MALAWI // Kayaking to a desert island on a lake in the middle of Africa - not a bad way to spend an afternoon. A drowned section of the Rift Valley, Lake Malawi was 'discovered' by Livingstone, so thank the good doctor as you lounge in a hammock, munching fresh banana bread in Africa's friendliest country. This watery Serengeti is one of the world's best freshwater dive spots, with around 1000 mostly endemic fish species - more than any other inland body of water. Look out for dolphinfish, which swarm towards divers' torches on night dives, and the multicoloured members of Africa's largest fish family, cichlids. Their home is nicknamed the 'calendar lake' for being 365 miles long, 52 miles wide (587km by 84km) and fed by 12 rivers.