If you are looking for a heavenly place where you can escape from a lot of tourists, this is a destination that you will love. Since you start descending from the mountains to the bay and getting closer to the lake you will slowly fall in love.
Nkhata Bay is one of the main ports of the country. Having Lake Malawi that crosses almost the entire country, boat trade is very important because it is an easy way to transport cargo (in another post I talk about the ferry that crosses the entire lake) This was my first close impact with the Lake Malawi. I had already been able to see it from afar but here I went in and enjoy its water.
To get to Nkhata Bay, I had to take a bus from Chitimba to Mzuzu (3,500 MWK ~ 4.75 USD) and from there take a shared taxi to the bay (2,000 MWK ~ 2.7 USD). Upon reaching the town and getting off, many Tuktuks will approach offering you different accommodations but in my case I already had one in mind that they had recommended it quite a bit: Mayoka Village.
When you arrive at the hotel, you will be speechless. Hidden between trees and mountains, incredible cabins all overlooking the lake. A perfect place to rest and meet people because it has a spectacular bar-restaurant to watch the sunsets.
The first thing I did was to settle down and when I went for a cold beer, I met the owner, a South African who opens your heart and makes sure that you enjoy your stay. Life here is quiet but if you also want to party, you can get some good parties without problem in the town.
In Mayoka you have everything you need to enjoy the lake. They can lend you Kayaks, equipment for snorkeling, hammocks to enjoy the view or if you dare to swim, you can reach the pontoon. If you are a more adventurous person, this is the place to get your dive license. Lake Malawi is the lake with the most biodiversity and is one of the cheapest places to get your license. You can take the course here or in Cape Maclear (I’ll talk to you about this place on another post).
You can enjoy different water tours with them, get to know different beaches and jump off cliffs. An adventure that I really enjoyed a lot.
If you really want to relax, this is your place. Nkhata Bay has it all, the tranquility of the mountains, the parties in the village, the view of the lake. This week I couldn’t ask for anything more …..
** A side story: When ever you do Kayak or water sports, always do it with other people and with life jackets. I deduced to wake up early in the morning and go with the kayak for a spin. I never thought that the waves where gonna turn me over.
I left early by myself with no lifejacket and as I rowed away from the hotel, it began to get a little more complicated and the waves grew. The kayak began to fill with water until a wave turned me over. I couldn’t get the water out and I had to push the kayak to the shore.
I had to swim almost 40 minutes with the current pushing me out of the bay pushing the kayak (it was my only way to float a little bit when I got tired). I finally arrived to the shore destroyed without air and with a soaked cell phone. Luckily nothing serious happened and I managed to get out of this alive. My cell phone died so I don’t have much material from now on…
