August 2012, after several years dedicated to explore the Indo-Pacific islands, it is time to change the destination. The ocean is always the Indian one, but the destination is somewhere else, it’s Africa in the south part, Madagascar and exactly the island named Nosy Be, which means “The big island”.

It was already a couple of years that Madagascar tickled my curiosity, not only for diving but also for what I heard about the incredible landscapes that can be seen. For this holiday I gave priority to the diving. The information obtained from the diving center gave a water temperature of around 26 ° degree, so I opt for a 5mm wet suite, which had been the right choice; date of departure July the 30th 2012.

The adventure begins by remembering me what it means to take a charter flight .. baggage allowance of just 20kg and the hand luggage for sure weighted during the check-in  .. moments of  true terror .. but with a bit of luck .. and some cheating we left without bad surprises.

The Nosy Be  airport is small, if you are not the first to exit  from the plane, you will have to wait several minutes under the sun for the passport control .. the place where the the first requests for tips begins.. you will have to get used to this. After completing all the formalities, we found Carlotta, the resort’s biologist, waiting for us with a beautiful and fragrant flower necklace, Welcome to Madagascar!

The resort (Corail Noir ) is very nice, quiet, especially the first week there were very few guests and the sea view bungalow is worth the small extra charge paid for it .. the sea view was amazing.The food had been always great and we found that African wine is quite delicious.

Since the first day we started to have some good surprises .. the weather first of all .. 30°C degrees, dry during the day, windy in the afternoon, 22/23°C degrees at night .. 14 days without a drop of rain and the sky always clean .. in other words just perfect … and then ..the animals we saw in the resort garden, the tidal excursion, which changes the landscape every 6 hours, and the incredible sunsets which offers a new show every evening ..

But it’s in the following days, that we had the most pleasant surprises and they all came from the Manta Diving.

This diving center opened in 2011 and it is managed by Emanuele and Serena, a young Italian couple with a big enthusiasm for their new adventure. Diving with guides who are still amazed for each creature they meet underwater makes every dive a special experience. They pays also a lot of attention to security aspects so even the less experienced divers will feel secure with them. Another positive aspect that, at least from my point of view, has contributed to make this holiday memorable was the low number of divers and the respect that the different diving structures have for each others. It was very difficult to find underwater other groups of divers, each diving try to avoid dive spots where there already is another boat, and if it is not possible, they always wait at least 20 minutes before starting the dive, in order to not disturb the group arrived as first. On the boat we were usually only four divers, almost always with 2 guides .. and often we were only two.
The tours organized by the diving center are not limited only to diving, we often combined trips on the islands around Nosy Be, to discover all the natural wonders that this area has to offer.

Few words about the dive types you can expect in this area before describing in a bit more detail the main dive sites. Normally you make two dives in the morning, in the afternoon the wind makes the sea too rough to use the boat … so you have a very good reason to discover the island or strengthen the tan.
Excluding the Nosy Tanikely marine park, all dives are with descents in the blue and a plateaux at a minimum depth of 17 meters. Dive time is normally spent between 20 and 25 meters depth, so it is easy, or better guaranteed when you’re diving every day, gather some deco to be spent at 3 meters depth when using air. The visibility was not always great and it is easy to find current.
With the exception of a couple of sites generally we didn’t find a lot of fishes, but this also depends on the period; however, this is a place where you can have special encounters. Manta rays are common .. we had been unlucky and we have not meet any .. but it is not difficult to find them in this area. August is not the period of whale sharks (which can be met in November) but it is when wales cross the Mozambique channel, the best time is late August, when the males arrive and  fascinate the tourists with their spectacular jumps. We crossed during the boat trips, some female with theirs babies, and it was still a thrill.

To summarize, Nosy Be is maybe not the most beautiful place in the world for diving, who already visited Lembeh or Sipadan may be disappointed, but if you avoid making comparisons with destinations that are at the top of most famous sites lists, Nosy Be for sure has some great diving sites to offer, difficult level is a bit higher than Indonesia or Philippines, but there is the chance to make unique meets and when all this is matched with the perfect organization of the diving center and with what you can see out of the water it is easy to understand why you would like to come back. .. and now if you are not tired to read, following there are some more details on what can be found above and below the water.

Nosy Tanikely. The name means little land or small island. It is a volcanic island, uninhabited and it is a marine park, a paradise for snorkeling and diving. The only island’s inhabitants are the giant bats that can be observed from a distance while they sleep on their tree. There is a small lighthouse on the island, reachable by an easy path, from where visitors can enjoy the view of these incredible sea’s colors.

Dive sites are shallow, starting with beach floor of 5 mt depth and a maximum depth of no more than 18 meters, it is usually the place where you go on the first day to regain confidence with water. There is a beautiful coral, with large formations of gorgonians, the amount fished varies greatly depending on the seasons and the tides, during our staying it wasn’t so much, but at our first dive we met a beautiful leopard shark waiting for us on the sandy bottom, at less than 7mt deep, leaving us plenty of time to observe it closely and take lots of pictures.

Nosy Iranjia. Probably the most famous island of the area, for sure it is the most photographed. It is famous not only for its beauty but also for being the destination for hundreds of turtles that have chosen it as home to spawn … and what a home ! .. the island is actually made up of two small islands joined during low tide by an incredible strip of white sand that makes this place unique. Reaching this small paradise takes an hour and a half by boat, it is needed to stay out the whole day and you can make only one dive; in August during the navigation time, you can easily spot some whales passing by.
The dive didn’t go as planned, a strong current, which made our life difficult, and the poor visibility didn’t allow us to appreciate the beauty of this coral barrier, but we trust our guide when he tells us that with the right dive conditions it is gorgeous. The maximum depth here exceeds 32mt.
Lunch is prepared by the local population on the island .. be ready to taste a delicious crab, great grilled fish, wonderful zebu meat (a kind of local cow), shrimps and fruit. After lunch, who spent the morning diving, can take a walk to the lighthouse to enjoy from its top the breathtaking view. On the way back we made a stop on a small island where a lemur tribe lives, they get used to the tourists and they perfectly know you are carrying some bananas for them, which is their luck as on the island there is not enough food. These wonderful animals are not scared by humans and gently take the food from the hands of the fascinated tourists, you will feel their small hands touching your arms waiting for the food.

Atnam. It is a deep dive, not suitable for beginners and a bit of decompression is guarantee, but it is really worth it.Like almost all dives in the area, it is not along a wall, the descent is in the blue on a plateaux at about 25 meters, you will soon reach the deepest point where you will be in a real gorgonians forest the dimensions of which will surprise you.

Chameau (The Camel).The dive site takes its name from the two coral formations around which the dive takes place that look like the humps of a camel. The descent is as always in the blue and it reaches a maximum depth of about 25 meters. The corals and gorgonians are very beautiful and it is easy to see large schools of fusilier fishes which will enchant you with their evolutions, for macro lovers here you can find many nudibranches.

Mitsio Wreck. This is the dive site I liked more .. the one I asked to repeat more than one time.It is done on the wreck of a small fishing boat laying on a sandy bottom of 30 meters and having the highest point of the mast at about 15 meters. The visibility is not great, at least in this period, but the diving is spectacular for the amount of fishes that live around the wreck. Clouds of fusiliers, sardines and colorful fishes literally swirl over our heads. We were surrounded thousands of fish, not afraid by the divers, it was like being part of their shoal. The wreck is also full of very large scorpion fishes, as usual, a bit too curious for my taste, it is needed to pay attention to avoid unpleasant touches. You can also find many shrimps and scorpion fishes perfectly camouflaged. The dive is spent almost entirely at a depth of about 25 meters, so, with air, a bit of deco is assured, descent and ascent are in the blue.

Banc Gorgon. It is often done as second dive after the Mitsio Wreck, and to close the day there can be no better choice. Unfortunately, haaving a very poor visibility it is normal at this site, but the number of nudibranches, of different species, that it is possible to find make this a great dive site, here I found some species that personally I never found before. The dive is quiet and not deep, around 18 mt, as always since there are no walls, descent and ascent are in the blue.

Nosy Mamoko. It is an island almost untouched by tourism, very few diving centers and resorts organize tours on this island and this allows keeping it authentic, at least for now. The island is about one hour by boat from Nosy Be, there are no dives foreseen therefore it is the perfect trip for the day before the departure. On the island there is only a fishing village where people still live like years ago, without electricity and using what the island has to offer. To visit it you need to obtain the permission of the village chief, always a woman as here the social organization is matriarchal. As soon as we went out from the boat, with a good supply of bananas, we were “attacked” by the local lemurs, and since there are not so many tourists they were quite hungry so it is really easy to find yourself overwhelmed by 3 or 4 elements trying to grab the precious banana, but do not worry, they are not dangerous, they don’t bite and having them on your shoulders and head is a wonderful feeling. After spending some time playing and feeding the lemurs, we visited the village, the local population is really friendly and smiling, children help in the daily work since small age and they seem always happy .. a big difference with the our kids born with a phone in their hands and the aspect often already stressed .. After a look at the sacred tree we met with the two most important inhabitants of the island, two wonderful giant Aldabra turtles which really likes to get scratched on the neck .
Walking to cross the island allowed us to reach a wonderful beach, all for us, where a bath is a must, the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere is amazing.

For the lunch we move on the main island of Madagascar. Here, our Mami, the cook came with us, was waiting for us with an excellent grilled fish, shrimps, rice and fruit. After lunch we had a walk in the forest, climbing among a small river and after the meeting with a flat-tailed gecko we reached a pool of fresh water where it is possible to take a refreshing swim. To make this path it is better to have a pair of closed shoes, the climb to the pool is not really recommended wearing simply slippers.