| Along
with the Big Five, Malilangwe like to show you
their Little Six; six species of small beautiful
antelope - klipspringer, Sharpe's grysbok, grey
duiker, steenbok, rare Livingstone's suni and
oribi who reappeared after almost dying out in
the great drought of 1992-3. Some rarely seen
shy animals that you may be lucky enough to observe
here are aardvark, painted hunting dogs (wild
dogs) and caracal (lynx cat) with long tufted
ears.
Malilangwe is a haven for birds
with over 400 species and one of the highest concentrations
of large breeding eagles in the world. There are
14 species of eagle, 11 hawks and 9 different
owls. Unlike the large mammals who reside here
all year, birds come and go. February sees huge
colonies of tiny quelea who come to nest here
in their thousands. In June purple rollers arrive
from Mozambique and in November woodland kingfishers
pull in from West Africa. From the Asian steppes
migratory eagles and falcons come to join the
resident raptors. Amongst the team of Malilangwe
guides are some highly respected and passionate
bird experts.
The lakes contain
some true trophy-sized bass and keen anglers may
try their hand to catch them.
SEASONS
Dry
Season: The cool dry season is from April
to August. This six month period of almost completely
dry, sunny weather gives average temperatures
in the mid 70's°F to the low 80's°F (23-28°C).
By late June the leaves begin to fall from the
trees and the tall grasses have been trampled
by game, making it prime game-viewing time. The
hot dry spell is from September to November and
game viewing is at its peak especially in the
cool of early morning and early evening. Midday
temperatures are a sizzling 90°F+ (34°C+),
but humidity is low.
Rainy Season: From November to
March it rains about one out of every five days.
The sun emerges again after every thunderstorm
and humidity and heat are high. The greenery is
lush and wild flowers emerge in profusion. Thousands
of migratory birds arrive to take advantage of
this of plenty, when nature puts on her fullest
displays.
MALILANGWE
SPECIALITIES
• Big Five and Little Six
• Black and white rhino
• Relaxed game viewing
• Two top class safari lodges
• Community involvement
FACTS
Malilangwe
Reserve has 100,000 acres of pristine bushland.
Just two private lodges have game viewing access
to this land.
The reserve is in the south-eastern corner of
Zimbabwe at 21 degrees latitude. |
