Huntingdon House
This grand colonial-style house was built in the 20s and is surrounded by magnificent gardens and beautiful ancient trees.
The tastefully refurbished house has five individually decorated suites, each of which started life in a different guise from the children's nursery to the resident priest's quarters. Dinners using fresh estate produce are served by a roaring fire in the grand lounge.
Activities on offer include riding, quadbikes, mountain biking and cultural visits to surrounding community projects. The Thyolo Sports Club is next to the estate and guests are can use the facilities at the club, including a nine-hole golf course, tennis and squash courts and a swimming pool. We also recommended a picnic on Thyolo Mountain, with panoramic views to the Lower Shire Valley and Mount Mulanje.
Why We Love It
The estate has been in the same family for generations, and members of the family still run the tea and coffee production.
Mvuu Wilderness Lodge
Mvuu Wilderness Lodge sits beside a lagoon besides the Shire River, surrounded by riverine forest, Borassus palms and floodplains.
The lodge offers comfortable tented accommodation in five spacious safari tents, with en-suite facilities. The dining room is on stilts high above the lagoon, and the pool is set amongst shady trees within earshot of hippos in the river.
Boat safaris, game drives and guided nature walks enable guests to see game as diverse as sable antelope, hippo, impala, and waterbuck. Huge crocodiles and serval are also common as well as prolific birdlife from African fish eagles to Böhm's bee-eaters.
In addition to the main game viewing activities, guests can do bicycle trips from the boundary of Liwonde to the local villages outside the park or spend a night in Ligwangwa, a typical rural Malawian village.
Why We Love It
Despite being situated by the Shire River, there isn't a hobbit in sight at Mvuu Wilderness Lodge but a lot of other beasties well worth viewing.