The Mystery of the Lake

Lake Nyasa or Lake Malawi is the third largest lake in Africa with borders to Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique and it is probably the most beautiful one. It is surrounded by vast plains and the impressive Livingstone Mountains.

Mr Stewart ph.D. from Ashland USA who visited our camp describes the mystery of Lake Nyasa:

“Lake Nyassa is one of the truly wonderful places in the world. The lake itself is the 7th largest in the World, the third largest in Africa and has been in existence for millions of years (estimates range from about 2-20my). In just one lake it contains over a thousand species of fishes, more than the North American and European continents combined. The majority of the species are in the family Cichlidae, popular with aquarists, but there are also lungfishes, elephant-noses, mastacemblid eels and catfishes. They are often very colourful and have interesting behaviours - making for fascinating fish-watching. The great diversity in the lake means that most species have unique adaptations and occupy specialised ecological roles in the lake. Some scrape algae from the rocks, some filter sand, some eat snails, some live in empty snail shells, some eat plants, some eat fish, some eat scales, some mimic dead fish to allow them to catch unwary prey. Most are maternal mouth breeders, which means that the females carry the eggs and young (!) around in their mouths. All of this in a lake that offers warm, clear water, with white sands and clean hot rocks to sunbathe on.”