Liwonde National Park

Listen first. Somewhere out on the water, a low grunt rolls across the surface, then another, deeper and closer. That is a hippo, and there will be many more before the day is done. The air here smells of river mud and warm grass. In the dry months, dust from the woodland hangs gold in the late light. Welcome to Liwonde National Park, in the south of Malawi, where life gathers around one long, slow river.

That river is the Shire, and everything here depends on it. The Shire is the only river that flows out of Lake Malawi. It leaves the lake in the south, passes through the smaller Lake Malombe, and then runs along the western side of this park. Eventually its water travels on toward the Zambezi and the Indian Ocean. For the animals of Liwonde, it is a highway, a drinking trough, and a home.

Look at the riverbanks and you will see why so many visitors explore by boat. The water is wide and calm in many stretches. Reeds and papyrus crowd the edges. Hippos rest in pods, only their eyes and ears above the surface. Crocodiles lie on the sandbanks with their mouths open, cooling themselves in the heat. From a boat, you sit low and quiet, and the animals often let you drift surprisingly close.

Away from the water, the landscape changes. The park holds floodplains, open grassland, and dry woodland. Mopane trees, with their butterfly-shaped leaves, cover large areas. Tall palms rise near the river, and here and there a baobab stands alone, its trunk thick and grey like old elephant skin. In the dry season, the bush thins out and animals move toward the river. In the rains, everything turns green and dense, and the birdsong grows louder.

Here is something many visitors do not know. A little over a decade ago, Liwonde was a park in serious trouble. Poaching had taken a heavy toll. Wire snares were hidden across the bush, and large predators had disappeared. Then, in 2015, the Malawian government handed management of the park to African Parks, a conservation organisation that works with governments across the continent. What followed is one of the more hopeful wildlife stories in this part of Africa.

The first task was protection. Rangers cleared huge numbers of snares from the bush. A fence was built and strengthened to reduce conflict between wildlife and the farming communities that live right up to the park boundary. This matters, because Malawi is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. Here, villages, fields and fishing canoes sit only a short walk from the edge of the wild. Any conservation story in Liwonde is also a story about neighbours.

Then came a surprise that made news far beyond Malawi. In 2017, cheetahs were brought back to Liwonde. They had been absent from the country for many years. A year later, lions followed. For the first time in a long while, the park had a full chain of predators again. If you hear a guide speak quietly into a radio and the vehicle suddenly turns, there is a good chance they are following a cat.

The elephants have their own remarkable chapter. Liwonde once had more elephants than its land could comfortably support. Between 2016 and 2017, African Parks moved hundreds of elephants from Liwonde and from Majete, another Malawian park, to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve further north. It was one of the largest elephant moves ever attempted. Some of the herds you may see today are the families that stayed behind, now with more room to roam.

Liwonde is also one of the places where black rhinos live in Malawi. They are kept in a protected area within the park, and they are shy and hard to see. Most visitors never spot one, so do not be disappointed if you miss them. Simply knowing they are here, and safe, is part of the point. Their survival depends on constant, careful watching by ranger teams you will rarely notice.

For many people, the antelope are the quiet stars. Waterbuck graze near the river, with a white ring on their rumps that looks almost painted on. Kudu move through the woodland, the males carrying long, spiralled horns. Sable antelope, dark and proud, live here too. Impala gather in groups and leap away in clean arcs when startled. Watch them for a while. Their alarm calls often tell you a predator is nearby before you see it.

Now look up. Liwonde is a serious place for birds, with hundreds of species recorded. The African fish eagle is the easiest to find. It perches high over the water and gives a wild, ringing cry that many people remember long after the trip. Kingfishers hover and dive. Herons stand still in the shallows. Birdwatchers also come hoping to see Lilian's lovebird, a small green parrot with a bright orange-pink face.

You may hear the word mvuu while you are here. It means hippo in Chichewa, the most widely spoken language in Malawi, and it gives its name to one of the park's well-known camps. Many guides here grew up in the villages nearby. Ask them about the river, the animals, or the seasons. Their knowledge is local and deep, and their stories will give you more than any guidebook can.

Before you move on, pause for a moment. Notice the light on the water and the shape of the palms against the sky. Listen for the hippos again, and for the fish eagle overhead. Everything around you was very nearly lost, and it is still recovering, year by year. As you leave, look back at the river once more... it will keep running long after you have gone, carrying the life of this park with it.