Lore Of The Jungle

Nosy Be forest reserve is a jewel of a destination for nature lovers

- Bruce Dennill

Depending on who you’re being guided by, there are a couple of ways to reach Lokobie Nature Special Reserve, a quaintly named and fascinatingly bio-diverse rainforest-draped corner of Nosy Be. We leave from the port, where a dozen different informal concierges offer to carry our bags the short distance from our taxi to the edge of the water. The area hums with activity and there are scores of boats – it may be wiser to transfer your luggage yourself.

We’re shown to a small, open rowing boat with a slim, silent man balanced on the prow, which for city folks spells sunstroke, drenched clothing and a two-hour paddle around the island to our destination, Madagascar Island Safari’s Lokobie Camp. Happily, it seems we missed a phrase in translation, and this initial craft is just the means of getting us a couple of hundred metres out on the water to where a rustic houseboat is moored. That boat’s roof is sheltered by a cloth canopy and has cushions on which guests can stretch out to enjoy the views of the Nosy Be coastline and distant Tanikely as the craft chugs at a leisurely pace across the harbour and towards neighbouring island Nosy Komba, which is directly across a channel from Lokobie. An offer is made for a pause on one of the points we pass to allow for snorkelling, but in the oppressive heat and with the prospect of lunch on the beach to follow, we keep going.