Month by month
Nyika in February
February eases only slightly from January's extreme, and the plateau is still deep in its wettest stretch of the year, orchids and breeding-plumage birds both at their best.
If you only want the answer
February barely lets up: 547 mm of rain over 28 days, days around 21.4°C, nights 14.1°C. Orchids are still at full bloom, and this is one of the better months to catch grassland birds in breeding plumage.
February weather: barely a let-up from January
February eases only slightly from January's extreme: 547 mm of rain over 28 days, with days holding at 21.4°C and nights at 14.1°C, the same night-time reading as the month before. The plateau is still deep in its wettest stretch, and the orchid display that started building in January is still at full strength; nothing about the flowering calendar changes between these two months.
Roan and eland stay where the grass lets them, mostly the open whaleback ridges near Chelinda where the ground drains faster, and leopard sightings on night drives remain a matter of patience rather than routine. Several drives rather than one is still the honest expectation for February.
Birds in breeding dress
This is one of the better months to see one of Nyika's two Malawi-endemic birds well: mountain marsh widowbird males take on full breeding plumage in the high dambos through the wet season, and February sits inside that window. Wattled crane, one of Africa's rarest cranes, is also more reliably found in these flooded valley-bottoms now than in the dry months, when the marshes shrink.
Churring cisticola, the other Malawi-only species on Nyika's list, keeps to grassland year-round, but February's thick cover makes it a bird you hear well before you see.
What to book, what to skip
CAWS's only published Chelinda Lodge rates sit either side of February, $350 per person in December and $410 from July to November, with nothing specifically quoted for this month. Treat that as a reason to ask rather than assume, on price and on whether the lodge is running full service.
One concrete tip: bring gaiters or old trousers you do not mind ruining. Much of February's best birding and orchid-spotting happens on foot off the tracks, and the grass stays wet from mid-morning rain most days.