NYIKA NATIONAL PARK

Game viewing on the plateau is enhanced by the varying vegetation and panoramic views. Some of the larger animals include zebra, roan, eland, bushbuck, reedbuck, warthog and leopard. Nyika is also known for its duiker, including the rare red duiker, but they tend to be quite skittish.

Night drives offer much in the way of nocturnal activities; keen an eye out for honey badgers, bushpigs, servals, civets, genets and bushbabies along with the nightjars that take up their nightly position in the middle of the dusty roads using the open space as a hunting ground for insects.

Walking is a delight in Nyika because of the views and the great variety of wildflowers. In October, there are masses of yellow Helichrysums (or everlasting flowers), delicate pink and blue gladioli, Pelargoniums, tiny hibiscus and orchids like the spectacular blue disa that grows among exposed rocks. Dissotis shrubs give splashes of purple to the rocky outcrops. In November the proteas and giant lobelias come into bloom.

There are small patches of forest with huge buttress-rooted trees such as yellowwoods, ebonies, red-barked Hagenias and many others, some of which are draped with monkey vines or Lianas. Often blue monkeys can be heard calling in the woods.

The Chisanga Falls are a short hike down through the Brachystegia woodlands with their new spring leaves emerging in rich burgundy colours, reminiscent of autumn. The falls vary from dry season to wet but there’s almost always a good rush of water falling no matter the time of year.