Kuthengo Camp in Liwonde National Park in Malawi is now open; 8 Months of hard work, blood, sweat and few tears has paid off and the camp looks amazing. Amy Pople is heading off to Malawi next week and will be seeing Kuthengo first hand.
Kuthengo means “the wild,” or “the bush.” Liwonde gives you the impression of truly being in the wild. It has remained untouched for centuries and offers some of the best game viewing in Malawi. When the famous explorer and hunter Henry Faulkner was sent to search for David Livingstone, he travelled along the Shire River and commented on the beauty of this area and the abundance of animals. Liwonde National Park with the Shire River at its heart is truly breath taking!
The 15 minute boat ride into the camp is your first taster of what’s to come. The hippos tend to spend more time out of the water than in it, and large herds of elephant enjoy the lush green grass on the river bank. The camp is situated on a bend along the Shire River, with the tents facing down stream tucked between ancient baobab trees and fever trees. An open grass plain stretches to the banks of the river and from your tent you can enjoy watching the hippos grazing nearby as well as large herds of elephants using one of their favoured crossing points of the river just in front of camp, often only the tips of their trunks can be visible as they swim across the river.
Upon arrival, you might recognise some of the faces at Kuthengo. Dickson, our wonderful chef, Patrick and Amon our waiters, all came over from Pumulani Lodge, and Stanley, our guide, came over with Yohane our housekeeper from Mkulumadzi Lodge. Jason and Steegan have taken over management, and are very exited to be part of Kuthengo and the Robin Pope family. The camp has four guest tents, including one family tent so we cater for a maximum of 10 guests in camp. The tents are spacious, boasting an outdoor shower, large bathroom, ‘evening breeze’ air conditioning, khonde (verandah) and every comfort you might need in the bush. Dickson makes sure our guests are well fed with great family style cooking.
Liwonde is home to Malawi’s boating safari, and during the drier months, the river is a hive of activity. The game drives however give you the opportunity to explore the interior of the park and for those that prefer to be out on foot, Liwonde offers great variety of terrain to walk in.
African Parks has done an amazing job with restoring and managing the Liwonde National Park. The recently released cheetah have settled in well and two males have been regularly sighted just south of our camp. The lions are also adapting well to their new home and in the next couple of weeks we can expect a couple more lionesses.
If you would like more information please contact Charlotte Chilcott or Amy Pople or call us on ++44 1980 847389. Alternatively click HERE if you would like us to contact you.