Malawi dreamings

Tomorrow I jump on a plane for Malawi, the first time since 2007. I can't wait.

A tiny scrap of a country in the grand scheme of things, Malawi has the biggest heart. And an enormous, freshwater, sparklingly clear lake. Into which I will leap, and splash and snorkel, finding all the brightly coloured little fish who swim up to my mask, blowing kisses through the water. Last time, I celebrated my birthday on the beach, eating freshly caught chambo fish in the middle of a circle of baobabs, the crescent moon above. And the next day we dived, deeper than I have ever dived before, circumnavigating a tiny island, exploring the drop-offs, swimming through boulder-encrusted tunnels, peering into cracks to find enormous, silky-black barbel fish with their wide staring eyes. I glanced at my depth gauge at one stage and we were just below twenty-eight metres, the surface of the water too far to be seen. Amazing.

But this time I probably won't dive, I'm not sure if there will be time as it's a whistle-stop tour. There will be time for snorkelling, I'm told - in the shallows, the water so clear it's almost not there, and little shiny cichlids darting through the blue.

We're also heading up to the north, the wild Nyika Plateau - seven thousand feet above sea level, like the remote places of Scotland with wildlife - herds of eland and zebra, and the occasional leopard hiding amongst the rocky kopjes. But it's the scent of Nyika which brings me right back - the whole plateau is dotted with pine forests which, in the early evening, cascade their fresh, greeny scent downwards. Utterly evocative, the first time I visited I filled the bottom of my suitcase with fallen pineneedles, wanting to take the scent home with me. To this day, there is a faint aroma of the pines when I open my suitcase. Nyika is so changeable that even in October, the hottest month in Malawi, up on the plateau the fires are still lit.

So until my return, may all your days be scented with pine needles, and all your nights be painted with firelight.