Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi): Trip II

 

Enjoying a walk in the evening.

In what seems like a perfect pairing, we once again hiked Mt. Rungwe en route to Matema Beach (Trip I). It's one of the closer large bodies of water to us and the Livingstone Mountains provide a beautiful backdrop to the massive lake. Having grown up on a Great Lake in Wisconsin in the USA, being next to a massive body of water is comforting. The only unfortunate thing is that the lake likely has Schistosomiasis, an acute and chronic parasitic disease. Although it can be treated, it's still not ideal to get. Reliable information on its presence is sparse but it appears the lake was free of Shicstosomiasis in the 80s but there have been rising numbers of cases, especially in the southern part of the lake. With that being said, we absolutely swam in the cool and clear lake. 

Matema is a strange village in that the agricultural activities sprawl in every direction but the dwellings and village proper are very densely arranged. There is a roundabout that serves as the nexus of activity in close proximity to the market and Lutheran Center. There is local beach access hosting a variety activities from fishing to bathing to washing. People are also just hanging out on the beach as well with a good number of people coming out in the evenings. 

On our previous visit we did not go snorkeling, falsely believing that snorkeling in a fresh water lake would be lackluster. This time around we arranged to go to the snorkeling spot and we were in disbelief at how plentiful and varied the fish were. We knew that the lake was famous for Cichlids and that over 600 of the 1,000 species of fish in the lake were endemic, but we were not prepared for a variety of fish that rivaled the quality of snorkeling in many places in Zanzibar. There was a rocky area where the fish fed off the algae and plankton, basically serving as a "rock reef". The water was extremely clear and the only perilous part of the journey was the rickety boat ride taking in water at an alarming rate though one can make arrangements with a more lake-worthy vessel if one chooses to do so. 

The rest of the time we spent hiking around, watching the Trumpeter Hornbills come in to roost at night, and swimming in the lake. At night the sky is clear with the milky way clearly shining. Many fisherman were also out at night using lights; I counted 75 boats around 10pm. I'm sure there were many more out there further out in the lake.

 

Some of the riverine vegetation with hippos nearby.

Snorkeling spot.

Boat ride to the snorkeling.