Hi
guys,
My
name is Campbell Louw, I am the dive instructor at Aquanuts dive school and
researcher at the Maru research centre alongside Justin Kraus and just want
to tell you a little about life at Kande.
Malawi
is not at the coast and is bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, diving
here is done in the warm, clear, fresh water of Lake Malawi. The lake has about
1650km of coastline, with a maximum depth of 800m. Inland, freshwater diving
brings up images of a dull, cold dive with rocky/bushy surroundings, but guys
this is not die Vaaldam! Malawi has a very chilled out Caribbean feel, with
long white beaches, warm water (24 degrees in June up to a scorching 30 degrees
in December) and tropical climate and vegetation. Visibility is usually around
10m.
The diving
is very interesting with several dive resorts stretching from Nkhata Bay in the
North to Cape Maclear in the South. I am working at Aquanuts dive school at
Kande beach, located in the North of the lake. The dive centre is right on the
beach looking out on Kande island 800m off
shore (a nice swim there every night!). Most of the diving is done on the reef
surrounding the island which consists
mainly of rocky formations. The fish life found in the lake is the most diverse
found in any freshwater lake in the world, with almost a 1000 species of fish living here, most of these are
endemic living nowhere else. This is more than the total number of species to
be found in all the lakes and rivers of Europe and North America combined. Most
of these fish are different species of cichlids (belong to the family cichlidae)
and the diverse array in size, coloration and mating behavior results in every
dive feeling like a dive in a tropical aquarium.
The
mating behavior of the cichlids is fascinating to watch, with these fish taking
care of their young. Craters varying in size from the size of a soup bowl to 1m
deep dongas can be seen everywhere, these are dug by the males and the females
lay their eggs in these nests. If you come to close and the mother feels threatened
she swims up to her brood of little fish, opening her mouth, and in two or
three sweeps all the young form a tight clump and swim into their mothers
beckoning mouth for protection.
The
Maru research centre operates alongside Aquanuts dive school and was the reason
why I decided to start my dive travels in Malawi. Through explosive speciation
all the different species in the lake evolved from a common ancestor in a
relatively short time and the lake is thus a thus a live evolution
“experiment”. At the Maru we study the biodiversity in the north of the lake
and look at the impact of environmental changes and human influences such as
fishing.
Life
on the lake is awesome! I live in a bungalow next to the dive centre opening right
on the beach. Most of our clients come from the overland trucks staying in the
campsite next door and the mix of travelers from all over the world result in
quite a party on a regular basis! I paddle out to the island with a canoe most
mornings for an early dive or sometimes to spear something for the pot. We do
all our fun dives from canoes, launching 1 of our 2 rubber ducks to take
clients on dives.
Being
Africa the diet is something to get used to with nothing processed and I have
not seen dairy since being here, I basically live on avo’s, bananas, tomatoes
and eggs. The coffee produced nearby in Mzuzu is top notch! Not solving my
caffeine addiction but it keeps me smiling.
Safe
diving
Cheers
Campbell

Hey Campbell, did'nt know you are there?!
ReplyDeleteCan we come and dive? What's the costs?
cheers
gustav
Hey gustav,
DeleteOf course you can come. Check out www.aquanutsdivers.com for our rates and options
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