Madagascar.

Travel.

One of the great adventures about Madagascar is the travel involved in getting there and then the travel on the ground itself once you arrive. Getting there is not cheap as there are only one or two major airlines flying in from Europe and they control the prices. The overnight flights are best because then you arrive in Tana early in the morning and if you have had a good nights sleep on the plane then you can spend some time getting to know Tana on the first day. Air Madagascar do good deals and you get a discount for all internal flights when you book your international flight with them. Internal flights are fun and necessary as the island is so large. One of our internal flights in 2004 was in a elderly twin prop which flew low over the landscape from Morondava to Tana. Although Hoby, our Malagasy guide, was not happy on the flight (she thought the plane was way too low) we actually enjoyed it and were able to see the Tsiribihina river which we had just spent 4 days traveling down. This reinforced the idea that using internal flights means you miss a lot on the ground. If we had just flown there and back to Morondava, as many tourists do, we would have missed all the river adventures along the way. Your Malagasy travel agent will be able to help you plan your trip around the internal flight timetable.

Once on the ground in Madagascar the fun really begins. Expect long drives, punctures, breakdowns and although most of the main roads are now greatly improved since we first went in 2001 the lesser roads are quite a challenge and liable to turn into a river at the first sign of rain. A 4 wheel drive is essential for these roads and you will spend many hours trundling along at 10kph. The plus factor of all this is that you get a chance to see the countryside up close and the drivers will stop for photo opportunities as often as you ask. Be careful about this though because if you delay too much and end up driving in the dark it is no fun and downright dangerous. We always work close with the drivers and ask their opinion as to whether we have time to spare for a stop. After all they are the ones who have to spend hours getting you safely from A to B so why make their job more difficult?

People drive at crazy speeds on the roads and because there are many steep declines, especially in the Central Highlands area, you will see traffic accidents. We have seen them on every one of our trips so far. A common event is the brakes of the large inter city supply trucks failing on the declines. It is not unusual to round a corner and almost crash into a stationary track jackknifed at a crazy angle across the road. In 2004 we had a lucky escape when our 4 wheel drive had a head on crash with a taxi brousse near Kirindy. The taxi brousse was way overloaded. I counted 16+ people getting off it and running into the bush after the crash to hide from us. And the taxi still was full of people when I looked into it! Obviously instructed by their driver to get out of sight as quickly as possible so as he would not get the blame for the crash. After a lot of discussion at the side of the road we departed with the side of our Toyota Landcruiser all crushed in and two side windows broken. Only the quick thinking of our driver saved lives because he managed to drive his vehicle into a gap in the surrounding forest at the last second thus avoiding a total head on crash and instead just receiving a heavy glancing blow from the much larger taxi brousse.

When traveling on the river, the majority of the river cruisers have up to date life jackets and emergency kits on board. Make sure you know where they are as soon as you board. The river trips are a lovely lazy way of traveling across the country and do provide spectacular scenery. You will have to camp on the riverbanks but that is just fun anyway. Entertainment is provided by the boat crew and if you are lucky as we were, the locals will come along and provide a night of singing and dancing around the campfire. These evenings are well worth staying up for because the Malagasy have a very unique style of music which has two speeds.......fast and faster.

When you do stay in a hotel in Madagascar do not expect western luxuries. Most hotels in the cities are basic with hotels in the strict sense of the word only really existing in Tana and Nosy Be in the North. Many of the coastal hotels are really complexes of rustic chalets with a central dining area and bar for socialising. The Bamboo Club in Ifaty is a favorite of ours as is Chez Maggies in Morondava. Both of these facilities are spotless clean and the staff cannot do enough to help you.

You will need anti malarial tablets for Madagascar and also bring any medication you normally use with you along with the paperwork for it, just to prove it is medication and not some illegal drug. Bring plenty of mossie repellent and also an anti histamine type cream for bite relief. You will need it! Be careful with village dogs, they look cute but are not treated like our domestic dogs. We saw some dogs being treated quite badly on the last trip, though it was only an isolated case I hope, and I reckon that dog would have bit anyone who went near him after the way he was treated. Rabies is common in Madagascar so do not allow yourself to get bitten. Be very careful with water also. There is nearly always plenty of bottled water available but you can pick up parasites quite easily by walking barefoot in rice fields and rivers etc.

Please click on the photos link opposite left to see our images of Travel in Madagascar.