Enjoy a bit paradise on Lake Malawi's Likoma Island

By Verena Schurr Aug 28, 2007, 6:36 GMT

Likoma, Malawi ­ The sky is blue, the water crystal clear and the pristine, white sandy beach is deserted. Palm and deciduous trees line the coastline of Lake Malawi's Likoma Island.

It's not yet midday, but it's already so hot you can burn the soles of your feet on the sand.

A breeze brushes across the surface of the water as weaver birds build their nests in the trees. Who would have guessed that a small paradise like this exists in south-eastern Africa?

'Anyone feel like a round of Bawe?' asks Ben holding a game board. The 25-year-old South African has decided to drop out of the rat race for a while.

He gave up his job so he could travel overland with his friend Pete from Cape Town to Cairo.

It's been a difficult trip so far. So they have come to Likoma to relax a little where they can go snorkelling and drink beer and gin and tonics in the evening with the other guests.

Life on Likoma is not expensive; simple but clean beach huts with a bed and mosquito net cost between 2.10 and 3.50 euros (2.70 and 4.72 dollars) a night.

Toilets are outdoors and there's electricity for only a few hours a day.

Malawi has long been an insider's tip with backpack travellers and is known as the Warm Heart of Africa. The 560-kilometre long Lake Malawi with its beaches in the south and cliffs in the north is especially popular with tourists.

With a depth of 700 metres, Lake Malawi is the southernmost lake in the Great African Rift Valley system. In some places it's so wide it appears to be an ocean.

A mixed bag of individuals has come together on Likoma including Shay who has joined Ben in the beach bar and is listening to the rules of Bawe being explained again.

The 32-year-old from Tel Aviv is here with his wife Lihi on the journey of a lifetime around southern Africa. Their journey will take them six months and cost them their savings.

Meanwhile, it's midday and small clouds skirt across the sky and little waves splash against the shoreline.

Two Swedes and a German medical student decide to go snorkelling. Lake Malawi is famous for its diverse fish population; there are more than 1500 species of colourful fish including many cichlids.

As all the snorkels are in use, Trevor decides to wash his laundry. The 32-year-old Canadian has already 'retired'.

After completing his studies, he took up a job in information technology. 'I earned a lot of money,' he says as he washes his clothes in the lake.

Thanks to his savings he has enough money to never have to work again.

But Trevor also wants to use his time in Malawi productively. He's spending two months working as a volunteer in a hospital setting up a computer network.

After evening meal, there's two hours for some drinks and music from the iPod. At 22:00 the electricity is turned off and the island's only generator is shut down.

This is the time when guests go down to the beach and gaze at the moon. Bats hunt insects and the surface of the lake shimmers like quick silver in the moonlight.

It's the end of a perfect day for Ben, Trevor, Shay and the other guests. The rest of their lives can begin tomorrow.