Elephant Marsh

The Elephant Marsh is a large seasonal wetland on the lower Shire river, a maze of channels, reed and floating vegetation that expands and contracts with the flood, and Livingstone named it for the elephant herds he saw there, which are long gone. What remains is one of the richest bird areas in the country, with pelicans, storks, herons and skimmers, along with crocodile and hippo. Dugout canoes from the shore villages are the way in.

What you actually see

• The channels - the maze of waterways through reed and floating vegetation.
• The birdlife - pelicans, storks, herons and skimmers in large numbers.
• The dugout canoes - the boats the marsh is worked and visited by.
• The seasonal flood - the expansion and contraction that shapes the wetland.

When to go

May to October is the dry season and the best for boats and birds. The flood season changes what is reachable. Heat in the valley is severe late in the dry season.

Honest expectations

Trips are in dugout canoes with local paddlers and are basic; there are no facilities. Crocodiles are present and numerous. Malaria and bilharzia risk in the marsh are both real.

Nearby

Chikwawa is north, and Nsanje is south.