From Zambia, we crossed the border into Malawi and spent one night as a stopover in Lilongwe. Next morning, we headed to Nkhata Bay, which took the majority of the day – but we were rewarded by these beautiful views from our camping.

The next days we didn’t do a whole lot: we swam, snorkelled and rented some standup-paddleboards. It was nice and relaxing! Once, we walked down to the scruffy village of Nkhata Bay – but there’s not much to see, so we happily went back into relax-mode at our place.

Getting from Nkhata Bay to Monkey Bay further South on the lake, proved trickier than expected. We woke up at 3 am to catch the bus which was supposed to leave at 4 am. When we arrived at the bus station, the bus had already gone. Luckily, our taxi driver found us a guy who was driving to Blantyre and willing to give us a (paid) lift for most of the way. A comfortable and quick ride! After switching to another private vehicle, we arrived in Monkey Bay surprisingly early before noon. The little bay where we camped at was amazing!! Unfortunately there are some ugly pillars left in the middle of the bay which completely spoil it. Nevertheless, we spent some good and very relaxed days here – hammocking and swimming…

Our third and last stop along the lake was Cape Maclear – and it turned out to be the best one! Cape Maclear has a long strech of beach where local life mixes with tourists (not too many). People are washing dishes, clothes and themselves in the lake – so it’s not always the cleanest everywhere but still beautiful.

We loved going for a walk along the water and between the colourful boats of the locals. Everyone was friendly and allowed us to take photos. The kids all wanted high-fives and rarely asked for money.

Again, we spent a lot of time doing „nothing“, but one day we took a boat trip to some snorkelling spots to see the colourful cichlids (little fish) that live in the lake. It was actually quite nice to be among all these little fish and some started nibbling my feet.

The guides also threw some fish in the water to attract fish eagles, and we got to see some pretty cool catches. Lunch was a fish bbq on a beach of Thumbi island with beautiful views of the mainland.

The highlight of the day though was Otter Point, a part of the bay with cool rocks and beautiful water. All in all, a really nice tour – nothing really spectacular, but many beautiful small things to see.