Mvuu

Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd November 2025. Here we are in Malawi, our final destination on this particular trip. We are staying at Mvuu Lodge on the shores of the Shire River which forms the western boundary of Liwonde National Park. Mvuu translates to Hippo, an apt name since those lumbering creatures abound. Wherever you are around Mvuu Lodge you are never far from a Hippo with their snorting and grunting, which I love, echoing around the inlet besides which the camp buildings stand.

The prime reason for our visit here is to connect with the Bӧhm’s Bee-eater, a species of restricted range that can, so the literature promises, be encountered with relative ease. Hmmm, heard that before. However, upon our arrival, the young woman escorting us to our cabin nonchalantly pointed to a pair of birds perched in a shrub “There’s a couple of Bӧhm’s Bee-eaters, they’re common around here”. I couldn’t believe it would be such a simple exercise, no effort, no tramping through steaming jungle with biting insects galore, no sweat, thorns or encounters with man-eating lions. Just a casual observation before we’d even taken our boots off. Subsequently, these two beauties, or maybe others, hawked bees around our cabin throughout our stay and could even be watched whilst brushing your teeth in the morning. Surreal.

It is the rainy season here, so our days at Mvuu are spent cruising along the river or driving through the forest depending on what the weather is doing. We’ve managed a gentle trip on the water every day, only getting a little wet once when a heavy squall blew in from the direction of Lake Malawi. We saw it approaching, donned waterproofs, put away the cameras and had a cup of tea and a few biscuits while the rain pelted down. It soon passed over and the calm, overcast conditions resumed. The river itself and the vegetated banks play host to large numbers of birds, mammals and reptiles, making it a very lively and interesting experience.

And, of course, the Hippos are ever present.

The open forest surrounding Mvuu Lodge, radiates for miles. The regular downpours make for an interesting drive and the ‘African Massage’ metaphor certainly applies as the jeep plunges into deep ruts and slides along thick muddy tracks. Wildlife is everywhere of course, and we encounter many animals as we bump and bounce along. One bird species we hope to find is the Racket-tailed Roller, a species that eluded us in Zambia a couple of years back. We try hard to track one down, but despite searching far and wide are unsuccessful. A quartet of strikingly colourful rollers raised hopes at one point as they hawked insects around a herd of Buffalo, but these turned out to be overwintering European Rollers – lovely to see anyway.

Our extensive pursuit of the elusive bird resulted in an unfortunate, but also amusing, episode late one afternoon. Encountering a waterlogged stretch of road, our driver decided to bypass the obstruction by using a seemingly fresh set of jeep tracks through the bush. He got stuck. With darkening skies and emerging nightjars we disembarked while frantic efforts to free the jeep commenced. Twenty minutes later, the driver strolled over to us and resignedly suggested we just have a drink (this was a sundowner trip). There we were 5 miles from camp in near darkness, in deep forest where we knew Lions, Leopards and Buffalo roamed, sipping a G&T (or tea for Denise). We couldn’t help but laugh at the scene, which reminded us of the stiff upper lip nonsense portrayed in ‘Carry on up the Kyber’ as the English completed their tea and tiffin regardless of the whole building collapsing around their ears.

A second jeep arrived, we transferred to that and within 10 metres were hopelessly stuck again! A third jeep was radioed for and this one approached from the opposite end of the bypass – but got bogged down within seconds. Eventually a forth jeep arrived, stayed on the main track and safely transported us back to base. We learned later that the poor crews were out until after midnight extricating the stricken vehicles from the mire.

Monday 24th November 2025. The journey comes to an end. Awake at first light, 4.30am, listening to the transition from a chorus of frogs and crickets to birds of every glorious sound. Through the mass of warbles, flutes, croaks, trills and croaks came the snorting of hippos that lurk around the lodge eying passers by with suspicion before sinking out of sight into the Namagogodo Lagoon. Up and out by 5.30, sitting by the inlet having a last look at the characterful birds that have been our companions and entertainers for the past 4 days.

The Pied Kingfishers that are constantly chasing one another from shrub to shrub, hovering on flickering wings before plunging arrow like onto a small fish. Their diminutive cousins, the colourful Malachite Kingfishers, little sprites of blue and gold, flit around in front of us beneath bright yellow Southern Brown-throated Weavers that we’ve watched building nests and posturing beneath their woven structure in an attempt to woo a mate. A stealthy crocodile slides towards a strutting Jacana that is far too wary to be fooled. The croc slowly turns away to seek less conscious prey. A pair of massive African Fish Eagles fly by, land in a palm and commence their piercing screams, throwing their heads back and letting rip. They are answered by a neighbouring pair, and it probably goes on like this up and down the river, each pair telling the others we are alive, this patch belongs to us, stay away. A large, slow gliding raptor passes overhead pursued by a paper chase of anxious Palm Swifts, a Harrier Hawk in all probability looking to raid the nests of the slim, aerially adept swifts to make his breakfast. 

Night Herons grunt their way across the water, an Open-billed Stork sails around in a decreasing spiral before alighting on the bare tree favoured by all sorts of birds. Skeins of Glossy Ibis fly along the main river to feed on rich pickings downstream and from the bathroom before we left to sit in this place so full of life, I watched a Bӧhm’s Bee-eater catch flies and bees from its favourite perch in its favourite tree. Goodbye to Mvuu Lodge and the staff that have looked after us so well, hand shaking the guide that has done us proud and even laughed at my jokes, a quick ferry across to the waiting car and we’re away. Leaving the magic behind as if it were still frames from a distant world.