Our group will arrive in the afternoon and we will venture after check in to the beautiful Zomba Nature Reserve and view point looking over the African Rift Valley. It is incredibly refreshing to be in the cool air up on the Zomba plateaux.
One of the highlights is to do a night boat ‘drive’ on the mighty Shire River to find incredibly elusive birds such as Pel’s Fishing Owls. Liwonde is one of the most scenic parks in all of Africa and we have two full days here to explore. Recently both cheetah and lions have been successfully relocated into Liwonde, funded in part by the marvellous Africa Parks Foundation. Hence Liwonde has become the quintessential safari destination in Malawi.
On route from Cape Maclear to Lilongwe we will have two stops. The reason for the drive between Cape McClear and Lilongwe is that it is incredibly scenic and windy along the African Rift Valley. Our first stop is the incredible Mua Mission. Although a catholic mission, the cultural centre and carpentry school is the highlight for visitors. The Wakonde-type sculptures, tapestries and carvings that the pupils create are nothing short of spell-bounding. Completely unique to this part of Africa, and for any collector of Africana, the carvings are noteworthy addition to any collection. Our second stop (for lunch) is at Dedza pottery – situated right on the watershed between the Luangwa and Shire rivers at over 2000m. The pottery school creates some noteworthy pieces, and is a great stop-over before heading to the Capital City. We arrive at Latitude 13 around 1600. A marvellous day of sightseeing the country!
The shop at the Dedza Pottery offers a wide range of handcrafted pottery. Figurines in a variety of sizes illustrate Malawian life, including people at work and making music, minibuses and trucks. Attractive, hand painted tableware includes plates, mugs, jugs and teapots. Bathroom-ware and tiles are also available.
Dedza Pottery
