Nosy Komba guesthouse is a wonderful base from which to explore the island
Getting to Nosy Komba involves transferring from Hell-Ville, the capital of Nosy Be, which is named after a colonial administrator. It’s a short boat ride from the port across the channel to the beach in front of Ampangarina, the largest village on Nosy Komba.
Drop-off on said beach is easy enough – a bit of calf-deep wading if the tide is out or right on the doorstep of your guesthouse if you arrive with the high tide. Stout concrete stairs lead up to the accommodation at 293 On Komba, suggesting a solid, practical approach to hospitality, but almost immediately, there are signs of owner Marcine Cooper’s personality and creativity – sculptures, snatches of vibrant colour, crafted wooden furniture, and more, all of which establish an intimate, welcoming landscape.
The centrepiece is a small infinity pool that overlooks the beach, offering freshwater coolness if you’re not in the mood to tangle with the waves and the occasional pirogue or passing motorboat. It also functions as a social space for guests. The place has a family atmosphere – not in the sense that there are kids running around everywhere but in the philosophy with which it is run. A single large table welcomes all guests – and Cooper – for meals made in the adjacent kitchen. Morning coffee and afternoon tea are taken in an outdoor lounge area, encouraging interaction with new friends and the swapping of ideas of things to do and recollections of the day just past.
Coffee on the terrace (it’s served at the same time every day; get it while it’s hot) is a gentle way to start the day, sitting above the beach, watching the village wake up and the island’s kids heading to school, and establishing the mood of the sea if you want to head down for a swim or go on an excursion. Breakfast is served at another communal table in the garden, with fruit, granola, and yoghurt, and beautifully presented egg dishes of various descriptions. That meal ends with an alert from the gardener – a gorgeous chameleon in one of the bushes alongside one of the rooms – before the guests split up for their individual itineraries. For some, that involves something energetic like a walk or a swim, while for others, the daybeds in the shade are as far as they want to go.
Cooper is the easy-going common thread to all activities at 293, confident and brusquely kind, settling newcomers into rooms that are unassuming relative to the five-star private villas of some of the private island resorts in the region, but which are very comfortable and thoughtfully put together. Small details make a big difference, most notably the small pink fan inside the mosquito net over the four-poster bed, which provides blessed coolness in which to sleep and air movement strong enough to dispel even the most robust mosquito.
A playlist played discreetly in the background during the delicious three-course dinners each night reveals a taste for classic rock – from Led Zeppelin to Joe Cocker by way of Tina Turner and Procul Harum – a tremendously pleasing alternative to general restaurant muzak. Cocktails are similarly robust, arriving in 500ml glasses rather than the dainty little thimbles of so many trendy clubs.
Trade trundle
Walking through Ampangarina sees shacks and small business establishments side by side, lining narrow walkways. You can buy everything from tomatoes to hand-embroidered tablecloths, cowrie-bedecked jewellery, and carved wooden ornaments, all beautiful, but perhaps with a too-large contingent of shopkeepers offering similar wares. The beautiful needlework products – seen in runners, place settings, tea tray cloths, and more hung on strings along the sides of and between buildings – give the village a colourful flamboyance that makes for dramatic photographs and memories.
There are a number of options for grabbing a meal while you’re out, some informal and others more decorous; some along the beach and others, clean and brightly decorated, in the midst of the more densely built-up areas. As well as checking out the menu, you can explore this scene based on price and who speaks English, as if you can’t understand what you’re ordering, you could be in for a far more interesting ride than you’d expected.
If you get lost while exploring, simply head downhill. Nosy Komba is a huge, inverted bowl and, with 293 On Komba reached directly from the beach, you can walk along the sand until you get back to your bed for the night.
Primate protection
The Black Lemur Sanctuary (or Lemur Park, depending on how formal whoever you’re speaking to is feeling) is perhaps Nosy Komba’s most popular tourist attraction, so getting in early, before the worst of the sun and the crowds – the latter arrive in throbbing boatloads and take up space physically, socially, and culturally – is a good idea. In the park, you’ll want to avoid the manic energy of the mobs enticing the cute furry creatures with bananas, so that they can film and upload their content to TikTok. Fortunately, there are enough quiet corners to do so, with the lemurs there seeming much gentler and more reserved, though still with an eye out for possible leftover snacks.
There’s space to mellow out after your expedition back at 293, with the aforementioned daybeds being a brilliant work-life balance aid. There is also the option – very reasonably priced – of a massage in one of the guesthouse’s upper rooms. The therapist likes to use a lot of oil (lemongrass, by the aroma of it), so you soon feel as slippery as a mackerel in a soap bubble but, given that all you need to do is lie there and feel great, it’s a good trade-off.
Text and photography | Bruce Dennill
For more information or to book a stay, go to 293onkomba.com or madagascat.co.za.
How to get there
Airlink connects you from Johannesburg to Nosy Be.
