Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve

Nkhotakota WR is located on the slopes from the central highland down to the lake at the bottom of the Rift Valley, and it is the oldest reserve in Malawi. The landscape is characterized by dense bushland and montane forest, often Miombo, with many rivers flowing down the escarpment to the lake. There are countless […]

At the beach in Nkhotakota – Am Strand von Nkhotakota

It feels just like being at the ocean standing at the shore of Lake Malawi. Besides Malawi, parts of the lake belong to Tanzania and Mozambique, but by far the largest piece belongs to the tiny southeast African country. Motorboats are rare on the lake, but innumerable dugout canoes as well as Dhows, traditional fishing […]

Lilongwe – The world´s largest Tobacco Auction House – Im weltgrößten Tabak-Auktionshaus

The world´s largest Tobacco Auction House is part of the Auction Holdings Limited, a group of companies offering the Malawian tobacco farmers a strictly limited and regulated trade platform for their tobacco. All the Malawian tobacco harvest goes to the auction house after drying, being sold in the few weeks of harvest. Either the farmer […]

Malawi on the road

Referring to the latest United Nation´s Human Development Index, Malawi is one of the world´s poorest countries, suffering from an uncontrolled increase of population, a population explosion, from an unstable food supply which leads to deficiency symptoms, from erosion because of widespread deforestation, from decades of exploitation and suppression, not only by its own dictatorial […]

Les Trois Baies

East of Antsiranana, Montagne des français rim the bay, protecting the city from the sheer brute force of the annual cyclones approaching the island from the east. Ramena, Antsirananas “seaside resort” with beautiful beaches and astonishingly calm water, is situated right at the entrance to the bay. Beyond Ramena and the mountains, three strikingly picturesque […]

Antsiranana (Diego-Suarez)

Antsiranana is the northernmost city of Madagascar, and beyond Antsiranana, there is only the Cap d´Ambre, the northern tip of the island. Its Malagasy name means port, and that is quite a striking name. The bay of Antsiranana is encircled by mountains and is said to be the largest natural port on earth, with a […]

Mahajanga (Majunga)

Once I dreamt of a town at a turquoise sea with sailing vessels on it, of which I have learned that they have been invented in the Arabic world and are called Dhows. The air was warm and slightly salty, the palm trees along the seaside promenade were murmuring unheard words in the warm wind, […]

Tsingy de Bemaraha

After a tropical night that had us soaked in sweat, we faced the fact that our car was still standing on the other side of the river with its hood wide open. So, we got on a pirogue and headed upstream Manombolo for the Petit Tsingy, which is the southern end of the karst scenery. […]

From Morondava to Tsingy de Bemaraha – Von Morondava zu den Tsingy de Bemaraha

We´ve almost made it – but only just! We´ve already managed to finish 200 Kilometres of something that is used to be called a dirt road, but in Madagascar it´s often no more than a swath in the forest and the landscape in general. That very swath had lead us from Morondava along Madagascar´s west […]

Vezo – Struggling with the sea – Die mit dem Meer ringen

Just like ghosts, the wraithlike figures are moving through the fog that dampens or fully absorbs few shouts and the noises of the nearby town. The beach, the sea, everything is grey, and the boats that are moving in and out the belt of fog are of dark grey. Such fog is very common along […]