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We met a retired couple from England who had
come as volunteers to plant seeds and train the local staff. The lodge
is managed in the most eco-friendly manner possible, using solar energy
as much as possible. I think the only plastic bags we saw while we were
there were those we’d brought in ourselves to pack our shoes in.
Lake Niassa is the small Mozambican portion of Lake Malawi. Many of the
staff had moved to Malawi during the war in Mozambique, so they were
more fluent in English than in Portuguese. Although the lake is
overfished on the Malawi side for export, the Mozambicans only fish
enough for their own consumption. In some areas it is not safe to swim
in the lake due to the risk of getting bilharzias but near the lodge the
water was quite clear and there was an abundance of fish so we could
snorkel there quite happily. The crocs, we were told, are only around at
night.
There sunset over the lake from the beach was stunning so it was the
daily ritual to have sundowners on the beach together with the guests,
managers and volunteers. Our visit also coincided with that of Patrick’s
brother Paul Simkin, his Kenyan wife Pauline and his family as well as
another investor in the Nkwichi lodge project, and Simon Stephens who
markets the lodge from London. They explained that they were combining a
few days’ holiday with a trip in a light aircraft to Niassa game reserve
where they are considering setting up another lodge.
By coincidence, several of the couples there had similar names: there
was Andy and Ann (the volunteers from England), Dan and Danielle
(currently living in Maputo) and Paul and Pauline (from Nairobi). And,
in addition to Simon Stephens, there was another English Simon helping
to manage the lodge.
The local choir sang for us while we drank our sundowners. This was
followed by a dinner at a long table on the beach by candlelight.
Considering how remote the place was, we were impressed by the quality
and variety of food.
24 March. After breakfast, we went for a walk with Sylvia (whose husband
Douglas also works at the lodge) to visit the community farm where, in
addition to vegetables, they produce recycled paper. Today, both lunch
and dinner were served on the platform by the lake. One of the guests
was an amateur singer and broke out in song after dinner. This
encouraged Andy the volunteer to entertain us with another song. It was
like taking a trip back in time to the good old days before the advent
of such evils as television or even radio.
25 March. Yesterday’s morning walk was pretty hot, so we decided to set
off today before breakfast. We went to the lookout point and what is
claimed to be Africa's second largest baobab tree – about 600 years old.
Flemming tried to help Emiel and Simon to set up their broadband
satellite internet connection and was rewarded with a bottle of wine.
26 March. Our day of departure coincided with the investors setting off
for Lichinga to fly the following day to Niassa Reserve. So, instead of
the speed boat, we shared a larger boat with them for the ride back to
Cóbuč where they would pick up their 4-wheel drive vehicle. (The only
access to Nkwichi Lodge from the outside world is by the lake, either
from Likoma Island on the Malawi side or from Cóbuč.).
I hadn’t been looking forward to the take-off, although Flemming assured
me it would be all right. In order to get up enough speed, we would have
to take off downhill and that meant we would have a slight tailwind.
Fortunately, with both landings and take-offs, it all happens so quickly
that you don’t have time to work up too much of a sweat! It was very
rough, though, and I was relieved when we lifted off without any damage
to the undercarriage.
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The sitting room
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View from the sitting room
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