Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve

Mwabvi is the smallest protected area in Malawi, around a hundred and thirty square kilometres in the far south near the Mozambican border, and the least visited: broken country of sandstone gorges, rock outcrops and thicket rather than open plain. Game was heavily reduced by poaching and is recovering slowly under a management trust. The appeal is the emptiness, the rock scenery and the walking rather than large mammal viewing.

History

The reserve takes its name from the Mwabvi tree, the Henga name for the ordeal tree. It began as the Thangadzi Game Reserve in 1928, became the Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve in 1953 and had grown to 135 square kilometres by 1975, and from 2004 the nonprofit Project African Wilderness helped look after it (Wikipedia, Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve).

The landscape

• The sandstone gorges - the broken rock country the reserve is built around.
• The rock outcrops - the kopjes standing above the thicket.
• The emptiness - the least visited reserve in the country.
• The walking - guided routes through the gorges and woodland.

When to go

June to October is the dry season and the only practical window. The rains make the access road impassable. Heat late in the dry season is severe.

Things to know

Game numbers are very low after heavy poaching and this is not a wildlife destination. Access needs four-wheel drive on a rough road. Facilities are a basic camp.

Nearby

Nsanje is south, and Lengwe is north.

Key facts