Lower Shire Valley

South west of Blantyre, the Shire river enters its final phase before leaving Malawi and joining the great Zambezi in Mozambique. This is the Lower Shire Valley, an extension of the Rift Valley and home to no less than three national parks/wildlife reserves. The river descends to the lower valley via a series of rapids and waterfalls before broadening out to meander along a wide floodplain utilised by vast sugar plantations. These are Malawi’s lowest areas, with altitudes below 50 metres above sea level. Access down to the Lower Shire Valley is along the M1 south of Blantyre and down the steep Thyolo Escarpment, which affords glorious views into the valley. Once in the valley, game viewing is offered in Majete Wildlife Reserve, Lengwe National Park and Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve with the most southerly Elephant Marsh also providing some excellent bird-watching. Accommodation on the Thyolo Escarpment at the beginning of the descent into the Lower Shire Valley is provided by Fisherman’s Rest – offering magnificent views, a small nature sanctuary and the opportunity to  get involved with some excellent community projects.

Another important element of the Lower Shire Valley is its cultural heritage. The Lower Shire Heritage Trust was formed to preserve and promote the culture of the Lower Shire Valley and the traditional ways of life of the people of the area. At the gate of Lengwe National Park the Lower Shire Heritage Centre, Tisunge! (chichewa for ‘Let us preserve!’), boasts a small museum, an arts & craft shop, a library, an open plan meeting area and an ablution block. Many ethnographic objects, from traditional and modern culture, have been collected in the villages, to be exhibited together with archaeological findings.

Before Livingstone’s arrival the Lower Shire Valley had a thriving weaving industry using locally grown cotton. In colonial times the raw cotton was shipped to England where the cloth was made and hence the weaving industry in Malawi completely disappeared. The cotton is still locally grown and the Trust reintroduced the traditional weaving, spinning and dying in the villages surrounding Lengwe National Park.

Alongside the wildlife reserves, the Lower Shire Valley is home to a vast sugar estate at Nchalo. For a long stretch of the M1, sugar cane fields extend on either side as far as the eye can see on the flat. The estate has its own small game sanctuary, Nyala Park and a sports club that includes a golf course.