Kayaking Odyssey on the Mangoky River, from baobabs to vezo lagoons

We arrive in Tuléar by flight from Antananarivo. Our guide and team await us at the airport, with the 4x4 vehicles that will take us to the river.

We leave the coast immediately via National Road 7, heading inland. The road gradually climbs onto the limestone plateau, covered with savanna dotted with euphorbia and tamarisk trees. Along the roadside appear the first tombs of the Southwest, large stone sepulchers where families honor their ancestors.

Late in the afternoon, we arrive in Sakaraha. This small roadside town lives from the sapphire trade, discovered in the region in the late 1990s. Buyer counters, motorcycles, lively markets: the town retains the atmosphere of a boom town, somewhat apart in the landscape of the South.

In the evening, our guide presents the expedition itinerary, equipment and rules of life on the river. We prepare our belongings: a waterproof bag for navigation, containing water, sunscreen, hat and a change of clothes, and the rest, which will travel in the support canoe and then in the vehicles.

Free dinner and night in Sakaraha.

Flight Antananarivo > Tuléar (not included). Road: approximately 2 h 30, 135 km.

We leave early, as the day will be long. After Sakaraha, the road gives way to a track heading north, through a region of savanna and dry forest, almost empty of inhabitants.

The track is in very poor condition, carved out by rains and cut through by passages of sand and rocks. Only 4x4s can pass, at a crawl in places, and our drivers know these passages well. A stop at midday, in the shade, allows us to have a picnic and stretch our legs.

At the end of the day, we reach the Mangoky at Fanjakana, facing the town of Beroroha. The river is wide and calm here. It originates on the Highlands, south of Fianarantsoa, and flows more than 800 kilometers to the Mozambique Channel. It passes here between the foothills of the Makay massif to the north, and the sandstone plateaus that extend the Isalo to the south.

Our river team is waiting for us: the river guide, his assistant and the large double pirogue that will carry the equipment, and our cook. The tents are set up on a sandbank. The vehicles head back to Tuléar: we will meet them again in five days, at the end of the descent.

Dinner and night under canvas, by the water.

Track: approximately 6 to 7 hours, 190 km, in a 4x4.

Coffee is served in front of the tent, facing the river as it lights up. Then comes the moment to discover the kayaks: adjusting the seats and footrests, handling the double paddle, boarding and disembarking. Our river guide takes us on a first trial run in front of the bivouac, and reminds us of the safety guidelines. The life jacket must be worn at all times on the water.

Navigation is technically easy and within everyone's reach. At the start, the river is wide and slow, almost like a lake, and we quickly find our rhythm. The guide leads the way, the double canoe brings up the rear with the equipment, the cook and the assistant.

The banks gradually narrow. On the banks stand the first large baobabs, alongside pachypodiums, these plants with swollen and spiny trunks that grow in the rocks. In the distance, the Makay cliffs line the horizon to the north. Fishermen pass by in canoes, and on the banks, Bara herders lead zebus to the water.

We stop at noon on a beach, in the shade, for lunch and rest during the hot hours. In the afternoon, we resume the descent to a sandbank suitable for the bivouac.

Dinner and night under tent, by the river.

Navigation: approximately 5 hours, 35 km.

We dismantle camp at sunrise to take advantage of the cool morning breeze on the water. It is one of the longest days of navigation.

The river divides into several channels between sand islands, and our guide chooses the best passage according to the water level. Then the current becomes swifter, and the landscape changes with each meander. Baobabs are everywhere: Grandidier's baobab, with its smooth cylindrical trunk, the fony baobab, stockier, with reddish bark, and the za baobab, with its swollen trunk.

The river crosses one of the least populated regions of the island. The riverbanks and the dry forests that border them are home to lemurs, chameleons, many birds, herons, kingfishers and egrets, and flying foxes, the large fruit-eating bats of Madagascar. Wildlife can sometimes be observed from the water, without guarantee. Crocodiles are present in the river: our guide knows the areas where extra caution is needed, and we follow his instructions for swimming.

We stop at noon for lunch and a siesta, then set off again in mid-afternoon. The sun disappears behind the western hills as we set up camp.

Dinner and night under tent, on a sand bank.

Navigation: approximately 6 hours, 40 km.

The Mangoky cuts through higher hills, and the current carries us faster. The landscape becomes wilder: sandstone cliffs, dry forests clinging to the slopes, deserted beaches.

Along the way, our guide shows us an enormous hollow baobab on the southern bank. According to tradition, men once lived there. These immense trees, which can live for several centuries, hold a special place in the lives of the inhabitants: some are sacred, and we only approach them with the permission of the elders.

Here and there, a hamlet appears on the riverbank, with its houses of earth and branches, its granaries and zebu enclosures. The inhabitants live from herding, fishing and flood-recession farming on lands that the river inundates during the rainy season. Our passage, with our colorful kayaks, doesn't go unnoticed, and children rush to the shore.

Midday pause in the shade of a tamarisk tree. The cook, who has gone ahead with the pirogue, has prepared lunch. In the evening, around the fire, our guide and the river guide tell stories of the river, the floods, the fishing and the traditions of the Bara.

Dinner and night under canvas, by the water.

Paddling: approximately 5 to 6 hours, 35 km.

Last full day on the river. The reliefs gradually lower, the valley widens, and the Mangoky takes on the appearance of a large plain river.

We pass in front of the Mangoky reserve forest, one of the last dry forests in this part of the island. On a hillock above the river, the ruins of an old colonial station can be made out, which the locals call the White House. We salute it as we pass, without stopping, to maintain the pace of the descent.

In the afternoon, the river branches out again between large sandbanks. The wind sometimes picks up, and we then have to paddle with a bit more energy. The first villages of the lower valley announce the end of the water journey: pirogues pulled up on the bank, rice paddies and cornfields.

We set up our last river camp on a beach, a few hours' navigation from Ambiky. It's time to enjoy one last night by the water, under a very starry sky, far from any light.

In the evening, the team prepares a more substantial dinner to celebrate the descent with those who have guided us this far.

Dinner and night under tent, on a sandbank.

Navigation: approximately 5 to 6 hours, 35 km.

A final morning of paddling takes us to Ambiky, on the road to Morombe. Along the way, we stop at the first large village since our departure, to drink local coffee and greet the residents.

We reach Ambiky around noon. The town is lively, especially on market days, and our kayak arrival always attracts curious onlookers. This is where we leave the river and our river team, who head back upstream with the canoe. Our 4x4 vehicles are waiting for us, and our cook continues the journey with us.

After lunch, we take the track heading south. It crosses the large agricultural plain of Bevoay, its rice paddies and canals, and it is very degraded: it takes several hours to cover it. We then leave the road for a small track that leads to the baobab forest of Andombiry.

The camp is set up in a clearing, at the foot of large baobabs. The evening light, low and golden, illuminates the trunks and branches, and the silence of the dry forest replaces the sound of water. This is one of the most beautiful nights of the journey.

Dinner and night under canvas, in the midst of baobabs.

Paddling: approximately 3 hours, 15 km. Track: approximately 3 hours, 90 km, by 4x4.

We wake up with the sun for a walk through the Andombiry forest. The region has a large number of baobabs, sometimes immense, mixed with dry forest trees. The most famous of them, long presented as one of the largest known baobabs, is now dying: broken, it is slowly collapsing on itself. The inhabitants of neighboring villages revere these trees, and our guide explains to us how to behave near these sacred places.

We then continue north towards the coast. After Morombe, a small fishing town facing the Mozambique Channel, the track runs along the coastline, between dunes, mangroves and thorny forests, until Andavadoaka.

This Vezo fishing village stretches along the edge of a lagoon protected by a coral reef barrier. The Vezo have lived from the sea since time immemorial, aboard their outrigger canoes and square sails. In the evening, the canoes return one by one to the beach, square sail swollen by the breeze.

We settle for two nights, by the sea. After days on the river, a shower and a bath in the lagoon are welcome.

Dinner and night in Andavadoaka.

Track: approximately 4 hours, 130 km.

The kayaks are back in action, this time on the sea. In the morning, the lagoon is usually calm, and we set off early, before the breeze picks up. A Vezo fishing pirogue accompanies us for safety.

Beneath our hulls, the clear water reveals seagrass beds and coral patches. We encounter outrigger pirogues heading out to cast their nets, and women collecting octopus at low tide on the reef flat. Our guide and the fishermen choose the itinerary according to the day's sea conditions: when conditions permit, we make our way to the sandy and coral islets offshore, where fishermen sometimes set up seasonal camps.

A stop for swimming and snorkeling, at the edge of the seagrass beds where fish and turtles feed. We observe them from a distance, without approaching or touching them. The corals remain fragile: we do not walk on them.

We return to Andavadoaka for lunch, before the wind strengthens. The afternoon is free: a stroll on the beach and through the village, where fish and octopus are drying, or a walk inland, where low, stocky baobabs grow, in high concentrations in some areas.

Dinner and second night in Andavadoaka.

Sea kayaking: approximately 3 to 4 hours, depending on wind and tide.

Last day kayaking. We leave Andavadoaka early in the morning and paddle along the coast towards the south, sheltered by the coral reef, accompanied by the fishermen's outrigger canoe. Our luggage and our team travel by 4x4 and await us at our arrival point.

The coast alternates between white sand beaches, rocky headlands and small fishing villages, where outrigger canoes are pulled up onto the sand. As the morning progresses, the landscape opens out onto Assassins Bay, a wide bay bordered by mangroves, at the far end of which lies the village of Ambolimailaky. The name of the bay remains mysterious, and everyone tells the story of its origin in their own way. The inhabitants live from fishing and seaweed farming.

We disembark on the beach late in the morning and store the kayaks for the last time. The afternoon is free: swimming, a walk through the mangrove or in the village, or simply resting overlooking the lagoon.

The villages along this coast manage part of their fishing zones themselves, with temporary closures to allow octopus to breed. This is one of the beautiful initiatives of the South-West coastline, and the fishermen speak about it willingly.

In the evening, we share a last dinner on the coast, reliving the film of our journey, from the Fanjakana track to the Vezo lagoons.

Dinner and night in Assassins Bay, in a small beachfront lodge.

Sea kayaking: approximately 3 to 4 hours, 15 km, depending on wind and tide.

We leave Assassins Bay after breakfast to reach Tuléar via the track that runs along the coast heading south.

It crosses the spiny forest, one of Madagascar's most remarkable landscapes. Trees have developed unusual forms here to resist drought: candlestick euphorbias, spiny didiereaceas, squat baobabs. In places, the track reaches the seafront and runs alongside vast empty beaches and Vezo fishing villages.

We drive through small towns, such as Salary, then the track becomes sandy and slower before reaching Ifaty and the paved road. A midday stop allows us to have lunch by the water and swim one last time.

We arrive in Tuléar in the afternoon. The capital of the Southwest is a lively port city, with its waterfront, its rickshaws and its large market. Depending on the time, we can take a final tour of the city, or simply enjoy the hotel.

This is the time to say goodbye to our drivers, our cook and our guide, after twelve days of shared adventure. We leave behind us a river that very few travelers have descended, and a coast still removed from the main tourist circuits.

Dinner free and night in Tuléar.

Track: approximately 6 hours.

According to the domestic flight schedule, we take advantage of the morning in Tuleár, at our own pace, after the early expedition starts. It's an opportunity to stroll through the market, where regional spices, woven goods and shells are sold, or to walk along the waterfront, where Vezo outrigger canoes return from fishing.

A vehicle then takes us to Tuleár airport for the flight to Antananarivo. In good weather, the flight offers beautiful views of the South-West plateaus, then of the Highlands and their rice paddies. Seen from above, the country traversed by kayak and 4x4 takes on its full measure: long hours of rough tracks, a few minutes by plane, and between the two a river that very few travelers have descended.

Upon arrival in Antananarivo, our journey ends, or continues to other regions of the island. Our team can organize a night in Antananarivo before the international flight, or follow up with one of our other trips, such as a trek in the Makay massif.

Veloma, goodbye, and see you soon on the rivers of Madagascar.

Airport transfer: approximately 15 minutes. Flight Tuleár > Antananarivo: approximately 1 hour 15 minutes (not included).