Majete Wildlife Reserve

Long neglected, this reserve was mainly visited by poachers for most of the second half of the twentieth century. But starting in 2003, an organization called African Parks was granted a long-term management contract of Majete. To say it has been transformed doesn’t do it justice.

The reserve is now fenced to protect it from poaching. Improved roads and the addition of a cultural center, a community-owned tented camp, and a luxury safari camp compliment the massive amount of relocated animals in the reserve. The goal is to both create a sustainable wildlife sanctuary while providing a source of income to the local population.

In the northern sector, Mkulumadzi Lodge sits at the confluence of the Shire River and the smaller Mkurumadzi River. It is so secluded that you must transit over a footbridge and take another vehicle the remaining 500 meters to get to the lodge. It is a lovely and luxurious lodge, far removed from the Reserve’s entrance and other visitors. From the deck of my dwelling I could watch many animals along the water: elephants, crocodiles, birds, and baboons.

To the west of the main gate, Thawale Camp is probably the best 2-star tented lodge I’ve visited. One should not expect to be pampered at a simple lodge, and I wasn’t. But it was incredibly comfortable with solid foundations for the tents (there are family chalets, too) and an excellent watering hole for animals in the middle of the camp. I found myself checking the watering hole regularly, and more times than not spotting an animal.

Majete enjoys a variety of antelope: greater kudu, bushbuck, waterbuck, sable, eland, and hartebeest. That provides an stable food supply for lions, cheetah, leopards, spotted hyenas, and wild dogs. However, on my visit, I learned that the cheetah are not thriving and may be relocated. In addition, there are elephants, hippo, warthog, zebra, giraffe, and a handful of rhino.

On my visit to Majete, we spotted a pride of lions with cubs along the riverbank one evening, lolling about with full bellies. As we sat patiently watching, one cub left the pride and was heading our way. Or so we thought. The lioness had killed a warthog and stashed its carcass at the base of a tree near our landie (slang for Land Rover or Land Cruiser), and the cubs were trying to sneak through the bush to the carcas for another bite.

We spotted giraffe and sable and roan amongst the scrub brush as we drove. There were lions near a cape buffalo that we watched, but the lions had no interest in tangling with the big boy. And one morning, while having our tea and coffee in the bush near a watering hole, we spotted a pack of wild dogs trot into view. A rare sighting, we quickly ditched our morning snacks and climbed back into the landie and drove closer to the watering hole to watch the dogs.

Majete did not disappoint.