Liwonde National Park — Attraction in Machinga

Located in southern Malawi Liwonde National Park is one of the country's premier wildlife reserves. It covers an area of 548 square kilometers and is renowned for its diverse wildlife species and stunning landscapes. The park is situated along the Shire River which not only adds to its scenic beauty but also provides a vital water source for the animals.

Liwonde National Park is home to a wide array of wildlife including elephants hippos crocodiles antelopes zebras and various species of monkeys. There is also a significant population of lions leopards and hyenas making it a great destination for a safari experience. The park is known for its successful conservation efforts particularly the reintroduction of cheetahs and the translocation of numerous elephants to help restore their population.

The Shire River that runs through the park offers excellent opportunities for boat safaris and river cruises. These allow visitors to get up close to hippos crocodiles and numerous bird species that inhabit the riverbanks. The park also offers various walking trails and game drives for visitors to explore its diverse habitats including woodland grassland and wetlands.

Aside from wildlife watching Liwonde National Park also offers opportunities for fishing and birdwatching. The park is known for being a birder's paradise with over 400 bird species recorded including African fish eagles herons storks and kingfishers. The best time for birdwatching is during the wet season when the park becomes a haven for migratory birds.

Accommodation options within the park range from luxury lodges to basic campsites catering to different budgets and preferences. Some lodges even offer guided walkingaris and the commercial center Blantyre. It is a popular tourist destination offering an authentic African safari experience and a chance to connect with nature in a...

We live right next to the park, doing projects for the very poor rural people. We created 70 jobs through farming, a primary school and a medical clinic. We live with the people permanently and experience life next to the park as they do. We have high hopes to expand the uplifting work to many more locals in the years to come. The park offers luxurious accommodation and holiday possibilities to many people from overseas and also try to keep a good name in doing various projects to the local people but all these good attempts are cancelled to zero because of a fence destroyed beyond repair at various places causing elephants to roam around freely. For this reason the the park has absolutely no control over their elephants which leads to the destruction of the crops of the local people without any compensation for them. This poses a threat not only to the local people but also to the elephants. People must eat and if elephants have destroyed your harvest which was your only food for the winter, you must make plans to find food. This encourages pouching and revenge in return.

This situation is growing worse and worse year after year in spite of many empty promises from the park. The park wastes so much money in employing guards along the fence at night just to stand there as a show that something is done at least. These guards are absolutely ineffective.

Although many people enjoy all the pleasures the park offer, few people know about the violation of human rights and the threat posed to innocent animals by the mismanagement of this park.

People enjoying the luxury of the park are unaware of the devastating influence this park has on poor communities and their harsh response on pouching.

When will the park put up a fence for elephants so that man and animal can live next to each...

I recently visited some friends that live along the border of the park and what I experienced is horrifying as well as sad.

Night after night in the dark I heard many screams coming from the village and then my friends told me, "The elephants are out again tonight."

I was shocked to hear that the elephants very often roam freely in and out of the park and simply trample on the fence to go out and feed on the maize and rice crops of the very poor local people. And sometimes they also roam into the villages and cause serious damage to the mud and thatch houses of the people. The people store their harvested crops inside their houses and then the elephants often come and break open the house and eat as much as they like.

One night I witnessed how the elephants broke down the fence and entered into harvested cropland where maize were stacked in heaps to dry. I managed to take a few pictures and I will post them on this forum.

It is really terrible and sad that the elephants can be allowed to roam freely and eat, trample and destroy the crops of poor local people. I understand from the local people's testimonies that this causes terrible hunger in the area for long periods of time throughout the year. These people work very hard in their fields for weeks and then the elephants just come and eat it all and the poor people are completely defenseless against the elephants.

I sincerely hope that the park management will do something proper very soon to keep their elephants inside the park for the sakes of the...