The distance from Lilongwe to the lodge is about 310kms and it took us about 5 1/2 hours to the park entrance gate, 28 kms away from our lodge. The next 28k took just over an hour and was through the park skirting the Shire River. It was bumpy and dusty and slow going but we could see that the wildlife would be plentiful however what we didn’t see was the turn off to our camp.
We were stuck behind two other vehicles and it was very dusty and they kept stopping every time they thought they saw something.
I was looking right, Joyce left and we missed the sign that was just to our right on the road.
Oblivious to our situation and 2 kms later we all stopped where the road stopped, except for a small river crossing. How can we be lost?
As fortune would have it, just at that moment, a Mvuu Camp safari truck crossed the river and stopped. I got out of our truck to ask directions only to be reprimanded by the safari truck driver that there are lions in the area and you cannot leave your vehicle, give me a break but rules are rules for a reason. Fortunately the turnoff was only 2 kms back.
We pulled into the camp parking lot and were met by a lovely lady only to be told we had been upgraded to Mvuu Wilderness Lodge, just a hop, skip and jump away. We are always a little suspicious when we get an “upgrade” but this one definitely did not disappoint.
We were seriously impressed with our upgrade.
Our bungalow was more like a large luxury suite made of natural woods, canvas tenting material with wall to wall screens, a king sized bed, walk in shower, sitting area etc. all overlooking a large lagoon. It was beautiful.
The Shire River flows into Lake Malawi which eventually flows into the Zambezi River.
Lake Malawi water levels were very high which resulted in the flooding of some of the upstream river plains and forests, leaving islands of trees.
The lodge had wooden walkways that once skirted the land but now served as elevated pathways over the water. We were told some people preferred the lower water levels because it allowed some grazing animals to be near the walkways but others preferred the flooded lagoon because it gave a sense of walking through a flooded jungle. We loved it just the way it was.
We had three nights at the lodge on a full board basis. The breakfast was a standard of cereal, fruit, yoghurt and an a la carte selection of eggs, bacon, sausage and roasted tomatos.
The lunch and dinner were preset and all were delicious with amazing deserts to follow.
Our stay included game drives, walking safaris and boat excursions on the Shire River. We did one boat excursion and two drives.
The drives were good. We saw several Southern Ground hornbill, wild pig, a small pride of lions with one male, three female and three young cubs, Sable Antelope, Kudu, Roan, Elephant, Waterbuck, Eland etc. and a land that has been somewhat transformed with the high waters.
The best was the river cruise.
The scenery was spectacular and the flooded land, where once there was large grassy grazing areas hosted a large array of birdlife as well as large mammals on the shores and larger herds further off into the distance. Large flocks of African Skimmers, Spoonbills, Open bills and a myriad of other birds perched among the white topped volcano-like termite mounds that dotted the flooded landscape.
Our last night brought some elephant visitors to our bungalow and we were later told that a pair of lions visited the bungalow next to us.
We had a very good experience at Mvuu Lodge and by extension, Liwonde National Park. The staff were excellent, the food was very good, our bungalow was outstanding and we were treated to beautiful scenery and wildlife.
Our next stop, as usual, is another long drive.
Onward to Cape Maclear on southern Lake Malawi.