So you’ve been on safari in Majete and seen the Big Five, trekked up Mount Mulanje, experienced the culture and rock art at Dedza and bought gifts for the family from the crafts stalls in Lilongwe, but what you haven’t done is have a splash in a dug out canoe on Lake Malawi!

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - June 3rd, 2013 - So you’ve been on safari in Majete and seen the Big Five, trekked up Mount Mulanje, experienced the culture and rock art at Dedza and bought gifts for the family from the crafts stalls in Lilongwe, but what you haven’t done is have a splash in a dug out canoe on Lake Malawi!

Guests at Nkwichi Lodge now have the chance to learn one of the great trades of the African lake – traditional dug-out canoe fishing!

When Andrew Buanali, the inimitable ex-boat captain at Nkwichi, first came to the lodge, he left behind a rented canoe and life of late-night angling, building his way up to be one of the Nkwichi’s most trusted mariners. He left in 2011 to set up his own shop and fishing business but Nkwichi has now paired up with Andrew again, this time as a local fishing guide, supplying his boats and canoes to offer guests a traditional experience of life on the lakeshore, and the chance to hook some of the famed ‘Chambo’ tilapia of the lake.

In almost Karate Kid style, guests must first learn to stay afloat in their canoe (no easy feat considering the canoe is not much more than a floating log!), before paddling off into the waters of the lake to try their luck. Not only will guests learn the techniques of local fishing using hand lines and nets, they’ll also hear more about the lake, it’s history and people, from one of the friendliest foragers of fish to grace its shores. Ahoy Captain Buanali!

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