Charters:
Club Makokola offers a number of air and boat charter options. All charters are dependant on equipment availability and suitability of current weather conditions.
M.V Sunbird
This 24 meter long cruiser offers all the amenities needed for pleasant excursions on the lake and down to the Liwonde National Park.
The boat has three cabins, two toilets, and a fully fitted kitchen, bar facilities, a sun deck as well as a comfortable lounge. It can carry twenty people on day excursions and can sleep eight passengers in comfort.
Daily charters are available to Cape Maclear, Monkey Bay, Malindi Pottery and Mangochi Town. Half day charters are available to Boadzulu Island and fishing villages near the hotel. The M.V. Sunbird is particularly suited to sail to Liwonde National Park. This excursion is ideal for groups between eight and twenty.
The Voyage of the Sunbird
The boat sails from Club Makokola after breakfast at about seven thirty. The first hour and half its sails southwards towards the mouth of the Shire River, the only river that leaves Lake Malawi and the Zambezi’s largest tributary. Once it gets to the bottom of the lake it crosses over the bar, a famous landmark often referred to in early pioneers and missionary diaries.
It then enters the Upper Shire River, this part of the waterway is fairly densely inhabited and a sharp look out has to be kept for fishing nets and fishermen in their flimsy canoes. Many water birds and birds of prey are sited in this bit of river. Soon after entering the river the boat sails past the village of Mponda, once a very important slave centre and scenes of the first artillery firing in the history of Central Africa. Immediately after Mponda comes the town of Mangochi. A brand new bridge spans the river at this point and the crew have to make the boat ready to pass under it. Mangochi is a very old town, founded by Sir Harry Johnston in 1891 to control the slave trade along the river and the southern lakeshore. From the boat you can see some very nice old colonial buildings. The arrival of the Sunbird always causes a lot of confusion along the banks and on the bridge. Past the bridge the river is inhabited and you can enjoy many scenes of rural African life. Woman washing in the river, children playing, fishermen repairing their nets and fish drying on racks.
Not long after the boat enters Lake Malombe a shallow round lake. Lunch is usually served during the crossing. This lake is home to a very large number of fishing boats which can often be seen out on the lake. As the Sunbird reaches the end of Lake Malombe, it enters the Liwonde National Park where all traces of human habitation disappears. On entering the river once again hippos and crocodiles are abundant everywhere as well as the extremely rich bird life of this beautiful park. The high deck of the Sunbird is ideal as it permits unlimited views over the tall papyrus that lines the bank. Herds of antelope and elephant can be seen grazing. It is possible to go aboard one of the tenders to go and observe crocodiles sun basking or to watch the small richly coloured kingfishers. The sunbird will eventually drop anchor in front of the Mvuu Camp at about half past one in the afternoon.
The passengers can then check into the Lodge or the Camp for the evening and enjoy an evening safari in the park. The following morning a walking safari is recommended in this small but very picturesque natural oasis before departing again on the Sunbird for Club Makokola, arriving at the hotel as the sun is setting over the hills.
The M.V. sunbird is the only boat of its size in Central Africa that runs from a great African Lake into a National Park along a river. The scenery cannot be that different from what the first missionaries saw when they sailed up the Shire on the first steamer in 1875, now it’s a bit more comfortable with cold beers and snacks available all the time.
AIR CHARTERS
Club Makokola has its own aerodrome served by a scheduled IATA airline with regular flights. This offers unlimited possibilities for charters to many destinations in the country and the neighbouring region. In addition, those guests with their own plane can fly directly in to the hotel grounds. Information can be supplied on request.
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