Why should an open stretch of water in central Africa be a major tourist drawcard? With Malawi re-emerging as a popular destination, John Douglas explores the magic that has made her lake the country's prime attraction.

We passed two cairns this morning at the beginning of a very sensible descent to the Lake. The cairns were placed just about the spot where the blue waters of Nyassa first came into view. We came back to the Lake ...... and felt grateful to That Hand which had protected us. It was as if I had come back to an old home I never expected to again see; and pleasant to bathe in the delicious waters again."

The date was the 8th August 1866 when Dr David Livingstone made this entry in his journal. Today the lake he called Nyassa is Lake Malawi. The country that was Nyasaland is the Republic of Malawi in south-central Africa but, although the names have changed, much of what the Scottish missionary-explorer saw would still be recognisable by him today.

Malawi is something of a forgotten land: not quite southern Africa, not quite East Africa. But those who know the country will, like Livingstone, immediately associate it with its lake.

Lake Malawi is Africa's third largest and it must count as the country's number one attraction for any traveller in Livingstone's footsteps. The waters fill the deep trough that is Malawi's share of the Great African Rift Valley. In imperial measure, and with a little poetic licence, the lake is 365 miles long and 52 miles wide, hence its sobriquet: the Calendar Lake. Its deepest point is 700 metres, taking its floor well below sea-level. Malawi shares the eastern lakeshore with Mozambique and Tanzania.

The lake drains an area of more than 126,500 km2, which is a little larger than the country itself. The majority of its feeders flow in from the west but, quite remarkably, only one river, the Shire (pronounced Shir-ay) flows out. The Shire, draining southwards, eventually joins the Zambezi before its waters spill into the Indian Ocean.

With high rates of evaporation and a never-too-reliable rainfall, the level of the lake varies. In the south it is possible to recognise a broad expanse of land which was formerly under water. There is a considerable variation in the width of the lakeshore plains. They can be up to 25 kilometres broad, but some impressive scarps in the north mark the very edge of the Rift Valley as it plunges almost sheer into the water.

The lake has played an important role in the history of this part of Africa. In the early 1990's, a hominid jawbone was discovered on the northern lakeshore. Dated at about two and a half million years BC, it ranks in importance with better known such finds in southern and East Africa. Ample evidence that early man inhabited the western shore at least 100,000 years ago has also been found.

The slave trade of the nineteenth century cast a shameful shadow over the lake and a bizarre incident occurred when it was witness to the first naval engagement of World War I.

By the time Livingstone explored the country, the lakeshore was well settled and has continued to be so. Lake Malawi is vital to the country's economy. Although it lacks a fertile littoral the shorelands are characterised by numerous fishing villages. This is especially so in the south where the catch is part of a cash economy with urpluses sold in towns around the country. In the north, fishing is largely subsistence. With the growth of tourism, small craft industries flourish, especially in wood carving, to meet the demands of visitors.

The lake is Malawi's seaside, without the problems of tides! Only rarely do winds whip up the surface to storm conditions. For the greater part of the year its waters are placid and crystal-clear. The surface reflects the ever-changing light of the tropics. Livingstone referred to the "blue waters" but at times the lake is orange, red, or all of the colours of the rainbow. Nyasa, its former name, means "iridescent" and at night it becomes "The Lake of Stars". The waters are calm, warm and always inviting.

In the past few years, due largely to one ill-informed television programme and adverse publicity in the USA, the lake gained a reputation as a health hazard. The culprit was bilharzia, a disease that can be contracted by bathing in water in which snails act as host to tiny parasites. These microscopic worms can infect humans through the skin.

The facts are really quite clear: the reed-free areas near the hotels on the lake can be considered safe but precautions should be taken in those parts where clearance has not been carried out. If infected, the disease can be countered by the drug Proziquantel. It is a matter of taking care and, if necessary, taking the tablets. The "bilharzia scare" should certainly not put off anyone considering a holiday at the lakeside.

Since the mid-1990's there have been considerable improvements to the infrastructure which supports tourism. The new so-called Lakeshore Road, the M5, has greatly improved access while its route is sufficiently far from the lake to avoid posing an environserve the needs of this more developed part of the lakeshore. The small airstrips at Club Makokola and at Salima are now in more frequent use, allowing a greater number of visitors immediate access to two of the best locations on the lake. Only sections of the northern shoreline are poorly served.

If the lake was anywhere other than tucked away in Malawi - one of Africa's best kept secrets - it would by now be swamped with tourist developments: a string of resorts and spoiled beaches. As it is, the lakeshore retains much of the charm and attraction that it had for Livingstone's missionaries. No more so is this the case than at Cape Maclear.

In 1875, attracted by the beauty of the place, Robert Laws, in the tradition of Livingstone, set up a mission at Cape Maclear near the south of the lake. Today the mission is gone but the beauty remains and Cape Maclear is now the site of Lake Malawi National Park. This was the world's first freshwater reserve: a section of the lake, a group of islands and the surrounding lakeshore. Visitors to Malawi making the trip to the Cape can see the kaleidoscopic display of brilliantly coloured tropical fish, the mbuna, which crowd the waters. If ever the plans to build a first class hotel here come to realisation, it is likely to become Malawi's number one tourist attraction.

Just south of Cape Maclear there are some half a dozen lakeside hotels on a stretch of shore about 16km long. There is something for everyone. For modern sophistication, Club Makokola - Club Mak to the cognoscenti - must come top of the list. Not only has it its own airstrip but there is also a new golf course, an olympic size pool and 600 metres of golden sand beach. Like all developments on the lake's shoreline, the buildings are low-rise, hidden among the trees and small enough to give the visitor a feeling of space and freedom.

Quite different but very popular with families is Nkopola Lodge, only a kilometre or so away and with a great variety of accommodation. Each of the other resort properties has its own character: from the rather brash Sun 'n' Sand to the more intimate Palm Beach. What they have in common is access to beautiful uncrowded beaches and a range of activities which include fishing, scuba diving, water skiing, wind surfing, sailing or, of course, just swimming or lazily pottering around in small boats. Local first-class instruction is available in, for example, scuba diving.

These southern resorts are especially easy to reach from Blantyre, but visitors coming from Lilongwe, the capital, head straight for Senga Bay and the Livingstonia Beach, transformed in recent years into what is arguably the best hotel in Malawi. Set in immaculately kept gardens, this is a little paradise.

A little further north is a new development at Chintheche. For years a government resthouse had been sited on one of the most beautiful stretches of the lakeshore. Now in private ownership, it is being completely reconstructed into a first class small hotel with a range of organised activities akin to a safari lodge.

High on the Khondowe Plateau, with spectacular views of the lake, is the Livingstonia Mission. From this vantage point, to see the sun rise across the lake is to experience a special magic. The mission's Old Stone House offers just one of the lake's many opportunities for low cost accommodation.

Of course there is lots to do when you tire of watersports or of sunbathing on the beach. A lake experience like none other is to take the m.v. Ilala on a three day trip, perhaps visiting Likoma Island, where there is a cathedral the size of that in Winchester in the UK.

Many travellers make a point of visiting lakeside Nkhotakota, which claims to be the largest traditional village in central Africa. Here you can tread the same path as the thousands of slaves who were transported from this point in the last century.

Every cape and bay has its own interest: the hippo pools of Senga Bay, the busy little towns of Karonga and Monkey Bay, the delightful setting of Nkhata and the fascinating Chia Lagoon are just some.

Lake Malawi and its shorelands have a bewitching beauty and offer a warm welcome. The genuine friendliness of the people is legendary and if the lake is Malawi's best known feature, there is, of course, the rest of the country - but that's another story.

John Douglas is a director of the travel industry consultants, Geo Group & Associates. He is the author, with Kelly White, of Malawi - The Guide, to be published this year by Stacey International.

Published in Travel Africa Edition Four: Summer 1998. Text is subject to Worldwide Copyright (c)