Madagascar Moto Tour
Unplanned sudden bike trip, Nairobi – Mariakani – Malindi
21 August 2023
Day 0
Prep day.
AMD, what do we know about Madagascar? They got penguins, what else?
Day 1
Exploring Vakinankaratra
Views after views!
Hilly, twisty, hot, dusty, and a lot of "former tarmac"
Day 2
Menabe Region
Heading 280km westwards towards the Indian Ocean. A lot of nothing and wilderness but I loved watching things come to life near the big rivers.
Day 3
Morondava's beaches and the famous Baobab Avenue
Because much of Madagascar's indigenous forests have been lost (not unlike Kenya!), protected areas like the Allée des Baobabs and national parks are important for protecting remaining tree cover and giving locals and tourists alike a vision of what reforestation could do for biodiversity!
Day 4
Wilderness Challenge: Morondava to Manja
In preparation for this trip, I'd been researching about the next 200km. Off-road and closed November to March due to flooding.
Deep sand, pure bush, "strong enduro skills", no network, no town and 4 river crossings is what I found out. Sounds amazing but not alone and without camping equipment, medical kit or language skills.
So I walked to the bus station and asked around (sign language + french + google translate) until an industrious bus ticket lady arranged a 4x4 pickup. An adventurous 6 hours drive, lucky I got a madly skilled driver!
Day 5
Manja to Tulear
Brand-new tarmac and one river crossing.
First time I'm seeing Chinese road and bridge construction in Madagascar! The river is wider than I imagined 😲and from the two options offered, I choose the floating boat over the canoe. On the remaining 200 Kms, more baobab trees give a coastal feel. And now it's time for a few beach days!!
Day 6
Tulear to Isalo National Park
Today's 270km were loooooong. Starting from mangrove forest at the Indian Ocean, most was monotonous, empty landscape along the national highway RN7. I remember 3 interesting things:
1. A 3km stretch of protected indigenous forest remaining from the once lush thicket that must have covered much of the island.
2. A town that's all about the sale of gemstones, Sapphire found in the river.
3. Golden Hour in Isalo National Park. Beautiful rock formations. Hikers paradise!
Day 7
I wake up alive which I find a big deal after eating crocodile for the first time in my life.
Today I plan to ride to the Andringitra Mountains, paradise for outdoorsy people!
After 100 boring clicks, the route is getting more and more scenic with huge granite mountains around.
In Ihosy I'm meant to get cash, fuel, snacks and do chain service. Both ATMs in town aren't working so I spend 90 minutes to get cash and forget everything else. I pick up some snacks at a town. The final 25km are offroad, it's just lovely cruising through the valleys, and testing the bike on its home terrain: rocky dry rivers and gravel turns.
The lodge is up a steep hill, what pretty views! Exactly 300m to the gate, on a bumpy uphill, my chain chains. If this was to happen today this was the best spot. It's stuck and I can't lift it. The lodge's team comes with pliers and we open the chain then fix it.
The poor bike isn't starting but without batting an eyelid the lodge crew happily pushes it up the remaining hill and parks it at the reception. We try to start it, kick it, push it, choke it, unchoke it, drain pipe it... Nothing! A little crank but no roar 😞
It's getting dark so we decide to deal with this tomorrow!
Day 8
Tsaranoro Valley, Andringitra Mountains, Madagascar
Bike still isn't starting. When kicking or pushing, it starts but then immediately dies.
The valley's fundi is called. He's called Safi which makes me very happy. Calm guy and we analyze the bike. Spark, fuel, air. We have veeeery little spark when kicking the bike. By now we've finished the battery. We change plugs, we sandpaper the coil connector, still no sustained spark. The team even pours some local rum on the bike 😁 Nothing 😐
It gets real hot, so someone suggests beers. This works - as we rest our brains, a new idea comes. Let's check if the chain broke something's around the front sprocket. And voila, we find two strands of the cable coming out of the engine cut 🥲 A minute and some tape later, the bike roars to life! Really grateful to the mechanic and the team. Lots of learning and fun across languages 😅
Time to enjoy the beautiful nature around the valley!
Day 9
Tsaranoro Valley to Fianarantsoa
From this beautiful location and the mechanical misadventures, it's 20km back to the tarmac and another 100 or so of beautiful riding to Fianarantsoa. But the main question in my head is whether I'll be able to get a train ticket for my bike. Exactly. I'll explain.
I found this train that passes from the Highlands to the Ocean through remote villages and beautiful mountain scenery, dating from, you guessed it, the colonial times, but still operating as a lifeline to many villagers and an attraction to tourists.
Arriving at the train station just after 12, I find it closed for lunch. People here take lunch breaks very seriously, so I head out for some smoked fish, too.
At 3, I explain at the information desk that je veux voyager avec mon moto sur le train. I'm pointed to the cargo section where I can inspect the relevant car and I'll be given a price. The only caveat is that the cargo car only goes up to Sahasinaka and I'll have to ride the remaining 55km after offloading the bike, of which 15km "not so bad offroad". Noone can tell the journey time, but 10 hours is the best estimate.
Which would mean arriving very close to sunset 😬
No risk, no fun, I think! And I sure want to see the Eastern coast! 🌴 Wouldn't be cool to ride there and back the same route, right? We load the bike on the cargo car where it'll sleep for the night.
Day 10
Fianarantsoa to Manakara
Train+Bike
I'll let the photos speak for themselves today! But how beautiful was this train ride, how breathtaking the views, how diverse the crowd at each stop and yummy the snacks on sale!! After the cargo car got disconnected in Sahasinaka, I rode some pretty muddy 15km or so with the last rays of light, then 40km tarmac to Manakara town in total darkness. And 5km sandy tracks to the camp on the beach
Day 10
Manakara, Madagascar
beach bonus
There's lots to do, including nothing 😜 or paddling a canoe on the canal. The canal is really fascinating. There's a spot by the ocean where the road is sandwiched between the two. I HAVE to come back here with my tent!!
Didn't see this when I rode down here at night.
And a little bit of rain makes sand easier to ride 😁
Day 11+12
Manakara back to Antsirabe
Finishing up my roadtrip through Southern Madagascar. 435km left and I split it into two days.
Manakara to Ranomafana must have been the most beautiful riding of 2023 so far! 182km worth of twisties, views, nature on mostly smooth tarmac.
Ranomafana National Park has some stunning indigenous forest, and would definitely be worth a hike. Well, I didn't visit any national park on this trip, because their prices for foreigners and forced group guiding fees just didn't add up for a solo traveller. This unfortunately meant I didn't see the chameleons with the curled tail 😔
I took a detour from the Google Maps route, as advised by local bus drivers to avoid an off-road shortcut that potentially has some bandits waiting. On climbing up a hill, some kids stopped me in a corner to sell me bananas. (It's summer holidays). They also had a small hustle going on where you can take pictures of chameleons for some cash. Amazing surprise 🥳
On the RN7 I found a good 80km of baaaad potholes. Entered Antsirabe by evening and found my first traffic jam in three weeks
All good things come to an end. I travelled around 2600km in Madagascar, of which 1930km on the bike.
And certainly only saw a fraction of what there is 😁 What a massive and diverse country! 🇲🇬 Amazing adventure! 🔥 Highly recommend Jean-Marc Ney and the team at Rando Raid in Antsirabe for Motorcycle hires in the southern part! In my research before the trip, I also found other providers renting bikes based in the capital Antananarivo, and I'll share them here. (I also found individuals renting out bikes on groups)
You'll find them on Facebook or Instagram:
* 100% Moto Madagascar
* Just Ride Mada by Rhyno Jesse
* Moto Tour Madagascar
* There's also Badass Motorcycle Community, a biker restaurant.
