Canoe

I’d wanted to visit a well-known rocky and colourful area known as N’nosi Reef somewhere in the middle of the lake. However the boatman I’d spoken to was dubious of the small waves hitting the beach, as these turn into larger swell further out. He said conditions weren’t favourable for a boat trip.

‘Next time’, I said, as I’d like to make it back here. ‘When God answers you’, said Rebecca, one of the staff at the guesthouse.

Instead I went canoeing along the lakeshore with a genial character called Issufo as a guide. It was overall pretty relaxing but I do think canoeing where there are choppy waves is one of the most thankless endeavours a human being can engage in. The wildlife highlight was an African fish eagle surveying the lakeshore for its opportunity to grab a fingerling.

My sister messaged to say she wishes that today we were chilling and eating crisps. Yes, I concur! But here on Lake Niassa rather than in the UK’s damp autumn. Based on how she reacted to critters in beach cabins we stayed in in Cambodia, she’d need to steel herself for the whip spiders.