Safari & Service

1. 1–2

   Days 1–2

   Arrive Blantyre

   Meal included: dinner

   Depart on our overnight flight to Blantyre, Malawi via Addis Ababa. On arrival into Blantyre’s Chileka International Airport we will be met by our guide and transferred to our first night’s accommodation. The afternoon is spent on a visit to the Step Kids Awareness (STEKA) centre in the city. STEKA is a family home for (currently 64) very vulnerable children rescued from abusive situations or living alone on the streets of Blantyre and given an education in a country where 54% of the population live below the poverty line. STEKA was founded in 2007 by Godknows Maseko and his wife Helen and is run as a loving family, rather than an orphanage or institution. Children are brought by social services or the police and all work together to support each other with everyone taking chores and older children helping support the younger ones. Feeding, clothing and educating such a large family isn’t easy, but STEKA run a variety of enterprises to bring in funds, raising chickens, running tailoring and upholstery programmes as well as various tourism initiatives. They are also determined to ensure that all girls receive as equal an education and opportunity as the boys, vital in a country with one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world and where girls are more likely to be illiterate than boys.

   Godknows, (having escaped from a life on the streets himself) understands how to transform things. His goal is to build children more sustainable futures by developing a STEKA village consisting of vocational workshops to teach life-changing skills and facilities to provide psychosocial support. It also focuses on empowering young people to get their voices heard in a youth forum aimed at lobbying for marginalised children’s rights in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

2. 3–5

   Days 3–5

   Ecolodgy Centre

   All meals included

   The next three days will be spent at the Ecolodgy Centre where we will take part in a range of activities. Ecolodgy is a social enterprise centre creating a better future for the planet through smarter living, better farming and expanded learning. After an introductory briefing, we will visit a local permaculture project. Permaculture is a way of using the patterns and energy flows observed in natural ecosystems to ensure a more beneficial relationship between the land and people. A variety of practices are included within this field including regenerative agriculture, sustainable planning and design of integrated living and agricultural spaces which are usually also zero-waste or low-impact systems, rewilding, and fostering community resilience. After lunch, the group will head back to the community to learn about Organic Farming. Day two of our time at the Ecolodgy Centre will be spent at the Agroforestry Project. Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are planted around or between crops or pastures. This deliberate combination of agriculture and forestry has multiple advantages including increased biodiversity, decreased erosion, a wider and year-round nutrition base and better general resilience of farms against severe climate impacts. Following lunch we will visit the Kitchen Gardens for Plantation Workers project. The project aims to provide solutions to industry problems identified by Ethical Tea Partnership including poor household nutrition, unhygienic living conditions, polluted waterways and forest destruction around estates. It also aims to generate additional sources of income to help empower vulnerable people and women on the estates.

   We will dedicate our final day to immersing ourselves within the community and interacting with the people residing there. This experience will provide us with an invaluable opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of the lifestyle prevalent in this particular part of the world. The range of activities involved includes but is not limited to fetching water, cooking and shelling maize.

3. 6–7

   Days 6–7

   Zomba

   All meals included

   Today we bid farewell to our new friends at the Ecolodgy Centre and travel a short distance to Zomba, Malawi's old Colonial Capital. Here we will spend two days at the YODEP Community Centre. This community centre aims to create an environment where children and young people in Malawi live to their full potential through basic education, improved livelihood, sexual and reproductive health initiatives, skills building, health, human rights, and humanitarian support. We will spend our time here visiting various projects within the YODEP Community & Centre.

4. 8

   Day 8

   Liwonde National Park

   All meals included

   After breakfast we will travel to Liwonde National Park arriving in time for lunch. Liwonde is the country’s most prolific safari location with species including black rhinos, lions and cheetahs, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and zebras as well as warthog, kudu, baboon, impala, waterbuck, bushbuck, mongoose, and a number of nocturnal animals. We will spend the afternoon exploring the park in 4x4 vehicles before returning to the lodge for a bush dinner under the stars.

5. 9

   Day 9

   Lake Malawi

   All meals included

   On our final morning at Liwonde National Park we will go on a riverboat safari. Following this, we will travel to Cape Maclear on the shores of Lake Malawi. Cape Maclear, or Chembe, is a town on Malawi’s Nankumba Peninsula, at the southern end of Lake Malawi. Surrounded by forested mountains, it’s known for the sandy beaches and granite rocks of Lake Malawi National Park. The park shelters rich wildlife including antelope and baboons and its clear waters are populated by hundreds of species of colourful cichlid fish.

   We can spend the afternoon with a number of local activities on offer including boat trips, snorkelling or village walks. There is a local organisation, Chembe Village Projects, who manage a number of local projects in the area, which highlight the great work of local residents including Water management, HIV, recycled paper & healthcare.

6. 10–11

   Days 10–11

   Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve

   All meals included

   After breakfast we will travel to Bua River Lodge in Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve, Malawi’s oldest and largest national park, managed by African Parks. Surrounded by miombo woodland on the edge of the Bua River, we will be immersed in the African wilderness for 2x nights of Wildlife Walks & Cultural Activities in the park & surrounding area.

7. 12–14

   Days 12–14

   Bhubesi Pride Foundation

   All meals included

   Today we say goodbye to the Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve and travel to Central Malawi, arriving at Bhubesi Pride Foundation (BPF) late afternoon. BPF specialises in uniting communities through Sport & Education at their residential base in Central Malawi. By harnessing the power of sport (rugby & netball) and supplementary education, BPF support local communities to drive sustainable and positive change through the local delivery of effective & measurable programmes in Malawi. BPF’s founding objectives are to unite, empower and inspire, with an impact goal to equip young people with skills, knowledge and experience in order to rise above social, economic & health challenges, to fulfil their life potential and uplift themselves and their communities.

8. 15–16

   Days 15–16

   Departure

   Meal included: breakfast

   On our final day in Malawi we have an early breakfast before departing for Lilongwe Kamuzu Airport. At the airport we will catch our return international flight via Addis Ababa.

Itineraries can change with the seasons, local conditions and your group's needs. Ask us and we'll tailor it.