Fantastic! Thank you so much for posting such an adventure report!

I've been preparing my next adventure to Madagascar (2014) for a couple of months now, I'm very thrilled and your post is just boosting my enthusiasm for that trip even more. I have to decide on which bike I'll ship for this trip between a TTR250R, 640Adv and 690R. The plan is to ship the bike to Mozambique afterwards for the following trip in 2015. To be continued, for sure!

Full marks for packing light Tiff

Those shoes look really light and compact, do you think they are available in my size?

Tiffany -I always have trouble deciding where to go on the next trip from a huge bucket-list of "places to visit" . Thanks for causing me to add another !

There's a rumour you have done trips like this before
So I was interested to see you "packing light" photo. Great I can get some insight into what experienced over landers take.............. bit surprised on the food choice? Is that little pile the result of 10's of 1000's of miles across many continents, over many years :confused1:


Deeply jealous to be quite honest, looks a great adventure .......... except m&m's, don't like m&m's


Tim

Great pics and words, tnx

I've been off-line for seven days, ever since my sister arrived and we hit the road heading south west, we have now reached the Mozambique Channel and are in the town of Morondava after a journey that included three days paddling down the Tseribhina River in a pirogue (dug put canoe) with Suzi the bike precariously balanced in it - photos to follow.

Just checking in really to let people know I'm alive.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Fashion tips for Mark Manley
we're having a chuckle abut that - and yes they might well be in your size Mark- Karrimor LADIES ones.
Abi (loud librarian sister) says NO WAY Mark - you would look too girly in them!

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

beets a rainy afternoon in crewe doing the washing and couch surfing

A chance to do a bit more of a catch up as we are staying here for two days - Morondava is like the Blackpool of Madagascar, lots of locals enjoying the beach and wondering what on earth these "vazahas" - foreigners were doing in their midst, body surfing the waves. The Loud Libararian aka my younger sister (she and Lois were good friends at school) is with me now for the next three weeks, this was her arrival at the airport last week




For some reason her boyfriend is a bit concerned about her safety while travelling with me

I picked her up in style - a fellow bike enthusiast who had heard about me via the web had invited me to stay with him and his family and so we were able to collect her from the airport in a landrover with diplomatic plates (his KTM also has diplomatic plates!!)

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

That's great to hear, I look forward to hearing about it once you are underway. Nice to bring your own bike though to be fair the bikes available over here are really good which is part of the reason I decided to buy out here.
For those who have been wondering, the people to get in touch with are Motostore based in Madagascar's capital which has a mouthful of a name Antananarivo- but known as Tana for short.
Motostore MG - Husqvarna - SYM - Aeon
is their website, get in touch with them to ask about buying or hiring a bike, Francois is the main guy to talk to- he speaks good English, although so do the rest of the team.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Just to backtrack a bit, pre-sister
I had to get back to the mainland of Madagascar and this was the boat myself and Suzi the bike were taking to the open sea in



To be honest there is a something that I would think of as a better ferry but my timings meant I was heading out in this. They quickly got Suzi on board




All was peaceful in the early morning on the beach, as I waited for more passengers to arrive; a duck seller approached and wanted to know if I was interested in his wares. I pointed out I was travelling by motorcycle and he offered to tether them, still ive, to Suzi


I declined.

and then all hell let loose when the earlier cargo, a zebu (African cross between an ox and a cow) charged back onto the beach



with half the village either running from it or chasing it
I was one of those cowering behind a tree taking these photos





this appeared to be the end of its adventures but it tossed its head, charged at the guy who had hold of the rope, who, quite naturally let go and ran for his life (with the rest of the village watching and roaring with laughter)

the zebu then changed tack, having been chasing up and down the road and the beach, it headed away from the people



and out to sea





this was on full zoom - similar to those blurry Loch Ness monster photos from the 1950's. This is definitely genuine.

At which point as it reached 1/4 mile out to sea with no sign of stopping, the boat guys ran out from the café where they were having breakfast and took to the boat in attempt to head off the zebu




Hmm, yes, well spotted, that IS Suzi acting as part of the Inshore Lifeboat rescue team, strapped down in the boat which is little more than a glorified rowing boat.

They reached the zebu, grabbed its trailing rope




and brought it back to shore at a forced march version of a swim




however, as its feet reached solid ground once more, it took off, lowered its head




even angrier than before and we had the Pamplona Running of the Bulls on a tropical beach again



Until finally, after a lot more bull charging, it was finally caught and tethered to a tree on the beach to calm down

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

There is a lot to catch up on after just a week without internet, so here we go

With all the zebu drama, I hadn't noticed how many people had gathered on the beach for the boat to the mainland. They quickly climbed aboard and I squeezed in between a granddad and a 10 year old. In total there were 20 people and about 10 kids ont he boat plus a lot of luggage and of course, Suzi the motorbike.
It looked something like this




yes, the eight year old is fast asleep against the bike.

It was a relatively short journey, around 40 mins to the mainland and we soon found ourselves surfing in on the waves, landing on a sandy beach



children were passed off the boat first and it was all hands to help out

this was the sleepy head and her baby brother




Bags were passed off next, and then they all heaved the boat up the beach. Except there wasn't much movement. It wouldn't budge and the waves were breaking over the stern, swamping the boat. a shout went out, now I'm not much of a Malagasy speaker, but even I could tell that the yell was "Get the bike off or we lose the boat" - I'm sure there are shadows of Jonah in this somewhere.
I couldn't protest, they undid the ropes, grabbed Suzi and hauled her overboard in almost waist deep water.
I admit I panicked a bit, but there was nothing I could do, but the guys did well and hauled her quickly up the shore.



This woman in the foreground was more concerned with her charcoal brazier. They pulled and hauled Suzi up the beach.




and then everyone helped to get the boat up high beyond the reach of the waves



I stayed to make sure all was well and to pay my fare.
I looked around, I had absolutely no idea where I was, I'd been landed ont he coastline of Eastern Madagascar somewhere north of Soaneirana ivongo (bit of a mouthful that one). It was just a beach, no jetty or anything, they had been unable to show me on my map where I was - it was too small to be graced with a name.
So I took off, heading south, heading inland a bit to find a track. The track soon petered out into water



which I managed to cross, the next part had a thoughtful bridge of sorts, for pedestrians and bikes






In this part of the world, this is major infrastructure.

But then things went downhill when I had to follow this stream




Unbelievably, I came across another bike with a couple of local blokes wearing some sort of hunting gear.




They could only reply yes to everything I asked them. So I continued south with the sea on my left, until suddenly I came out onto the local equivalent of the M5, complete with a lorry blocking the way



That sandy track may not look much but it was the best chance of a main road I had seen for almost a couple of hours.

I reached a river, with a vehicle barge chugging past




I took a pirogue with the welcome sight at the other end of Madame and the lunch table



I selected the veggie options - the meal is called compose, and you choose what you want. My eal looked something like this



Madame was able to confirm that I was ont he correct road and shortly after I saw this welcome sight



For the uninitiated, that is a Malagasy kilometre post, set at intervals on major routes (it may take a slight stretch of the imagination to see this as being a major route)

Even better, the S/Ivongo 8 potentially means I am just 8 kms from the town with the very long name and where rumours have it, there is tarmac.



I was thrilled, but then it doesn't take much to please me
and so I promptly fell over




I've mastered the picking up with your back tot he bike, so not such a problem this time.

and I was a bit more careful with the next section



a note to self to maybe not bring pillion riders this way.

hotly pursued by something that looks like it should be in a horror movie



I made it to the safety of yet another pirogue

where Suzi was loaded in some quite stagnant water, made to look prettier by some floating plants -believe me, it was stinking and I was almost knee deep in it as I helped the blokes to lift her up and into the pirogue.



at the other end we had a bit of a problem, I thought the shore looked odd, it turned out we had a longish haul to more solid ground




and then when I reached the village entrance, it was completely underwater, early rains had caused flooding



The next 20 minutes were spent trying to find a route between the thatched huts and up onto solid ground.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Yes, I found the tarmac and yes, I made it to civilisation, though if you can call this civilisation



They've got wings and to give you a sense of size...



Nearly the size of my hand. I had entered the land of the giant cockroaches. To add to my problems




It had started to rain, this is the view from my room at the best hotel in town looking towards the shared toilet. And to prove it's a proper hotel, here are the rules...



if you can read Malagasy.

However I was more concerned with the rain, this is supposed to be the dry season in Madagascar

I put all my layers of clothes on and headed out, things were not much prettier on the roads. Looking at this picture, you may be surprised to hear that they are actually supposed to drive on the right in Madagascar



This was one of those situations where it's every man (or woman) for him/herself, and I was quick to take advantage with the off-road capabilities of the bike.

And so to Tana and the house of Thom and his family who had heard about my travels and kindly offered to host me (and my dirty washing!). What lovely, fantastic people. Clothes in the washing machine and I sat down
to a sumptuous meal



Thai food with a great wine and great company



I felt completely spoilt.
As a total contrast, my next 24 hours were spent in very normal pastimes, such as going for a bike ride with the kids and Thom



Even this close to the city centre, there are paddy fields




Playing landrover games
an old play structure which is rotting and dangerous, it needs demolishing



Enter the Landrover and girls who know how to use all the attachments






It might not have been pretty but it didn't take long and it was very satisfying.





Playing board games is also one of my favourites, though I well and truly lost at Fibber



And so goodbye to this life of comfort and back to the road this time with my sister in tow as pillion rider.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

She arrived with a smile and sense of adventure, more importantly, she arrived with very little luggage



Day one on the road and she's got the hang of the picnic lunches



Accommodation-wise we started off gently, just take a look at this place or should I say palace?!



It cost us about £10 between us for the night. We're up on the second floor so I'm hoping that the flying cockroaches won't reach us!!

We're using the local rickshaws to get around, no bike, just a bloke on foot running through the streets in his barefeet.



she's got a good sense of humour and enjoyed it all.

A chameleon was spotted in the road



He tried to leg it, but we were onto him with our cameras






She (sister NOT chameleon) likes bird watching, and spotted a Madagascar Hawk




Meanwhile I'm riding around enjoying a bit of off-roading

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Great posts Tiff. Always fun following your adventures. Thanks for taking the time to get such good photos too! Happy travels.

Paul

Thanks Paul, glad you're enjoying it.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo