I (Tamlyn) have worked for Sunway for over 11 years, and the travelling I have been able to do over the years with the company (even though I am mostly office-bound) is great. My latest trip I was lucky enough to take my husband Keith with, and off we went to Malawi and Zambia for a week. This was a recce trip for our new tour for 2018 – the ZMa16 Zambia & Malawi Livingstone Trail.

This is an accommodated trip (with 5 nights camping) and we set out to visit the main highlights of the tour, starting in South Luangwa and ending on Lake Malawi.

Wildlife Camp in South Luangwa was stunning, with our secluded chalets and beautiful river view at the restaurant. The game viewing was remarkable because having grown up in the bush I know you should not expect to see anything or everything and treat each sighting as a gift. Well in that case we were showered with presents! Our guide BJ was fantastic and entertained us throughout, and just driving out of camp seeing Wild Dogs hunting (we weren’t even in the actual game reserve yet!) brought home what a magic area South Luangwa is in.

Driving back into Malawi and through to Kuti I loved experiencing the culture that gives Malawi a positive generalisation of the most friendly country. Every person we met and every place we visited we were greeted with smiles and a genuine welcome, I felt so special – but then again Malawians are a special people in a special country. I simply loved it from beginning to end. Kuti Game Reserve is a developing game reserve that has been established by a non-profit Trust with the key objective of protecting wildlife and conserving the environment by working together with the local communities. We enjoyed the view from the sunset deck, and dinner at the restaurant. Perfect for an overnight stop on the way to Mulanje. Tea tasting at Satemwa Estate was a unique learning experience which we mostly enjoyed. The reason I say mostly is their tea-tasting covers a wide range of different types of teas, and so obviously everyone has their different preferences. There were definitely a couple which I did not like, but having found my favourite I finished off with it at the end again.

We drove to Mulanje and settled in at Kara O’Mula Country Lodge, set on the side of the Mulanje Mountain itself, enjoying an outside dinner overlooking the town. The next morning we went for a quick walk up to view their own little waterfall, before going to the start of the guided walk which our clients will be enjoying. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to do the actual walk ourselves, but continuing on our journey and driving for ages viewing the mountain in its awesomeness leads me to believe it will be a fantastic experience.
Our next stop was Liwonde National Park – again we were blown away by this beautiful and unique game reserve. Our overnight campsite was at Mvuu Camp where we were lucky enough to do an afternoon boat cruise. Sipping our drinks listening to fish eagles and viewing the plentiful game along the edge of the river was so relaxing, and my highlight was seeing a tiny baby hippo!

Off to Lake Malawi for our boat transfer across the lake to overnight on Mumbo Island – what a paradise destination! Luxury obtained within simplicity makes this eco-lodge a once in a lifetime experience, and definitely the perfect ending to our tour. This was a fairy-tale island getaway where you can snorkel, kayak, relax on the private beach, or hike the scenic walk around the island.

The next day we sadly left Malawi and returned to real life again! But such a great time at awesome places – definitely the tour to book in 2018!