It is almost time to leave for our yearly long distance holiday.  After our visit to Malawi in December 2015 we realised that there is so much that Malawi has to offer that we just have to go back to experience more of this beautiful country.

We are taking a slightly different route this time as we have decided to avoid going through Zimbabwe and Mozambique en-route to Malawi.  Our route will take us through Botswana and Zambia and back the same way, and the planning is as follow:

Day 1:  14 December 2016

This is the first day of our holiday and we will cross the border into Botswana at Martinsdrift.  From here to Camp Itumela in Palapye where we will spend the first night

Day 2:  15 December 2016

Day 2 will take us to Nata were we will camp at Nata Lodge.  From Nata Lodge we will visit the Nata Bird Sanctuary and hope to see at least a few flamingos on the Sua Pans.

Day 3:  16 December 2016

Day 3 will see us driving all the way up to Kasane where we will camp at Kubu Lodge.  While in Kasane the plan is to do a sunset cruise on the Chobe river.

Day 4:  17 December 2016

On this day we plan to cross the border into Zambia with the Kasangulu Fairy.  After crossing the border we will make our way to Livingstone were we will camp at Vic Falls Waterfront.  We might go for a swim in Devils Pools while here but if not we will definitely do it on our return visit.

Days 5 – 7:  18 – 20 December 2016

We will now be on our way to Chipata where we will leave Zambia and cross the border into Malawi.  En-route we will stay one night over at Eureka Camp just outside Lusaka and the following night at Bridge Camp halfway to Chipata.  Our destination in Chipata is Mama Rula’s.

Days 8 – 10:  21 – 23 December 2016

After crossing the border into Malawi we will make our way to Lifupa Lodge in the Kasungu National Park where we will spend three nights.  We are quite excited about this as we have heard and read a lot of this park.  We hope to also meet Mike Labuschagne of Africa Parks during our visit.  We had an invite to visit him during our December 2015 trip but had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances.

Days 11 – 14:  24 – 27 December 2016

This 4 days will be the highlight of our trip and is one of the reasons of returning to Malawi.  We will spend the four days at Makuzi Beach at Lake Malawi.  In our view one of the most beautiful places in Malawi and a must visit during a visit to Malawi.

Days 15 – 17:  28 – 30 December 2016

We will spend this 3 days at Mlambe Beach and surroundings.  We did not book a specific campsite for this 3 days and will be led by what is available.  During our previous visit Mlambe was on our to do list but we had to skip it as we stayed longer at other areas next to the lake.  This time we will visit it as it is recommended by many visitors and we want to experience it for ourselves.

Days 18 – 22:  31 December 2016 to 4 January 2017

This 5 days will see us making our way back from Malawi to Kasane in Botswana the way we have come and staying at the same campsites.  We will go for a swim in Devils pool at Livingstone if not done on our way up to Malawi and might consider another boat cruise on the Chobe river.

Day 23:  5 January 2017

On this 23^rd day of our trip we will drive all the way from Kasane to Francistown where we will spend the night at Woodlands just outside of Francistown.  Technically the last day of our holiday.

Day 24:  6 January 2017

On 6 January we will make our way back home all the way from Francistown, through the border at Martinsdrift, to Pretoria where another exiting long distance trip will end.

TRIP UPDATES

From day one of our trip we will make regular postings to our blog page sharing our experiences with you as and when we have internet connection which we believe we will have most of the time.

We will also work on our more detailed trip report which we will publish as usual when we are back home.

Greetings

Pieter & Gerida

Landrovingafrica