The Nyika Peace Park is the first trans-frontier area not
linked to South Africa. The Peace Park links Malawi’s Vwaza
Marsh Wildlife Reserve and Kasungu National Park with Zambia`s
Lundazi, Mitenge and Mikuti Forest Reserves, Musa-langu Game Management
Area and Lukusuzi National Park. The total surface area of this
Peace Park will be more than 35 000 km2 or 7 million football
fields. The goal is to establish collaborative management and
the joint promotion of tourism in Malawi and Zambia.
Nyika National Park lies on a 2600 metre high plateau above Lake
Malawi and has witnessed the signing of one of the most far-reaching
conservation initiatives yet seen in southern Africa. The park
incorporates a huge diversity of ecological systems, including
Afro-montane forest and grasslands, lowland woodland, marshes,
miombo woodland and gallery forest.
In August 2004 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed
in Nyika National Park. With this agreement, the Environment Ministers
of Malawi and Zambia sealed one of the most far-reaching conservation
initiatives yet seen in southern Africa.
The agreements pave the way for the development of a Peace Park
which will consolidate Malawi’s Nyika National Park and
the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve.
An immediate outcome of this agreement is that a wildlife law
enforcement co-ordinator will be appointed within the next three
months specifically for the Nyika Peace Park. The co-ordinator
will assist the Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife
and the Zambia Wildlife Authority to combat the high incidence
of poaching in the Peace Park. After the signing of the MoU, the
ministers went out to collar an elephant.
Gameviewing and Birdwatching
The gameviewing is outstanding with a variety of the larger animals
to be seen including zebra, elephants, roan, eland, bushbuck,
reedbuck, warthog and leopard. Nyika is also known for its duiker,
including the rare red duiker, but they do tend to be difficult
to see.
Nocturnal wildlife is also abundant in this park; honey badgers,
bushpigs, servals, civets, genets and bushbabies along with the
nightjars who take up their nightly position in the middle of
the dusty roads using the open space as a hunting ground for insects.
This wonderful park is also home to many exquisite bird species
The most challenging birds to see are the forest birds such as
the bar tailed trogon, moustached green tinkerbird, mountain greenbul
and yellow-streaked bulbul, the starred robin and Cape batis as
well as the white tailed crested flycatcher and the eastern double
collared sunbird among others. It is also possible between October
and January to see some of the migratory birds.
Chelinda Lodge
Chelinda Lodge and Chelinda Camp are situated in the centre of
the park at 2100m. The lodge has an incredible panoramic view
across the rolling hills whilst the camp overlooks a dam full
of trout. The lodge is a 16-bed complex with log cabin style accommodation
and is fully catered.
The camp has three styles of accommodation; full board; camping
and self-catering.
Both the lodge and camp have electricity (generator) and water
is safe to drink as it is pure mountain water pumped from the
Chelinda River.
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