Lake Malawi

July is a very good time of the year to visit this site. The temperature is simply perfect! Two nights on Mumbo Island, which is in the south end of the lake about one hour from Cape MacClear, is just an adventure. The Island has never been populated and is still in its natural state with a thick covering of miombo woodland and ancient fig and baobab trees. The island gives you a Robinson Crusoe feeling, unspoiled in the middle of “an ocean”. 

The lodge is run by Kayak Africa, which have a lodge in Cape MacClear as well. The camp has 6-7 cabins which is down to earth, with simple cabins build of reeds, timber, thatch and canvas, bucket showers and eco-loos. The place has neither electricity, wifi or telephone service, but the personal service is impeccable!

What to do in such a remote place? There are activities like snorkelling, kayaking, hiking or just relaxing. But first, a dive into the water it’s a must. Lake Malawi is famous for its endemic cichlids. The small beach is iconic, and perfect for snorkelling. There are more than 500 different species of cichlids, and the bay is at great place to enjoy them.

There is a network of hiking trails perfect for exploring the island. The trails runs around the island and are perfect to enjoy the vegetation an the great views of Lake Malawi. There are lots of different birds, for instance we spotted several Fish Eagles …

Lake Malawi was on my safari tour so I visited this without gunning for a WHS “tick” before I started travelling more frequently. The lodges at the shore are nice but shockingly poor villages surround the luxury. After arriving I asked about scuba diving and we arranged it for the next day. The same evening I went out on a lovely modern catamaran to see the rockfish. This is one of the main criteria of the OUV and I have to say that is worth it alone (I hate the outstanding beauty criteria). The your leta you feed them which is a bit controversial, with the guide grabbing them in his palm and letting you try the same...okay anyway you must do the sunset trip. The next day I went diving with a lovely instructor form the US who is basically doing charity. That means diving is cheap and especially the courses as most of the fees go to PADI. I would definitely do a course here if you want to save a lot of money. As for the two dives, the main attraction are the catfish drawing circles into the seabed. If you are lucky you see one performing the dance else you will most definitely find the rings as well as the catfish itself. Towards the end of the dive we cleaned up fishing nets which are a big problem here. That and from what I read there are oil reserves below the lake.

Definitely worth the …

Supposedly, one of the first Europeans to see Lake Malawi, a Portuguese trader, said it was more like the sea and you can't argue with him when you view the lake from Cape McClear.

Getting to the UNESCO designated area of the lake is a little inconvenient. The crowded "scheduled" (i.e. when they are much more than full) buses or matolas, from various towns and villages only go to Monkey Bay, which is a spread out, bustling stretch of small wood shacks housing a variety of businesses and brick huts. Like most of Malawi, people are constantly on the move, mostly on foot or on bike. I didn't fine it very inviting.

Then you have to take some other form of transportation (taxi, pick up truck, motorbike taxi)for the additional 18 km to the Cape along a partially paved, mostly bumpy, dusty, dirt road that passes through some stunning African hillsides before you catch a glimpse of the lake. That takes about 45 minutes. Or, if time and comfort are important, (not knocking them) you can hire a car and driver from your jumping off place and cut down the travel time by more than half in some cases. (Four hours from Blantyre vs. ten or so by the matolas.)

There are several lodges at various prices at the Cape and they work together in a sort of cooperative so all the local merchants share the wealth. A person can actually sit on the lake shore and not be endlessly …

Beautiful. Definitely recommend going with some guidance from a local. Have to be careful where you swim due to parasites. Went out in a boat to an island where we could see lots of small colourful fish and jump off a rock into the lake. An amazing day!