Majete Wildlife Reserve

Majete had been shot out completely by the turn of the century, with not one single elephant left, and it is now the only place in all of Malawi where the big five live. Everything in it was brought back over more than twenty years of reintroductions, which makes it the most quoted conservation turnaround in the whole region. It lies low down in the hot Shire valley below Blantyre, so October is punishing and also brings the best game viewing of the year. Two camps and a single river boat serve the whole reserve.