Kaya Mawa Lodge
Likoma Island, Lake
Malawi, Malawi
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KAYA MAWA LODGE
- LIKOMA ISLAND, LAKE MALAWI, MALAWI
Likoma Island is the larger
of two small islands
situated in the far north of Lake Malawi, on the
east of the Lake and very close to the Mozambique
coastline. To visit the island is to step back
in time. Just 17 square kilometres in size,
with one small dirt road and two vehicles,
the local people survive largely by fishing, and
farming rice and cassava. The island
has hundreds of huge baobab trees and a number
of glorious sandy beaches and rocky coves. The
waters are crystal clear throughout the year and
the diving and snorkeling is among the best in
Lake Malawi
Kaya Mawa Lodge is
situated on the south-western tip of the Island at
the head of a crescent-shaped bay, surrounded
by mango trees and ancient baobabs. Translated
as “Maybe tomorrow” in the local Tonga
dialect, the lodge uses the stunning natural surroundings
of beach, rock, island and lake to create a lodge
of unique character, imagination and very special
ambience. With no machinery available on the
island, Kaya Mawa Lodge was built entirely by hand,
in partnership with the local community.
Accommodation  For
images of Kaya Mawa Lodge, click Kaya
Mawa
Images
Kaya
Mawa Lodge
is comprised of ten stone and teak-framed, thatched
cottages set into a granite headland. There is
a honeymoon house tucked away on its own private
island that is reached by boat or a wooden walkway.
Each cottage faces the lake and has a 7- by
6-foot mahogany, four-poster bed, a shower,
a sunken stone bathtub and a loo with a view.
The view from the shower in the honeymoon suite
defies description. All the cottages have private
terraces with direct access to the water, and
some can only be reached by walkways built
over the lake.
Activities
The stunning
setting of the lodge and the unique comfort of the
rooms means that many guests choose to make relaxation
their main activity, but enough activities are on
offer to keep guests busy. Scuba (including
Padi diving courses), snorkeling, swimming, sailing
and visits to the local villages are part of the
experience. Day trips to Mozambique can be
arranged. Access is by air or by boat.
Kaya
Mawa has several mountain bikes that guests
may use to explore the island. A
round-the-island bike trip, with picnic
lunch, has been popular with guests who are fit
and enjoy getting out and seeing more of the island's. For
those who are a tad too ambitious on setting
out, the few vehicles on the island are more than
happy to throw the bikes in the back and give
you a lift back to Kaya Mawa or perhaps down to
the Hot Coconut, a vibrant & happening
bar in town which is popular with the locals and
tourists who come to Likoma as an opportunity
to enjoy some Malawi music and ice cold drinks.
Keen
fisherman are thrilled to be able to
spend their mornings fishing straight
outside their chalet. At
Kaya Mawa you can fish from the many
bridges around the lodge for Chambo,
Malawi's national fish, which the kitchen
does with a lovely white wine sauce.
For those looking for the bigger
fish, Kampango (or commonly called
Catfish), may be caught in the deeper
waters. Lake fishing excursions
are available for 1/2-hour
up to a full day depending on what
you fancy. The Kampango can be cooked
many ways although the Kaya Mawa specialty,
which is loved by all and even
covered in South Africa's Elle
magazine, is the Indian Fish Soup.
Island
Child
The Island Child
program, is Kaya Mawa's child sponsorship
program where people can sponsor
a child directly by paying their
school fees or contribute to the
Nkhwazi Village primary school sponsorship
program. Herewith an example of what
the program is about (written in July 2004):
This
month a large delivery of school
supplies finally reached us here
at Likoma with everything from
nearly new football uniforms to
an abundance of science equipment
and textbooks. We are taking some
of Kaya Mawa's guests to town to
support Nkhwazi village, in their
new uniforms, taking on St Marks
in a high profile football match.
Island Child's major supporter,
Diana Stewart in Scotland has fund-raised
for Nkhwazi for several years now & has
money being sent out next month
for Nkhwazi Village to buy land & build
their very own football field.
Pip Kent, a recent volunteer, has
been in discussions with land owners
in regards to this & several
of Kaya Mawa's staff who are keen
football players have organized
for their team to assist with the
building of the field as to enable
them to use it as a training pitch
themselves.
We
encourage visitors to drop in & visit
the school, and most of our staff's
children attend, on your way to the
cathedral. Built by the missionaries & now
with an enrollment of close to 950
students, it's definitely an enjoyable
experience.
Visitors
to Kaya Mawa on Likoma Island don't
have to stay for a Sunday to be able
to experience the enchanting singing
of the choirs of the world famous
St Peters cathedral or the St Marks
church here in Nkhwazi Village which
actually pre-dates the cathedral.
The choirs have been in contact with
us here at Kaya Mawa & invited
our guests to visit the cathedral & church
during choir practice time. It's a
lovely way of seeing these historical
wonders as well as being able to experience
the culture which is still strong here
on Likoma Island. For those who may
find the hour walk to the cathedral
a bit much, our boat is always available
to guests or we can org anise one of
the few vehicles here on the Island
to take you. Kaya Mawa has recently
added its own vehicle to the limited
collection here on Likoma which was
great entertainment in itself to see
it getting loaded off the Ilala!
Likoma
Cathedral
A huge cathedral
stands on the slopes of a mountain
on an island in the middle of Lake Malawi. The
cathedral is dedicated to Saint Peter, whose statue
faces the lake, holding the keys in his hands while
a big lock lies closed at his feet.
The
island is called Likoma, which means
beautiful, from "Silikoma" or "Sweet
Land", but the site where the
Cathedral is built is known as Chipyela,
a name which bears no relation to beauty. The
word means "place of burning",
and it was here that the first
missionaries witnessed witches being
burnt at the stake.
The
first European to have reached Likoma
Island is believed to be Elton, who
landed there in 1877. Like
many other European explorers of his
time, he spelled it incorrectly as
"Dikoma." Elton
had sailed there to meet Dr. David
Livingstone, but he had missed him,
for Livingstone had landed on Chizumulu,
the only other island worthy of a
name on Lake Malawi, which lies nine
miles west of Likoma Island.
The
foundation stone of Saint Peter's
Cathedral was laid by Bishop
Trower on January 27, 1903, and it
was dedicated by the same bishop
on September 29, 1905. The
bishop had expected the work of building
the cathedral to be finished by
September 1905; however,
the difficulty in transporting the
material from the mainland to the island,
coupled with delays in obtaining other
material from overseas such as the
colored glasses for the windows, delayed
the work. But the Bishop had
to dedicate the unfinished Cathedral,
for at this time the Lady Chapel, the
Chapter house and other outer buildings
had not been built yet. Mills
wrote in 1910: "Now,
in 1910, this great work is nearing
completion… The Cathedral
will not be consecrated till it is
finished."
The Cathedral was finished the following
year, and was consecrated by Bishop
Thomas Crowther Fisher on November
14, 1911.
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