DIVER

Pictured: A caught in mid-suck as it protects its babies. It took SMALL THINGS Aaron months to get a shot with which he felt BRIGHT AND happy. BEAUTIFUL Skittish and granite boulders – supplies new photographic challenges for AARON GEKOSKI

E’VE ALL SEEN THE shot of a whale shark, mouth agape, Wsifting plankton through its massive gills. And how many photos are there of manta rays hovering “mid-flight” above a kaleidoscopic reef? Or cheeky seals baring their teeth at the camera? But with no megafauna, no schools of Over time, this filled and became game fish, no exotic coral reef, and few Lake Malawi. Known as the Calendar mammals, how do you take wow shots Lake, it is 365 miles north to south and in a place such as Lake Malawi? 52 miles across at its widest point, I ponder this as I arrive at Blantyre, making it the third largest lake in the country’s bland commercial hub. Africa. It has shorelines on western As a dive journalist, your article lives , eastern Malawi and or dies on the strength of its pictures: southern Tanzania. produce poor shots and the piece won’t get taken (leaving a trail of grumpy GOOGLE LAKE MALAWI, and one of The lake is spectacular, a vivid blue Above, from left: A sponsors in your wake). Despite friends the first things you’ll read is that it dollop of loveliness that pulses with life. mouthbrooder protects its insisting that I spend my life on holiday, contains more freshwater fish species Malawian women, seemingly a hard- young at Likoma Island; the pressures aren’t negligible. than all of North America and Europe working bunch, scrub clothes on the Kevin with what is But before a collective playing of the combined. However, what most lake shore, as children perform possibly a cave painting; a guards its nest. world’s smallest violin, I’ll concede that material neglects to mention is that up backflips off traditional dug-out canoes, the job does have its perks. These to 2000 of these are varieties of cichlids. watched by fathers preparing their way through thousands of pretty little I make it my mission to get a decent single lodge, operated by Kayak Africa. include diving the more unusual I drive a couple of hours to Cape fishing nets. fish, something remarkable catches my shot of them mid-slurp: a task that With its dry-composting toilets, lack of destinations such as Lake Malawi. Maclear, one of Malawi’s most touristy Thumbi, like many islands in these eye. It’s a cichlid, no more than 20cm turns out to be far easier in theory than electricity and bucket showers, it is one I’d always been intrigued by thoughts regions, underwhelmed at the thought parts, comprises giant boulders and long, and it appears to be inhaling lots in practice. of the greenest lodges at which I’ve had of diving here: no salt, no heavy suits, of spending much dive time with these miombo woodland. A couple of fish of its miniature clones. A couple of days is more than enough the pleasure of staying. raging currents, soupy water, hectic colourful fish, which I assume will be eagles, Malawi’s national bird, eye up With cheeks full, it departs for in Cape Maclear. There are too many Should it need to pick up and move launches or negative entries. Just warm, pretty to look at, but lacking gravitas. the water for signs of breakfast. somewhere it won’t be stared at by pushy beach-hawkers selling naff tomorrow, it would leave almost no clear, predictable diving that offers new Louis, divemaster at Cape Maclear I lean over the side to inspect the site: wide-eyed divers. Now that’s a wooden carvings for this grizzled ecological impact on the island. photographic challenges. Scuba, takes me on my first dive to the sandy bottom, some 20m beneath, photographic opportunity. English traveller. Plus – and here’s the Manager Robin takes me on some 10 When the African tectonic plates Aquarium, off Thumbi Island. stares back. The only thing impeding It turns out that the majority of Lake bit I’ve been waiting for – a stay at dives, on which we encounter a handful split, perhaps as long as 2 million years A pleasant 10-minute saunter to the my view are lots and lots of colourful Malawi’s cichlids are , famous Mumbo Island awaits. of mouthbrooders. As we approach ago, they formed a giant tear in the site provides the opportunity to ogle my fish. It’s time to meet the cichlids. which offer oral protection to their Lying a couple of miles off Cape them either mum takes off – leaving her landscape. surroundings. After 30 minutes happily wafting my young. Not so dull any more, these fish. Maclear, Mumbo Island is home to a babies open to the threat of predators ☛

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– or she sucks them up before we get We lap up a couple of decadent days On our dives we see a few large Above, from left: Not a close enough to grab a shot. at Kaya Mawa, a beach-house-chic lodge kampango or giant (delicious to bad place for a beauty Despite failing hands-down on this that drips with romance. The rest of our eat, funny-looking to photograph) and treatment – the pier at front, I spend a week on Mumbo in six-week stay is spent at Mango Drift, its on surfacing at Chinunwe we’re treated Kaya Mawa lodge; Kev and Gem depart for Christian's photographic bliss. I snap a monitor smaller, more laid-back brother. to four otters playing at the surface. Point, Likoma Island; lizard’s backside as it swims to a nearby The lodge is run by old friend Kevin With no other divers to worry about, granite boulders and rock to catch some rays. I even attempt and his girlfriend Georgia. I explain my I try out some over/under shots of Kev cichlids epitomise diving in a shot of a fish-eagle from below the mission to grab a passable photograph and Gem. And while I get lots of images Lake Malawi. surface, catching a meal. The final result of a mouthbrooder protecting its babies. of colourful cichlids, that darned Below left: All there in – an arty blue mess – wasn’t quite the “Don’t sweat it, we’ll get your shot photograph of one hoovering up its black and white – the award-winning shot I had envisaged. bro,” comes his response. Kev’s an babies continues to elude me. obliging mouthbrooding optimistic soul. It turns out that Masimbwe, a large cichlid in Masimbwe. CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING, and Much like Mumbo, Likoma offers stone’s throw from Kaya Mawa, is not joined by my girlfriend Gem, we head to divers more than just mouthbrooders. only the best site we dive in Malawi, but the capital and catch a short The first site to which Kev takes us is also the best for mouthbrooders. A few flight to Likoma Island in the north. called Chinunwe, and is famed for its days before we leave the country, a little Likoma could be straight from a fairy giant craters, which cichlids lovingly silver cichlid grants me my wish. tale. At the heart of its charms are form to attract mates. Sneakily hidden beneath a rock, and craggy, baobab-lined beaches inhabited On a night dive to Ndamo Point we with only a split-second to react and by small fishing communities. watch dolphinfish hunt by torchlight. manoeuvre my strobe, the fish isn’t Its remote location – Mozambican Giant rock formations at Christian’s perfectly lit. But I like the composition waters in fact surround Likoma – Point dwarf divers. Even the snorkelling and its resigned, poignant expression ensures that it remains relatively free around Kaya Mawa turns out to be great that says: “You’ve got your shot, now from the trappings of tourism. for whittling away a few hours. hurry on home and leave us in peace.”

FACTFILE GETTING THERE8 Fly from London to Blantyre/Lilongwe with Ethiopian Airways, www.flyethiopian.com, or to Likoma from Lilongwe with Ulendo, www.ulendo.net DIVING & ACCOMMODATION8 Diving & Accommodation: Mumbo Island, www.mumboisland.com, www.kayakafrica.co.za. Kaya Mawa, www.kayamawa.com. Mango Drift, www.mangodrift.com WHEN TO GO8 The dry winter months are between June- August, when the water is coolest. Expect strong easterly winds, known as mwera. Temperatures rise markedly from September to October, while the rainy season can last from December to March. Algae blooms from January to February can cloud the water. MONEY8 Malawian kwacha. PRICES8 Cedarberg Travel offers tailor-made packages to African countries including Malawi. A five-night Kaya Mawa diving package, including flights from and to Lilongwe, all meals, airstrip transfers, four boat or shore dives (one a day), snorkelling, mountain biking, kayaks and sailing, costs from £1600. A five-night Mumbo Island Camp diving package, including road transfers from and to Lilongwe, all meals and drinks, boat transfer to the island, four dives, snorkelling and kayaking cost from £1157. www.cedarbergtravel.com. FURTHER INFORMATION8 www.malawitourism.com

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