HEARTLAND
Words Kate Heeley
Photography Adriaan Louw
Imagine wriggling your toes in hot, white sand or plunging off a sun-baked rock into water so clear you can see a kaleidoscope of fish 15m down. Picture swinging in a hammock underneath a mango tree on a beach in a little known paradise... This may sound like the stuff of dreams, but it’s real, very real, and it exists in a beautiful place called Malawi.
Sandwiched between Zambia and Mozambique, Malawi is a narrow, landlocked country. Due to its position in Africa’s Great Rift Valley it boasts a variety of diverse landscapes – from fertile plateaus to dramatic mountains and marshlands teeming with bird life. Yet Malawi would not stand out on the green-and-brown map of southern Africa, were it not for its famous strip of blue. Lake Malawi, a striking body of water that stretches over 500 km along Malawi’s eastern border, dominates the land. More than that, it has a magical presence. For honeymooners the lake is also undeniably rom ntic. During the day, the sun dances on its surface, creating shards of light that dazzle and shimmer. Clouds play on a silvery horizon as a distant storm builds, then dissipates. Brilliant sunsets are reflected on the water; later, a moon cuts a path into its velvety blackness. To watch this daily performance with the person you love the most is an experience to cherish.
Yet seeing the lake for the first time is surprising – the width and breadth of its hard-to-define blue beginning where bush or mountain ends, and the whiteness of its sandy shores, feel somehow incongruous, as if you’ve mistakenly arrived at the ocean and not a lake in Africa. The water moves rhythmically too, mimicking the sea; waves crash gently on the warm sand. But dive in and the water is fresh and clean.
To explore the lake at its finest, head to both its southern end and up north. The former consists of a number of unpopulated offshore islands in an area that makes up Lake Malawi National Park, one of the few freshwater aquatic parks in Africa. As a Unesco World Heritage Site, the park’s waters – brimming with tropical fish – are protected, while its islands offer verdant bush and unspoilt jungle. A stay on one of them – either Mumbo or Domwe – guarantees blissful solitude.
The latter’s trump card is Likoma Island, situatiiied in the northern part of the lake and completely isolated from the mainland, with only a hazy, distant view of Mozambique for company. Though just 17 km long, Likoma is blessed with varying scenery, from perfect (and perfectly empty) beaches to a forest reserve and rocky hillsides littered with towering baobabs and mango trees, all held together by a seeming infinity of water.
But there is much more to Malawi than its giant aquarium. There’s the country’s largest park in the north, the Nyika National Park, worth visiting for the Nyika Plateau – a vast range of undulating hills, wide valleys and grasslands dotted with wildlife, wildflowers and, after the rainy season, more than 200 species of orchids. The atmospheric Shire River in Liwonde National Park also attracts an abundance of game, and then there’s Mount Mulanje, an Eden of misty, forested peaks, dramatic cliffs, lush vegetation and cascading waterfalls.
To journey to Malawi is to fall into a gentle embrace, enveloped by pristine nature, breathtaking scenery and quietude, and the loveliest, friendliest people. The country might not boast the best wildlife in Africa, the most interesting cities or the most exciting cuisine, but in its own rough-and-ready way, it offers an even better kind of journey – that of the heart.
ROMANTIC THINGS TO DO
♥Kayak around the islands of Lake Malawi National Park, it’s a gentle way to explore the otherwise unreachable parts of Mumbo or Domwe. There are no engines of any sort around. Pack a lunch and find a place to picnic on the island.
♥Spend time together on the tiny heart-shaped piece of land jutting out of Mumbo Island.
♥Go on a sunset cruise around Mumbo Island.
♥Build a bonfire on one of Likoma Island’s beaches and watch the stars.
♥Feed each other pieces of mango – plucked from one of the many trees on Likoma – before running into the water to rinse off.
♥Take an afternoon nap – or many – together in a hammock.
♥Go snorkelling or diving and marvel at the myriad colourful fish.
♥Explore the wild backwaters of the Shire River on a canoe – with a cooler box of surprise treats.
♥Go on a horseback safari on the Nyika Plateau and take in the views.
♥Watch the sun rise over the lake.
♥Charter a sailing trip around Lake Malawi National Park, or from Likoma Island to its neighbour Chizumulu Island .
♥Go for long walks along the forested slopes of Mount Mulanje.
STAY
Mumbo Island
Located within an exclusive concession of Lake Malawi National Park, and operated by Kayak Africa, unpopulated Mumbo Island is a remote tropical island paradise in its most natural state. The camp accommodates only 14 people and is built entirely on principles of eco-architecture. Set in thick foliage and perched on granite rocks, each luxury safari tent has its own shady deck with uninterrupted views of the lake. There’s a restaurant and a bar – and that’s it.
www.kayakafrica.com
Likoma Island
On the southern tip of Likoma Island lies Kaya Mawa Lodge. Reopened in 2010 after a refurbishment, the lodge consists of seven well-appointed cottages and a honeymoon suite located on its own private island. If you don’t get the honeymoon suite, don’t worry – each cottage has its own access to the lake. Kaya Mawa also has a perfect beach fringed by mango trees and it offers some of the best snorkelling and diving spots in Malawi.
www.kayamawa.com
WHEN TO GO
December, or March to May, when vegetation is lush and green, the weather most temperate and the lake at its most placid.
GETTING THERE
Malawi’s roads are mostly decent, but the driving distances can be torturous. The famous Ilala Ferry runs up and down the lake, but it’s slow and often late. Both Kayak Africa and Kaya Mawa can help organise flights to Mumbo Island and Likoma Island respectively, as well as other parts of the country. Alternatively, if you have the luxury of time, charter a yacht. Try Danforth Yachting (www.danforthyachting.com).
For luxury horseback safaris on the Nyika Plateau, contact Nyika Safari Company, which flies to Nyika National Park but often offers flights to other parts of Malawi. Also try Nyassa Air Taxi +265 176 1443.
