Stig Hoefnagel and Joshua Emanuel head off in search of remote beaches in Madagascar, the winds always blowing there, but will they score the spots they are dreaming about? Find out right here!

One afternoon last August, while I was lying on my hammock, I got a call from Stig Hoefnagel, asking me if I'd be interested in going on a trip to Madagascar with him in October. Without a doubt, I was keen! Stig was in Holland at the time, and so we had less than two months to plan for the tri

By the 1st October, Stig and I departed from SSR International Airport in Mauritius to Ivato International Airport, Antananarivo, Madagascar.

As I looked through the airplane window, the island looked like a scene from the Lost World; wild and unexplored. Leaving the airport, we were greeted by droves of children, begging for money or water; anything to ease their hardship. We spent the first night in the dynamic capital of Antananarivo, as we had an early flight to catch to Diego Suarez, which would be our home base for the next fourteen days.

Waking up at the crack of dawn, it was dead silent. We loaded our kite bags into the taxi and headed for the airport. Once we arrived at the airport, we were notified that our flight was delayed by 8 hours - and so the fun began!

Checking-in was made interesting by our large and heavily weighted bags, but hey, nothing a buck or two can't sort out! We quickly realised that was the way to sort out any problems that may arise.

Thirteen hours later, we finally made it! (minus one of our bags containing all of our kites) We were staying in Diego Suarez, which is situated in the most northern part of Madagascar. We were met by a local who had kindly organised a car for us to use during our stay. One minor drawback we encountered was the fact that neither Stig nor I spoke any French, which is one of the main local languages. After a lengthy discussion which was lost in translation, we kind of got directions to Kite Paradise Lodge, just as it was getting dark!

I thought to myself, no problem we have Google Maps, we'll figure it out. An hour later, it was dark, we were lost with zero signal on our phones, and zero idea which way to go! I finally managed to get some signal on my phone and contacted Matt from Kite Paradise Lodge, who guided us to our destination.

We woke up early, and with only a 12m kite (while we waited for the rest of our equipment to arrive on the next flight) we headed out into the beautiful blue waters of Sakalava Bay for a session.

The bay was an unbelievable kite spot! The neap tide created an enormous sand bar, linking an island to the mainland, creating a perfectly flat spot for freestyle and old school tricks. We were in Madagascar for the end of their windy season, but there was no shortage of wind, and it never stopped; blowing an average of 20 to 25 knots every day. However, if you are looking for waves, the north does not offer the best waves, but you can still enjoy a few little kickers for big air tricks.

Daily, we would walk 1 kilometre to our car; with locals in town helping to carry the 80 kgs of gear we needed for the day.  We made the most of our rental car, going on adventures, without ever knowing how the day would go or where we would end up kiteboarding. Chatting to locals and perusing Google Maps and Windyty, to see where we could head to next.

Mantasaly Resort is situated about 25 minutes from our lodge, and it always seems windier there; perfect for some loops! We had a couple days of solid forecasts ahead, which we planned get some loop shots, being extremely cautious as there is no help on the island and unfortunately, the medical care is below average.

On the second day we arrived early so that we could explore the coastline upwind, we came across Mangroves to jump over and in the vibrant ocean below us, we saw turtles and a shipwreck on inside of the reef. That afternoon, the wind increased to 35 knots, which was a great opportunity to shoot some more loops.

After another long day of shooting at Mantasaly, we headed back to the car, I suddenly realised I did not have the key! I checked the kite store, looked around on the beach; alas, no key!

Once again, the sun was setting, so we began our long walk back to the lodge. Luckily, we were able to catch a lift halfway there. The next morning, we managed to get the spare key and we were off once again, exploring.

Our nights were consumed by looking at Google Maps for new places we could kite, and we always found a few options and set off early in the morning, encountering obstacles along our way, some of which we couldn't navigate around due to the dense bush and roads becoming footpaths too narrow for a car to drive on! Getting stuck in the sand, driving on the beach just to end up finding nothing exciting; you name it.

We were always asking locals, and gesticulating with hand signals, as to where to go!

We followed all the directions, arriving at a secret spot. There were three small grass huts and a lone fisherman repairing his wooden fishing boat. We asked for his permission to kiteboard from his village, and he gave us a thumbs up. We packed our dry bags with the essentials, the camera, the drone, water and snacks. Heading out from this little village was a huge bay with loads to explore. We came across a sand bar with a massive pool of red water in the centre.

Arriving back at our lodge at the secret spot after another long day of amazing adventures, to find our dinner was freshly caught lobster. Eating like kings, we washed it all down with an ice-cold beer. Our time at this magical spot was coming to an end, and our host Matt had planned for us to do a downwind from Sakalava Bay to the end of the Emerald Sea; a distance of 20km.

Kiteboarding along the coastline, we reached the channel to the Emerald sea, the wind was blowing around 35 knots over the reef creating an epic flat spot for some epic loops. We continued downwind, through crystal clear turquoise water. In the distance, I could see a few islands, which was where we were having lunch. We were treated to a sumptuous fresh fish served with rice. After lunch, I couldn't resist doing some strapless kite loops in the crystal-clear blue bay we looked out on!

With our bodies refuelled, we continued with our downwinder, arriving at our destination; the "Swimming Pools", a small beach with many little rock inlets which we could jump over, scoring some incredible shots.

Just when you thought the day was over and you could relax, we realised we had to get into a small wooden sailing boat, with 12 other people, including a few kiteboarders. Bear in mind, the wind was still blowing 30 knots, the sun was setting, and the swell was big. It was an intense half an hour boat ride back to Ramena Bay, the water was flooding into the boat, and it was starting to get chilly. Towards the end of our trip, a wave broke over the boat and pushed Stig off his perch. Luckily, he landed in the middle of the boat and not in the ocean! Not long after this, we reached calmer waters with the end in sight.

Does Madagascar sound like an amazing place to visit? Absolutely YES! Even though it's a 3rd world country and it has a long way to go, the beauty and people are incredible, with so many things too see and often not enough time. It is not an easy place to travel around, and with a bit of patience, it worked together perfectly!

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