In the middle of the morning, as agreed, Daliso and Wezi anchor in the shallow waters in front of Likoma airport, close to the huts and panniers of the local fishing community.
Wezi, the host of Nkwichi Lodge, comes to meet us.
With the help of Daliso, the helmsman at his service, we transferred our bags to the boat. We had already sorted out the exit stamps from Malawi. We were supposed to start sailing immediately.
The limited development on the Mozambican side meant that Wezi had to stock up on a few supplies, while still in Likoma.
Daliso takes us along the heart of the island and its main dirt road, full of small shops.
A recent dramatic rise in water levels meant that the Lake Malawi had invaded and flooded several buildings, as it did further south, at Nkotakhota, around Liwonde and the Liwonde National Park. It also made disembarking difficult.
Finally, Wezi manages to do so, at a spot improvised by Daliso. After five minutes, he re-embarks with bags of coffee and other products.
Daliso points us to Cobué, a town on the east bank of the lake.
We crossed it for an hour, rocked by the extended waves, typical of a calm ocean.
Cobué view from Lake Niassa
Mandatory Bureaucratic Scale, in Cobué
We see the tower of the Cobué church rising above the trees and rooftops closer to the coast.
Shortly afterwards, we disembarked in the village, under the watchful eye of young residents diving from a half-sunken pier.
Boat and passengers on the Cobué pier
Wezi guides us to the emigration. He finds it closed.
We wait for you in the shade of the building's arcade, while you look for the staff.
Another five minutes pass. We take advantage of them to take a look at the village church.
Young resident passes in front of the Cobué church
He returns with two people in charge in military uniforms.
Hermínia greets us and processes the stamps, taking into account the rarity of visitors, intrigued as to where we came from and what we were doing there.
“Oh, are you going to Nkwichi? How lucky you are. It’s beautiful there. Well, if you’re going back to Likoma, I’ll see you in a few days. Have fun.”
We appreciate your wishes. We say goodbye.
Rocky section of Lake Niassa, next to Aldeia Mala
We spent another hour sailing down the coast.
It only changed when, forced to go around a section dotted with amphibious rocks, we were exposed to a more vigorous swell.
Anchoring and Entry to the Nkwichi Lodge Secluded
At half past two in the afternoon, Daliso finally turned into the sheltered cove that Nkwichi Lodge used as an anchorage.
Inside, the tropical vegetation was dense and dark. We could barely make out the cabins and buildings that made up the lodge.
Until Wezi calls us on a little journey.
Along a jungle trail, it takes us to the chalet they had assigned us, the most spacious one.”In Nia".
We are immediately enchanted by the creativity and organic harmony of its structure.
Almost entirely built from natural materials, adapted to the whims of the surrounding trees, rocks and slabs.
Nkwichi Lodge, outdoor bath and shower, Mozambique
Including an outdoor shower and bathtub surrounded by a palisade that seemed to emanate from them, and a dining area at the base of a grand baobab tree.
Patrick, an employee of Nkwichi Lodge, at the base of a baobab tree
Another trail leads us from the chalet to the main beach, located in a wide cove.
Further into the summer season, there was a huge white sand that matched the translucent water of the lake.
By that time, in the aftermath of the rainy season, with the lake overflowing, much of the sand had disappeared.
Chairs on pebble beach at Nkwichi Lodge
It uncovered a layer of polished pebbles that made it difficult to enter the lake, but from a photographic perspective it had its own beauty.
We had lunch on the beach, constantly flying overhead by a pair of screeching ospreys defending their territory and catching the roasted family meal.
Afterwards, we wandered around the lodge area.
Blue monkey in the jungle around Nkwichi-Lodge
We were kept by the local community of monkeys, who were feasting on marulas, ripe and with a sweet taste that was irresistible to them.
At four thirty in the afternoon, we met Wezi again.
The Inaugural Walk, to the Heights on the shores of Lake Niassa
It takes us on a hike to the heights of Nkwichi, to a prominent ridge in the jungle.
With an unobstructed view over the hillside and the shore below, the vastness of the lake and, in the distance, glimpses of the island of Likoma from which we had come and its neighbour Chizumulu.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
We watched the sun set over the other side of the lake and Malawi.
We share wine and snacks. And, in English, a little more about us. Wezi confirms that he is Malawian.
His parents, who were from Nkhata Bay, had separated when he was five.
His mother moved to Lichinga (Mozambique), his father to England.
He, Wezi, ended up joining his father.
There he studied and earned his living, for example, in Bolton, where he worked in pubs.
Aerial view of the coastline of Lake Niassa, northwest Mozambique
But Wezi always missed the pure nature and peaceful life of Malawi and Mozambique.
He took advantage of the opportunity to work for the Nkwichi Lodge which, in addition, allowed him to be just a few hours away from Lichinga.
The Entrepreneurial Origins of Nkwichi Lodge
The lodge had existed since 1994.
This year, brothers Patrick and Paul Simkin, who had long lived in southern Africa, discovered this unexplored place for tourism during a canoeing expedition, sharing the lake with local fishermen.
Rowers off the shore of Lake Niassa, near Aldeia Mala
In their ChiNyanja dialect, the natives called him mchenga nkwichi, literally “creaking sands”
The white, open sands convinced the Simkin brothers of the incredible potential of the area south of Cobué.
Accordingly, they founded Manda Wilderness, an all-encompassing project that aimed to use the profits from a lodge and other support to improve the lives of people in the region.
Resident of Aldeia Mala eats fish.
This purpose was annihilated by the arrival of the pandemic in 2020.
A long setback that even led the new owners to decide to close the lodge.
Unconvinced, Wezi proposed to lead a new model self catering and simplified exploration, dependent on fewer employees.
While the local community has seen better days under the aegis of the proactive Manda Wilderness, it should be noted that the region’s history is largely one of hardship, displacement and disintegration.
The Region's Troubled Military Past
Let's go back to the scenario of the Mozambican War of Independence.
On September 25, 1964, that same Cobué was one of the stages of the first two attacks by FRELIMO on Portuguese forces.
The war spread.
It intensified on the shores of the lake and in the interior of Niassa, together with Cabo Delgado, one of the provinces in which, due to the feasibility of withdrawal to Tanzania, FRELIMO controlled the jungle and rural areas and in which guerrilla attacks became more frequent.
Aerial view of the coastline of Lake Niassa, northwest Mozambique
Threatened by the conflict, many of the natives were forced to cross the lake and take refuge in Malawi.
We found several of them still living in Likoma, gradually forgetting the Portuguese language.
In 1975, Mozambique proclaimed independence.
Just two years later, the Mozambican Civil War broke out. And although it only reached Niassa in 1983, its spread throughout the province once again prevented refugees from returning from the War of Independence.
As we have seen repeatedly, this long and arduous political-military imbroglio ended up contributing to the coexistence and union of Malawian and Mozambican families.
Young people in Mala Village, Lake Niassa, between Cobué and Nkwichi Lodge
Often, between people of the same ethnicities and who previously shared the same African dialects.
A Second Walk, Visiting Mala Village
The next morning, re-energized by a breakfast at the mercy of the waves, we followed in the host's footsteps again.
Along a trail that alternated between jungle, savannah and beach, we arrived at Mala, a fishing village located around the peninsula, from which the rocks that, on the journey from Cobué, had forced us to move away from the coast spread out.
Handcrafted boat, off the coast of Aldeia Mala, MozambiqueMala also had its white sands, open and much more intact than those of the lodge.
As we saw it, even if given over to an elementary way of life, sustained by fishing, a few plantations and raising domestic animals, Mala revealed itself, in a natural and scenic aspect, to be a kind of lakeside Eden that we had not expected.
Two boys play Ntxuva in a shop and bar in Aldeia Mala
In his grocery store, two smiling kids were playing Ntxuva on a rustic board.
Further on, Wezi introduces us to the village chief, who stops repairing fishing nets to welcome us.
Chief of Mala Village, south of Cobué, Mozambique
Right next door, two young brothers chatter over lunch, depending on the preparation of fish that a young woman is dedicated to. They welcome us with the same open and happy smile as the boss.
Among themselves, they speak the local dialect. With us, the two boys spoke Portuguese.
The girl, a native of Malawi, engaged to her older Mozambican brother, could only do it in English.
This Babel confusion, added to the photos we asked them to take, generates confusion and laughter that we transform into a burst of good humor.
Until Wezi makes us aware of the return.
We begin our journey along a different path, which we occasionally leave behind for the soggy lakeside. The guide tells us where to stop.
Amphibious patch of Lake Niassa, in northwestern Mozambique
When we stop, Patrick, Daliso and other lodge staff are finishing a memorable lunch under a gigantic baobab tree, with an obviously hollow interior that was home to hundreds of bats.
A Restless and Lush Lake Niassa
The late afternoon brings clouds and a strong wind that give Nkwichi Lodge a dramatic feel. Despite the strong waves, we head for the lake.
With masks and snorkeling tubes, we decided to admire the colorful fish that took refuge from the commotion of the lake among the rocks.
Following the long walk of the day, this mission leaves us exhausted. In the absence of more colorful fish, we are surprised by a peculiar sunset, with a narrow strip of sky, squeezed between the lake and the patch of clouds.
The sun's dip propagated warm tones reflected in the cove that served as our port.
That night, for a change, we have a bonfire on the beach without the usual starry ceiling.
Campfire at Nkwichi Lodge Beach, MozambiqueDawn frees us from clouds and wind. Grant us a sunny and pleasant return to Likoma.
Once again, validated, in Cobué, by the obligatory stamps of the Mozambican Hermínia.
Peculiar sunset on the edge of Lake Niassa, Mozambique and Malawo
How to go
Fly from Lisbon to Maputo, with TAP - flytap.com from €800 round trip. Fly with LAM to Lichinga. Nkiwchi Lodge will arrange the trip from Lichinga to the lodge.
Where to stay:
Nkwichi Lodge: nkwichi.com
Email: [email protected]
Tel.: +254 72 254 0733
