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Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve
The Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve lies on the southeastern side of Nyika Plateau but on the low flat ground. The Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is situated on the north floodplain of South Rukuri River that flows into Lake Kazuni in the southern border of the reserve. In general, the vegetation around the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is composed of miombo woodland, Marshy wetland and Mopane. Even though the topography of Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve us generally characterized as being flat, there are rock outcrops situated on the eastern side.
Water from Nyika National Park flows into Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve on the North Eastern side to form the Vwaza Marsh. The lifeblood of Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is the River Luwewe that flows from the North to the south of the Reserve.
The Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve hosts a number of wild animals but the number increases during different seasons as some may migrate from Zambia. Some of the resident animals of Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve include elephants, cape buffaloes, hartebeests, elands, kudus, impalas, warthogs, and some traces of carnivores like lions, hyenas have been found. This reserve is an amazing location for those interested in filming wildlife in Malawi. For any assistance in filming in Vwaza Marsh reserve, reach out to Africa Fixers.
Filming permit for Malawi.
Filming in Malawi requires you to first seek permission and get approvals and permits the permits as a Filmmaker and television broadcaster and play the applicable fees as required. The filming permit has to be requested in a formal request letter and fees charged depend on the length of the project and also the number of crew coming. Once you write the application, our local Malawi fixer will submit it and follow up on the entire process until it is approved. Filming in Vwaza Marsh will also require you to get location permissions from the respective management. For assistance getting a filming permit for Malawi please feel free to contact Africa fixers.
Media accreditation for Malawi.
Filming in Malawi requires you to have media accreditation for everyone on the crew. Everyone that intends to be on the filming team will be required to have their media accreditation worked on and approved before they start to do any filming work in the country. Requirements for the application include; Formal application letter on company headed paper, passport copies of all crew members, a digital copy of passport photo for each crew member, and list of gear they are traveling with. Media accreditation fees for filming in Malawi is USD50.00 per person. If you are planning to film in Malawi, let Africa Fixers assist you in getting media accreditation.
Brief History Of Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve
Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve was turned into a reserve in 1977. It is home to a number of wild animals, birds and many more species.
What is the size of Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve?
The Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve covers an area of about 1000 square kilometers. A number of animals approximately 48 species of antelopes, primates and carnivores are present here. The vegetation of Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is composed of miombo woodland, Marshy areas, forest and grasslands. These act as the habitants to a number of reserve dwellers. The attitude of Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is between 1000 meters to 1660 meters above sea level.
The Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is not frequented by visitors because of the nature of its terrain and poor road network.
What to do and see in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve
Game viewing
Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is endowed with a number of wild animals such as the regular hippos that find comfort in the Lake Kazuni close to the reserve entrance, elephants, buffaloes , elands, roan, kudus, hartebeests, impalas, puku, some carnivore sightings have been seen that is lions, leopards and others although rarely seen in the fields.
Birding
More than 380 bird species have been recorded as residents of Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. Majority of the water birds love feasting from the marshy plains of the park around Rukuri River and other water sources. Some of the birds in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve include Goliath heron, Swainsons’ Francolin white winged starlings, open bill stork, white faced tree duck and others. for a better birding experience in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve, an early start is very important so as to get the opportunity to spot several birds that spend time around the reserve.
Scenic Viewing
The stunning scenery around Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is unique with Lake Kazuni where several wild animals regularly congregate especially during the dry season, birds, the snorting hippos and mush more keep your eyes fixed to them while in the reserve. Visiting the marshy area in the north eastern part of the reserve is top-notch experience.
Enjoy the features that surround Lake Kazuni including low hills and the stunning vegetation.
Guided walking safaris
For an alternative experience, embark on a guided walking safari in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. Enjoy the features, wild animals, birds vegetation that make up the reserve.
Visit Nyika National Park
Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve shares a border with Nyika National Park with its famous Nyika plateau. The Nyika National Park is famous for its seasonal wildflowers that blossom especially at the beginning of the wet season. While here, you may do game viewing, scenic viewing, birding experience, hiking the Nyika plateau and much more.
When is the best time to visit Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve
Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is open all year but the dry season provides a better opportunity to enjoy more features and wildlife experiences in the reserve. The topography of the reserve which makes accessing it challenging is a big hindrance to visitors to the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve.
The dry season is normally May, June, July, August, September, October when the reserve experiences lower amounts of precipitation. The Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is full of life with better chances of spotting wild animals even those that are rarely seen through the low grass plains of the reserve. For the photographing experience, the dry season provides that great timing to capture the best sceneries around the reserve. Even most wild animals tend to spend much time nearer to water sources in the dry season.
Competition for the limited logistics that support safaris during the dry season that is accommodations, transport and others is higher because this is the peak tourism season in the country too.
The wet season which is normally March, April, May, is the chance to spot a wide range of birds. The roads leading to the reserve are generally messier in the wet season making it challenging to access it.
What Accommodations To Book Around Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve
There are limited options of accommodations to book around Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve some of which includes Chelinda Lodge, Chelinda Camp, chitimba Campsite, Sunbird Mzuzu, Makuzi Beach Lodge, la Exotica Lodge and others.
Note that the majority of these facilities offer bed and breakfast or bed only however, you need to carry some hard cash on you in order to make on ground purchases. Credit cards may be quite hard to use around the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve because of the long process of obtaining money from them.
Is The Visit To Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve Worth The Time And Money
The visit to the Wildlife Reserve is worth your time and money as you are indulged in the freshness of untamed nature. The beautiful vegetation, the stunning magnetic water sources of the park wild animals especially during the dry season, the several hills that crop up from the ground and others.
For an amazing photo and filming natural destination, Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve provides that ideal location. It is rarely crowded due to difficulty in accessing it which is an advantage for those wishing to have less disturbance during their holiday.
Every support tourists offer to the Wildlife Reserve is a big milestone to the sustainable existence of this reserve. The funds collected are used for reserve maintenance, paying salaries and wages to mention but few. From Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve, you can easily connect to Nyika National Park which is one of the famous wildlife destinations in Malawi
How to get to the Wildlife Reserve
From Lilongwe the main capital city of Malawi the drive time to Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve may take about 6 hours. The distance from Lilongwe to Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is about 450 kilometers. From Blantyre town in Malawi, the distance to Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is about 780 kilometers taking about 10 hours of time. If you are to connect to Nyika National Park, Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is about 2 hours away at a distance of about 80 kilometers.
It is best to use a 4×4 wheel drive vehicle in good condition especially in the wet season because the roads get messy to go through. For assistance in arranging transportation for your shoot in Malawi, please feel free to contact Africa Fixers.
How Safe Is the Wildlife Reserve
The Wildlife Reserve is safe to visit as on ground is a team of ranger guides who often patrol the Reserve to protect the wildlife and other inhabitants. There are instructions that every visitor is expected to follow while in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve so as to stay safe.
As a person, you need to mind your safety by not getting around the reserve without an escorting ranger guide because even though carnivores are rarely seen, they are confirmed present in the park. Carry your own safari gear that can support your stay and during the activities in this reserve in order to protect you from the rough surfaces in the wilderness. feeding the wild animals during the game tour in the reserve is forbidden as they may charge at you in case their mood changes so keep some distance away from them.
What guidelines to follow on Tour in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve
- Respect nature while on safari inVwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve and do not over ride it while in the park.
- Do not make noise or hoot while in the Wildlife Reserve because you may scare the wild animals.
- Dumping garbage in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve is forbidden because this alters the nature of the park where wild animals thrive. Do not pick anything from the park but only carry memories of this adventure.
- Do not get out of your facility at night while in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve because you may encounter some danger.
- Feeding the animals of the Wildlife Reserve is forbidden because they are wild animals that must search for their own food.
- Drive at the speed limit set by the park authorities as this helps not to knock down some animals.
- Do not drive off track while entering or leaving Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve because you destroy nature.
- All walking safaris in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve must be guided by an armed ranger guide to avoid chances of encountering dangerous animals in the reserve.
- Paying entrance fees to the reserve is a must as this is one of the ways to support park maintenance.
Do not pick anything from the Wildlife Reserve or leave anything but just carry memories, photos and experiences rather than depleting the reserve of its natural environment. For more information on filming in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve, contact Africa Fixers.
Choose Africa fixers
Africa Fixers is a local fixing company that assists production companies and crews to film in Malawi. Our job as a fixer company is to make sure that your shoot process is seamless. Africa Fixers has been helping crews organize their shoot in Malawi and other countries in Africa for over 10 years and we have gained a lot of experience in this field. We have stable connections with several authorities that are in charge of issuing our permits that are needed for filming in Malawi. Above all, we ensure that our clients have their shoots successfully.
