| About Mumbo Island |
Doing Absolutely Nothing in Malawi [go back]
 This Times of London journalist was so taken with Mumbo that he recommends Madonna stay there!
"..... If Likoma seemed like heaven then Mumbo (a finalist in The Times Travel’s Green Spaces awards last year) takes you even farther into a state of bliss. It’s important to know that the resort, unlike so many, pays more than lip service to eco-credentials — no electricity is only the start.... Accommodation is in luxurious safari-style tents set on headlands looking over the water. Bathrooms have bucket showers, dry-composter loos, and biodegradable soap and shampoo.
All, apart from one unit, are set apart on a small islet linked by a 30m causeway to a small, sandy beach and thatched dining area. It’s as close to dying and going to heaven as you can get without actually popping your clogs.
During the day I swam in the warm, crystal-clear water (there is bilharzia in certain parts of the lake, but not here) and kayaked offshore, spotting pied kingfishers and otters playing on rocks. After nightfall I chatted with the other guests, who included a London music producer who had relocated to Lilongwe with his family (with no regrets), and a Dutch couple who had come round to the idea of long-drop toilets so much that they booked two extra nights.
Then I sat on my balcony, reading by gaslight and looking out over the lake at the dozens of pinpricks of light that were the lamps used by the fishermen in their dugout canoes. Their chatter and laughter drifted in the darkness until the early hours.
I’m sure, despite the lack of gold taps and Egyptian cotton sheets, Madonna would have probably loved it on Lake Malawi, and should definitely bring her adopted local children here sometime. As she once sang, “If we took a holiday, / Took some time to celebrate/ Just one day out of life,/ It would be so nice . . .” (fade to chorus).
And places to relax, enjoy time with your family and think about what’s really important in life don’t get much nicer than this little corner of Africa."
For the full report go to TimesOnline at TimesOnline Latest Article |
