ESA Magazine, January 2010
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As a small boy I dreamed of being marooned on a desert island with just my Boy Scout survival skills and my fishing rod to keep me alive. The idea of no school, no chores and a successful escape from my sister was part of the appeal. Even as an adult I’ve found myself drifting off to the escape of my mental desert island to break the boredom of a tiresome meeting or to remember that good times are out there – somewhere. Imagine my delight when I heard that my dream desert island escape exists!  

Close enough to access, yet far away from my responsibilities, the place is called Turtle Bay Camp, and I am not surprised to learn it is in Madagascar – land of ancient pirates, strange primates and endless beaches. This large island, set 400km off the east coast of Africa, was most recently highlighted in the news for a controversial political upheaval. Since January last year, two political leaders have been battling out the right to power within international political circles, keeping tourists and business away. But the formation of a unity power-sharing government and new elections scheduled for this year have produced signs of stability in the island nation, causing tourists to return to enjoy the varied opportunities for holidaymaking.

It seems Madagascar is quickly being discovered by the South African tourist and now the fishing fraternity. With almost every braai I go to, I hear talk of someone who has recently visited Madagascar and loved it.

A buddy of mine spent a week fishing from a 50ft yacht with five guys, fishing where the finder took them and testing out the famous local rum.  Apparently both rum and fishing were exceptional. Two different sets of friends took their families on a dhow trip around various islands. When questioned, all three groups mentioned the same source for their trips – a local company called Jenman Island Safaris. When I tracked them down – not hard, they’re all over the internet – I learnt to my surprise that they also own my dream island escape – Turtle Bay Camp.

For some years, Garth Jenman of Jenman Island Safaris had been travelling to Madagascar to explore various parts of the island in order to expand his 15 year-old travel operation. Not a stranger to my own boyhood dreams, Garth too wanted an island getaway – a place to escape to, away from work, worry and woe. Several years ago, whilst researching his now successful dhow trips around the archipelago of Nosy Be, he happened upon a remote island, and in partnership with two others, promptly bought a long lease on the island of Kalakajoro. A few years on and the camp has rustically developed, although not to the extent where modern life catches up with you. Two hours south of Nosy Be, in the far north of Madagascar, Kalakajoro is the smallest and most northern of the four Radamas islands. It hosts five rustic A-frame bungalows, a central boma with a restaurant and bar, and two fishing boats.

This isn’t the type of place where you wear your all-inclusive wristband, your best designer gear, and bring your laptop. This is exactly the type of place I would have created had I the means to build my dream getaway on a Robinson Crusoe island. Facilities are quite basic, with twin beds, mosquito netting and a window and door to let the sea breeze through.  Bathrooms are in separate ablution blocks, with flush toilets and camping-type showers. The beer is outstanding – known as Three Horses, sold in quarts – particularly once you walk out of the ocean into the boma and wrap your smile around a cold one. Food prepared by the local chef is out of this world, ranging from many species of fish cooked in a variety of fashions (grilled, BBQd, fried and sushi’d) to prawns, crabs, zebu (local beef), chicken, coconut rice, pancakes and other deserts.

A spear fisherman at heart, Garth had the good sense to pass the operations of Turtle Bay Camp over to a fishing enthusiast from the Eastern Cape. With 25 years of skippering experience, Fergus O’Brien is this devoted fisherman – and a fantastic host. It’s probably the Irish blood that helps him talk the night away behind the bar, so you won’t be at loss for an ear to hear the story of your personal best.

According to Fergus, the most commonly caught species around Turtle Bay are sailfish, GTs, dorado, king mackerel and barracuda, with the occasional wahoo and large dog-tooth tuna also being caught. Because of its distance from Nosy Be, the waters around Kalakajoro have been virtually unexploited for their stocks of coastal fish. You will only see a few local fishermen who sail these waters catching food for their families, meaning stocks are left to breed and grow.  
 

Chatting to Fergus, I find out why the fishing is so great. A continental shelf lies just 3km off Turtle Bay Beach, where it drops from 10m to over 100m, running parallel with the coast for 13km. This allows the opportunity for the excellent fishing people rave about, in close proximity to Turtle Bay Camp.  The onshore area is a diverse mixture of rock, reef and sand, which provides the ideal habitat for a wide variety of fish. Record-sized GTs are caught by spinning or fly-fishing, and those who prefer to use bait will be well satisfied with the results. Heading out to the drop-off, you’ll find brilliantly clear water with visibility of 20m plus, teeming with most of the local pelagic game fish species. The reef fishing and bottom fishing can be equally good.

Fergus smiles when he tells me how fantastic the water conditions in the area are. With very calm water, virtually no shore break and extremely high visibility, it’s an ideal introduction for new saltwater anglers and a mecca for the more experienced. I see an instant opportunity to sell my dream island to Wynand, my young son of 11 years, but suddenly I realise my idyllic dream island escape is morphing into a family holiday! Fergus delights in my dilemma – he believes Turtle Bay Camp is ideal for adventurous family holidays, and as such offers island-hopping trips, snorkelling trips to nearby islands, and guided forest hikes. As an added extra, the bird watching is great, and I know Wynand would love exploring the forest and messing around on the sea kayaks.
 

Although excellent catches are made within walking distance of Turtle Bay Camp, Fergus supplies kayaks for fishing excursions further around Kalakajoro Island. Just a two-minute walk right of the camp, a deep channel runs along a shallow rocky outcrop, where good-sized kingfish patrol during the pushing and dropping tides, providing great fun on a 9- or 10-wt outfit. Fergus explains that several similar-looking rocky outcrops are present around the island, where plenty of fish can be caught, including bluefin kingfish, snapper and long-nosed emperor. A prominent reef running out at a 90° angle from the south-west side of the island is lined with a fan-shaped turtle grass flat on the northern side and a deep channel on the south where large permit can be found, particularly during the changing tides.

In terms of fishing facilities, Turtle Bay Camp operates a 28ft Cape Craft ski boat with 2x 225hp outboard motors, and a 16ft Coast Cat with 2x 50hp outboards, both well maintained and equipped for game fishing. Adds Fergus: ‘Turtle Bay Camp mainly specialises in trolling and conventional big game fishing, therefore fly or spinning tackle should be brought along by visitors if required. Turtle Bay practises tag and release, and all fish caught are released if not required for the table.’

Whist saltwater fishing is Fergus’s passion, the fly-fishing opportunities are also excellent at Turtle Bay Camp, with large flats in front of the camp and deep drop-offs around the island, accessible on foot or via one of the sea kayaks. The open tropical flats provide a great chance to catch the elusive bonefish and many other tropical fish species. Turtle Bay’s 28-foot Cape Craft is designed for fly-fishing, with an open, unobstructed front deck – perfect for fly-fishers to fish on the inside edge of the continental drop-off.

I wonder if I should extend my Robinson Crusoe dream to a party of three…

FACT FILE

Where
40 miles southwest of Nosy Be, north Madagascar
How to get there
Daily flights from Johannesburg to Antananarivo (3 hours), connecting on to Nosy Be (1 hour) either same day or next day, followed by a 2--hour speedboat transfer to the camp
What you might catch
Giant trevally, blue -inned trevally, sailfish, dog-tooth tuna, kingfish, bonito, snapper, long-nosed emperor, dorado, barracuda, wahoo, and more
Best months by species
Black Marlin: August to mid-March, with August to October seeing the highest numbers
Sailfish: Good from August to mid-March, with May to September being the best months
Dog-tooth tuna: October to April
What else you can do there
Snorkel, island-hopping, night fishing, hiking, birdwatching, kayaking
How to book
Through Jenman Island Safaris, owners of Turtle Bay Camp
Phone: 021-683-7826
E-mail: info(at)remove-this.jenmansafaris.com
Website: www.travel2madagascar.com