Lake Malawi — the heart and soul of the country — is best explored on the MV Illala ferry. We follow in one writer’s footsteps.

Julie Davidson on her impending journey to Malawi’s great lake and why she fell for this watery wonder, ‘discovered’ by David Livingstone in 1859

Malawi is in the business of revival, be it creating Southern Africa’s newest safari destination by repopulating its epic wildernesses, opening a heritage hotel as a window to the grandeur of the colonial age or ushering travellers to its lakeside beaches by restarting a legendary music festival. Welcome to the Warm Heart of Africa.

A tiny pocket of Southern Africa, with its very own Lake of Stars, Malawi is warm, welcoming, yet hard to pin down. With a ragged beauty, lantern-lit boats trawling its waters and wildlife-packed parks, this is Africa at its most endearing