Malawi overview & wildlife notes Geography: A small, land locked country between Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique. Lake Malawi is Africa’s 3rd largest lake and forms the country’s eastern border. Malawi has evergreen forests, wetlands, grassland and rolling hills to the north. It is famous for its wild flowers and number of orchids, having recorded around 400 different species. Key attractions: Lake Malawi is 365 miles long and 52 miles wide and is known as the Lake of Stars or understandably, from its dimensions, the Calendar Lake. It is a great beach destination for families. The hills of the Nyika Plateau are famous for their stunning wild flowers and sheer number and variety of orchids, which thrive after the rains. Large herds of eland and other plains game live here. Liwonde National Park is full of game and is most certainly the best national park in the country. Just south of Lake Malawi, it is home to hundreds of elephants and the Shire River, which flows through it, supports thousands of hippos and crocodiles. The birdlife is excellent. Within the lower Shire Valley is Lengwe National Park which is famed for the shy nyala antelope. Zomba Plateau is an unusually temperate pocket of Malawi. It is well forested and its babbling brooks are teeming with trout. An extremely picturesque area, on a clear day it offers fantastic views across to Mozambique. The 9,800 ft summit of Mount Mulanje is Malawi’s highest point. With its stunning scenery, good accessibility and its obvious paths it is a great place for trekking. The mountain rises very steeply and dramatically from the surrounding plains and its peak is often visible above the mist that obscures the lower slopes, a sight that prompted its local name of ‘island in the sky’. Population: 12.7 million When to go: The wet season is from November to early April. The dry season runs from May to October or November. June and July are the coolest month with highs averaging 21oC. It is probably best avoided during the wet season as travel is difficult but, for the brave, the birds and flowers are absolutely excellent during the rains. 31

Driving conditions GRADED DIRT, TARMAC & POTHOLES Campsite facilities BASIC TO GOOD Lodges & hotels GOOD TO EXCELLENT Route finding EASY TO CHALLENGING We feel it is perhaps advisable to do a Safari Drive journey through other African countries first before taking on Zambia. Zambia and Malawi work very well together as a joint self drive destination but equally they work very well as destinations in their own right. As in Malawi, the towns are well populated and common sense must prevail. The driving conditions are potentially much harder in Zambia than Malawi. Once you leave the main roads, driving conditions can be extremely challenging, as can route finding. There is one area where a GPS is necessary. SELF DRIVE CONDITIONS – ZAMBIA S A F A R I D R I V E M A L A W I & Z A M B I A