All activities / Wildlife Safaris / Majete Wildlife Reserve
Wildlife Safaris in Majete Wildlife Reserve
A miombo-and-granite reserve above the Shire River in southern Malawi, restocked by African Parks from 2003 and now the country's only Big Five park. Quiet, easy to reach from Blantyre, and a landmark African conservation turnaround.
Why here
Majete is the reserve that proved African conservation could be reversed. By 2003 poaching had stripped it almost bare, with no elephant, no lion and few large animals left. African Parks took it on, fenced and restocked it, and it is now Malawi's only Big Five reserve, home to lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino across miombo woodland and granite hills above the Shire. Because it sees far fewer visitors than the big-name parks, game drives here feel private, and the story of the place, told by guides who watched it come back, is as compelling as the animals. Sable, nyala, eland and Lichtenstein's hartebeest fill out the plains game.
Best months
The dry season from May to October is best for game viewing, when animals gather at the waterholes and the Shire and the bush thins out. October is hot but productive. The wet season from November brings lush cover, migrant birds and young animals, with some roads harder going. Nights are cool in the middle of the year.
Getting there & around
Majete is about a 70-kilometre, ninety-minute drive from Blantyre's Chileka airport, one of the easiest big-game reserves to reach in the region. Lodges and the reserve entrance arrange transfers and guided drives. Self-drive is possible to the community camp, but the lodges run the game activities. Malaria prophylaxis is advised.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
Mkulumadzi Lodge
OutfitterMkulumadzi Lodge is an eight-chalet lodge run by Robin Pope Safaris on a 7,000-hectare private concession inside Majete Wildlife Reserve, set at the confluence of the Mkulumadzi and Shire rivers under giant leadwood trees. Majete is Malawi's only Big Five reserve, restocked by African Parks since 2003 with lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhino. Guests reach the chalets across a suspension footbridge over the river and track game by vehicle and on foot.
Thawale Lodge
OutfitterThawale Lodge is African Parks' own camp in Majete Wildlife Reserve, eight en-suite canvas suites with stone walls set around an active waterhole that draws elephant and other game to the front of camp. Every cent of its revenue goes back into Majete and its neighbouring communities. African Parks took over the 700-square-kilometre reserve in 2003 and rebuilt it into Malawi's only Big Five park, reintroducing lion, leopard and black rhino to ground that poaching had stripped bare.