Madagascar, a country of contrasts; tropical islands, lush forests, dry plains, rich tourists and poor locals, but that is what makes it such an interesting and colourful country.
Our trip started off in Nosy Be and Nosy Sakatia. The latter is a smaller island, but with great accommodation and also snorkeling, diving and kayaking opportunities. Since there are no restaurants on Sakatia, the lodges include dinner and breakfast. And the food is good! You can definitely spend at least 5 – 10 days there. You also have the option of renting a yacht or glass bottom boat for a couple of days.
Our first night’s stay was at Sakatia Towers and the next morning, after some snorkeling in the warm ocean, we boarded a yacht and spent a day sailing the ocean, snorkeling and visiting some of the other smaller islands with marine reserves and the famous Flying Foxes (bats). Picture yourself sailing away into the sunset with dolphins playing around the boat, lovely seafood, warm weather… who can say no to that?
From Sakatia it was back to Nosy Be and on to Amarina Lodge further north on the island; a completely different experience. First by taxi to a small village and then by motorboat to the lodge. Since there is no jetty you have to wade a few meters to get on board. The Amarina Lodge is a more modern establishment, yet the setting is classic and simply stunning. My companion for the night was a gecko who kept on complaining every time I moved. But then again, there were no mosquitoes in my room that night, thanks to him.
After a breakfast on one of the tiny islands and some snorkeling time, we returned to the Lodge only to find that the tide has gone out and we had to wade for a couple of hundred meters to the boat again. Not that anyone minded. We were already in the mora mora mood (don’t do today what can be done tomorrow!) so we just took things as they came.
After a short flight we were back in Antananarivo where we spend two nights. Tana with no street lights, very few street names, small sidewalk shops, lots of cars and lots of people. It is built on a couple of hills and a photographer’s paradise. After our stay, we then took the road east towards Andasibe National Park. The route was a kaleidoscope of colours – green and yellow rice paddies, brown mud houses, sub tropical fruit stalls and lush green forests. We paid a short visit to one of the sanctuaries where we had to opportunity to see some of the many varieties of chameleons, butterflies, frogs and also some lemurs. I never realised that there are such small and also such big chameleons in the world!
Andasibe is home to the famous Indri Indri and we were quite lucky in seeing some of them during our visit. The park has different distance walking trails and we opted for the middle one that took us along well worn trails but also through the indigenous forest. All around us there were lots of birds and butterflies with a chameleon here and there, to break the monotony. A highlight during the night walk was some mouse lemurs – so cute you want to take them home!
The last part of our visit was towards the Wild Wild West. We flew in to Morondava and from there travelled by 4×4 to Kirindi forest for some more lemurs and also a vossa – a jackal like cat. Basic accommodation and very tough chicken for dinner! This is definitely for the more adventurous traveller. Early next morning we departed north along the main road. This road was worse than the worst I have seen in South Africa but is considered good by the locals. We ended up at the river around 6am and since the ferry was not there yet, our guide arranged a mokoro like canoe “transfer” of about 1 hour across the river. He warned us to not put our hands in the water as there were crocodiles! It was a fantastic experience, gliding along the river, the sun rising and the only sound that of the oars and the birds along the banks.
After some tea with condenced milk and toast we departed for the tsingi. If I though the earlier road was bad, this one was even worse. At places the 4×4 nearly disappeared in the potholes. The scenery however made up for this with grasslands, forests and small villages with banana plantations and zebu grazing. And everywhere there were butterflies. Yellow, white, lavender and blue!
At the next river we were lucky to still catch the ferry and continued to the Park to view the tsingi. This is a rock formation that is unique to Madagascar and quite spectacular. We scrambled up and down walkways and ladders and had a stunning view from the top lookout platform. Here we had a well deserved rest as the humidity and temperature had sapped all our energy. We polished nearly two liters of water each per day!
The next morning it was back to the rivers and ferries. The guide also told me that you can rent a canoe or dhow higher up along the river and do a 3 day cruise down with sleepovers along the banks of the river. Maybe on my next visit?
Our second last stop for the day was at the boabab alley where we waited for sunset. What a spectacular view! These massif trees spread out over the countryside, villages dotted in-between and cattle grazing next to giants, some of which are hundreds of years old. Well worth a visit.
Out last stop for the day was Morondava, a small fishing village, where we spent the night. Imagine you wake up and when you look out your window all you see is white sand, palm trees, a blue ocean and a dhow gliding by. This is life!
From Morondava it was back to Tana and then home. Tourism in Madagascar is still not fully developed yet even though there are luxury lodges on the islands. The public transport systems is basically non-existent, the airlines not always on time, the roads terrible but it has a fascination that will be hard to find elsewhere. The food is good and not expensive, the city, despite its poverty, is clean and the people all very friendly. Most of them can speak some English but if you know a smattering of French, it will help a lot.
I cannot wait to get back there as there are so many areas I still want to visit and I will definitely go back to some that I have already visited!
Safaris to Madagascar
1. 11 Day 1000 Views of Madagascar
2. 5 Days Nosy Be Beach
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