are Justerini and Brooks, a pair of black rhinos brought to Malawi in 1993 under the sponsorship of J&B Whisky, for which they are named. The rhinos have thrived, and in 1997 boosted Malawi's rhino population by fifty per cent when their first calf was born. Another pair of relocated black rhinos joined the trio in late 1998.

One of the highlights of a visit to Mvuu is a boat safari by night. We set off about an hour before dusk and, after countless close encounters with hippos and crocodiles, watched as the red sun dropped behind silhouetted palms. A rousing chorus of frogs and insects was broken occasionally by the explosive chuckling and snorting of nearby hippos. We cruised along the forested riverbank, getting close to giant, pied and malachite kingfishers, as well as flocks of little bee-eaters huddled up along branches. Exploring the Shire by night gives visitors a better than even chance of encountering two of southern Africa's most sought-after birds in nocturnal action. We caught sight of a Pel's fishing owl swooping between trees before landing on a bare branch above the water, and only minutes later our spotlight picked up the distinctive markings of a white-backed night heron.

It is birds as much as mammals that form our most enduring memories of Liwonde. Fish eagles are abundant; it was rare for ten minutes to pass without our hearing their distinctive cry. Even by day, our boat was able to get close to the multitude of waterbirds that forage along the river: purple and squacco herons, dainty jacanas, ibises, spoonbills, ducks, and much else besides. In winter, when thousands of white-breasted cormorants settle along the river to breed, the trees on which they nest can be recognized from afar by their guano-drenched trunks.

For serious birdwatchers, Liwonde ranks as lifer territory par excellence. To date, 379 of the 651 species known to occur in Malawi have been recorded in the park, and a busy birder could expect to encounter half of these species in the course of a few days. Oddly, however, this is not a great place to tick a substantial number of 'Malawi specials' (one notable exception being the brown-breasted barbet). Its attraction to South African birders is the high probability of ticking a number of species more difficult to see further south, such as the palm-nut vulture, western banded snake eagle, black egret, Böhm's bee-eater, Lilian's lovebird, collared palm thrush, eastern bearded robin, and Livingstone's and fan-tailed flycatchers, all of which we encountered in the vicinity of the camp. Another Mvuu special is the bat hawk, which breeds nearby and can be seen hawking above the river at dusk. We also saw a spur-winged plover, which is not listed in most field guides to Malawi as it is a recent record for the country.

On our first morning at the camp we awoke shortly before sunrise to experience ten minutes of quite incomparable beauty. As the night sky paled behind the palm-lined river, the air erupted suddenly into an ethereal wall of song, frog-like in its density, but with an unmistakably avian quality. This, we were told later, is the dawn chorus that gives the collared palm thrush its alternative vernacular name of morning warbler. There must have been dozens of these birds calling at the same time, their songs weaving in and out of each other like a hundred chimes being played at random.

Liwonde is an underrated reserve. Viewing game from a boat is always a magical experience, especially when you see elephants coming down to drink. The game-viewing can only improve as more species are re-introduced, and the birding is superlative in every respect. But what makes Liwonde truly special is the sense of place and atmosphere generated by the Shire River, its wide, sluggish waters the setting for a feast of sights and sounds that are overwhelmingly African.

ACCOMMODATION
Mvuu Camp and Lodge offers accommodation ranging from an exclusive lodge - run as a discrete entity from the main camp and comprising five standing tents with en-suite showers and toilets - to a campsite. The main camp, adjacent to the campsite, comprises about 12 standing tents and rondavels. Game drives, morning walks and boat trips are run out of the camp. Accommodation rates range from US$230 per person per day full-board at the lodge, inclusive of all activities.

ACTIVITIES:Beaches, Bird Watching, Boating, Cultural Exploration, Curio Shopping, Cycling, Hiking, Horse Riding, Sightseeing, Wildlife Viewing

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