Ruthless RN5

Nomadic Road's April 2025 edition of the Ruthless RN5 expedition pushed a new group of overlanders along Madagascar's east coast, this time covering 960 kilometres on what is widely considered one of the toughest roads in the world. April sits at the end of Madagascar's rainy season, which means the RN5 was at its most demanding: deep mud, river crossings, washouts from recent storms, and stretches where the road has effectively ceased to exist. The 2025 convoy worked through every form of surface the RN5 throws at travellers. Broken tarmac gave way to dirt, dirt gave way to mud, mud gave way to sand, and on more than one stretch the route required zebu-pulled rafts to cross rivers where bridges have not been rebuilt. Driving days were long and slow. The convoy regularly averaged under 20 kilometres an hour for hours at a time, with stops to recover stuck vehicles, change tyres or recalibrate routes around fresh washouts. The cultural side of the trip was as central as the driving. The east coast of Madagascar is densely populated by Betsimisaraka communities, and the route passed through markets, fishing villages and inland farming settlements where zebu carts still outnumber motor vehicles. The Indian Ocean sat on the right for long stretches, with empty beaches and the constant sound of waves through palm groves. The April 2025 Ruthless RN5 edition delivered the route at scale and intensity. It is not a beginner's overland trip. It is the harder, slower, more rewarding version of Madagascar that almost no other operator runs.