Beach & Island Holidays: Ile Ste Marie Holidays
Ile Ste Marie, or Nosy Boraha, is a narrow tropical island off the east coast of Madagascar. Its miles of sandy beaches are shaded by coconut palms, its bays and coves are protected by coral reefs, the hills are green, the hotels are small and generally unobtrusive and it has a romantic pirate history.
In addition, it offers the finest whale-watching in Madagascar (July – September); diving, fishing and surfing; a lovely, off-shore islet, Ile aux Nattes, and the uninhabited Ilots aux Sables; myriad orchid species, including the magnificent Queen of Madagascar (Eulophiella roempleriana); and forests concealing waterfalls and inhabited by a variety of birds, lemurs and chameleons.
From 1685, Ile Ste Marie was the centre of piracy in the Indian Ocean. From the shelter of the island’s bays, pirates plundered ships returning from the Indies laden with riches. Legendary pirate kings included William Kidd, Thomas White, Thomas Tew, and David Williams, and remains of pirate vessels still lie on the bottom of the deep, off the Baie des Forbans. The pirates’ cemetery at Baie de Forbans, just south of Ambodifotatra, stands guard over their memory.
Pirates' cemetery
The island came under French rule in 1750 and vestiges of French colonial rule may be found in Ambodifotatra. The church, from 1837, is the oldest in Madagascar; the old fort is now occupied by the Malagasy army.
The channel between Ile Ste Marie and the Malagasy mainland is a whale-watching hotspot. Large groups of humpback whales (Megaptera) make their annual migration from the Antarctic to the sheltered waters around Ile Ste Marie where they calve, nurse their young and engage in their spectacular courtship rituals between the end of June and September.
Humpback whales remain endangered, despite the current ban on commercial hunting. The reputable hotels on Ile Ste Marie arrange whale watching excursions that both adhere to the regulations to avoiding stressing the whales and contribute to our understanding of these majestic marine mammals. You will be invited to collect data about the behaviour, whale songs, diving length, location, etc. for the world data base.
Alternatively, you can just observe the awe-inspiring spectacle of a breaching humpback whale or a mother nursing her calf, and listen to their mysterious songs and the amazing sound of “flippering”, when a whale strikes its pectoral fins on the surface of the water.
The 400 ha forest of Ikalalao is the remnant of the original primary forest and is remarkable for its many orchid species. It contains at least three species of lemur, including the mouse lemur, Microcebus, and the larger Fat-tailed dwarf lemur. Endemic chameleons are also well represented.
Ambodena is a larger, secondary forest containing a wealth of birds, geckoes, chameleons and arboreal frogs. Lemurs include mouse lemurs, the White-fronted brown lemur, Grey gentle lemur, and the beautiful and vulnerable Black-and-white ruffed lemur, which is not only threatened by loss of habitat but still hunted for its meat.
Black & white ruffed lemur
On the east coast of the island, the forest of Ampanihy contains forested sand dunes and a rich mangrove system. The mangroves can be explored by pirogue.
Marine turtles come to nest on the beach at Cocoteraie. Visiting the nesting sites provides an income for the villagers who guard the nests as an alternative to consuming the sea turtles and their eggs.
You can observe a diversity of coralline formations within the shark-free lagoon with just a mask and snorkel. Divers will find the combination of healthy coral, abundant tropical fish, marine turtles and the wrecks of pirate ships make very rewarding diving.
The Pagodas’ unusual formations contain a variety of coral species. Groupers, morays, lobsters, sea turtles, and skate are sighted (to 12m). The Soanambo reef, a reef containing black coral, lies two miles offshore with crocodile fish, skates, morays, large shellfish and sponges (to 28m). Pointe Albrand is a sandy sea bed strewn with granite boulders where you may encounter grouper, grey shark, rays and barracudas (to 20m). The wreck of the Cocoteraie is an easy dive with a fantastic sunken ship, soft corals, lobsters, fusiliers, lion fish and large groupers (to 15m); the wreck of the Leopard is a challenging dive, with large tuna, snapper, groupers and dolphins (to 34m). Some of the best coral formations are around the small islet, Ile aux Nattes, to the south of Ste Marie.
Photographs courtesy of: HSM Ste Marie Island, Princesse Bora Lodge, Dr. Richard Hirson