NORDLYS - Hobson visit to Madagascar

Hobson visit to Madagascar

NORDLYS

David and Annette Ridout

Mon 1 Oct 2007 13:25

Madagascar with Michael and Diana Hobson

Sakatia Towers Anchorage

Sakatia Island

1st October 2007

Sitting in the cool refined surroundings of the Sakatia Lodge Resort, sipping a fresh lime and soda, we looked out over the mile wide band of water that separates Sakatia Island from Nosy Be, itself an island but of Isle of Wight proportions. Approaching at speed was a blue fibre glass pirogue powered by a large outboard. Whether the resort's tender is built like this because the local builders are unable to comprehend anything but a vessel with an outrigger or whether it is to make the guests feel they are part of the scene I do not know. Stepping ashore through the shallows as the vessel grounded some three meters off the sandy beach came our indomitable friends Michael and Diana. In yet another odd corner of the world we had managed to make contact.

So began what was for us and we hope them a memorable three weeks. The first two being spent on Nordlys and the last doing a land tour. Two flights of over an hour and some thirteen hundred kilometres driving. During our time on Nordlys we introduced our friends to both Hell-ville and to Andrew who I described in the previous webdiary. We visited the island of Komba and its still charming attempts at a tourist industry. It was here that we first saw the lemurs that Madagascar is famous for. Masses of children swirled about us as we negotiated the small streets of the village, lack of contraception and television ensure that the population is growing fast. As Nordlys put over two hundred miles under her keel going from one village anchorage to the next we were as always surrounded by magnificent scenery and more working sailing vessels than we have seen anywhere else in our travels.

At one village the locals were keen to sell us lobsters which they would catch next day if we lent them masks and fins. It was only when they turned up to collect these necessary items that we realised they wanted us to tow them the three miles to a nearby island where the lobsters were to be found. Thus at 0630hrs instead of enjoying an early morning swim or a lie in or even a leisurely breakfast we were upping anchor and with the cockpit full of locals we motored slowly, pirogue in tow, towards our destination. The three kg of lobsters that resulted tasted superb that evening especially as we managed to find a good bottle of wine in our fast dwindling stocks. There will be several reasons to celebrate when we get to South Africa! On another occasion we came to a stop over a five metre bank in a slightly roly sea but in flat calm conditions. We had been told that there was a good chance of spotting a whale shark, the biggest fish in the world's seas. I went over the side but nothing was there and after a peaceful but fruitless wait of over an hour we used the rising breeze to get us on our way. The previous day we had been lucky enough to see a magnificent display by a pair of whales, humpbacks, as they blew, dived and occasionally threw themselves into the air. Spotting this was not easy but the resulting splash was of huge proportions. At one stage they were less than half a mile from the boat.

Two days of sorting ourselves out while at anchor off Sakatia Towers and we were ready for our travels ashore. Leaving the boat, our home, is never an easy decision. We had laid two anchors in tandem, a good scope of chain and arranged for a local to come and be a guard on her from dusk to dawn. Suffice to say she was in perfect order and had had her decks cleaned when we returned yesterday.

Our first day consisted of a boat trip over the mile to Nosy Be. A wade ashore, a bus for the thirty km to the airport. An hour and a half's flight to Tana. Then over one hundred and fifty km of slow driving to our first hotel. Our driver showed himself to be very good. Never taking risks, driving steadily and smoothly Fred was a great success over the coming week. Olivier our guide worked hard, was very knowledgeable but had a limited English vocabulary. This was to be a frequent problem with all supposedly English speaking guides we encountered in the reserves. So a pattern of visiting the reserves, driving slowly through fascinating scenery and staying in hotels that were trying hard but were very poorly planned, developed. In our lives we all tend to accept a certain standard of design. When one is faced with bedrooms with no light to read by. Lavatories that are unsteady on their mounts and temperatures that got as low as 12C when there was heating in neither the rooms nor the restaurants one tends to get slightly irritated. Not at the people who are running the establishments but at the XXXXs who designed them.

The above did in no way spoil what for us was a great experience and one that we would not have wished to have missed. Every bit of available land is terraced and farmed yet all of this is done by hand. Seeing three men with long handled spades digging a large field is a sobering sight and made one realise just how hard these country folk work. Their houses are built of brick and usually of two and occasionally three stories. These houses all had no glass windows, no running water and no chimneys. All around at least one window of each house was black from the smoke of the cooking fire inside. The country folk cook by wood and make charcoal. The slightly better off cook by this charcoal and the rich cook by gas. The women all walk, apparently effortlessly, with heavy loads on their heads. A small girl will be seen with a large bucket of water or a box of vegetables balanced perfectly on her head. The wells are often some distance from the houses, usually downhill. It is womens work to fetch the water. By the side of the road large communal tombs were seen. The Madagascans worship their ancestors and apparently the bones of great granny and grandpa are often taken out for a party! Driving through this countryside is very pleasant scenically despite the black smoke that seems to emerge from all diesel engined vehicles here. The sheer physical grind of earning a living and existing in these conditions however does not bear thinking about, especially as the central highlands are at over 1500m so the nights can be very cold.

I could go on at length about the politics of this country, the make up of the people and the lives that they appear to be living. My readership would get bored. Suffice to say that a visit to this country can easily be divided into time in the interior and time in a very pleasant beach resort. The combination is worth considering and the tourist industry is obviously on the up. A little bit more thought and investment and this place could become a very popular destination.

We left Diana and Michael with another day of walking the rain forests of Ranomafana before they set off south to a National Park called Isalo. We drove over 400km back to Tana and next morning caught a plane to Nosy Be. Speeding across the water in the resort's boat we came back to Nordlys who was lying safe and sound to her anchor. It was like coming home. As I write this we are working at getting ready for the trip south. There is still well over 2000nm of sea between us and Cape Town. Our plan is to sail down the coast of Madagascar in hops for two to three hundred miles then set sail for Richard's Bay on South Africa's northern border with Mozambique. We will not call in at this last named country unless the weather dictates. Watch this space!

Happy times

David and Annette