Sakalava bay, where to learn how to kite surf far away from all tourists!

Madagascar, a small island in the Indian Ocean offers you a lot of activities to do: trekking, diving, surfing, but also a new sport kite surfing!

For those who did not know, for kite surfing you need: a wing like for kite ( bigger I know…), a board and that’s it. Not as easy as it seems but no worries, everybody can do it.

It was in North of Madagascar exactly in Sakalava bay that I did it. Close you eyes and imagine a sea as blue as you can, where you walk for hours and you still have the water as your waist, enough wind to help you to kite surf, far away from everything, the sea is for you.

End of June 2015, I went to this place : THE kite surfer paradise. As I was a beginner, I was a little afraid of this sport even i had already tried to use the wing one year before.
First day of kite lesson, my teacher was Remi. 25 years old, he had practiced kite since few years already, it was a professional.

In order to begin you starting to learn the basics: prepare all material, inflate the wing, raise it at the zenith point (above your head), move it from left to right in order to control where you want to go. For my first lesson, I did not ride the board but I managed to control properly the wing. I really liked this first lesson as I felt the wind in my wing, an awesome feeling. I was listened carefully to Remi who rectified my mistakes smiling. A the beginning, it is totally normal not to be perfect. As I was not so bad, so we tried the next step, the body dragging. I was not aware of this name, for sure, I was there to learn. So what is it exactly? You put your full body in the water facing the wing and try to control your wing while trying not to swallow water! Not that easy, but as soon you practice without fear, you can improve your skills quickly.

Second lesson, I practiced body dragging, “maniement de la voile en remontée de vent” and tried to ride my board. After few exercices, I started to be more confident in controlling my wing and wanted to ride my board while using my wing. Even the sun started to go down, I made severals attempts, failed for most of them but at the end, finally I get up. Yeah! I succeed it! It was only the beginning but I was really proud of myself. Tomorrow, I would navigate for sure!

I could not say navigate for myself as I just had begun and I looked all the professional kife surfers in the water. It is a long way for me to reach their level. Again, I met my professor for a new lesson. I rode my board, I know how to tack. This new word means go from left to right in the water. Each sport has its own specific vocabulary, as much as for the running as for the kite surfing, you have to learn few words to understand the ones who practice it. If you don’t pay attention to that, you will felt alone when you go out of water. This is the time when everybody is debriefing his/her kite surf session. It is a tradition: in the morning, at noon and in the evening!

After severals hours of kite, I could learn how to control a wing, get up on my board and begin to navigate. Now I need to control exactly where I want to go to finally really navigate and be part of the kite surfers family.

What I will remember from my kite surfing lesson:
– Remi, an patient and attentive teacher
– Sakalava Logde which helped me to spend a perfect week of sport and rest
– The beauty of the place where I learned to kite

Place: Sakalava Lodge – Diego Suarez – Madagascar
– Tel. : + 261 32 67 385 95
– website : http://www.sakalava.com

Comment s’y rendre :
– By plane from Antananarivo to Diego (around 1h) 200 € round trip ticket.
– By bus depuis Antananarivo to Diego (around 24h) The cheapest solution. Bus is around 80 000 Ariary that is to say 20 € .

You have to take a taxi around 40 000 Ariary that is to say 10 € to go to Sakavala lodge.

f you want more information about kite or Madagascar do not hesitate to send me an e-mail to Worldwildrunneuze@gmail.com.