Framed by Malawi, Tanzania and Mosambique, Lake Malawi in the heart of Africa is situated at the southern end of East Africa’s Rift Valley. It extends more than six hundred kilometres from north to south, is up to eighty kilometres wide and in some sections is over seven hundred metres deep.

To explore the third largest lake in East Africa we begin north of Malawi's eastern coast at Thunduzi Beach in the Chilumba region. Close to the bleak town, the coastline looks quite paradisiacal. Out in the hot sun the local people wash their laundry in the gentle waves of a sandy beach and fishing nets are laid out to dry on the shore.

The location of the small town of Nkhata Bay is quite spectacular, a large, sheltered bay, accessible via a steep slope. It is a restless, colourful and vibrant harbour town and the northernmost point which famous explorer Dr. David Livingstone reached on his voyage of discovery.

Cichlids, the living jewels of Lake Malawi, are highly sought after among aquatic fish enthusiasts. The brightly-coloured males achieve the highest prices in both Europe and the U.S.A. Diving just off the coast is like being in a gigantic aquarium and around a thousand species of dazzling cichlids inhabit the rocky reefs around various islands. It is not necessary to dive deep to observe the Malawi cichlids as the most colourful varieties are to be found just below the surface.

In the depths, strange craters rise from the muddy seabed. Some have a diameter of more than two metres and are one metre high. They are not volcanoes but the leks of male cichlids. The tiny fish spend months building the leks so as to make a good impression on passing females.

Lake Malawi, the ‘Lake Of Stars’, is a paradise of nature where in 1980 the southern section became the first national park in the world to be used for the conservation of freshwater fish.