7 unforgettable Madagascan adventures

Madagascar, just a stone's throw away, offers myriad choices for fun-lovers and thrill-seekers

If you ever wondered why Madagascar is so weird and different, consider this: 165 million years ago, the Red Island split from Africa and said goodbye to the continent.

The effect of this geological upheaval was the creation of an ecological marvel in which nine of every 10 plant and animal species - with glorious big-eyed lemurs at the top of the list - are found nowhere else on Earth.

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This and the beaches, the diving, the forests of baobabs and the limestone karsts of Ankarana make Madagascar an adventure and outdoor destination.

Here are some of the best Madagascar adventures as experienced by Travel Weekly writers over the years.

1. GO CRUISE-CAMPING BY DHOW

Writer Andy Davis, who sailed by dhow off Madagascar some years ago, wrote of the experience: "Sitting here on the beach, scribbling furiously in my notebook as the sun dips towards the water and lights up the lush, green canopy with orange, slowly turning the turquoise sea a darker blue. It's quiet and it's warm.

"My Three Horse beer is cold. My life is all right. I spy my travelling companions splashing in the warm water and generally revelling in the tropical scene. The Malagasy crew, having set up our tents and established our camp on this deserted tropical beach, are preparing dinner and a large bonfire. Looking out across the bay to our dhow, bobbing blissfully in the deeper water, it's hard to imagine ever wanting to return home."

If you like the sound of that, Madagascar Island Safaris sails a traditional 10m wooden dhow around Nosy Be, the adventure-destination island in northern Madagascar. The dhow voyages around the coastline, anchoring in secluded bays where the guests can snorkel, swim, fish, kayak and explore the beaches or local markets. Nights are spent in tents or bungalows in three private beach camps. See madagascarislandsafaris.co.za.

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2. SEE SOME LEMURS

This is why you came to Madagascar, admit it. Everybody wants to get close to these magnificent creatures and happily for you - if not always for the lemurs - you can.

The name for this iconic primate comes from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirit of the night" or "ghost".

The key place for human-lemur encounters seems to be the lemur reserve on Nosy Komba, but as writer Mike Wills notes, "Get there before the animals are too full of tourists' bananas and won't bother to come onto your shoulder."

Better known as Lemur Island, Nosy Komba is 25 minutes by boat from Nosy Be. On Nosy Komba, the local villagers "have turned their 5 000 black lemurs into an iconic photo op," writes Shelley Seid. "All it takes is a local guide, a couple of ariary, a banana, and voilà, the classic lemur-on-the-shoulder picture is yours."

While on the island, you can also go searching for tortoises, chameleons and boa constrictors.

A day trip to Nosy Komba will cost around €40.

3. RIDE THE JUNGLE TRAIN

The Red Island never had much of a rail network and one of the only passenger trains still operating connects the highland town of Fianarantsoa to Manakara on the east coast.

The railway crosses 68 bridges and plunges through 40 tunnels on its 163km journey. The guidebooks estimate travel time at eight hours but you can be sure it will take longer, as Donal Conlon discovered.

"We will take 14 hours to do the 163km trip; sometimes it takes days. The rails must be treated gently. They have, over years, been battered by cyclones and hundreds of mudslides . The train is dilapidated, feeble, cranky and unpredictable, though there is the feeling of being transported by a proud machine."

That trains still run is largely due to the railway's economic importance. There are few roads in the area and so it is up to the train to carry the loads of bananas, sacks of rice, sugar and coffee, bags of cement, building timber, household goods, cases of beer and the inevitable chickens.

Trains are operated by the Fianarantsoa Côte Est (FCE Madagascar) three times a week in each direction. A single ticket costs around €9. This is train travel for the adventurous - do not expect any luxuries. At all. Book in advance at fce@blueline.mg or - if you speak French - phone +26-120-755-1354.

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4. SNORKEL AT TANIKELY

Tanikely is a tiny, uninhabited island close to Nosy Be. The island is blessed with a protected reserve and beautiful coral reefs. Shelley Seid was there: "We arrived at low tide and I spent hours in the still, clear water gazing at the fishy metropolis below me."

While snorkelling there, Andy Davis had what he called "a full body experience. Tropical immersion. Lounging on the deserted beach around the corner in my birthday suit. The thick Malagasy jungle rises up from the white sand beach and sighs with strange sounds of birds, lemurs and reptiles."

5. SAIL A BOUTRE DOWN THE LOZA ESTUARY

Boutres are the wooden workhorse-boats of Madagascar, ideal for plying the coast and working their way up the many rivers. Some of them work the Loza, an estuary in northwestern Madagascar that connects the town of Antsohihy with a village called Analalava at its mouth and the Indian Ocean. When roads get flooded in the rainy season, the boutres provide the only means of travel.

Donal Conlan paid €7 for a boutre captain named Mustapha to transport him and his motorbike down the Loza. The mangrove-fringed estuary was busy with pirogues "piled high with green bananas and bags of charcoal going to market; with mattresses and bicycles, boxes of provisions and many unidentifiable things going home. Against the tide, paddlers' backs glisten with sweat.

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At times, pirogues are lashed together for shared effort or colourful lambas are tied to masts to try to catch some breeze. Water, for these people, is as much their element as land. Pirogues disappear into and emerge out of narrow channels in the mangroves. Houses and homes are somewhere away in the distance, invisible; soft folds of mountains are far away."

6. GO WHITEWATER RAFTING

Madagascar's reputation as a whitewater destination is growing, with trips running on the Mangoky, Matsiatra and Manankazo rivers. Mangoky is the best for novices. Six-day trips start at the village of Beroroha, near Sakara, and head through the Makay range, traversing the world's largest baobab forest on the way. Operators include Remote River Expeditions (remoterivers.com) and Madamax (madamax.com).

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7. DRIFT ON A LUXURY CATAMARAN

"A week on a private yacht that can accommodate between four and six passengers, a captain to do your bidding, a chef to do your cooking, and a first mate to do everything else," Shelley Seid writes.

Seid spent a blissful week cruising aboard the 50ft Admiral Explorer catamaran. Between shore excursions and gazing at the sea, she delighted in the culinary skills of the yacht's chef, Zama Rafaele Frederique. "In a space no larger than an office desk, he would dip into the chest fridge and his box of secret spices, and create the sort of meals of which Justin Bonello can only dream," she wrote.

Admiral Charters does custom itineraries. The Admiral Explorer sleeps up to 10, the smaller Admiral Adventurer sleeps up to six. They also offer hotel/lodge/yacht combinations. See admiralcharters.co.za.

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Various airlines fly between Johannesburg and Antananarivo, including SAA and Kenya Airways. Direct flights on SAA for September travel start at R9 293. Kenya Airways offer a cheaper but longer option with fares starting at R5 946. See skyscanner.net.