Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
around MK2000. Alternatively, you can walk (10km, two to three hours); it's a pleasant
hike with good views of the southwestern face of Mulanje on your right.
PINES ON MULANJE
The pine plantations on Mulanje were first established by the colonial government in the early 1950s, mainly
around Chambe. The sides of the entire massif are too steep for a road so all timber is cut by hand and then carried
down on a cableway (called the skyline) or on the heads of forest labourers. As you're going up the Chambe Plat-
eau Path you'll see these incredibly hardy guys walking downhill, sometimes running, with huge planks of wood
balanced on their heads.
The plantations provide employment for local people and wood for the whole of southern Malawi. A bad side
effect is the pine trees tend to spread slowly across the natural grassland as seeds are blown by the wind. These in-
troduced trees disturb the established vegetation balance - which is always precarious in highland areas.
Lower Shire
A baking stretch of flat plains, swampland, sugar cane and maize fields, this is where the
Shire River makes its final journey before plunging into the great Zambezi. Coming from
the north, the main road spirals sharply downwards - affording breathtakingly beautiful
views out towards Mozambique - to meet the dense heat of the valley below. A small strip
of territory it may be, but there's a lot to see here, including three wilderness areas, one of
which is the excellent Majete.
MAJETE WILDLIFE RESERVE
Majete Wildlife Reserve
(
www.majete.org
; adult/child MK2000/1000, vehicle MK200,
maps MK100)
is a rugged wilderness of hilly
miombo
woodland and savannah, hugging
the west bank of the Shire River. Poaching in the 1980s and 1990s left the park utterly de-
pleted and dilapidated, but since it was taken over by
African Parks
(
www.africanparks-
conservation.com
)
in 2003, things have really been looking up. A perimeter fence has
been erected around the whole reserve (the only completely fenced park in Malawi) and is
patrolled constantly by guards, while accommodation and roads have been massively up-
graded. With journalists flocking from top international magazines and newspapers to
cover its lion reintroduction program, and the establishment of the sumptuous Mkulu-
madzi Lodge, Majete may soon be the top park in Malawi .
