Magical memories from Malawi

I went to Kaya Mawa in October 2022 and I still haven’t quite come back down to earth. Kaya Mawa is honestly the most magical place in the world and I find myself thinking about it every day and just longing to get back there!

Getting to Kaya Mawa is an adventure in itself. We were met at Lilongwe airport and whizzed past the queues and through immigration. Then it's a charter flight over to the island which was such fun soaring over the lake and spotting the lodge before you come into land on Likoma Island.

I have travelled throughout Africa extensively and I’ve never been somewhere like Likoma before. It felt like a magical combination of bush and beach with golden sand, beautiful warm water, but baobab trees instead of palm trees. The water is fresh water so lovely to swim and snorkel in. I didn’t get the chance to go diving as we had the little ones with us but other guests did and said it was fabulous.

I travelled with my daughter who had just turned 3 and my sister and niece (4 years old). We stayed in a couple of the cottages, Madimba (huge, beautiful and very romantic) and Ulissa (a gorgeous two bedroom cottage on the beach, easy walking to the main area and perfect with children).

Arriving at the lodge is a wonderful experience. We were met by the management team, Sam, Shane and Jade, who are all absolute treasures and looked after us wonderfully. My daughter still cries out their names when she flicks through photos from our trip – something she demands to do on a weekly basis. Saying goodbye to everyone at the lodge was definitely one of the hardest parts of leaving.

Kaya Mawa is somewhere that you could easily go to and just not leave the lodge during your stay but we did and exploring the island a bit is something I’d highly recommend. A lovely gentleman called Martin took us into town on a few occasions and we visited schools, went to a service at the cathedral, and took the girls into town to have local style dresses made for the at the tailor. The lodge is also highly involved in the community and very sustainability focussed and contributes to the island hugely and you can ask to visit the tree nurseries where they have been planting thousands of trees to reforest the island or to visit the Likoma community garden. The work that they’re doing in the local community is incredibly inspiring. The Katundu workshop is also definitely worth a visit where local ladies create absolutely stunning pieces from recycled glass and metal. They also ship internationally so that small suitcases aren’t a problem!

We booked our stay quite last minute so the lodge was actually fully booked for the last two nights we wanted to be there so we therefore booked to stay in Kaya Mawa’s exclusive use 4 bedroom Ndomo House for our last two nights. For families or groups of friends this property is absolutely perfect. It’s not next to the main Kaya Mawa lodge but they will happily take you back and forth by boat or car. It’s very private, beautifully designed and feels like nowhere else on earth.

We will definitely be returning to Kaya Mawa as soon as possible. It now holds a very special place in our hearts and I can’t stop thinking about it. If you want somewhere that will give you a truly unforgettable holiday this is it! Thanks to my job I have stayed in some of the most luxurious properties around the world and I can honestly say that nowhere else has tugged at the heart strings like Kaya.