The river elephants
On the banks of the Shire.
David Davies — CC BY-SA 2.0 · David Davies — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cornelius Kibelka from Berlin, Germany — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cornelius Kibelka from Berlin, Germany — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cornelius Kibelka from Berlin, Germany — CC BY-SA 2.0 · David Davies — CC BY-SA 2.0
Majete Wildlife Reserve covers 700 square km of the lower Shire Valley, near Blantyre. It nearly lost all its animals, then came back to become Malawi's first Big Five reserve, a recovery widely told as a conservation success. It was set up in 1955, but poaching and logging emptied it in the late 1970s and 1980s, and the last elephant was killed in 1992. African Parks took over in March 2003, fencing it and hiring rangers. Black rhino returned in 2003, elephants in 2006 and lions in August 2012. No elephant or rhino had been poached since 2003, as of 2022. On the Shire River you see hippos, elephants, warthogs and antelope at the water, with trees flowering red in season. The reserve covers savanna and riverside forest, with about 12,000 animals in 2022, including 52 lions. At the entrance a heritage centre shows traps and homemade guns taken from poachers. The reserve is 31.3 km in a straight line south-west of Blantyre, so it is easy to reach. Leave your vehicle only where allowed and stay back from the water. The valley is low and hot, so bring a hat and water, and ask your doctor about malaria. Viewing is best in the dry season. Fees support conservation and local people, so book ahead with the reserve.
On the banks of the Shire.
Groups on the sand.
Traps taken from poachers.
Lower Shire Valley, south-west Malawi
Yes, since lions returned in 2012.
Yes, it is close, and a night gives better viewing.