Waypoint Journeys Presents
The Lake of Stars
8 Days
Zomba Plateau, Liwonde and Lake Malawi, Blantyre to Lilongwe
We reply within 24 hours
Lake Malawi fills most of the country's eastern edge: more than 550 kilometres long, the third largest lake in Africa, and home to more species of fish than any other lake on Earth. David Livingstone reached it in 1859 and called it the lake of stars, after the lanterns of the fishing boats he saw on it at night.
This trip keeps to the south, where Malawi's history and much of its best country sit close together. Blantyre, the commercial capital, grew around a Church of Scotland mission founded in 1876. Zomba, the old colonial capital, sits beneath a wooded plateau that rises past 2,000 metres. Below it the Shire River drains the lake through Liwonde National Park, which African Parks has run since 2015 and restocked with cheetahs, lions and black rhino.
The route runs one way, Blantyre to Lilongwe, so no day is spent driving back, and no single drive is much longer than three and a half hours. Two nights at Mvuu Camp on the Shire, two on the southern lakeshore with a day at Cape Maclear, and a stop in a Chewa village on the way north for Gule Wamkulu, the masked dance UNESCO recognises as intangible heritage. It is a gentle week by our standards, and a full one.
"Malawi calls itself the warm heart of Africa. It is a tourism slogan, and it is also a fair account of how a stranger is received here."
African Parks took over Liwonde in 2015, fenced it and began bringing back what had been lost. Cheetahs returned in 2017, the first wild ones in Malawi in twenty years; lions followed in 2018 and black rhino from South Africa in 2019. The elephants and hippos never left.
The river is the reason to come. Boat safaris from Mvuu run through lagoons and reed beds at water level, past hippos, crocodiles on the sandbanks and elephants at the edge, in a park with more than 380 bird species on its list.
Cape Maclear and the islands off it have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, listed for the cichlids: hundreds of species, almost all found nowhere else. Off Thumbi West Island you can snorkel among the mbuna in clear, warm water.
Zomba was the capital of the British protectorate and then of independent Malawi until the 1970s. Above the old town the plateau climbs to 2,087 metres, cool and wooded, with Williams Falls and the Mulunguzi Dam on the top.
The great dance of the Chewa belongs to the Nyau, a society of initiated men who dance in masks of wood and straw: spirits, animals and characters who act out bad behaviour as a lesson. UNESCO lists it as intangible heritage. We see it danced in a Chewa village, by arrangement with the village.
Malawi's commercial capital began as a Church of Scotland mission in 1876 and takes its name from Livingstone's birthplace. Its brick church of St Michael and All Angels was raised between 1888 and 1891 by local builders, and the Chichiri Museum covers the country's history, culture and natural heritage.
Eight days north from Blantyre: the Zomba Plateau, two nights on the Shire at Mvuu Camp, two on the southern lakeshore, and up the escarpment to Lilongwe.
Blantyre to Lilongwe
Eight days north from Blantyre: the Zomba Plateau, two nights on the Shire in Liwonde, the southern lakeshore with a day at Cape Maclear, then up the escarpment to Lilongwe.
Fly into Chileka International Airport, where your driver-guide meets you for the short drive into the city. Blantyre is Malawi's commercial capital and its oldest municipality, a hilly town of some 800,000 people that grew up around a Scottish mission in the 1870s. The rest of the day is yours, with a short route briefing from your guide in the evening.
A morning in town: the Chichiri Museum for the country's history, culture and natural heritage, and the mission church of St Michael and All Angels, built by local craftsmen between 1888 and 1891. Then 76 kilometres north to Zomba, the old capital, and up the plateau road. In the afternoon we walk to Williams Falls and the Mulunguzi Dam, and the night is spent on the plateau.
Down off the plateau in the morning and north to Liwonde National Park, about three hours with a stop or two on the way. Mvuu Camp sits on the bank of the Shire inside the park. The afternoon activity is usually the first boat safari: hippos in the shallows, crocodiles on the sandbanks and, more often than not, elephants at the water's edge.
Two guided activities a day are part of the stay at Mvuu: a boat safari on the river, a game drive in the morning or toward sunset, or a walk for guests 18 and over, and from August to November the underground hide. Evening drives carry on after dark with a spotlight. Liwonde also holds black rhino, lions, cheetahs and sable; the day's plan is made with the guides.
North along the Shire to Mangochi, where the river leaves the lake, and on to the southern lakeshore: about three hours in all. The afternoon is for the beach and the water, and the evening for the light going down over the lake. The next two nights are at a comfortable lodge on the sand.
Across the Nankumba Peninsula to Cape Maclear, stopping on the way at Mwala wa Mphini, the 'rock of scars'. Cape Maclear lies inside Lake Malawi National Park, where Scottish missionaries settled in 1875 and five of them are buried. From the beach a boat takes us out to Thumbi West Island to snorkel among the mbuna, with fish eagles over the water, then back to the lodge for the evening.
Back along the lakeshore plain and up the escarpment road toward Dedza, then on to Lilongwe: about three and a half hours of driving. On the way we stop in a Chewa village for Gule Wamkulu, danced by the Nyau by arrangement with the village. The masks and costumes stand for spirits of the dead, wild animals and stock characters, and each dance carries a lesson. Night in Lilongwe, the capital since the 1970s.
A free morning, then the transfer to Kamuzu International Airport, a short drive north of the city, for your flight home. We aim to have you there by late morning, so book onward flights from early afternoon. If you would like more of Malawi, Lilongwe is the place to start, and we can extend the trip on request.
Every photograph here is our own, taken in January 2024 on the journey this itinerary follows. Open any one to see it full screen.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Expedition Investment
per person, twin share
Fully inclusive of the private vehicle and driver-guide for eight days, seven nights' accommodation, daily breakfast, all meals and two guided activities a day at Mvuu Camp, park fees in Liwonde and Lake Malawi National Park, the Thumbi West Island boat, the Chichiri Museum and the Gule Wamkulu village visit
Excludes international flights, visa fees, travel insurance, lunches and dinners away from Mvuu, drinks and tips. Single supplement $950 USD. Mvuu Lodge in place of Mvuu Camp on request, at a supplement. Runs year round on your dates; May to November is best for game viewing in Liwonde
Reserve Your SpotMalawi is a welcoming country, and most of the care on this trip goes into health and roads. Theft and robbery do happen in the cities and the lakeshore towns, so your guide will tell you where to walk and when to take a car, and valuables are best kept out of sight. Demonstrations happen from time to time, mostly around politics and prices; we keep clear of them and change the day's route if a road is closed. Malaria is present all year, so see a travel doctor about prophylaxis, and bring repellent and long sleeves for evenings by the river and the lake. Bilharzia occurs in parts of Lake Malawi; ask your doctor about that too. We drive in daylight only, with a driver-guide who knows these roads, and in Liwonde every activity is led by Mvuu's own guides. We brief every confirmed traveller in detail before departure.
