Mvuu Lodge

•  Private luxury tents with river-fronting balconies
•  Visit the lake where Livingstone crossed the Shire River
•  Superb boating safaris are a highlight at Mvuu Wilderness Lodge
•  Excellent birding, sometimes from your deck!
•  Night drives through the riverine forest
•  Guided daytime walking safaris

Mvuu Lodge in the Liwonde National Park is a small and very pretty luxury tented lodge, built to blend in with its environment. The setting of Mvuu Lodge is hard to beat. It lies on the edge of a lily-strewn lagoon - where elephant frequently come to drink - just off the Shire river (pronounced Shiree). Accommodation is in eight spacious en suite tented rooms. Each has its own secluded viewing platform & hammock overlooking the lagoon. And they are all hidden away in the lush riverine vegetation to ensure privacy. The first five tents are closer to the lodge and slightly smaller, with an en suite bathroom with bath and outside shower. The final three tents are further away but larger with an open plan bathroom, seaparate toilet, as well as both indoor and outdoor showers.

The thatched Mvuu Lodge is set on stilts high above the water for wonderful views. It has been designed to offer you a wonderful bush experience with an element of luxury. So there's a small swimming pool, sun deck and dining area, bar, lounge and wildlife library. All overlooking the river and lagoon. So you don’t have to stir from the deck to enjoy the wildlife and the birds on the lagoon.

Activities at Mvuu Lodge

Liwonde National Park is the prime game reserve in Malawi. It's a lush and fertile park particularly known for its elephant sightings. Plus good quantities of sable antelope and waterbuck as well. Safari activities revolve around the Shire river with its plentiful hippos and crocodiles. (Mvuu means "hippo" in Tonga. And so the name epitomises the large numbers of hippo pods that float in the river.)

Boating safaris in a covered 12-seater boat are a highlight at Mvuu. This enables you to get close to the wildlife as they drink in the river. Game drives head out in the early morning and late afternoon. Birding enthusiasts can enjoy virtually non-stop birding around Mvuu Lodge. Birding specials include Lilian’s lovebird, palmnut vulture, brown breasted barbet - even the amazing Pel’s fishing owl.

Also on offer are Bush walks (usually in the early morning) as well as bicycle trips to the local village.  Many of the lodge staff come from the local village. And you can visit the school and community library. Finally Mvuu Lodge now offers rhino tracking on foot during the dry season from May to October with the dedicated rhino monitoring team, at an extra cost.

Travelling to Mvuu Wilderness Lodge

Arrival at Mvuu Wilderness Lodge depends on where you are coming from. If arriving from Lake Malawi or Lilongwe, you take the road through local villages to a short boat cruise over the river to the lodge. If coming from Blantyre, Majete or the Southern tea plantations, you will take the exhilarating boat cruise from Liwonde town (approx 40 mins). This river trip takes in 30 km of the Shire River. And it offers an excellent chance to see wildlife and birds from the get-go.

We recommend that you combine a safari at Mvuu Lodge with a safari in the South Luangwa National Park (Zambia), or perhaps Majete Game Reserve, for the best overall safari experience.