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Email abattlingbishop | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lemurs are endemic to this island, the 4th largest in the world.
Fort Dauphin, Madagascar
A beautiful, sunny day greeted us on Monday, day 95, when we arrived on Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world. In 1643, Fort Dauphin was the first European settlement in Madagascar. The settlement, named in honor of the Dauphin, the Crown Prince of France and future King Louis XIV, is known by locals as Tolanaro. Madagascar gained its independence in 1960.Our Fort Dauphin Highlights tour drove through the city’s bustling market. We stopped at the square near City Hall where we admired the view of the bay and harbor situated below Saint-Louis Peak. Hawkers selling carved wooden items, necklaces, and shells were active. We observed the entrance to Fort Flacourt from a respectable distance. Another stop allowed us to see the rugged coast and pleasant beaches. We passed a mining company complex of homes. The company with partial government ownership is extracting ilmenite and zircon from heavy mineral sands. This is the only local industry. Tourism is also helpful, but only eight cruise ships visited this port in the past year.
In afternoon we visited the Nahampoana Reserve, located only about 4.5 miles from town, but with only half of the road paved. Once our school bus was on the bumpy, dirt road, we encountered the small, mainly thatch roofed houses these bush people live in. Extreme poverty. The Reserve itself is about 125 acres originally a botanical garden known as the Garden of Acclimatisation. We were successful in seeing three varieties of Madagascar’s endemic lemurs: sifaka, ring-tailed, and brown. It was fun watching their leaping antics. Their large eyes are captivating. In a fenced area, we saw the head of a crocodile protruding out of a pond. A guide moved a radial turtle so some guests could more easily see it. When the turtle set back on the ground, it scrambled back to familiar territory. One young man (seeking payment) hoisted his baby hedgehog for photos. Others offered chameleons for pictures. Later, two different costumed dance groups performed for us. We learned that locals buy a cow instead of saving money in a bank. Also, it is customary for a young man to offer a cow when requesting the hand of a potential bride. If a young person becomes a herder, his pay might be one cow for a year’s work. It was sad to be shadowed by children begging.
An outstanding place for birdwatching.
We traveled with a private guide, and were looking primarily for birds although the lemurs and the lizards were fantastic. Overall the food was outstanding. We avoided high end tourist hotels and stayed in smaller more local places which suited us better.
Lots of spiders but I'm told they aren't venomous. Please don't tell me otherwise even now :-)
Abundant, photogenic, and unique wildlife. Good hotels and food. Friendly people.
Tons of wildlife, from lemurs to endemic birds to lots of reptiles and butterflies. Most of the wildlife is tame and photogenic. The local guides are very skilled at finding whatever you want to see, especially lemurs. Hotels and food are surprisingly good. Some of the roads are decent, while others are poor, and drive times can be long. The Malagasy people are friendly and hospitable. Overall, a magical destination that is completely unlike any other place on Earth. I can thoroughly recommend the services of 8th Continent Expeditions, a Malagasy-owned tour company that made the bookings for my trip.
Felt like a real adventure.
Madagascar had been on my list of countries to visit for several years. Those David Attenborough documentaries have a lot to answer for. I'm always slightly skeptical of visiting a country that has had good exposure on television; often it doesn't live up to expectations but this did, and more. When first landing in Antananarivo, a large sprawling city, it's hard to imagine the wildlife that you're likely to encounter on your travels around the country. We traveled, for the most part, as a group of sixteen in a minibus with a guide and a driver. During this time we saw rain forests, dry spiny forests, sandy beaches and national parks, each of which offered their own unique collections of wildlife.
We went in September and the weather was very pleasant. The east side of the country was a lot cooler than the west, requiring a fleece or light jacket in the evenings. Whereas the west side and middle of the country was warm enough for t-shirts and shorts. We didn't see any significant rain during this period, other than some light drizzle in the rain forest which you'd expect but this didn't spoil the exploration.
Seeing the wildlife is really what we were here for though and it didn't disappoint. We did several night walks where we were lucky enough to spot the tiny mouse lemurs, tree frogs and chameleons. The main attraction has to be the range of lemurs that you'll see. We saw beautiful indri, sifakas, bamboo lemurs and best of all we were surrounded by a family of ring-tailed lemurs at the Isalo National Park. Going in September is a good time if you still want to see the babies clinging confidently to their mums as they jump from one precarious branch to another.
The scenery we saw was as varied as the wildlife. Driving around the country it's clear how important rice is as a staple. There are paddy fields everywhere and often the mud from these is also used to make bricks, piles of which you can still see 'cooking' by the roadside in piles. Seeing Baobab Alley at sunset felt like a dream come true; the majestic trees, some of them hundreds of years old, casting long shadows into the desert and the setting sun painting everything in shades of orange and black. The Grand Tsingi was also a striking place, the stark limestone formations as sharp as needles and in stark contrast to the beautiful green backdrop. Traveling to the Tsingy and the Kirindy Dry Forest was fairly tough, the roads are rough dirt tracks traveled by 4x4 and there are two ferry crossings involved. The scenery is dramatic, but also extremely dusty and long so if you're suffering from a sensitive stomach make sure you stock up on Imodium. Our tour ended at Ifaty beach which was a good place to relax for a day or two after all the traveling. The beach is bordered by palm trees and due to the very low level of light pollution the views of the milky way glittering over the sea was absolutely spectacular.
A few tips for travelers. Take some mosquito spray for during the night and forest walks because the mossies are relentless. A good head torch is a must for spotting on the night walks also.
Unique Madagascar with Great Island Adventure Safaris
We just spent three weeks in Madagascar with Bakoly Razanamiarantsoa the owner of Great Island Adventure Safaris as our guide. We travelled to and from Antananarivo via Paris from the US with four key areas visited:
Rainforests in Andasibe/Mantadia and Ranomafana in the East,
Dry forest and coast at Mahajanga/Ankarafantsika in the West,
The Spiny forests and coast around Ifaty and Toliara in the Southwest
Isalo and Zombitse on the Central plateau
Air Madagascar cancelled a flight which meant us missing a trip to the Masoala peninsula in the Northeast. Transport during our tour was by private 4WD and two internal flights.
The country is heavily deforested with most of the population depending on charcoal for cooking, however the remaining forest ecosystems in the national park areas visited still hold the unique wildlife that Madagascar is famous for. September is just prior to the peak birding months of Oct and Nov, but we saw every species available to us, with over 190 birds, 25+ species of Lemur, and many Chameleons, reptiles, frogs, insects, invertebrates and plants and trees. Eighty percent of every living species on the island is endemic, and many can be seen fairly easily and well in the right habitats. Photography opportunities were excellent, and whilst in September, not all species are highly active as the Austral winter ends, the vast majority of creatures were easy to see.
Friendly people throughout, and for a developing country, great accommodation and eating choices available in all but the more remote rural and wilderness areas. Local food and French style cooking was excellent throughout.
The country offers many options for adventure in addition to the unique wildlife with wilderness camping, trekking, canoeing and rafting all available. Not a traditional African style safari destination, but a fantastic experience nonetheless.
I can highly recommend Bakoly and her Great Island Adventure Safaris for any style or length of adventure.
She and her guides were excellent, expert in the wildlife and culture, and spoke excellent English and French. Drivers used, accommodations selected and meals were all top notch.
A unique destination that needs to be visited before the pressure on the wildlife becomes too great.
Simon
NJ USA
A truly excelent birding tour with Wings/Sunbird. Great guides Brian Finch and Bruno Raveloson.
We began in Antananarivo and flew to Mahajanga, then flew back to Tana and had a long birding drive to Toliara. Then we flew back to Tana and had another birding drive to Moramanga, spending 3 days at the national park there. Wings/Sunbird and Boogie Pilgrim ran a first-class birding tour, with excellent accommodations, food and vehicles. The birding was great and both guides paid special attention to getting EVERYONE on the bird EVERY TIME. I saw six new bird families, 147 bird species and got 107 life birds; we saw nearly every bird on the trip list. We visited at the end of the dry season and the weather was very pleasant and dry. My only concern was that Madagascar's human population is growing very rapidly (40% of their 25 million people are less than 15 years old) and its forests are ruthlessly being cut down. So, visit Madagascar soon, as nowhere did we see large numbers of birds and mammals, even in protected forest areas. One exception was the delightful Ring-tailed lemurs, which were numerous in the two lemur sites we visited.
Madagascar with Great Island Adventure Safaris
We just spent three weeks in Madagascar with Bakoly Razanamiarantsoa the owner of Great Island Adventure Safaris as our guide. Travel to and from Antananarivo via Paris from the US and four key areas visited - Rainforests in Andasibe/Mantadia and Ranomafana in the East, dry forest and coast at Mahajanga/Ankarafantsika in the West, and the spiny forests and coast around Ifaty and Toliara in the Southwest with stops at Isalo and Zombitse on the way. Air Madagascar cancelled a flight which meant us missing a trip to the Masoala peninsula rainforest in the Northeast. Transport during our tour was by private 4WD and two internal flights.
The country is heavily deforested with most of the population depending on charcoal for cooking, however the remaining forest ecosystems in the national park areas visited still hold the unique wildlife that Madagascar is famous for. September is just before the peak birding months of Oct and Nov, but we saw every species available to us, with over 190 birds, 25+ species of Lemur, and many Chameleons, reptiles, frogs, insects and invertebrates and plants and trees. Eighty percent of every living species on the island is endemic, and many can be seen fairly well in the right habitats. Photography opportunities were excellent, and whilst in September, not all species are highly active as the Austral winter ends, the vast majority of creatures were easy to see.
Friendly people throughout, and for a developing country, great accommodation and eating choices available in all but the more remote rural and wilderness areas. Local food and French style cooking was excellent throughout.
The country offers many options for adventure in addition to the unique wildlife with wilderness camping, trekking, canoeing and rafting all available. Not a traditional African style safari destination, but a fantastic experience nonetheless.
I can highly recommend Bakoly and her Great Island Adventure Safaris for any style or length of adventure.
www.gias-madagascar.com
She and her guides were excellent, expert in the wildlife and culture, and spoke excellent English and French.
A unique destination that needs to be visited before the pressure on the ecosystem and wildlife becomes too great.
safari rich in diversity of landscapes, terrestrial wildlife and underwater, very welcoming people
Fauna very rich and accessible, amazing landscapes "red and gray tsingy", pleasant weather even in the rainy season, different accommodation and food according to the choices, pay attention to hygiene for food and water.
Delicate local transport due to poor roads. Relatively good local guide. Tour very rich in emotions and sensations.
