Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
The excellent
Lake Malawi Museum
(admission MK200; 7.30am-5pm Mon-Sat)
houses ethnographic, environmental and historical exhibits, telling the history of the lake.
There's also a replica of the foredeck and bridge of the old gunboat HMS
Guendolin
. To
get here, turn right at the clock tower, by the waterfront.
On the waterfront is the
Queen Victoria Clock Tower
, built in 1901 in memory of the
queen. Just behind it is the squat stone
MV Vipya Memorial
, dedicated to the 145 pas-
sengers and crew who died when the
Vipya
sank on 30 July 1946. Next to that stands the
6PR Hotchkiss Gun
that stood on the
Guendolin
Patrol Gun Boat from 1889 to 1940.
HMS GUENDOLIN
HMS
Guendolin
was a military boat, made in Britain and assembled in Mangochi in 1899. At 340 tonnes, it was
for many years the largest boat on the lake and had a top speed of 12 knots. It also had two powerful guns on
board. Such a show of strength was thought necessary by the colonial authorities in order to deter slave-traders
who crossed the lake in dhows with their human cargo, but also because colonial rivals Germany and Portugal had
territory facing Lake Malawi and were believed to want to increase their influence in the region.
The Germans also had a gunboat, called
Herman von Wissemann,
but despite the friction between their two
governments, the captains of the two ships were apparently great friends and would often meet at various points
around the lake to drink beer and shoot the breeze.
When WWI was declared in 1914, the
Guendolin
was ordered to destroy the German boat. The British captain
knew where the
von Wissemann
would be, as he and the German captain had previously arranged a rendezvous.
But the German captain wasn't aware that war had erupted, and his ship was completely unprepared. The
Guen-
dolin
steamed in close, then bombed the
von Wissemann
and rendered it unuseable. The German captain and crew
were then informed of the commencement of hostilities and taken prisoner. This rather unsporting event happened
to be the first British naval victory of WWI and Lake Malawi's only recorded battle at sea.
In 1940 the
Guendolin
was converted to a passenger ship, and one of the guns was set up as a memorial in
Mangochi, near the clock tower. Some years later the ship was scrapped. All that remains today is the gun; the
compass and the ship's bell are on display at the Lake Malawi museum.
Sleeping
LODGE
Villa Tafika Lodge $
(
01-593544;
www.villatafika.com
;
standard/classic/river view MK5000/6000/14,500;
)
Without doubt the best place in town, this old-fashioned custard-hued pile
