The lake of Stars

“It’s not salty,” shouted Liam as he flung himself into the waters of Lake Malawi. Its a pretty surprising thing to swim in this inland sea which is more than 300 kilometres long and so wide you cant see its other side. I have just been lucky enough to spend two weeks on the Lake of Stars with Jenni and the boys. It was really all thanks to James Lightfoot of Kaya Mawa who invited me to “bring my camera” and photograph his refurbished cottages and brand new villa. As the kids get older it seems at last that I am able to do a bit of work on the side.  Kaya Mawa which is on the eastern side of the lake on Likoma Island is one of the most highly rated honeymoon spots in the world and has the most stunning cottages and wide beach. We had coffee brought to our rooms, dinner on the beach, picnics and great, great family time. Islands have a wonderful rhythm where every day is the same and it suited us just fine as a family. We visited Likoma’s magnificent Cathedral on Easter Service. Dane said this was the highlight of his trip –  do we have a missionary in the making? From Likoma were flew back to Lilongwe and then drove down to the southern part of the lake at Cape Maclear. Here Clive Bester of Kayak Africa was our host and we  spent a few days in the charming Lucky Bean Cottage right in the middle of the village and being looked after by Joseph, Iffness and the rest of the Kayak Africa team. Every morning we were woken up by calls of chickens and little boys saying “Liam, Liam, Liam” and leading he and Dane down to the jetty where they spent the day running and diving into the beautiful clear water. We also got lucky and spent a night at Mumbo Island. If you are keen on paddling, snorkelling and remote and very laid back holidays, this is a most wonderful place to visit. I have a few stories in the pipeline for Travel Africa and the Sunday Times so watch those pages. In the meantime if anyone wants any trip advice (a family holiday or an add on after a trip to Luangwa) give me a call and I can put you on the right track.

Zikomo James and Clive for making this happen.