Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VEHICLE HIRE
Most of the tour operators listed above hire out 4x4s, and some also
cars, motorbikes, quads and mountain bikes. Other rental options are:
Location 4L
Rte Ramena (PK 2); 82 901 71;
m
032 52 200 25;
e
loc4l-
diego@gmail.com
.
Renault 4s (some convertible) with & without driver.
San Diego Rock Café
[327 B4] (see
Click Here
) Rents motorbikes.
Diego Raid
[327 B4]
m
032 58 890 77/032 40 001 75. Quad hire & guided excur-
sions by quad up to 8 days.
Mada Quad
[327 C2]
m
032 40 888 14. Quad rental & excursions.
Bicycles
[327 B3] Rue Colbert. Just north of the Colbert you may find bikes for rent.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO
British war cemetery
[327 D7] On the outskirts of town on the road that leads to the air-
port, the British Commonwealth Cemetery is well signposted on a side road opposite the
main Malagasy cemetery. Here is a sad insight into Anglo-Malagasy history: rows of
graves of the British troops killed in the battle for Diego in 1942 (see box on
Click Here
)
and the larger numbers, mainly East African and Indian soldiers serving in the British
army, who died from disease during the occupation of the port. Impeccably maintained by
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this is a peaceful and moving place.
The
French war cemetery
[327 C7] is nearby, alongside the local cemetery.
Botanical gardens
The
Parc Botanique des Mille Baobabs
at King's Lodge is worth a
visit. Covering 26ha, it is planted with interesting, unusual, rare and endangered plants
from across northern Madagascar, arranged into zones according to their place of origin. A
2.5km trail passes through all the biotope regions. Entry costs 10,000Ar per person.
NoteBleueParkHotel
has also recently opened a 3ha botanical garden with rare plants
from the region.
Montagne des Français (French Mountain)
Now officially a protected area, the moun-
tain gets its name from the memorial to the French and Malagasy killed during the Allied
invasion in 1942 - another reminder of a war about which the locals can have little under-
standing.
The start of the trail is just before King's Lodge, 8km from Antsiranana. At the foot of
themountain,closetotheroad,aresomespecimensofthecriticallyendangeredlocallyen-
demicbaobabspecies,
Adansoniasuarezensis
(theyaretheoneswithsmoothreddishbark;
the grey-barked ones are
A. madagascariensis
).
