Kayak Tour of Beauty

"I arrived and just fell in love with the place," Marszi Callendar says later that night, recounting how it all began. Marszi and a crew took small groups out to the islands to camp and kayak on a no-frills trip into paradise. Since then, the operation has evolved significantly.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing. The crew was initially greeted with suspicion by fishermen in the village of Chembe. Being within a national park, some of the islands and lakeshore are technically protected, but they're also lucrative fishing grounds. The reaction to foreign kayakers was defensive, even hostile. "For a while there it was touch and go," says Gary. Eventually a compromise was reached, and gradually Kayak Africa earned the trust of the locals. For years now there has been mutual respect.

As I walk back to my tent, I'm mesmerized by the stars overhead and those reflected in the velvet-black lake. There are billions of tiny twinkling lights above and below. It seems to me that the Dark Continent is an ironic misnomer, and I can certainly understand why Malawi is often called the Lake of Stars.

Diver Down: Thirty feet under, I start to feel a ringing in my ears, but the crystalline water is so captivating that it draws me even deeper. Peering into the abyss, I can see submarine landforms rising from the depths, reaching toward the surface but failing to make it as islands. After a short while, my lungs begin to twitch, and it's time for me to kick back to the surface, passing electric-hued schools of fish along the way. The outline of my touring kayak is clearly visible, bobbing on the divide between two different worlds.

We're anchored in a small bay, joined by a friendly crew from Cape Town. On the motorized Kayak Africa skiff are representatives from the Malawian ministry of tourism who have come to observe the operation while soaking up some sun.

"Yes, tourism and eco-tourism is definitely the right way for Malawi," enthuses one. "But in Malawi, we are just beginning."

He explains that while the intention is there to establish sustainable eco-tourism ventures, the capacity is lacking. There's not enough money and too little manpower to enforce regulations.

Dense overpopulation, slash-and-burn agriculture, and over-fishing are even greater problems for Malawi, as its people try to eke out a living in one of the poorest countries in the world. In many cases, the environment is paying a heavy price. After decades of living under the dictatorial but protective rule of self-proclaimed leader for life President H. Kamuzu Banda, Malawi now finds itself reeling in the 21st century. The outlook is uncertain for this thin strip of Africa.

Lake of Stars: The days melt into one another as we paddle around small islands and coves. Every night fishermen can be seen trawling the waters, their paraffin lamps glowing as they jockey for position. Some days the lake is volatile, with wind-whipped swells and huge whitecaps. On these days, dugouts are left on the beach and fishermen spend their time fixing nets, drying fish, and simply waiting for the wind to abate. Life is dictated by the elements.

During our final day on Lake Malawi, we take a grueling hike to the top of Domwe Island. While the distance isn't great, the gradient is steep and takes its toll. Eventually we reach the top, where we are treated to a phenomenal vista. The lake arches along the horizon in a sheet of blue, dotted with small islands. Flecks of fishermen are interspersed among the islands. Even in daylight the effect is similar to what I saw last night while admiring the Lake of Stars.