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Malawi in the Press

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

Malawi has never been a country to attract masses of media coverage, and the comment "you never hear much about it" was one often made in the past. But times are changing, and little Malawi's starting to be noticed at last!

The general lack of coverage of Malawi has generally not been viewed as such a bad thing. For one, it indicates that all is safe, well and stable in Malawi since most African news stories (well most news stories from anywhere really) tend to focus on negatives - wars, political unrest, famine. For another, we don't want tooo many people finding out about our hidden gem and spoiling it! But the charms of Malawi really do deserve to be better known.

Of course, Madonna's visits in recent years have brought the eyes of the world on to Malawi, but the global media's obsession with the world's biggest pop star isn't actually quite as deep as it once was and her more recent visits have received fairly limited attention.

What's encouraging, is that Malawi is now receiving coverage in the travel press, who are reporting on its varied and unspoilt charms as a holiday destination.

MSN Travel has had a Malawi feature on it's homepage main menu for a month or more.

Travel Africa Magazine's latest Autumn edition has a full feature on Malawi's unique Nyika National Park, where Chelinda Lodge has just re-opened

In the couple of months, there have been full length Malawi features in Real Travel (Malawi was the cover story) and Adventure Travel magazines, and another is imminent in the Daily Mail. A journalist with a Daily Telegraph commission, and one from Wanderlust magazine are due out to Malawi soon. Throw in a couple of regional newspapers and a BBC Radio 4 documentary, and its clear that both coverage and awareness are definitely growing.

And it's not just the UK - a prolific freelance travel journalist from Germany has visited recently, and Malawi has received coverage as far afield as Brazil!

Maybe at last, Malawi is starting to get the attention it deserves, and "I saw something about Malawi the other day" will become the new regular comment!

The Warm Heart of Africa

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

Malawi has claimed to be 'The Warm Heart of Africa' for decades now. These marketing slogans can sometimes be stretching the truth, but in Malawi's case, this is a title that it well and truly continues to deserve.

People travel to Malawi for a variety of reasons - the Lake, the Wildlife, the Landscape (usually a combination of all 3), but there's little doubt that the overwhelming memory from their time in Malawi will be the People they've met. The Malawians greet all visitors with a beaming smile, and with a genuine, disarming warmth. They will go out of their way to be friendly and helpful to anyone who has done them the honour of visiting their country.

It came as no surprise that Malawi was listed as the 'Happiest' Country in Africa by Forbes recently. For more, click here We didn't need a report to know that!

There was a wonderful example recently of Malawians, and the Malawi tourist industry, rallying round to help a visitor in need. We were alerted to a 'missing person' in Malawi who had travelled up from South Africa but not been heard from by his family for a week or more. A quick message round the industry spread the word across the country and the search was on (including Air Malawi checking all their passenger lists). Within hours, he had been found and put back in touch with his family. He'd been laid low with malaria in a remote hospital bed.

Lodge developments are continuing apace in Malawi

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

Lodge developments are continuing apace in Malawi.

Down in the far south of the country, Robin Pope Safaris have begun work on their lodge in Majete Wildlife Reserve. Set at the confluence of two rivers and accessed via a footbridge, this promises to be a VERY special lodge and a fabulous addition to the Malawi portfolio. The site is stunning, though not without some problems when it comes to actually building a lodge there! For an update, see the recent news item.

Meanwhile, work on the second lodge in Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve, Tongole, is coming along well. It’s had its ups and downs, but that’s to be expected when building in the African wilderness. Progress is being made and spirits are still very high, buoyed by a recent party for all the construction workers! A container has left the UK stacked full of items to make your stay something special when you go and visit. And they are currently sourcing their vehicles and thrashing out the usual Land Rover vs Japanese arguments! A mix of the two seems to be the happy compromise – test them out and see which ones take to the rugged landscapes of Nkhotakota best! A September opening is still on track. Meanwhile, new scout camps and an impressive gate entry into the Reserve are being built by the Department of National Parks & Wildlife.

Weddings in Malawi

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

The question 'can we get married in Malawi' is an increasingly asked one. It's a very easy answer - YES! The paperwork and technicalities are relatively straightforward and can all be organised by any lodge that offers to be the venue for your wedding.

If a beach wedding is what you fancy, then there's nowhere better than Lake Malawi's stunning beaches and crystal clear waters. But here, as well as the beaches, there's the added advantage of being able to go on safari as part of your honeymoon, or explore some of Malawi's beautiful scenery.

And the weddings don't have to be restricted to the beaches. 'Local churches' don't come any more impressive than the 19th Century, missionary-built St Paul's on Likoma - a cathedral the size of Winchester's on an island in the middle of lake Malawi! Or how about on an historic, colonial tea estate overlooked by the highest mountain in Central Africa?

With the main interest currently in the beaches, a number of Malawi's main lakeshore lodges now offer weddings packages. The latest to join this list is Ngala Beach Lodge.

On 1st May they hosted their first beach wedding which was a great success. The guest list totaled some 170 guests. so outside caterers were needed to help out in providing the wedding lunch - which proved to be excellent. The guests all had a great time. Ngala will now be marketing itself as a weddings venue and will shortly be updating their website with details and available packages.

Responsible tourism in action - Mumbo Island

Fri, 28 May 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

On Mumbo Island, responsible tourism has always been at the core of their operations. This month we have a couple of wonderful examples of how the local communities are supported by Kayak Africa.

Last month, Billy Bwanali, the local tailor at Cape Maclear, re-upholstered every cushion on Mumbo and Domwe islands. He completed this epic task in three long days, setting up his Singer treadle machine on the deck at basecamp and sewing all day. Everything now looks fresh and gorgeous in the new chitenje colour scheme of green, blue and black. But (and this is the is the really good part), some of the old cushion covers were still in good condition, so Billy used them to make one hundred new dresses for the orphans in Chembe village. How is that for a great story of reducing, re-using, recycling and the support of local communities by tourism?

And it doesn't stop there. A local humanitarian, appropriately named Vision, looks after these vulnerable orphaned children on an entirely informal basis. He and his wife feed over two hundred children daily on money donated by a number of people in the village, including Kayak Africa. Vision has an admirable vegetable garden where he grows food for the orphans, teaches them gardening skills and sells this produce to the local lodges: some of Mumbo’s delicious salads come from this garden – food with a conscience!

The orphans aren't the only ones to benefit in Cape Maclear. On the 1st May, the larger than life “Grey Beard of African Adventure”, Kingsley Holgate, visited Cape Maclear. He and his entourage of volunteers are journeying north through Africa from South Africa to Uganda, taking in Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, as part of the United Against Malaria initiative, an umbrella partnership of many interested parties aiming to eradicate malaria in Africa. This is one of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. They were distributing mosquito nets, predominantly to pregnant women and to women with babies and toddlers, as they are most susceptible to the disease. Insecticide impregnated nets are shown to greatly reduce the incidence of malaria. Kingsley came to Chembe Village, Cape Maclear at the invitation of Kayak Africa, who arranged this visit and his previous visit in 2008.

Responsible Travel in Malawi

Thu, 27 May 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

'Responsible Travel' is a big buzz phrase these days with all and sundry trying to jump on the band wagon and claim to be responsible for the marketing benefits it brings. We're often asked if there is anyone practising responsible tourism in Malawi, but the operators in Malawi are generally bemused by this question. It's an absolute no-brainer to them - of course they are, always have been and always will be. They were doing it long before anyone came up with a term for it - it's just the way they've always been. The fact is that Malawi's lodges and safari operators didn't just spot a marketing opportunity and decide to badge themselves as responsible. No, the very reason they are running these business is from a love for Malawi and a strong desire to want to support local communities in Malawi, and conserve natural environments. You'd be hard pressed to find a lodge in Malawi that didn't have an active community support programme. And if they are based in a protected area (national park, wildlife reserve, or forest reserve) then work preserving the environment around them is what takes up much of their time and effort.

Do these lodges have carefully drafted 'Responsible Tourism' policies? Most don't.

Do these lodges use 'Responsible Tourism' as a prominent, slick marketing tool and make it immediately obvious that's how they operate? No.

Do these lodge support local communities and work hard to preserve the natural world around them? You bet!

Is this something they expect to be rewarded for, or to generate them more business? No, they do it because these are the very reasons they have chosen to set up in these locations.

For more information, we've a Responsible Travel section of the site and a Charities section. And keep your eyes on the News items and Blogs. Most of the news stories we get from the lodges in Malawi are about the success of their community projects - it's what they are most proud of.

Refurbs & Upgrades

Tue, 11 May 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

There's lots going on in Malawi this year, with new lodges being built, and current ones being refurbished and upgraded. Really, there hasn't been a year like it before. It's very exciting to see these new developments, and a real indication that Malawi's tourism is going from strength to strength. Nobody would build or re-furbish a lodge in Malawi if they didn't see a demand for it. the demand seems to be ever growing.

We'll keep you updated on all these developments as they happen - through the blog and news pages on this site, and through Twitter - so do keep coming back to check what's going on.

Already, if you look at the News page, you'll see various stories on upgrades and developments. An update on that comes from Kaya Mawa, which was closed for many months before re-opening in April, now with suites, private houses and plunge pools throughout! Their first month re-opened has been a great success, with fantastic feedback from their first guests. And they've just had a photographer visit, so expect some new pictures on their website soon: www.kayamawa.com

New Website!

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 -1:00:00 GMT

Our website has already established itself over the last 10 years as THE source of information on travel to and around Malawi, but it was beginning to look fairly old fashioned, and was falling behind in terms of functionality. After many months of hard work (by the guys at Pedalo Design, not by us!), we're really excited that the new site is about to launch!

There's a great new fresh design, it's easier to navigate and easier to manage. There is even more useful information for anyone planning a trip to Malawi, and brand new visuals to show you just how beautiful the country is. We'll soon even have video clips up on the site.

We'll be tweeting and blogging, and putting regular news items on the site, so you can keep fully up to date with what's happening as Malawi's tourism starts to take off!