Expedition outline - Gallery - Updates - Sponsors - Contact - Madagascar home

E-mail from Simon that has only come through now but is from a few days ago:

We made it to Morombe and had an amazing journey. The people places and weather will stay in my mine for a long time. On reaching our destination we were to discover that the road is not happening and so we would have to find another solution. We got word of a cargo boat leaving the next day for Tulear. That is where I am now. We have set sail on a 40ft two masted old boat. There are 14 ish of us aboard and I was expecting a smelly cargo of dried fish. Fortunately we have ended up on a boat carrying tonnes of bat droppings which I think smells less than fish. There is nowhere undercover and so we are sleeping on deck for the next 2 or 3 days. It's an all inclusive ride and we have 3 meals a day cooked for us. So far it looks like rice cooked in different ways but they have a line for fishing so let's hope. It's very relaxed on board and it's great to get to know the crew and their life. I hope the weather is kind to us.


Si

 28th January 2009

E-mail from Simon from this morning:

This trip is still turning out to be very different to what I expected. We ended up spending 4 days at sea on the cargo boat carrying bat guano and have arrived in a very different Madagascar. The president seems to have been causing trouble and as a result there is rioting around the country. We had to find money today as we had run dry and walked past smoldering shops that were being looted. It is a very friendly affair though. We had a polite conversation with a man with a tin roof he had taken off one of the shops owned by the president. It is however effecting travel around the country. We are paying a high price to get a bus out of here as there are only two with fuel. We have decided it best for me to head to the camp where Gilles has his reforestation projects high in the hills. It's a long way from any towns and so will not be effected by the troubles. I will stay there and help with the planting of trees and hope to head north to paddle the biggest river in Mad once things have quietened down.
Simon

Link to information about the political situation and looting in Madagascar:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hfV75EHUookBtBk2OlprGZBpDTzgD95VI6787

Photo from the capital Antananarivo:

Looters:

22nd - 24th January 2009

Firstly apologies, I have been unable to update the web site for a few days due to an internet virus!!!

So... Simon has kayaked from the start '09 point to Manakara with Jo, then to Farafangana with Edmund. Si and Ed travelled to Toliara to meet up with Silvian and have spent the last week kayaking to Morombe.

The last few days have been a highlight for all the boys. Simon has been surrounded by turquoise water, coral, and a hive of activity from local fisher-men and villages. A more in-depth exploration of the costal communities was enjoyed and a welcome change from the slog of the eastern beach. A cyclone was travelling north of the kayakers in a northerly direction creating  tail winds, allowing them to make great progress. It also forced  the temperature to drop to a - in the words of Simon- "chilly 26deg" so Simon has been getting some good nights' sleep.

e-mail from Simon:

This trip has turned out to be the most educational personally developing expels ever. I'm over the moon with what I'm managing to achieve and to experience. I'm on an island the size of a football pitch that has a village with 100 or so people on it. The locals just invited me out in one of their canoes to fish with nets. I'm just back and have 30 fish to show for it. My highlight so far. We bought all of the fish and are getting them cooked for the village. You can't make things like this happen.

25th January 2009

Voicemail message - click here

Simon reached Morombe yesterday ahead of schedule. The plan was to travel inland from there but unfortunately the cyclone that was helpful on the water has destroyed THE road out of the town. Instead of waiting around for a week in the hope it might be repaired, Simon has opted for a sail cargo ship heading back to Toliara in the south. The journey should take three days at sea.  He had the option of going on a boat with a cargo of dried fish or on a boat with a cargo of Bat poo. He chose the bat poo, as it smelt better

Wikipedia says:

21st January 2009

Voicemail message - click here

Sea Temperature on the west coast where Simon is, is 30-32 degrees Celsius.

Sea Temperature where we are, is 8-12 degrees Celsius.

20th January 2009

Voicemail message - click here

"Best day of the expedition so far"

Simon, Edmund and Silvan have had a great day on and off the water. They landed at different villages along the way, sampling the local generosity and food. From the sound of the voicemail, Simon's tummy is back in working order! They made good progress with strong tailwinds and have found yet another nice camp spot to enjoy the evening.

Below is an image of two cyclones currently above Madagascar. Eric in on the east coast travelling south-wards and Fanele (the 6th one this season) is on the west coast about 300km north of Simon, travelling north-wards.

19th January 2009

Simon and gang are 45km north of Toliara. All are doing really well and kayaking at good pace. They are camping  away from villages in some sand dunes with beautiful clean surf beside them. Simon says that there is a lot of activity on the water with fishermen and because of Silvan's French and Edmund's Madagash, he is getting to interact with the locals. Silvan is paddling an old long multipurpose plastic kayak but is keeping up with the two sea kayaks. There is big wind and seas at the moment but they are using the reefs to shelter from most of it.

According to my guesstamation, they are camping somewhere along this stretch of coast line. You can see the coral reefs with the waves breaking on their outside.

18th January 2009

Message from Simon:

Well we are packed ready at the waters edge. 27 hours to cross the country stuffing the kayaks onto roofs, man powered trailers, Renault 4s, and a Citroen 2cv. We crossed amazing scenery and have arrived at the calm waters inside the reefs. The section ahead is remote and when we get to the next road in a week or so its a 20 hour road trip back to here! The surf forecast is quite big but for most of the time we should find shelter behind the reefs. And the big big difference now is we have time so if we get stuck due to conditions we will explore the land. The challenge and adventure are still present in this trip but it has a very different feel to it. We are now a team of 3 as Silvan a French kayaker has joined us. I am now feeling a lot better and slept well last night after the long journey. Can't wait to explore.

Madagascan transport:

Beach near Toliara:

Toliara town centre:

17th January 2009

Simon has decided to leave the east coast behind and head to the more diverse west coast. He is bringing Edmund with him and will be meeting up with a French kayak guide. Simon plans to train up the two so they can take Gilles' clients on sea kayaking trips.

Not much news from Simon as all he has been doing for the last 48 hours is travel across the country. I got two short messages from him:

I'm on a very rough road in a very full van I can count 21 heads I think and its the size of my van about! 13 hours they think!

9 hours on one mini van then 7 hours at a bus station now 9 hours to tulier. Met up with silvian the French guy. He is cool.

I'm not sure what route Simon took, but he has left Farafangana on the east and I think he is heading for Toliara (Tulear) in the west, although I could be wrong!

As soon as I get more news from Simon, I'll post it up.

Expedition outline - Gallery - Updates - Sponsors - Contact - Madagascar home