Tropical Ecology - Biotopes

Returning to Lake Malawi. The 1999 Trip.

Written by Francesco Zezza Monday, 17 April 2000 02:00

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Africa Wins Again (AWA). That's what they say when, despite all possible efforts, preparations and precautions, you are NOT able to follow your program as scheduled and looks like Africa has decided on her own how things have to go on. Luckily, very often what actually happens is equally satisfactory! At least that's what has happened us ... For our second trip to places where the myth lives (at least my own myth!) we've selected the southern part of the Lake (Cape Maclear and surroundings), in plain words the part of the lake which is claimed to be the richest in terms of environmental diversity and places to visit, and I'm not specifically referring to cichlids despite the fact there are a lot of them. This time our team consistis of the the two of us (Stefania and Francesco), plus Marco (also an AIC member). Marco missed for some reasons the 1997 trip but he was definitely ready for this one. Here starts the report of our trip..

09.10.99:Rome (Fiumicino airport): Once again the Lake is waiting for us! It's hot and the air conditioner is not working as it should. Any way we're ready to go, which means: flight to London (1/2 hour late in arrival!) still hot air, fair dinner and, to finish, an "ugly" coffee!

10.10.99: Early in the morning. We're flying (from London) to Harare, Zimbabwe and then Lilongwe, Malawi over an endless carpet of clouds. For breakfast, among other stuff, a cold roll of bread with eggs and bacon: a nightmare ...Yesterday (for the first and last time) we all forgot Paludrine (one of the anti-malarian drugs to be taken daily!). At Harare, during the technical stop, we fill in our tourist visas (necessary in order to enter Malawi). From the airport soon after landing we move south towards Cape Maclear. It takes us a few hours (with a private coach) to get there (including about 70 km off road). We then settle down at "Chembe Lodge" on the beach, facing Thumbi West island, which bears the same name. Chembe Lodge is a tiny and colourfull group of tents and bungalows placed well inside the "Lake Malawi National Park". Jannadi (already the chief of the "boys" two years ago in Chinula - 1997 trip) and co-operator of Erling Johansen (our "scout") coes and shakes my hand with a wide smile on his face and with a warm and loud "Welcome home!" The surrounding landscape, under a slightly clouded sky, is remarkable in the dim light of the sunset.. My heart is filled with joy for this moment but ... it's never possible to have all things settled the way you would like so Stefania is suffering from one of her "usual" headaches! ... And, finally, the evening of this eternal day comes.

11.10.99: Dives (two) at Thumbi West (for those interested in the technical matters: 36 minutes at a depth of 20 meters and 22 minutes at 18 meters, respectively) lot of life but visibility absolutely "fair" (to say so!) and a bit of a stream. After a "lazy" morning the afternoon shows Africa at its best. A shining sun, crystal clear air an absolute relaxation! It was about time!! A hot shower just before dinner helps to enjoy these momentspassing, forgetting all the troubles we left back in Europe. Europe.. Europe seems so far away.

12.10.99: We get up under a sort of wind storm and, what a pity, a grey sky! Luckily our beloved Lake is still calm. Our destination today should be (and it will be) Otter Point (WoW!). During yesterday evening, suddenly we heard a deep loud cry breaking the silence of the night. Erling has identifyied it as a hippo's call. It was coming from the nearby village. After that we heard songs, music, cries and the sound of rolling drums coming from the village. Perhaps a sign of "Big" hunting?

Unfortunately, we had to refuse the proposal to add a third week of staying in order to go north. North means visiting Tanzania by plane then reaching Lupingu by boat, heading for the Kalambo Falls (known as a spectacular sight) then go ahead till Lake Rukwa (almost completely unexplored according to Erling) and finally arrive to Lake Tanganyika! But we were pleased to think that this will be the program of our next trip (if it will ever take place !) "Estote Parati!" (it's Latin, after all I was born in Rome. It stnads for "Be prepared!" While I'm writing down these notes Stefania is lovely sleeping.

Remarks on Otter Point dive: Unbelievable number of cichlids (Aulonocara jacobfreibergi "Otter Point" (rare and secretive fish), Copadichromis Mloto "midnight" (the ones with "white line" along tha head and dorsal fin), Pseudotropheus aurora and many, many more. We then took some pics of the otters on the rocks along the lake and on the way back (to Chembe Lodge) we met a hippo! He is resting, huge as it is, on the edge of a swamp looking at us as if it was bored. We carefully come closer by the boat and then suddenly, puff!!! ... vanishes under the water. The game is over! In the afternoon we go snorkelling near the Lodge swimming among schools of countless young Copadichromis and mixed M'bunas, while hidden among the Vallisneria plants (Vallisneria aethiopica) some Dimidiochromis compressiceps are hunting in the ambush ...

13.10.99: Once more we get up under a strong wind (It will be the usual situation during our stay in "Chembe Lodge"). Thankfully, the Lake remains calm because of the protected (from the wind) position. Wind seems to drops a bit as morning passes and we get used to go diving late in the morning. We go as slow as we can (still no sign of the fast boat, but I'll discuss about boats later) to Mumbo Island for the dive (remarkable this time, too). By the way, wasting a slide cartridge lets me know that my Nikonos (underwater camera) is NOT working properly... to say the least!

14.10.99: A night scenery that could well be part of an "Indiana Jones" movie: Furious wind, banging drums, crying night birds ... then, gradually everything seems to "switch off" in the darkness of one more warm African night. When we wake up next morning we are faced with a very pleasant situation: No wind at all and a bright hot sun is shining... After a long wait (two hours!) with Jannadi leading we sail, once more, to Otter Point. During these two waiting hours I ask myself the question: months of faxes, long distance calls, programs and scheduling ... was it worth the effort? Yes, it could be a way to make waiting at home a little less sorrow but then ... I understand that "It's Africa" but, sometimes enough is enough...I decided that I would go over this matter with Erling in the evening, but I feel nothing's gonna change! And as a matter of fact the answer was a very polite way to draw my attention to the true dimensions of the situation: "Being "on time" doesn't belong to this land, if you want to go diving at scheduled time then ... go diving in Switzerland!" ... ‘Nuff said!

15.10.99: The visit (paid by the way) to the "Documentation Center" of the Park turns into a nightmare: old, dirty buildings, rubbish, fire leftovers, empty display tanks (since they leaked!) or showing just a few "ill" fishes, two almost "mummyfied" turtles ... what a mess! This park is (or should be) protected by UNESCO as an asset of all the human kind! In the afternoon we go shopping (at Chipoka) cichlids (Not at lfs but from a trader); if they all arrive home alive then we'll have enough fishes to open a public display aquarium!

16.10.99: Must write down, while seeing a sunrise forecasting a hot day, two remarks: first of all, sadly, half of our stay is over. While the second remark is a bit funny: Stefania begins to talk to me in english: it seems what we are "forgetting" .... Further remarks on dives: Even a champion cam, sometimes, be wrong: Wilson (despite 15 years of fishing with Stuart Grant) "loses" the diving place at Thumbi East and we find ourselves swimming in a sea of mud.. nice! In the afternoon at the "cottage" (it's not a specific place but we'll go there after having left "Chembe Lodge") we catch quite a lot of fry that will remain there in quarantine in a plastic barrel (while another member of Erling's staff takes care of them). Finally we go back to "Chembe Lodge".

17.10.99: And then, sad to say, we leave "Chembe Lodge" moving to the "cottage", from here we'll go back and forth to "Liwonde National Park" and then ...NO! we'll have time for this!!! Today's hit: Dive at Zimbawe Rock (I can swear it: there are Otopharinx Lithobates "Zimbawe Rock", not that common but... they are found at a depth of 29 meters. The dive itself is similar to the ones we had in Tanzania (mostly Higga Reef) but the water is a bit less clear. We also see some big catfish hidden in the dark (hunting in the ambush). It's unbelievable, if they are observed from above, their silhouettes are very closely resembling the ones of sharks...

Now it's time to discuss about Erling's boats! The big one is sort of a "hyperpowered monster" (175 hp, inboard engine!) but is still, for many reasons, not working correctly. This boat is dedicated to the memory of Mattajo Jackson who has been the dive mate of (among others) Andreas Spreinat and Ad Konings and died because of a dive accident. The other (smaller) one has an alluminum, yellow painted hull and was also used by A. Spreinat and Ad Konings for their trips and also (humbly) by us two years ago in Tanzania. The boat is working perfectly but is powered by a tiny 15 hp two stroke outboard engine while it has to carry five persons, diving stuff for four of them, foods/beverages and so on ... This engine is not expected to cope with such a heavy load but, to make a long story short, it looks fit and strong. What I do not get is how this Norwegian fellow, skilled when working with boats is always facing many troubles ...

18.10.99: A nightmare comes true ! Vomitting, headache, a sore throat, difficult breathing (feel free to add what else you want, I was having the symptom!), but I managed to survive - even if the new morning gets me with pains in my bones and a awfull taste in my mouth. I feel horrible! Can't refrain from thinking that today it has been scheduled a dive in Maleri Islands (looking for the "yellow" Aulonocara endemic to the place - the search will be long but in the end we'll find them) and, may be (a second dive) at Malamapibwe Reef (quite close) where, according to Erling, not even Ad Konings has, till now, dived! I must now add that the latter is not the promised miracle! Among the cichlids observed are a lot of Pseudotrophues callainos (both white and cobalt). As a extra bonus just adding the finishing touch in a "perfect day", while we were diving, one of the boys has torpedoed, by means of our 4 x 4 van, a HUGE tree! He's alive simply because his time hadn't yet come. But we're in deep trouble: our program says we have to go to"Liwonde National Park" tomorrow.

19.10.99: In the end, after a lot of troubles, we move towards the park. This means we are headed south again, passing the cities of Monkey Bay and Mangochi, bordering Lake Malombe. Lake Malombe is almost a swamp, just three meters deep, which is connected to Lake Malawi by Shire river). The surroundings start to show more and more green trees, even if this is not the rain season, we can even see some palms trees. All all these signs can surely mean one thing: more water is available here.

 

20.10.99: We are getting closer to our target. I must that I will a;ways remember the "Drive Game" (a tour with an open roof 4x4) al "Liwonde National Park" as one of my best african experiences. Lots of antelopes such as Impala, Kudu, and Waterbuck; birds with feathers which present unbelievable colour combinations; squirrels but also zebras and hyppos: all of them so close you can touch them (this tour, in oder to be accurate took place yesterday evening). This morning we wake up at 04.45 a.m. (the sun is already burning at its best!) because of our "super - powered" south africans neighbours (they're driving some off-roaders worth appearing as spaceships in "Star Wars" movie!). We spent last night in a ridicolously tiny tent among thousand of cries and noises coming from the wild, including the "barks" of hippos as close as 50 meters from us ... after all this I now enjoy the peace of "Mvuu Lodge" and the Shire river (flowing out of L. Malombe finishes its run in the Zambesi River) shinning under the bright sun. The scenery is breathtaking ...

Time is 08.00: A Boat Drive (I mean sailing along Shire River): countless hippos (in local language: Mvuu = Hyppo and our camp is named Mvuu Lodge ...), crocodiles, two separate groups of elephants, three monitor lizards, birds (fishing eagles, many kingfishers, ibis, herons including one "guarding" eggs in the nest!). All this, in a river flowing without any hurry in a timeless fashion under the warm sun of Africa. It's clearly another experience worth of being remembered. In contrast, one thing worth forgetting (the sooner the better) is the trip back.. Hot wheather, sweat, mechanical failures (including one while facing a herd of wild buffalos!), to summarize: once more, add what else you can think about, it has happened! Stefania, after I had already managed these problems, is facing a terrible stomachache. I suppose that the excellent chocolate pudding with (raw!) strawberrys is the reason for that. I must add that we all know we should refrain from eating raw fruit!

Later at the "cottage" we begin to take care of our fishes. This has to be done by ourselves since we have already experienced some losses because of the lack of accuracy from the fellows responsible for our tanks - too bad! Despite all our efforts, two years ago we had the same kind of losses, it seems one can't really avoid the problem! I do hope there will be a happier trip back for our fishy friends. This hope is best on the fact that this time we will be relying on our prevoius experience and mistakes.

21.10.99: After spending the whole morning looking after Erling's troubles (again: it's Africa!)... we begun to choose the fishes that will eventually come in Italy with us. In the evening we go to see the fishermen's boats coming back at MonkeyBay. An illusion is destroeyd: industrial fishing, dirty water in the harbour, ugly buildings along the docks ... The Lake Malawi I dreamed about back in Rome, looks ver different in a cold rainy evening! To make things even worse, we've been told that in 2001 (Odyssey in the Lake?) oil drilling is scheduled to begin ... I'm a bit, to say the least, worried.

22.10.99: Our trip has almost come to an end. The Lake, "resting" under the dawn is getting more and more clear in the forthcoming morning and offers us another spectacular sight. I feel the urge to shoot some pics, this moment must somehow survive! What a pity that flies and mosquitoes are, so hyperactive this morning ...No news from Erling, but this is NOT new! An unforgetable dive at Thumbi East (in the "right" place, this time): Clear water and a lot of life: Copadichromis Mloto "midnight" (many displaying males in open water), Pseudotropheus zebra "red dorsal", Protomelas, Aulonocara gertrudae (I've never seen them before, in the wild). Before diving I reminded to my divemates my beloved friend Sandro Anticoli (also a member of AIC in Rome). There had been lots of chats about these waters before my 1997 trip between the two of us. However, he didn't have the chance to come here with us.

23.10.99: Here it is: out last day in Lake Malawi begins by packing our beloved cichlids (see Conditioning wild caught cichlids) for the trip home. On the way to Lilongwe airport we (fullfilling Marco's request) pay a visit to Stuart Grant in Salima and this time I had the chance to meet him in person. We have lunch at the restaurant owned by Grant's wife (Ester) and named, guess what? "Red Zebra Cafè" ...

24.10.99: I keep myself busy with trivial things, to refrain from thinking of the troubles which are associated with bringing fishes home. After so many troubles, worries, pains ... right now we do not know how - and IF - our fishes will fly Italy! We only know that we leave with a flight scheduled at 06.30 p.m. But after an unbelievably long "check-in" and lots of customs/forwarder troubles we finally manage to overcome these last obstacles. It's over! What still remains to be dealt with are the usual annoying things like flight and custom duties...

Epilogue: The Lake is still wonderfull but some "dirty spots" are easily detectedhere and there.. There is a need to "carefully" look after our own personal belongings, some polluting matter is left around and it this is just a start. There is - in this part of the Lake - electrical supply in many places. However, visitors should not interpret that as a less "wild" environment. Industrial scale fishing is on its way ... even if there's nothing - at least till now - threatened with extinction. Some of these things are the price that has to be paid for the development towards a higher quality of life these people are (correctly) looking for. This is unavoidable. However, everybody has to do his best to avoid any possible "misuses" of the natural environment and resources. We have seen this happening back home. Misuses that "forced" us to love this sunny Land made of colours, smellings, lights, of empty spaces so big you can't even dare to measure ... We're not allowed to make more mistakes. Perhaps, while trying to understand and respect this wonderful Land we'll be able to know "how it works" and, in the end, correct our mistakes back home. I like to think this is the lesson that "Great Mother Africa" has tried to teach us during this marvellous trip ...

 

 

 

Dive Place	Date	Dive Time	Maximum Depth	Remarks
Thumbi West (South Edge)	11.10.99	36 min.	20 mt;   60 ft	Divers team: Jannadi, Stefania, Marco, me. Back to the cichlids. Good dive but "poor" visibility. Labeotropheus trewavasae (including OB morph), Melanochromis parallelus, lot of unidentified (by me!) Pseudotropheus.
Thumbi West  (South Edge)	11.10.99	22 min.	18 mt; 54 ft	Divers team: Jannadi, Stefania, Marco, me. Bright sun in the sky but, again, "poor" visibility lot of debris at bottom. Aulonocara "Thumbi West", Nimbochromis livingstoni.
Otter Point	12.10.99	51 min.	17 mt; 51 ft	Divers team: Wilson, Stefania, Marco, me. Great dive, fair visibility. Copadichromis "Mloto", Aulonocara jacobfreibergi, Aulonocara stuartgranti, Lethrinops sp. Big Catfishes in the dark (Bagridae?). On way back (to Chembe Lodge) a lonely resting hippo in the swamp along the lake.
Mumbo Island	13.10.99	75 min.	9 mt; 27 ft	Divers team: Jannadi, Stefania, Marco, me. Best visibility so far, huge stones lot of sandy areas. Melanochromis auratus, Ps. Elongatus. Nimbochromis sp. (fuscotaeniatus?)
Otter Point	14.10.99	62 min.	6 mt; 8 ft	Divers team: Jannadi, Stefania, Marco, me.The other side: the tiny "island" facing the coast. again lot of Aulonocara (sp. Cobuè, jacobfreibergi and more), Ps. aurora
Thumbi East	1610.99	74 min.	15 mt; 45 ft	Divers team: Wilson, Stefania, Marco, me. Dive in the wrong place: a sea of mud and sand, in short a FIASCO!
Zimbawe Rock	17.10.99	59 min.	29 mt; 88 ft	Divers team: Jannadi, Stefania, Marco, me. Crystal clear water (at last!). Tyrannochromis with fry, more great catfishes (> 1 mt; 3 ft.), Mastacembelus eels, Othopharinx lithobates "Zimbawe Rock"
Malamampibwe Rock	18.10.99	43 min.	7,5 mt;   22 ft	Divers team: Stefania, Marco, me.Not that interesting except of the fact there's quite a number of Aulonocara sp. "maleri" (yellow ones)
Maleri Island	18.10.99	15 min.	3 mt; 9 ft	Divers team: Stefania, Marco, me.Dive in the channel (shallow water, muddy bottom among rocks) among the two islands. Nothing really worth of remembering.
Thumbi East	22.10.99	50 min.	10 mt; 30 ft	Divers team: Wilson, Stefania, Marco, me. At last the right spot! Copadichromis "mloto"; lot of melanochromis, Ps. Zebra "red top" and a lot of any species you can imagine ...

 

 

 

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