Shire Eco Safari Camp — Local services in Balaka

For me Shire Eco Safari Camp is a very unique place which doesn't stand out with the typical african lodge style impressing us foreign people by an african interior design based on couches and pillows made of beautifully coloured traditional african textiles, wood carvings and other tribal accessories hanging on the wall or standing in each and every corner. And don't get me wrong, I do like these things too. But the magic of this place here is something else, far beyond that superficial world mentioned above. Something you find, when you leave plenty behind and get back to the roots. It's its simplicity, its quietness, its closeness to the nature that surrounds you.

If you just rest in your simple chalet with its big open window spaces only covered by mosquito nets, and you close your eyes.... you're right there, a part of the nature. You hear the singing of birds, the humming of insects, the wind gently moving the leaves of the trees. And maybe in some distance you might hear the sound of the Hippos moving around on the Shire River.

This tranquillity and peacefulness you find again if you start talking and sharing experiences and knowledge with Billy Mphande, the owner and soul of this place. If you listen carefully, you can learn a lot here...about the universe and its stars and planets, the nature and its animals... and about life! And while you talk to Billy about all of these serious things, about our responsibility for this planet and all creatures on it and how to make a change, the interruption of our 6 year old son asking curios questions brings you back into the here and now causing a big bright smile on Billy's face and a hearty laugh. To me that's the beauty of this place.

Then there is Billy's son Tandi, a nice and pleasant chap, who is taking care about the chalets and the kitchen and who will prepare really nice malawian meals for you.

If your interested in Astronomy, Billy and his staff will set up a big telescope for you to get a close look at the moon and the stars while giving you lots of information about our solar system and the universe.

Also you can book a 3 hour boat trip on the river seeing elephants, hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, waterbucks and many different birds. Or just wander along the fence line of the national park which touches one side of the property. You might get the chance to see some wildlife here as well.

So altogether it's about making a choice between the comfort zone of a traditional lodge or the basic eco camp with a deep connection...

An excellent budget safari camp with a knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Getting there The recommended way to get there is to call ahead and have them meet you near the Hippo View Lodge and take their boat back to the lodge. We drove to the camp using Google maps which successfully navigated us through the labyrinth of paths and trails to get to the lodge. You really need a truck and be comfortable with off-road driving. The 7.5 of trails took us about a half hour.

Accommodations We opted for a private chalet/tukul. Basic rustic accommodations bit it had all we needed - double bed with mosquito net and private washroom/shower. There is a dim light in the room and a charging station for phones and batteries. All solar powered.

Meals When we booked they asked what we liked and prepared delicious meals accordingly. They accommodated the quirks in our schedule. We needed to leave mid afternoon so they brought our lunch out to the boat for our river cruise.

Safari We did the driving safari with Billy Sr (owner)and found him to be very friendly, engaging and knowledgeable. His son took is for the river cruise where we saw lots of hippos and elephants.

Overall A very positive experience. It is nice to do business with a Malawian owned safari operator, which are rather uncommon, in part due to the difficulty of getting reasonable bank financing (25% interest means people like Billy work hard and expand their business as they go. So it is understandable that after a devastating cyclone, it takes a while to rebuild.

Highy recommended, particularly for the...

Quick and clear communication (mail and phone), so high expectations in advance but.. when visiting the camp, it became painfully clear how Covid also had a devastating effect on this place.

Maybe it used to be beautiful, but that's hardly visible anymore. You get a bit sad when you realize how it used to be, or see some pictures online.

Looks like there's a lot to be done to get this place back on track. Restore buildings, a lót of cleaning, general maintenance.. Was it all bad? No. The dinner was nice, our guide was a very nice guy and really tried his best. Same goes for the cook. The Safari was a bit of a deception due to engine failure but we still saw a lot of animals. The stargazing at night was a nice touch as well.

So, if you're thinking about visiting this place: please do! It's a beautiful place, and especially backpackers or people who don't want the luxury treatment shouldn't look any further. You get a real authentic Malawi experience. Hopefully the money will help them to restore the camp to something really worth visiting again in...