As seen on
Conservation safaris & Lake Malawi
Malawi
From
This trip supports
- Overview
- Itinerary
- Esential info
- Packing list
Grade:
Entry Level
Type:
Wildlife
Transfers
Duration:
9 Nights
4 - 8
Group size
Leaders
Tour Highlights
- Affordable, but thrilling safaris
- World-class reserves packed with game
- Tour of the Satemwa Tea Estate
- Swimming & snorkelling in Lake Malawi
- Lazing on golden lakeside beaches
- Real, raw Africa at its best
Swollen baobabs rise from fiery soils that burn the colour of cayenne pepper and hills ripple like waves into the horizon. Sliced by the Great Rift Valley, ‘the warm heart of Africa’ is a geological wonder of raw and astounding scenery. Often overshadowed by its brash neighbours Zambia and Tanzania, Africa’s best kept safari secret has none of the crowds but every bit of the wild energy that pulses through this continent.
A conservation success story, Malawi’s national parks are flourishing once more with the help of non-profit conservation organisation African Parks and bodies like the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Reintroductions of big cats and black rhinos have put these protected areas on a par with some of Africa’s greatest stars of the savannah. Experience them now before others arrive at a fraction of the cost while contributing to their ongoing progress.
(Available as a small group tour or private adventure)
If you would like to learn more about Malawi, you can watch our webinar here.
In Majete Wildlife Reserve in the southwestern part of the country, the roar of lions now competes with the thrashing rapids of the Shire River, packed with pods of hippos and crocodiles lazing on sandy banks. More than 100km north along the waterway, cheetahs prowl the floodplains of Liwonde National Park, their shadows weaving between the silhouettes of date palms at dusk. Safari by road or boat, listening to the squeals of fish eagles as malachite kingfishers flit past in a brilliant flash of colour.
While the Shire is off limits for swims, you can find respite from the African heat in Lake Malawi, home to more species of fish than any other lake on the planet. Snorkel with 700 types of cichlids and relax in hammocks on Crusoe-style islands.
This is raw Africa without the frills and fuss, the stress or chaos. Children play on wooden scooters, women weave baskets by the roadside and the twinkling lanterns of fishing boats shine as brightly as they did for David Livingstone when he first set eyes on the lake of stars.
Day 1: Majete Widlife Reserve
Flights
Wildlife
Dinner
Lodge
On arrival at Chileka International Airport (Blantyre) you will be met by your guide who will welcome and transfer you to Thawale Camp situated right within the miombo woodlands and granite-topped hills of Majete Wildlife Reserve, one of the outstanding success stories of African conservation. You will spend two nights of your tour here.
Accommodation: Thawale Camp
Day 2: Majete Widlife Reserve
Wildlife
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Lodge
Surrounded by 7,000 hectares of private concession, Thawale enjoys an idyllic location. Largely undiscovered by tourists, this is rapidly becoming a first-class safari destination. But for now, sightings of lions and elephants can be enjoyed in near isolation.
Accommodation: Thawale Camp
Day 3: Majete Widlife Reserve & Satemwa Tea Estate
Transfer
Wildlife
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Guest house
After a final game drive Majete Wildlife Reserve, head to the historic, family owned Satemwa Tea Estates in the emerald Shire Highlands. You will be transferred to the owners’ former home Huntingdon House for the next two nights.
Accommodation: Huntingdon House
Day 4: Satemwa Tea Estate
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Guest house
For almost 100 years, fine teas and coffees have been produced on the estate and exported around the world. This was, after all, the first country in Africa where tea was planted commercially. Go on a tour of the coffee factory, take part in a tea tasting and visit a sundowner spot for a sweeping view of the area.
You can even take a day trip to Mount Mulanje, an inselberg that forms part of the Great Rift Valley and is known by locals as the ‘island in the sky’.
Accommodation: Huntingdon House
Day 5: Satemwa Tea Estate & Liwonde National Park
Boat/Ferry
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Lodge
Today you will be transferred to Liwonde National Park where you will be met by the Mvuu Camp staff and transferred to your home for the next two nights. You will be staying at Mvuu Camp overlooking the Shire River. After settling into the life of the camp, tucked between baobabs and fever trees, venture out on a game drive in Liwonde National Park searching for cheetahs, lions and black rhinos.
Accommodation: Mvuu Camp
Day 6: Liwonde National Park
Wildlife
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Lodge
Choose from game drives, walking safaris or boating safaris to explore this scenic park that’s benefitted from several wildlife reintroductions and translocations. In 2017, cheetahs were brought back to the area after an absence of almost a century. In between activities, relax by the pool or do some birding from your private deck.
Accommodation: Mvuu Camp
Day 7: Liwonde National Park & Southern Lake Malawi
Boat/Ferry
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Lodge
Today you will be transferred to Kayak Africa Cottage in Cape Maclear where you will meet your boat transfer and set off for Mumbo Island in Lake Malawi. Settle into your rustic lake view chalet at Mumbo Island Lodge with stunning views of one of the world’s largest lakes.
It is safe to swim in Lake Malawi although the waters do hold the parasitic infection Bilharzia where there are human settlements on the shoreline. There is a much less risk of coming into contact with the infection around the islands where the waters move freely. If you plan to swim or come in contact with the waters, it is highly advised to take a short course of the proven medication praziquantel six weeks after returning home. Praziquantel can be purchased over the counter at pharmacies across Malawi.
Accommodation: Mumbo Island Lodge
Day 8: Southern Lake Malawi
Wildlife
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Lodge
Explore the uninhabited Mumbo Island by following one of several nature trails to discover hidden beaches, caves and astounding birdlife before settling in for a sundowner on the famous ‘pod rock’ viewpoint.
Accommodation: Mumbo Island Lodge
Day 9: Southern Lake Malawi & Senga Bay
Boat/Ferry
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Lodge
Today you will be transferred by boat back to the mainland to meet your guide. He will then transfer you to Whistler’s Cottage in Senga Bay to catch the Blue Zebra boat to their private island.
Blue Zebra Island Lodge is set on the Nankoma Island, a private paradise under the protection of Lake Malawi National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Take a gentle walk around the island to search for wildlife.
Accommodation: Blue Zebra Island Lodge
Day 10: Departure
Flights
Transfer
Breakfast
Today you will be transferred by boat back to the mainland where your guide will be waiting to transfer you to Lilongwe Kamuzu International Airport for your flight home - please note this is different to the airport where the adventure started.
Adventure Optional Extras
Single Room Supplement
Single rooms are available on a first come, first served basis. Due to the lodges we use having cabin or tented accommodation that is twin/double, the single supplement is higher for this trip than you might expect. We will charge on a pro-rata basis if a single room is not available to book for part of the trip where it would have been possible.
Plant an additional 15 trees for your adventure
Carbon Compensation is not the perfect solution, and it is important to first reduce our carbon emissions as much as we can, yet trees remain an excellent natural technology to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to slow global warming.
For every client and guide who attends a YellowWood Adventure, we donate £30 to our partner charity WeForest to plant 15 trees to (over) compensate for the carbon footprint of the tour.
We also invite our clients to match this with an optional additional £30 for another 15 trees to be planted to help compensate for the carbon footprint of their international flights.
WeForest run many tree planting and tree maintenance projects such as this seedling nursery in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and many other projects in other countries including Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania & India.
Click Here to find out more about their amazing projects around the world.
Not Included
- International flights & airport taxes
- Insurance (compulsory)
- Alcoholic drinks
- Tips
Contents
Accommodation
We fully believe in, and practice Responsible Tourism, using local hotels, owned and run by locals. We put time and effort into building our relationship with them to ensure you have a great trip.
We choose hotels based on cleanliness, comfort, safety, proximity to our route (to avoid unnecessary extra road travel), and a warm client welcome, as well as reliability in their service to us. Some hotels will be basic, in modern buildings or in town centres. Wherever we can, we will choose smaller more characterful, individual hotels, but in areas where tourism is still developing, this may not be available. An aspect of our adventures is to escape the ‘trappings’ of modern Western lifestyles and to experience new things which are exciting and memorable, and reflects the countries we are visiting.
This is adventure travel and on occasion, the advertised services at a hotel (eg wifi, hot showers, or continuous power) may not be functional on our arrival. This tends to occur in the smaller, more remote hotels. Very rarely a hotel lets us down and we are required to find alternative suitable accommodation that might not be our first choice. This trip involves a range of guesthouses, eco safari lodges and thatched roof riverside tents
Where accommodation is fully booked or unavailable, we will use an alternative of a similar standard, and equally well situated. We will provide you with an accurate list of accommodations, with contact information to leave with relatives, prior to departure on your adventure.
Unless you have booked a single room (where they are available) and paid the single room supplement for those nights, you will be sharing a twin room with another client (of the same gender).
Guiding & Your Group
Supporting you on your holiday will be an experienced, local, English speaking guide with a good knowledge of the areas visited, and the wildlife that might be encountered.
We work closely with our Malawian Tour Operator partners both before and during your adventure to ensure that they understand your needs and the standard that YellowWood Adventures expects. We believe that it is a very important positive aspect of Responsible Tourism, to employ the expertise of local suppliers, as well as offering you a much more informative and authentic experience.
Your Group
Your group will be any number from our minimum group size of 4, up to a maximum of 8 clients. This number works really well with the ratio of guides, and ensures the optimum level of service to you during your adventure.
We get clients booking alone, as couples and in small groups of friends. If you have a group of friends or family who are interested in having their own customised trip, then please let us know and we can cost it for you.
Am I fit enough?
In order to climb Mulanje, a certain level of fitness is required however generally no pre-training is necessary. You will have with you, a guide, a porter and a cook for the duration of your time up the mountain. Drinking water is available from the plentiful fresh water streams all over the mountain, and your meals are provided and prepared for you. Remember to pack some snacks, water bottles and warm clothing as the high altitude means it can get very chilly. Proper walking shoes and lots of socks are required, and of course don't forget your camera!
Health
For general information on health issues in Malawi, please see the general information on Malawi, however, for this specific adventure, the following points are worth separate consideration.
Malaria
Malaria is a potentially serious parasitic infection transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. In humans the disease is caused by five different species of the Plasmodium parasite. Malaria is widely distributed throughout tropical regions of the world including in parts of Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Oceania. Malaria is preventable and curable if diagnosed and treated promptly.
Choice of malaria prevention tablets depends on the malaria species common in the area to be visited and whether there is resistance to any of the available drugs. Certain drugs may not be suitable for certain individuals due to existing medical problems or interactions with their regular medication.
For more information please see here: Malaria - Malawi
For your own safety make sure to get immunisation against polio, tetanus, rabies, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. Vaccine recommendations for Malawi can be found here.
If you want to swim in Lake Malawi, be aware that there is a risk of contracting bilharzia. Medication can be bought at any local clinic and should be taken 3 months after visiting the lake.
Travel
Your YellowWood adventure starts at the airport in Blantyre on the start day of the trip. We understand that arriving into an unfamiliar airport can be very daunting, so we aim to give you as much information here as possible to help you prepare.
Finding flights
Flights are not included in the cost of your holiday, and whilst we are happy to help advise you, responsibility for booking the correct flights rests with you. We recommend that you use a comparison tool such as www.momondo.co.uk or www.skyscanner.net when searching for flights. We will send you a Flight Information Sheet with further pointers on which flights to book for your adventure.
Flights will be into Blantyre (Chileka) International Airport (BLZ) and out of Lilongwe (Kamuzu) International Airport (LLW)
Travel by road in Malawi
In order to benefit from the natural and undisturbed beauty of the National Parks in Malawi, we need to be prepared to travel some distance, by road, to reach our destinations on this adventure. The roads are not always in great condition and the journey may be hot and dusty at times. However this is very much part of the adventure, and a wonderful opportunity to absorb the ambiance of East Africa, so we ask you to embrace the travel days, as without it, we would not be able to access the remote areas we then enjoy.
E Visa
For most passport holders, visas are required to enter Malawi - the cost of single entry visa (valid for 30 days) is $50. This must be applied for online here. If you will be entering Malawi on more than one occasion, double entry (US$80pp) or multiple entry (US$150pp) visas are available. Some passport holders don't require a visa, like SADC countries, (please check if you need a visa with the Malawi embassy in your home country). An onward or return ticket is required, as well as sufficient funds and detailed travel plans. Visitors to Malawi must have a minimum of 6 months validity after the day you arrive in Malawi AND two blank/empty pages in their passport. We advise you to contact the Malawi embassy directly or contact us to confirm these details at the start of your trip planning
Foreign Travel Advice
All of the above information is correct to the best of our knowledge. For the latest travel advice from the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office including security and local laws, plus passport and visa information, check www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. As the situation in our destination countries can change, please do ensure you check regularly before your adventure. We also receive notifications direct from the FCDO so we are always aware of the ‘status’ in our destination countries.
Insurance
Holiday insurance is essential for all Yellow Wood Adventures. Unfortunately, anyone without insurance is not able to take part in the holiday, so please make sure you arrange cover. We recommend arranging your insurance cover when you book so that if you have problems during the run up to your holiday, and need to cancel, you are covered.
YellowWood partners with battleface as a travel insurance provider. Click here for a quote.
battleface insurance is provided in the UK by battleface Insurance Services Limited, a UK insurance intermediary authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Details provided on this webpage are for information only. Terms, conditions, exclusions, and limitations apply. Always read the description of cover contained within your policy to ensure it is suitable for your needs.
Prior to the holiday, we will ask you to send us details of your insurer, policy number, 24 hour emergency assistance contact details and the name, address, and telephone numbers of your NOK or persons to be notified in the event of an emergency.
You must ensure the travel insurance you purchase provides you with suitable cover for the entirety of your trip. Your travel insurance must include cover in the event that you have to cancel for a reason outside your control prior to departure, for any medical expenses you may incur whilst away (including repatriation in the case of medical need) and for the activities which you may participate in during your trip.
General Information on Malawi
For information on Malawi, such as climate, weather, language, social norms, food & drink etc, please have a read of our Country specific information.
Compulsory
- Malawi Kwacha (local currency)
- Passport & insurance documents
- Debit card (limited access to ATMs)
- First aid kit: Anti-diarrhoea tables, rehydration sachets, antihistamine cream, ibuprofen cream, thermometer & blister kit (eg plasters & zinc oxide tape), painkillers, anti malaria pills, antiseptic, antibiotic ointment.
- Quality insect repellent
- Prescription medication
- High factor sun cream
- Closed walking shoes
- Day pack
- Binoculars
- Camera
Clothing
- Waterproof jacket (GoreTex or similar quality)
- Warm jacket & fleece - even in the summer temperatures can be sub zero at night. Down or synthetic insulated jacket & light fleece recommended.
- Lightweight clothing for the day (avoid brightly coloured clothing for game viewing
- Swimming costume
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses
Optional
- Phone & charging cables / plug
- Power adaptor/power pack
- Money belt
- Head torch & batteries / charger
- Reading material
- Spare ziplock bags for dirty clothes, waterproofing phones, rubbish & general organising
This trip supports
Need a little help?
All adventures can be tailored as private bespoke trips.
Please contact us for more information:
+44 207 846 0197
Related Adventures
Booking Process
Select dates: Choose the dates for your adventure and consider adding any extra adventures or add-ons to enhance your experience.
Check the box to agree to our Terms & Conditions.
Make Booking: Click on "Make Booking." If you're booking more than 56 days before your adventure, you'll be redirected to secure WorldPay to make your deposit. If it's 56 days or less before your adventure, you'll need to make full payment. Rest assured, your money is held securely by the Travel Trust Association.
Your booking will show as 'pending' in your YellowWood online account.
Confirmation: We'll be in touch as soon as possible to confirm your booking or discuss any availability limitations. Please refrain from booking transport or flights until we've emailed you to confirm your booking. (Note: Receipt of your booking form is not confirmation.)
Making payment: Once your booking is confirmed, we'll change the status of your final invoice from 'Pending Approval' to 'Outstanding,' indicating that it's ready for payment online.
You will receive a reminder email for your final payment 56 days before the departure date.
Feel free to contact us with any questions about your adventure or booking, we're here to help!
Grading
To help you choose the right adventure for you, we have given each itinerary a grading that relates to the level of Walking / Trekking you will experience during the trip. This grading can be found on the Yellow map on the adventure page of the website.
All of our trips involve a level of general activity so are designed for people who are in good health, enjoy the outdoors, and have a taste for adventure and some level of fitness. As will be clear from our destinations, the climate (and altitude) may be different to that which you are used to, so please take this into consideration when choosing the most suitable holiday.
Please read our Adventure Itinerary & Essential Information for more information and don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to chat through whether you have found a suitable adventure for you.
Grade 1-3: Entry Level
You need to be in good physical health to enjoy your active holiday, but you don’t need to be an experienced hiker. These itineraries offer a mix of sightseeing and easier walking for around 2-4hrs a day, with the emphasis on sights and cultural experiences.
Walks will be well marked or on defined pathways, and often around sites of interest. The expected amount of descent/ascent will depend on the landscapes of the destination, but will not exceed 400m/day, and will often be much less. Walks are at low altitude (below 3000m).
You will not be required to carry more than a day sack with water and essentials. Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have a pair of comfortable and worn in walking shoes/boots.
Grades 4-6: Intermediate
You need to have a good level of fitness and be a regular walker for these adventures, with ideally some trekking experience. You can expect to be walking for 3-6 hours per day, not including rest stops, normally on good trail paths but with some uneven surfaces at times.
You will not be required to carry more than a day sack. You may be walking in more challenging temperatures. You will generally be walking at low altitude (below 3000m) but may walk at altitudes up to 4000m. The amount of ascent could be up to 800m in a day but will frequently be less. You may walk on consecutive days.
Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have suitable clothing for this adventure.
Grades 7-9: Challenging
You need to have a good level of fitness with previous experience of trekking. Extra training before your trip will ensure that you get the most out of your adventure. Areas will be remote and terrain uneven.
Expect to walk for 5 – 8 hours a day, not including breaks, with some very steep ascents and descents. You will be walking at altitude (over 3000m but not higher than 5000m).
Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have suitable equipment/clothing for this adventure (see the packing list for your adventure).
Please check individual itineraries for details of what you will need to be carrying with you.
Get in touch
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