Rooftop tent expedition through Madagascar: Arrival

"We made it - The roof top tent survived the flight well and fits perfectly on the orange Karenjy. We are ready to go!"

Sabine Hoppe and Thomas Rahn are world travellers. On their last trip in the old-timer Paula truck, they circumnavigated the world once in six years. Arrive and stay in the same place permanently? - Absolutely not. Once you've sniffed the air of adventure, you can't stop travelling. Their next destination: Madagascar. This time not with Paula but with a Mazana II of the local brand Karenjy. Included: a roof top tent GT ROOF. Because it is one of the few roof top tents that can be taken in the airplane and only require a low permissible roof load. They will report over their whole adventure in detail in the EXPLORER magazine. What made them decide to import a roof top tent to Madagascar and what happens throughout their journey, they will keep us informed.

Preliminary Considerations & Roof Top Tent Transport in the Airplane

"When we crossed Africa in 2015, we briefly considered going to Madagascar with a ship, but ended up rejecting the plan as it did not make much sense. Nevertheless the idea to one day explore Madagascar with a vehicule remained.

We researched and found out that Madagascar has its very own local car brand - immediately we fell in love with the unusual form of the Mazana II. Unlike our truck, the Mazana has no bed. So what to do? How about a roof top tent? We researched again- It quicly became clear that we could not take a standard roof top tent of around 60 kg with us in the plane. Shipping by freight forwarder as sea or air freight including customs formalities would be as expensive as a whole roof top tent. We were about to give up the idea when we heard about GentleTent at the Adventure & Allrad Fair in Bad Kissingen in June. An inflatable roof tent under 25 kg - that's the solution!

Dissasembled into individual parts, the GT ROOF and ladder fit easily into two suitcases. We could even stay within our free baggage allowance. The process was quite simple and quick. The dissasembling and packing took only 25 minutes.

Arrival in Madagascar

"After 20 hours and three transfers, our four pieces of luggage arrived safely at the airport in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo. Here to our great surprise, the driver of the Karenjy was already waiting with ''our'' Mazana II. Together we drove south to the second largest city, Fianarasoa, where the the company headquarters are found to report for the EXPLORER over this more than unique car company.

Here people were curious as to what we were unpacking from our suitcases. Bit by bit we put the roof top tent back together again. After 30 minutes we could already mount it on the roof rack of the Mazana. Now pump up the air mattress, unpack the sleeping bags - done!

Our first night in Madagascar and in the roof top tent is coming up. And tomorrow? We will try to cross Madagascar from the southernmost to the northernmost point of the island. Whether this will be possible is a big question. The tracks must be partly grueling: deep ruts, mud passages, quicksand, river crossings, and small improvised ferries will put us and the Mazana II to the test "

Sabine & Thomas

You can learn more about Sabine Hoppe and Thomas Rahn on their website www.abseitsreisen.de. Since their six-year joruney in the old timer Paula truck, with which they once circumnavigated the globe with, they have been reporting on their journeys through photo lectures in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In March 2019, after two years of work, they have also published the book ''Sechs Jahre Weltumrundung'' published by Piper/Malik Verlag.