Nyika Plateau..is it the Yorkshire Dales?

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Sorry but another very late post, it seems to be the way of things with this blog. Uploading photo's here when the power can go off at any minute and where the internet is painfully slow doesn't help my cause one bit.

Anyway, during Mid December I went with Megan (another volunteer at Butterfly) to Nyika N.P which is in the NW of Malawi. The park itself straddles the Zambian border and boasts an array of game and wildlife, although spotting some of the big 5 is incredibly challenging. The National Park is the largest in Malawi and it's huge expansive rolling grasslands are home to Zebra, Reedbuck and Bushbuck, Eland and Roan Antelope, all of which you are guaranteed to see in the park. And that we did. Despite not being home to some of the more common mammals seen in Tanzania and South Africa, the two games drives we did were superb.

One must marvel in the beautiful unspoilt scenery which Nyika has in an abundance, the wilderness which the park prevails provides a very wild and intimate safari. This is what the park was all about for me and I wanted a safari where I didn't necessarily see the Big 5 but where I had the park to myself.

The safari was done with the guys from Nkhata Bay safari's who after some negotiations, gave Megan and I a price we couldn't resist, especially as we hit the park at the best time of the year (towards the end of the dry season). The service they provided was very good and the trip was a great success. For anyone staying in Nkhata Bay, I would certainly recommend them. Also, if you don't have a decent 4 x 4 vehicle, accessing this park is very difficult as Chitimba Camp is 60 km from the park gate. The road is particularly bad in the wet season too.

In terms of accommodation, there is a campsite, a lodge and another bespoke lodge, both of which are incredibly expensive. The campsite was wonderful though and the views were spectacular. There were no other people camping which meant we had the facilities to ourself which was lucky. Camping inside a national park where game run free was very fulfilling and on our last night we heard some Zebra grazing 5 yards from our tent at approximately 1.30am...very surreal moment. Megan on the other hand thought that the grazing Zebra's were Hyena's which was rather funny.

Overall, the trip was a pleasant surprise as Nyika provided us with a wonderful safari in a stunning setting. For 3 days I thought I was in the Yorkshire Dales or the Cairngorms viewing wild game...it doesn't get much better than that. I won't write any more words, I'll just let you look at the pics as they show the park in it's full glory.

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