Sitting across from my wife gave me a better view of the fun great views that followed. The boat guys pushed it into the water before jumping on the boat. The anchor was lifted from the shallow bed of Lake Malawi. The engine started and I felt so excited to finally be heading to this little piece of heaven that I had, for long, wanted to see. It was a green and white boat with a little roof to provide shade in the heat of a November mid-morning. The front of the boat was enclosed with wooden panes and glass windows to keep out water splashes and the wind on windy days, I thought. The lake was so calm on the day, providing a very reassuring day on the water for us, or at least for the duration of the trip. This was our second Island with my wife after South Africa's Robben Island on our honeymoon in 2011.
About 5km from shore in Lake Malawi National Park in Cape Maclear, lies Domwe Island; the largest unpopulated island on Lake Malawi. This is a private island operated by Kayak Africa. For long, I had been sending clients to this island but had never been to the island itself. We decided we would spend my birthday away from the mainland.
We arrived on the island, welcomed by the staff who were very friendly and they quickly took us to our tent. The island has three fully-furnished safari tents. These were nicely hanging from a thatched roof, and the wooden floor panels elevated from the ground by stilts. The tents cannot be seen from a far as they are camouflaged into the surrounding undisturbed bushes - almost like they simply fell from the sky. The interior was equipped with two separate singles beds that can be pushed together to make a double bed on request, bedside tables and a solar lamp. The little deck in front of the tent had two cane chairs and a hammock. There was a bathroom in the middle of the island, using a bucket shower. This was a metal bucket tied with a rope that you can pull up when filled with water and a little tap fitted at the bottom of the bucket to use as a shower - so cool! The toilet was at a distance from our tent (the only thing I did not like on the island). Walking to the toilet at night was freaky! The loo was a drop compost toilet. We were told that when full, all the composted material is taken to the mainland to be buried and later used in their vegetable gardens - a very cool way of staying green!
I took the Kayak out on a paddle - nervously so!
The food was amazing. I remember we had fish curry and rice for dinner. They also had homemade bread rolls that were so delicious. The restaurant is nicely located next to the main deck from which the views were amazing. After dinner, my wife and I stayed a little to watch the lovely lights on the lake from all the fishing boats. What a spectacle! The next day, one of the staff took us on a tour to see the rest of the camp. There was two more tent sites where guests use own tents or hire from the reception at the mainland. The island carters mainly to self catering guests using the kitchen with all utensils including a gas stove, but there is an option for one to also go on full board, which we did. We then took a hike to the top of the hill for more amazing views.
When we returned from the island tour, all sweaty and a dip was necessary. We spent the rest of the morning swimming and kayaking. I am not very confident with my kayaking skills so I needed a guide and we used a double kayak. I was so nervous that I asked the guide to stay close to the beach- well, mostly it was instructions from my wife that I stay close! Ha ha! The camp overlooks a small private beach which is big enough for the capacity of the camp. By 11:00am, it was time to depart this little piece of heaven going to an even better destination - Mumbo Island! We shall discuss Mumbo and what transpired there in the next blog.
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