Natural Madagascar | Madagascar | Antananarivo ('Tana)

As Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island, 1600km long and 580km wide, getting to each of its prime wildlife hotspots involves domestic flights and scenic road transfers. ‘Semi-escorted’ means that you are accompanied by English-speaking guides in each area but fly independently between the regions. This itinerary is perfect for first time visitors wishing to see a broad spectrum of Madagascar’s flora and fauna. An added bonus is the good quality hotels and lodges in each area visited.

Meals	Bed and Breakfast for 6 nights; Dinner, Bed and breakfast for 3 nights
Accommodation	Variable; the most appealing in each area
Departure Dates	Thursday and Saturday from Johannesburg
Transport	Road transfers and scheduled flights
Price Includes	Return flight from Johannesburg, internal flights, transfers, accommodation and meals as shown, the services of a local English-speaking guide in each area.
Price Excludes
Minimum Number	2
Climate	Hot and subtropical climate, colder in the mountains. Rains from November to March give way to a dry season from April to October.
Best time to go	The west and northwest are year-round destinations but mid January to March is cyclone season on the east coast. The eastern rainforests have a high rainfall so the best times to visit are the drier months of September to December.
Health Requirements	Anti-malarial tablets essential. Cholera, typhoid, hepatitis and Yellow Fever innoculations recommended. Drink bottled water only.
Combines well with	Live-aboard catamaran cruises of the islands
Other Ideas	Stay longer and also visit Nosy Be and/or the Ambre d'Montagne area. Instead of flying from Johannesburg, we can arrange Air Madagascar flights from Paris, Milan or London.
Notes

Day 1 : 1 night Hotel Louvre BB
Fly from Johannesburg to Antananarivo ('Tana'), the lively Malagasy capital. On arrival transfer to Hotel Louvre for an overnight stay. Tana, (as the capital city of Antananarivo is fondly called), has been described as like a child?s painting, a brightly coloured collection of French colonial architecture, multi-storeyed houses and narrow alleys. It sprawls over the rolling hills of Madagascar?s central highlands, a city with unique architecture, rice paddies and bustling streets. It must have been a beautiful city at one time. Hotel Louvre is located in the central business centre of Tana near the banks, government ministries and offices. The hotel opened its doors in 1998 in the ?Eiffel? building, situated in front of Antaninareninia Garden and offers a good quality of services. It has 60 air-conditioned rooms, including satellite TV, minibar, direct phone (as well as internet facilities, modem/fax). The bar and characterful restaurant are excellent.

Day 2 : 2 nights Gite de Berenty Lodge DBB
This morning you are transferred back to Ivato airport for your flight to Fort Dauphin in the South-East. The south of Madagascar is very dry in comparison to the central highlands and the east, producing a marked change in the people, plants and animals. Fort Dauphin has a picturesque setting backed by high mountains. It was formerly a thriving harbour town built primarily on the exploits of the sisal plantations and a fishing industry. In the bay shipwrecks bear testament to the violent storms which often batter the coast.

On arrival you will be met by your local driver and transferred to the Berenty Private Reserve, a scenic 2-3 hour drive inland along a gravel road, for your three night stay. When you arrive at Berenty, you join the guided tours conducted by the park guides.

The drive there is part of the experience. For the first half of the journey the skyline is composed of rugged green mountains often backed by grey clouds or hidden by rain. The green mountains give way to surreal ?spiny? forest in the southern semi-desert. En route you visit the Antanosy villages and tombs decorated with hand painted wooden carvings.

Day 3 : Berenty National Park
Today you enjoy guided walking tours of the forest. The combination of lemurs with their acrobatic antics and the tranquility of the forest trails makes Berenty the Madagascan memory for many people.

Berenty means ?big eel? and is famous for its large population of ringtailed lemurs -attractive monkey-like creatures with a distinctive wide-eyed charm. The reserve covers 250 acres, and is set amidst a privately owned sisal plantation. The trails through the forests are in good order and, being wide and flat, offer easy walking conditions. The main attraction of Berenty is the six species of lemur which are regularly seen. Four are endemic, the diurnal Verreaux?s sifaka (the infamous ?dancing? lemur) and Ring-tailed lemur, and the nocturnal White-Footed Sportive lemur and nocturnal Grey mouse lemur. The other two are the Red-fronted Brown Lemur and the Fat-tailed Dwarf lemur. During September and October, the Ring-tailed lemurs breed and the young are frequently seen. Fruit Bats and Madagascar flying foxes (Pteropus rufus) live in noisy groups. With their wingspan of over 1 metre, they are an impressive sight.

Birdwatching in Berenty is also rewarding: 85 species including Madagascan specials such as the Giant coua and White-browed owl as well as Frances sparrowhawk, Madagascar green pigeon, Lesser Vasa parrot, crested Coua, and Hook-billed vanga. . Floral delights includes baobabs and various bloated Pachypodium species and the baobab-like Moringas.

Day 4 : 3 nights, Vakona Lodge BB
Transfer back to Fort Dauphin to fly back to Tana. In Tana, you will be met and transferred by car directly to the eastern rainforest region of Perinet, (3 to 3½ hours by winding road), with picturesque scenery en route. Along the way there are lovely views of rice paddies and the unique red-bricked houses of the Merina people, the dominant culture in this region.

The lovely, up-market Vakona Lodge, lies 8 kilometres from Perinet. The building has been designed around an octagonal reception area, lounge and bar with a huge fireplace in the middle. The lodge currently has 14 individal chalets, each with en suite shower rooms, around a central swimming pool. The sounds of the forest are amazing here - the lodge is set among trees, on the banks of a small river that runs into a man-made lake. Quiet and peaceful with lots of birds and within earshot of the Indri?s haunting call, this is the perfect place to relax. We recommend a couple of nights as you can visit the nearby reserves of Andasibe and Mantadia from here.

Day 5 : Antasibe National Park (Perinet)
Perinet (also known as Andasibe or Analamazaotra) Reserve and the nearby Mantadia National Park, are located on the eastern escarpment. The eastern rainforest of Perinet is one of the densest in the world and the floral diversity is particularly rich.

The Andasibe National Park is a 810ha reserve which protects the largest of all the lemurs, the Indri Indri. Standing about a metre high, with a barely visible tail, black-and-white markings and a surprised teddy-bear face, the indri looks more like a panda gone wrong than a lemur. The long back legs are immensely powerful, and an indri can propel itself 10m (30ft), executing a turn in mid-air, to hug a new tree and then gaze down benevolently at its observers. And you will be an observer. Legend has it that the Indri gave birth to the human race and in the Malagasy language, the indri is called Babakoto which means ?Father of Koto? It is fady to kill an indri, the legend being that the boy Koto climbed a tree in the forest to collect wild honey, and was severely stung by the bees. Losing his hold, he fell but was caught by an indri who carried him on its back to safety.

Typically you visit the rainforest at dawn to see the ape-like Indri lemur when they are most active. Walking through the rainforest, as its distinctive siren-like calls emanate from the mist-covered canopy is one of the most memorable experiences of Madagascar. The walks through the forest are easy trails along which your guide will be able to point out a variety of endemics plants that are found nowhere else. The island is home to 20 % of Africa?s vascular plant species of which 90 % are endemic. Orchids festoon the trees and endemic birds to look out for include the Tylas, Blue Coua, Nuthatch Vanga and the extra-ordinary Velvet and Sunbird asity. You may also encounter the likes of Grey Bamboo lemur, Red-fronted Brown lemur as well as impressive reptiles like Malagasy Tree Boa and two foot long Parson?s Chameleon. You might be fortunate to see the Giraffe-necked Weevil or the Golden Mantilla.

Perinet claims a World record for numbers of frog species. Ardent nature enthusiasts should also stop at one of the nearby marshes for a select band of rare endemic birds, reptiles and frogs confined to marsh habitat.

If you are going in spring or summer (late August to March), pack a torch as you can join a short night stroll to see nocturnal animal life such as tenrecs (spiny hedgehogs) with the Perinet guides. At night another world emerges in the forest, making night walks especially interesting.

Day 6 : Mantadia National Park
The following day you can visit the wilder, nearby rainforest of Mantady National Park, where the Perinet guides are used to taking visitors. This offers fairly challenging terrain, so it best if you are reasonably fit, but you can do as much as you feel comfortable with. The primary rainforest here is spectacular and wildlife includes Diadem Sifaka, Ruffed lemurs and birds like Brown mesite, Pittalike ground-roller, Brown emutail and Velvet Asity.

Day 7 : 2 nights Hotel Chez Maggie BB
Today you return early to Tana in time for your flight to Morondava, a small town with sandy beaches on the sunny west coast. It?s here that you encounter those somewhat eery Baobab trees. Transfer to Hotel Chez Maggie for two nights. The Morondava area was the centre of the Sakalava kingdom and their tombs ? sadly now desecrated by souvenir hunters. Today Morondava is the centre of a prosperous, rice-growing area. For visitors it is best known as a seaside resort, with a laidback atmosphere.

Day 8 : Kirindy 'Swiss' Forest
Today you explore the Kirindy (?Swiss?) Forest 60 km to the north of Morondava. This is a good example of tropical dry deciduous forest, the world?s most threatened habitat type. It?s one of the island?s best places for mammals, especially nocturnal species like the Fosa, (the biggest predator), various spiny Tenrecs and 6 species of nocturnal Lemur including the world?s smallest primate, the Pygmy Mouse lemur. In fact Kirindy claims a World Record for Primate density in forests of comparable size. There?s also good birding here with many ?specials? local to western Madagascar being seen frequently (such as the White-breasted mesite; Madagascar jacana, Coquerel?s and Red-capped couas, White-headed and Sicklebill vangas amongst others). Kirindy is also known for three of Madagascar?s six endemic species of Baobab tree ? the whole continent of Africa only has one species!
You return to Morondava for dinner and overnight.

Day 9 : Overnight Hotel Louvre BB
Fly to back to Tana and overnight at Hotel Louvre again.

Day 10 : Flight to Johannesburg.
This morning you are transferred back to the airport in time for your morning flight back to Johannesburg.

	1 Nov 2007 to 24 Jul 2008	25 Jul 2008 to 5 Sep 2008	6 Sep 2008 to 30 Nov 2008
Per person sharing	ZAR R 34,001	ZAR R 34,647	ZAR R 34,001

Prices may be based on current exchange rates and are subject to change prior to booking.

Contact us for more information or book your trip by clicking on the appropriate button below. One of our consultants will gladly help you with any questions you may have.