Zambia & Malawi: Livingstone Trail - 16 Days

(Small Group Tour)

This exciting small group tour explores the lesser travelled South Eastern African countries of Zambia and Malawi. The journey offers amazing scenery and fantastic highlights, including the adrenaline-filled experience of canoeing down the Zambezi River, the incredible wildlife of the South Luangwa National Park and the idyllic blue waters of Lake Malawi. This safari experience is not for the faint hearted, and requires some patience; travelling can be slow and some nights the accommodation is basic. However, it is well worth the long travel days and is the perfect safari for travellers with a sense of adventure.

Lusaka - Kafue River - Lower Zambezi - Great East Road - South Luangwa NP - Lilongwe - Mulanje Massif - Liwonde - Lake Malawi - Lilongwe

Departs: Lusaka, Zambia (Saturday 16:00pm)
Ends: Lilongwe, Malawi (Sunday 11:00am)

Set Tour Departures 2024
*Bold dates: guaranteed departures (other dates guaranteed with minimum 4 people)

23 Mar
25 May
15 June
13 July, 27 July
24 Aug
21 Sept
5 Oct
2 Nov, 16 Nov
7 Dec

From AUD$5,555 per person twin share
From AUD$7,055 per person single

Local payment of USD$300 per person (to be paid to guide on day 1)

*Single travellers are able to travel at twin share rate if willing to share with another single traveller of the same gender. If no additional traveller of the same gender can be found to share a room with you, you will receive a single room at the twin share rate.

This small group tour includes the following:

Maximum: 12 people
Professional Safari Guides
Transport in minibus / safari truck. Potholes, speed bumps & rain-damaged gravel roads are characteristic of the areas you will travel through and can make driving slow and bouncy. For the game drives in South Luangwa we use open-sided 4WD vehicles with local guides.
12 nights staying in chalets, tented lodges and guest houses, with en suite facilities. On Mumbo Island 2 of the tented rooms share a bathroom – rooms will be allocated by guides. 3 nights camping – 1 night “camping wild” without fences in the wilderness on an island in the Zambezi and 2 nights in a formal campsite in Liwonde. (Tents, mats and chairs provided, but you will need to bring your own sleeping bag).

Limited Participation: An essential part of your safari is some participation. From carrying your own bag to cleaning your window and packing the truck in the morning – it’s all part of your adventure. For the longer days if everyone puts in a little effort the trip will run smoothly. Where the tour leaders provide meals we ask that clients help (on rotation) with washing up.

Detailed itinerary

A long drive takes you across the rolling Miombo forested hills of southern Zambia and down into the Zambezi Valley lowlands and your lodge on the banks of the Kafue River. Being a major tributary to the Zambezi River, it is the largest and longest river lying entirely within Zambia. Overnight on its banks and enjoy the sunset from the elevated deck.

Stay at:
Gwabi River Lodge (1 breakfast, 1 lunch)

Paddle down the mighty Zambezi River, home of the god - Nyami Nyami. Canoe past local riverside villages and magnificent scenery. Overnight at a wild campsite on Elephant Bones Island in the heart of the spectacular Zambezi Valley. The following morning continue the canoe safari through an area teeming with elephants, hippos and other wildlife. You will be collected by motorboat and transferred back up river to the lodge.

Stay at:
Day 3: Wild Camping – camp wild on an island for 1 night. The wild camp has no facilities; water and equipment will be supplied and taken with you. Wild camping can be very enjoyable but please remember to leave no trace of your stay and take all rubbish away. Toilets will be of the “dig and bury” variety. You will stay in a dome tents 2.2 x 2.2 x 1.8 metres and put them up and down (takes only 5 minutes). Tents have built-in insect nets. Mattresses, which are about 5 cm thick, warm and comfortable will be supplied. The camp chairs have a backrest. You will need to bring your own towel. (Breakfast, lunch & dinner)
Day 4: Gwabi River Lodge (breakfast, lunch)

Make your way down into “the valley” of the South Luangwa National Park. This remote region is one of Africa’s finest wildlife sanctuaries where elephants, hippo, lion and leopard abound. Your lodge, on the banks of the Luangwa River, overlooks the national park and you can frequently see hippos and elephants from the camp swimming pool!

Explore the game management area and the national park on a game walk and open 4WD game drives, one at night with spotlights, to see nocturnal animals. (In the green season, Dec – Apr, walks may not be possible in which case we’ll do extra game drives).
There is time on the last afternoon either to relax in camp or take another game walk, game drive or village visit activity (own expense).

Stay at:
Wildlife Camp (3 breakfasts, 3 lunches)

Tour one of Malawi’s famous tea plantations in the Thyolo region before making your way to the lodge in Mulanje. Mount Mulanje’s bare rock flanks tower to almost 3002m, dwarfing all that surrounds it, and influencing cloud patterns in the area, making it an important source of rain water at the head of almost every river in this part of southern Malawi. Formed about 130 million years ago, archaeological investigation reveals evidence of human activity since the Stone Age. Take a day walk on the slopes to see the streams, waterfalls and towering peaks.

Stay at:
Kara o’Mula (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches)

Ancient baobab trees and lofty palms provide the backdrop for this magnificent southern Malawi reserve. Covering 548 km2 of the upper Shire River plains and valley slopes, Liwonde harbours Malawi’s largest remaining elephant population and the critically endangered Black Rhino.

In the morning, explore the grassland and woodland habitats in search of leopards, elephants, hippos, antelopes and rare Lilian’s lovebirds in the safari truck. The river Shire flows along Liwonde’s western border and you’ll board a river cruise safari in the hopes of finding hippo, crocodiles, elephants or any other game coming down to quench their thirst in the late afternoon.

Stay at:
Mvuu Camp (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners)

Lake Malawi is the jewel of Malawi and one the Great Rift Valley lakes. Head to Lake Malawi National Park and take a boat to the secluded tropical Mumbo Island, near Cape Maclear. The rustic lodge is an idyllic paradise with kayaks and snorkelling gear available to explore the island and snorkel with the jewelled fish, the endemic Cichlids. The friendly people of Malawi make it the “warm heart of Africa”.

Stay at:
Mumbo Island (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Wake up to the sound of the birds on your own paradise island. Roll out of bed and head down to the beach to soak a morning of sun and relaxation or take a kayak for a paddle around the island. Stop to snorkel and be amazed by the sheer variety of colour fish.

Later, catch the ferry back to mainland and climb back onto the truck to return to Lilongwe, sun-tanned, laid-back and ready to re-join life.

Stay at:
Woodlands Lilongwe Hotel (breakfast, lunch)

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