pg 7

                  Lake Malawi Safari '07'  

Not far from Cape Maclear, just south of Ilala Gap there is a HUGE rock. This rock is called Tsano Rock, although the water was a bit turbid, under the rock the visibility was quite good. It was a little un-nerving to dive under such a huge rock, probably 10+ stories high and buried in the sand some 30 feet down!

We finished up at Tsano and headed for Chembe Village, sleeping on the boat. The next day we were off again for Thumbi Island West, a usual diving spot there produced an enormous amount of pictures. The water was clear and the fish were everywhere. Below is one of the first Malawian fish that I saw when I first came into the 'African Cichlid' hobby, the 'Auratus', which now seems to be a staple in the hobby,  but not as nicely colored as what I see in the Lake!

This area around Thumbi West is another spot where there is an almost endless amount of Cichlid species. Seine netting in the Park, although illegal, seems to have thinned the fish out, but the species were still represented nicely. Check out this video link for seine netting and the resultant problems. http://cichlidpress.com/smgfund/smgfund11.html

Finishing up the Safaris, I headed to Maleri Rock, which  is about 250m from Maleri Island. A nice dive, there is a lot of mud sediment around here, but still plenty to see, Otopharynx walteri  did not seem to mind getting his pic taken!

Just another day in paradise! Chiofu observation deck at Chiofu Bay.

 ©2007 Larry Johnson

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