Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve is a national game reserve in Malawi. In contrast to the

Nyika National Park Nyika National Park is Malawi’s largest national park, with an area of 3200 km2 (1250 mile2). Location and road access The park covers practically the whole of the Nyika Plateau in northern Malawi, about 480 km north of Lilongwe and 60 km no ...

on the

Nyika Plateau The Nyika Plateau lies in northern Malawi, with a small portion in north eastern Zambia. Most of it lies at elevations of between , the highest point being at Nganda Peak. It is roughly a diamond in shape, with a long north–south axis of about ...

, much of Vwaza is located on low-lying flat ground although the eastern side of the park is hilly. It is located to the southeast of the plateau and to the north of the floodplains of

South Rukuru River The South Rukuru River is a river of northern Malawi. The South Rukuru rises in southern Mzimba District, and flows roughly north-northeast to empty into Lake Malawi. Its watershed mostly lies in the Mzimba Plain. Its tributaries drain the we ...

and covers an area of 1,000 km². The park is characterised by Mopane and Miombo woodland and marshy wetlands which attracts a significant number of birds to the reserve. Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve is rarely visited by many, largely due to poor road conditions and difficult terrain and inaccessibility. The variation in animal number of species type may vary from season to season as they cross the border with the North Luangwa National Park in Zambia. Typically the reserve has large herds of Cape buffaloes and elephants, and a large variety of

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

including roan, greater kudu, Lichtenstein's hartebeest,

eland Eland may refer to: Animals *''Taurotragus'', a genus of antelope ** Common eland of East and Southern Africa ** Giant eland of Central and Western Africa Places * Eland, Wisconsin, United States * An old spelling of Elland, West Yorkshire * Ela ...

and

impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...

. Warthogs are also found in this reserve as well as a hippopotamus pod in

Lake Kazuni Lake Kazuni is a lake of Malawi. It is located in the Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve is a national game reserve in Malawi. In contrast to the Nyika National Park on the Nyika Plateau, much of Vwaza is located on low-lying f ...

. Moses the orphaned elephant that now is at Jumbo Foundation elephant orphanage in Lilongwe Malawi, was rescued by rangers at Vwaza marsh in the South Rukuru river

Notable birdlife include Goliath herons, openbill storks and the rare white-winged starling.

is located in the reserve and supports a notable hippo population. Site has a wide variety of plants communities and there are 398 species of vascular plants from 71 families.

References

Protected areas of Malawi Geography of Northern Region, Malawi Important Bird Areas of Malawi Central Zambezian miombo woodlands {{Africa-protected-area-stub