A month of adventures in Gabon June 2016

After leaving Reunion island I had a quick 36 Hour stopover in Johannesburg before my next proper destination Gabon. 

Arriving in Libreville (The only international airport in Gabon) late on the evening of the 1St June. All the currency conversation places were closed so I withdrew some cash for a taxi and headed straight for my hotel, Le Patio. 

(The local currency the Franc (CFA) is very hard to aquire outside of the country's that actually use it otherwise I would have preferred to have at least a small supply before arriving) 

Le Patio is a nice centrally located clean and safe hotel reasonably priced hotel by Libreville standards and it's in the heart of the main food and drink area of the city so some great local dining options are easily available. The only point I would make is that the staff are unbelievably rude and seem to have very little people skills despite the fact that they mostly all appear to speak excellent English.

The next morning I got up early in an attempt to avoid the worst of the heat and try and get a run in. This would be my first proper run since running London marathon over a month ago now. Unfortunately my plan didn't work as planned and I still ended up running in 26 degree heat. Luckily as I ran along the sea front a cool breeze provided some welcome relief. I only managed a slow 10Km and it's when you see locals out running in full thermal gear whilst I mearly had shorts and vest and was looking as though I had just completed the swimming section of a triathlon that you realise that maybe it's time to return to the hotel. 

Later that day I meet up with Paul. He was leading the expedition and had also flown in the day before like me but from Heathrow via Istanbul using Turkish Airlines. He had flown in with the bulk of the kit that would be required for the expedition that I would be doing in the first half of the month. Unfortunately Turkish Airlines seemed to have lost one of the bags that he had flown in with. We set about checking all the bags and counting kit in order to work out what had actually been lost. After taking an inventory of all the kit it became apparent that the missing bag contained dehydrated rations & a PFD (Personal Flotation Device) not ideal but thankfully it could have been a lot worse as there were other bags that contained equipment that would be much harder to replace at such short notice. Luckily people were still due to leave the UK to come and join the expedition so it was going to be very easy to pack an emergency bag and add it to the remaining kit that they were already due to bring. 

That evening we went to the airport to check and see if they had anymore information about the lost bag and meet Dave who was flying in to join the team. Waiting at the airport it was now over an hour from when the plane had been scheduled to land and still no sign of it. Then eventually came the announcement that it had landed. Passengers slowly started filtering out of the customs hall after about 20 mins the flow of passengers seemed to end but still no sign of Dave. Hans our driver manged to talk us through in to the restricted area so we could check for the missing bag and see where Dave was. Paul went to check for his bag and I walked over to the only person left in baggage claim standing beside the now stopped carousel. At this point I should probably point out Dave had also just flown Turkish Airlines. 

Yeah you guessed it. Not only had Paul's missing bag not been located but Turkish Airlines had successfully managed to lose another one. So yet more paperwork to be filled in before we could go get some sleep. It was now just after midnight so we headed back to the hotels. Paul was first, then it seemed Dave had booked a hotel very near Le Patio so hans could drop him off on the way to dropping me back. 

Driving around the streets where the map indicated that the hotel should be located was not looking promising the indicated location of the hotel was a boarded up and fenced off building. Hans started asking around and found out that we were in the right location but the hotel had closed a long time ago. So it was now just after 1 in the morning and not only did Dave have no baggage he was also without a hotel. I suggested we simply head to Le Patio and he could sleep on the floor in my room for the night and we could start to sort his problems in the morning. 

The next morning we headed to the biggest supermarket in the area in an attempt to re stock Dave with some kit before the expedition as it was now to late to get anything else sent from the UK as the rest of the team were on there way and would arrive this evening.

The next morning it was a early start and the bus left Libreville at 05:00 for the 600Km 10-11 hour journey to our first stop in Ivindo national park. 

We stopped in the town of Ndjolé on route and sampled some of the amazing Street food available in the cool riverside market.

Awesome Street food in Ndjolé

We arrived in the town of Makokou just after 15:00 and grabbed a late lunch and had a quick explore of the town before heading to the research station that would be our accommodation for the night. In the morning we would take a dugout canoe down to Camp Kongou located next to Kongou falls on the Ivindo river. 

Camp Kongou (My Hut for the night)

Kongou falls (Right side)

The following morning we took the dugouts across to the other side of the river to enjoy the falls from the other side and section with the biggest drop.

Kongou falls (Left Side) 

Fun at the top of the falls 

Sensible pics also available 

As it was only just the end of wet season the falls were in full flow 

At the bottom of the falls. Great views although a little wet 

Team shot 

Natural shower 

Returning to the other side of the river we enjoyed the views of the beautiful stars from a natural clearing a short 5 minute walk from our camp huts. 

Beautiful stars 

The next morning we again crossed the river ready to begin the trekking phase of the expedition. We were due to spend 3 days trekking across the national park in order to reach the Djidji river approximately 25-30 Km away. The Djidji was to provide the best possibility of good animal sightings on the packrafting stage of the expedition.

Crossing the river with the Park rangers 

Throughout the expedition we were to be accompanied by 2 FIGET personal (Foundation Internationale Gabon Eco Tourisme) they were to guide us through the trek phase and ensure we didn't have any dangerous encounters with the wild animals.

Large trees and heavy vegetation made for slow progress 

The trek phase went largely without incident although the lack of actual established paths, thick mud and heavy vegetation did slow progress and it took slightly longer than anticipated. We didn't really encounter any animals whilst walking other than the occasional monkey but they are very quick and didn't hang around for long once they heard or smelt us. We heard lots during the night and on one particular evening a elephant came in very close proximity to the camp before the FIGET guys scared it off. Dave also had a close encounter with a Civet whilst relieving himself one evening. 

Packrafting down the Djidji 

When we made it to the Djidji. We set about inflating the rafts and ensuring all essential gear was suitably waterproofed and drybagged. We were using Alpacka packrafts for this next phase of expedition and they are a great piece of kit. They weigh just over 2 Kg and fold down unbelievably small with a bit of effort. You inflate them by catching air and squeezeing it in to the raft with an inflation bag before topping up the last bit using the additional mouth valve.

We set off paddling down the river. There was a good flow and even without to much effort paddling we were able to make good progress and quickly traveled 10Km down the river. We decided to make camp with plenty of time before it was dark so set about looking for a good safe spot to set up.

We spent the next week paddling down the river. Some days were easy some very tough. One minute we could be paddling on peacefuly flat water enjoying the wildlife the next we would be dragging our rafts over banks or around rapid sections that were just not suitable or to dangerous to run. Several times we even needed to deflate the rafts and pack them away so we could trek around a section that we just couldn't run. This also included the section on the approach and section after the Djidji falls.

We encountered lots of wildlife whilst on the river Crocodiles, Otters, Birds, Monkeys, Snakes, Elephants, Gorillas, Antelope

The highlight for me was definitely coming round a corner and seeing 5 lowland forest Gorillas happily munching away on some lunch. Sadly they are not as accustomed to human contact as say the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda, Uganda & DRC so they quickly moved back in to the cover of the forest once they heard us. We were only able to witness these truly magnificent creatures for a few minutes but it was amazing and I felt truly luckily to have the opportunity to witness such things. Another highlight was a Elephant encounter we had a few days previous. Either we were quieter on this occasion or he just wasn't bothered by our presence as we were lucky to be able to get very close before he headed back in to the cover of the forest.

Elephant encounter on the Djidji river 

Elephant 

Some of the fun rapid sections 

Boats stacked up by camp one morning 

Another highlight was crossing the Equator in a pack raft. Very few people are able to say they have done that. We were definitely the first people to do it on this river and maybe even the first to do it in all of Africa.

Crossing the Equator 

Finally reaching the end of the expedition in Booue it's was due to be a nice simple 7-8 Hour drive back to Libreville were we could have a much needed well deserved hot shower before food and celebratory beers. 

Should have known that this is Africa and things are never that simple. Our wonderful driver manged to break the bus by driving like a complete idiot and what should have been a simple journey ended up being a 39 hour disaster. During which time I think almost everyone on-board the bus which I might add we had to sleep on for a night was about ready to dump our driver out on the side of the road and make our own way back to Libreville.

Bus repairs 

Bus repairs 

Amazing Libreville Street food 

Yum yum 

So sad that so many people just dump there rubbish causing sights like this 

Gabon is a beautiful amazing country and I really believe more people should visit this little explored African gem. It's just such a shame that some of the people who live here don't appreciate what they have. Almost every day out in Libreville I would witness people simply dumping or throwing their rubbish in the streets, streams, ocean. That combined with the amount of people who would simply feel the need to go toilet wherever they happened to be at that exact moment is just so sad. Imagine simply going toilet in London streets whenever you felt the need.

TIA as they say. This is Africa

That's all for now. Currently in Kigali Rwanda getting ready to cross the boarder into DRC and visit virunga national park and the Rwenzori mountains. 

A stranger is simply a friend you haven't meet before

Hotel Tropicana 

A great travel blog I read called "once upon a saga" by a Danish blogger Torbjørn currently on a Misson to visit every country in the world without ever stepping foot on an aircraft. 


"A stranger is simply a friend you haven't meet before"

A quote I see in his blog many times but never truly appreciated how true it is until recently.

So my time in Gabon was almost up (post to follow early next week)

I just felt this needed it's own section.

I was due to fly from Libreville to Kigali, Rwanda on the 2nd July ready to explore Rwanda for a bit before heading in to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) later in the month.

Libreville definitely isn't a cheap place to stay or visit even the most basic of hotel or guest house rooms will set you back 20000-25000 CFA a night (roughly £25-32 a night) and although that doesn't seem a lot by European standards it is by African and long term travel standards.

I had some local currency left that I had drawn out on my return to Libreville after completing the expedition but it wasn't going to be enough to cover food and accommodation for the remaining days I had in the city.

So I headed down to the local supermarket and a cashpoint I had used before and felt safe to use again to take out some more funds. It didn't work it kept rejecting my card. Okay so I headed in search of another cash machine again same problem as was the case for the numerous other machines I tried that day.

It's worth noting that very few places in Libreville accept card transactions and are cash only so I really needed to find some cash.

I headed back to my guest house to try and work out a plan. I counted up what local currency I did have available to me and worked out that I could probably get by on 5000CFA a day for food and drink e.t.c if I continued to use the amazing Street food vendors I had grown to love of the past week.

That left me with enough money to pay for accommodation up until the night of the 30th. Meaning that I would have to check out on the 1St and have nowhere to stay that night before my flight on the morning of the 2nd.

I finally decided that it would be fine I could just head to the airport early and sleep there. As I've probably said before it wouldn't be the first time I've slept in an airport and definitely won't be the last. I have already had nights in La Paz & Lima airports this year alone.

I arrived at the airport just after 14:00 on the 1St July and used the last of my cash to buy some lunch and a large bottle of water for the night and following morning. After finishing of the remaining 100 or so pages of the book I had with me I had a quick scout around the airport looking for a suitable place to bed down for the night.

I selected a nice little alcove that had the added benefit of a pillar close by allowing me to tuck my bag in against the wall and pillar and then position myself up against it blocking any possible access to my bag. I got comfortable and settled down for the night.

It was about 22:00 when I was awoken by a guy tapping me on the shoulder, still half asleep I opened my eyes to find a guy standing over me. Trying to wake myself up as quickly as possible fully expecting to have to try and have a conversation with my very poor French skills. I was extremely surprised when he started talking to me in English. I had been in Gabon for a whole month now and people always automatically started conversations in French I would then always need to ask (in French) if they could speak English or attempt to get by on my limited French skills.

Perhaps sleeping on an airport floor is simply something a French person would not consider doing so he therefore made the assumption I was English or American. He enquired which flight I was on again probably assuming I was one of the few remaing flights that evening or the 2 leaving in the very early hours of the morning and worried I would sleep through and miss my flight. When I told him which flight I was on and explained the situation and that I was sleeping here until morning he suggested that he would try and secure me a empty office or room in which I could sleep. I insisted that I was fine and happy where I was so he went back to work but said he would come check on me when his shift ended.

Getting back to sleep it was just after midnight when I was woken again by the same guy only this time two other men were now with him, one in jeans and a shirt and his airline ID badge hanging around his neck and another man with black trousers and shirt (Who turned out to be the chief of police for the airport). They explained that they had all talked it through and where not comfortable leaving me there for the night. So they had called a friend who owned a hotel very close to the airport and he would very kindly provide me with a room for the night.

So they helped me load my bags in to a car and drove me the short 5 min journey over to Hotel Tropicana. Checking me in to my room they said I must be hungry having not eaten since lunch so again insisted we all get back in the car where they drove me to a local restaurant and got me some food before taking me back to the hotel for the night.

One of them even came and picked me up in the morning and drove me back to the airport and made sure I checked in for the flight okay.

“A stranger is simply a friend you've never met before”.

I now know and appreciate just how true this is

Riding the TransGabonies railway from Libreville to Franceville

After completing my amazing expedition in Ivindo and packrafting down the Djidji river (New post about that soon). I found myself in Libreville with a week or so to kill before heading over to my next amazing adventure in Rwanda. 

Libreville is supposed to be a really good hub for acquiring onwards visas for other central and West African countries so I headed of to the Cameroon embassy (apparently the easy one) to apply for a visa. Long story but eventually rejected after 2 and a half days of trying. 

I decided to take a break from visa applications and hop on to the TransGabonies railway for a trip up to Franceville. 

Acquiring a ticket for the train. 

You have 3 main options. 

1. Visit the Setrag ticket office in Libreville. 

Accessed of Boulevard de l'independance. 

Upon seeing the main La Poste building on the left hand side of the road (If heading away from the airport and towards centre ville). 

La Poste building 

 Turn of the main road in to Rue Langford and the Setrag ticket office is located down the second side street on the right.

Setrag office (2nd side Street on the right) 

I found the staff at the ticket office in town to be very rude and unhelpful. I had a much better response talking to staff at the ticket office at the train station. 

2. Visit the Setrag ticket office at the Owendo train station (located approximately 8Km outside the centre of Libreville)

3. Contact or visit a local tour operator and have them arrange for you.

Owendo station 

Setrag ticket office located at Owendo station. (Staff much friendlier) 

Whilst waiting for the train I popped in to the restaurant situated just above the ticket office (The only one).
I ordered a cheese burger and after about 15 mins a women came out and apologised that they had ran out of rolls for the burger and asked if it was okay if they just served it on a plate without a roll. Which was fine and she very kindly gave me a free salad and selection of starters to apologise.

My free salad and starter selection (very nice) 

My bun free burger also very nice 

Pre train meal 

I finished my meal just as the boarding processes began for the train.
There are apparently 3 seating options on the train VIP, 1St class & 2Nd class.
I had asked for 2nd but apparently that was sold out despite the fact that once boarded you could have fitted a jumbo jet full of passengers in to the spare seats in 2nd class. I obviously stood out as the only white person there and they took the opportunity to make me pay the higher price for first.

Despite catching 2 trains I'm still not entirely sure what VIP class was as I couldn't find any sign of it on either train.

Each train had 2 different types of first class each with good and bad points and one type of second class seating as well as a dining car and baggage storage carriages.

Type 1 of First class (wide seats good leg room and fold out tables for working and eating) although the aircon was not as good as the other type 

Type 2 First class 6 seat compartments. Tables only available at window seats, a little less leg room but the aircon definitely worked better and was quieter and more bug free with door closed 

Dining car. Overpriced and although I didn't eat in here looked average to poor quality at best 

Second class. Looked perfectly acceptable and was probably just as comfortable as either 1St class options 

Boarding was completed promptly and the train departed Libreville exactly on schedule at 19:00.

Setrag decided to remove all day trains earlier in the year and this is disappointing as a large part of the journey passes through beautiful scenery and along the banks of rivers. I paddled past parts of the track towards the end of my packrafting adventure.

Now with the only option being a night train you pass by all the beautiful scenery and lovely little riverside towns in almost complete darkness meaning that you get little to no views.

I settled in to my full 6 seat First class cabin that I had been allocated for the first leg of my journey and made myself comfortable in an attempt to get some sleep for at least part of the 12-13 hour journey.

I'm not sure where the time was lost as we never actually broke down or seemed to stop for longer than necessary at any of the stations but at approximately 05:00 it became apparent that we were some 2 hours behind schedule.

Franceville only 2 Hours 15mins late 

Franceville stadium. Sadly no matches on during the time I was there as not really anything else to do in Franceville

Arriving in Franceville 2 Hours and 15 mins later than expected. Although not really disappointed as it soon became apparent that there isn't really anything to do in Franceville and the only main benefit I could see is that it would provide a good location from which to aquire a ride and cross the land boarder in to the Congo.

So after a day exploring what little there was to explore in Franceville I decided I might as well catch the train back again that evening and return to Libreville.

The return journey to Libreville again left on time but as with the previous journey was a little over 2 Hours and 30 mins late arriving in to Owendo station.

Omar Bongo plaque 

Timetable from March 2016 

 Timetable with effect from July 2016 (Below)

So sadly unless you really need to get to Franceville I wouldn't recommend taking the train.

At £80/$110 US for a 2nd class return to Franceville and £110/$160 US for a 1St class return I just don't feel it's worth it unless they reinstated a day train so you can enjoy the view. 

Reunion island hiking and the kindness of stranger's

Start of the GR R2 hiking trail in La Providence St Dennis.

 After Madagascar I had a almost 2 weeks spare before I needed to head across to Gabon for my next big adventure.

The original plan had been to visit Sierra Leone and do the marathon at the end of the month. However this proved problematic for 2 main reasons. Firstly it was a logistical nightmare to get from Madagascar to Sierra Leone. I would have had to catch a flight with at least 4-5 connectios and lasting almost 36 hours but secondly and probably more importantly it would have added a little red flag to my passport and seriously restricted the my ability to visit lots of other African countries including Gabon due to the number of Ebola restrictions still in place despite being given the all clear by the WHO.

So I needed a plan B and Reunion island became that. I had always liked the look of the island and Madagascar is fairly close so it should be easy to hop across for a quick visit.

Reunion island is well known for it's hiking trails and it's very active volcano. So exploring both of these had to be top of the list.

After arriving at Roland Garros airport in the north part of the island in the city of St Dennis just after midnight I headed straight to the hotel and checked in for the night to get some rest.

In the morning I sorted my bags and stored spare kit for my return in the hotels storage room. After breakfast and armed with my trails map I set of for the forest of La Providence only a short 10-15 minute walk from my hotel and the start point of the GR R2 hiking trail which connects all over the island.

Setting of on the first day was a long hard uphill slog. The trail started at 50 meters above sea level and my plan for the day had been to reach either the Gite (mountain hostel / refuge) or the summit of La Roche Ecrite which stood in at 1963 Meters and 2277 Meters respectively and was a good 5-7 hours hike away.

The summit of La Roche Ecrite 2277 Meters 

 I don't really know what I had been expecting but the trails were definitely not easy going. Lots of steep sections lose rocks and tree roots protruding from the ground. They were really fun but you definitely needed to pay attention which was hard with all the beautiful views and wildlife about.

After about five and half hours I reached the Gite at La Roche Ecrite. The light was still good so I filled up water and decided to push on to the summit perhaps another hour and half away. I was glad I did arriving just before sunset I was completely alone and able to enjoy the beautiful sunset at the summit with just the sounds of the birds in the background.

Sunset at the summit of La Roche Ecrite 2277 Meters 

 After sitting and enjoying the views I thought I better set up camp for the night I had a quick scout around and found a nice natural hollow under some bushes easily big enough to accommodate my little one man tent and provide me some extra shelter if the weather turned. That first night was a little cold and I was definitely glad of the extra layers and down jacket I had packed in to the bag. I quickly packed down at first light and enjoyed the sunrise before heading off as if I'd never been there.

The trail started of with a steep downhill section and there were several sections that required climbing down a ladder or scrambling down so ropes or cables fixed in to the side of the mountain. I was glad for the early start as the temperatures soon rose and it became even harder going on the steep narrow section but I had descended almost 1000 meters by then and was almost at the bottom of the worst section.

I pushed on thought the day and made good progress across the ground. I passed through a few small towns and was able to stock up on water and supplies but decided it was to early to stop for the day being only 14:00 and continued to push on. Potentially aiming for the Gite at Caverne Dufour.

The trails began to get very steep and narrow again and very hard after an already long day of hiking. I began to regret my decision to push on and thought how nice it would be right now to be relaxing in some accommodation back at the town but oh well the decision was to late to change now and with light fading I needed to push on. Head torch on I made slow progress up the still steep and winding path. Upon reaching the top of the path where it flattened out and seeing a sign informing me it was atleast another hours walk to the Gite.
I spotted some good open ground so decided to set up camp for the night and continue in the morning.

Piton Des Neiges summit 3070 metres 

After a good night's rest I was glad I made the decision to camp when I did as the path soon became steep and narrow again in the morning.

Upon reaching the Gite where I was able to get some breakfast and a hot coffee I saw a aid station being set up for runners. Intrigued I enquired as to what was happening and found out a trail race to the summit of a nearby mountain (Piton Des Neiges) was about to pass by and the front runners should be coming through shortly. So I headed up the path to watch.
These guys were awesome the front runners were storming up the steep rocky Mountain trails that I was finding hard just walking up albeit I did have a fairly heavy backpack on.

After spending a little to much time watching the race and climbing to the summit of Piton Des Neiges I needed to continue to push on towards the east and the volcano.

After another long day I made it to the town of Bourg Murat just before dark and was able to find a Gite on the edge of the town to spend the night just as the weather turned and the heaves opened.

In the morning another early start and with the rain still pouring down and the heavy mist I set off on the long hike up to the volcano.

After about 6 hours of hard wet muddy uphill hiking I reached Pas de Bellecombe (2311 metres) sitting just on the outer of the main volcano crater.
Sadly the weather had not improved and the high winds and poor visibility would mean any further attempts to continue higher up to the crater rim were not possible. I headed over to the volcano Gite to see if they had a bed available for the night and hopefully the weather might improve in the morning. Sadly they were fully booked and camping is not permitted anywhere on or near the volcano.
Sitting in the coffee shop at the top hoping the weather would clear enough to make the summit but again sadly it didn't.

View from Pas de Bellecombe 

Mini volcano in left of picture

 It was approaching 14:00 and I was still faced with the 5-6 hike back down to the town to find some accommodation for the night.
I decided to stick to the road instead of the trail on the way down and hopefully the slightly flatter and dryer ground would be quicker.
Cars were starting the descent from the cafe also as the road on went one way back to Bourg Murat I decided I would see if it was possible to hitch a ride.
So the next car that passed I stuck my arm out and they stopped thankfully there English was better than my poor French and they kindly offered to give me a lift.

Upon reaching Bourg Murat they asked if I wanted to be dropped in the town or carry on further with them. I had a slight niggle in my leg I think I jarred it on the way up to the volcano after slipping on the wet path and with Gabon coming up soon and not feeling like another long hike up to try the volcano again in the morning I asked if they could drop me at the costal town of St Pierre on the south coast.

I could rest up for a few days before easily grabbing a bus back to St Dennis.

So my time in Reunion is at the end and I'm back in St Dennis ready to head back to South Africa and then onwards to Gabon for my next awesome adventure. Whilst I'm slightly sad I didn't get to experience the volcano summit I have definitely enjoyed my time on Reunion

St Pierre on the south coast of Reunion 

How I ended up on the west coast of Madagascar

How I came to find myself on the west coast of Madagascar. 

I hadn't planned to visit the west coast. Don't get me wrong it's not because I didn't want to it was just more of a time and money issue. 

Upon completion of my expedition in the eastern parts of Madagascar where I summited Pic Boby the 2nd highest peak in Madagascar and then over the next 10 days walked and paddled a further 210 Km to finish up on the east coast of Madagascar just south of a town called Manakara.

Over the following 2 days together with the 5 great new people I had the pleasure of completing this awesome challenge with (3 Brits and 2 Americans) not forgetting our amazing local raft guides Joe & Mi set about making our way back to Antananarivo. 

The first day was to be fairly easy breaking us back in to the finest roads Africa and Madagascar could throw at us.  Just a mere 6 hour drive to another town were we could enjoy a hot shower good food and prepare for the back breaking 11 hour ride ahead of us the next day.

For those of you who have traveled in Africa before and are familiar with the stands of roads you come across I'm sure you can appreciate why this was not going to be a fun journey. For those of you less familiar with African road standards. Let's just say tarmac / paved roads are a luxury here and even when you do get one gaping vehicle sized pot holes are very common. 

You will probably come to hear the phrase "African massage" when driving in Africa.  

This is not like any other massage you have ever experienced in your life. It refers to the bouncing of the vehicle throwing you around as you hit all the holes in the road and infact probably only serves to make you need a real massage or a chiropractor after you journey than you did before but TIA as they say.

Upon enduring the long bumpy journey back to Antananarivo it was time to have one last meal and drink with the team before everyone went there separate ways. Home for most people or onwards in my case. 

Later that night I awoke soaked in sweat and suffering from what I can only be describe as a severe case of food poisoning. I have always been very lucky up to this point whist travelling and I suppose the odds where inevitable that I had to get ill at some point during all my travels but I would not wish this discomfort on anyone. 

After a long night of severe vomiting and diarrhoea combined with alternating fevers and cold shakes and passing out on the bathroom floor I thankfully appeared to be over the worst of it.

The next couple of days were not great but thankfully nothing as bad as I experienced on that first night. 

So here I was sat in my now what appeared to be very empty hotel. Not assigning any blame but probably the very same hotel that gave me the food poisoning in the first place with 4 whole days to kill before my flight to Reunion. 

I was alone bored and slightly fed up and for the first time ever during my travels I actually questioned why I choose to travel to all these faraway places and take all these long trips. How I wished I could just be at home in my own bed recovering. 

So I decided I needed to give myself a boost also would be right to come all the way to Madagascar without visiting The Avenue of the Baobabs. So I packed my bags and went in search of a 4x4 and English speaking driver. 

It wasn't long before I came across a guy who spoke good English and drove a Ford everest 4x4. I've personally never heard of that model before but it seemed okay and we agreed on a price of 50 Euros a day plus fuel. 

Fuel prices in Madagascar are relatively cheap and costs between 45 pence and 55 pence per litre. So we set of on the 500KM journey to the west coast. 

The avenue of the baobabs 

Lemurs 

So I find myself sat in a hotel just on the beach in a town called Morondava.

This morning I visited the avenue of the baobabs (picture above) I plan to visit again early tomorrow morning for sunrise.


I also got to see some more lemurs.

Before checking in to my hotel and relaxing on the beach before enjoying the sunset with a nice cold beer (THB) Three Horses Beer that's one of the beer brands here in Madagascar.

Morondava beach 

Happy to be fully recovered and days like this remind me why I love to travel and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sunset on the beach