Nkhata Bay - From Buses to Boats

Heading North from Cape Maclear, my next stop along the lake was Nkhata Bay.  Although it is lacking the idyllic long sandy beaches and relaxed atmosphere of Cape Maclear, Nkhata Bay’s charm comes in its busy streets and boat activity.  I came to Nkhata Bay in search of more sandy beaches to relax on and clear waters to soak in.  Of course, that is not what I found.  Instead Nkhata Bay shifted my travel plans and changed my mode of transport from buses to boats.  With so much boat activity in the bay, the wheels began turning and left me wondering where all the boats were going to and fro. With Mozambique and Tanzania just across the lake (a long ways across, that is) certainly I could find some exciting new territory.  But as I found out, information is hard to come by.  Nothing runs on a schedule and trying to track down a captain of a boat amidst all the activity is nearly impossible. In Nkhata Bay there are no people holding signs displaying the vehicle’s destination and no touts pulling you towards there specific vehicle (in contrast to the bus system).  Information travels through word of mouth and I am certainly not in the loop. With Tanzania my next destination, I received conflicting information about the possibility of getting there by boat.  Some would say no problem; others would say not a chance.  But I am a stubborn optimist.  After a shady currency exchange, I boarded a boat with a wad of Tanzanian Shillings and set sail across the clear blue waters of Lake Malawi in search of the mysterious boat of the Swahilis.

The busy streets of Nkhata were a joy to walk around in; few hassles, lots of street food, and lots to look at.

The vastness of Lake Malawi is unbelievable – only on the clearest days can you see across but looking down the length of it is like staring into the ocean.

The bay is always abuzz with activity with lake taxis coming and going.  Most of the boats come loaded with usipa (small minnows that are widely eaten in Malawi) and return loaded with people.  The big boat would eventually become my sailing vessel.

Lake Malawi has water that smokes.  In fact, it is not smoke but massive hatches of insects (as seen on the BBC Planet Earth series).