Monkey Bay

Monkey Bay is a deep sheltered inlet at the southern end of Lake Malawi and the home port of the Ilala, the passenger and cargo ferry that has worked the length of the lake since 1951; the boat is laid up and serviced here between circuits. The town around the harbour is a working place rather than a resort, with a market and boatyards, and Cape Maclear and the national park lie a short distance west.

History

In the 1880s Monkey Bay was ruled by the Yao chief Mponda; in 1905 Mary Hall passed through on her way to becoming the first woman to travel the length of Africa from Cape Town to Cairo, and in the 1960s the town had a fisheries research laboratory (Wikipedia, Monkey Bay).

The main sights

• The Ilala's home port - the ferry's base and servicing point.
• The sheltered inlet - the deep bay the harbour is built in.
• The boatyards - the working repair and building yards on the shore.
• The Cape Maclear approach - the road west to the national park.

When to go

May to October is the dry season. The Ilala's schedule shifts constantly and should be checked locally. The town is busiest when the ferry is in.

What to expect

The Ilala runs late as a matter of routine and schedules are unreliable. The town is workaday with limited facilities. Bilharzia is present in the lake.

Nearby

Cape Maclear is west, and Mangochi is south.

Key facts