MADAGASCAR 18 aug to 3 sept
MADAGASCAR FACTS
Madagascar is a large island nation located in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of Africa. It's the world's fourth-largest island with a population of around 28 million people. The official languages are Malagasy and French. The country's culture is a blend of African, Asian, and European influences.
Antananarivo is the administrative capital and largest city of Madagascar. It is located in the highlands region, near the geographic center of the island.
History
Madagascar has been subject to colonization by several nations including the Portuguese, Dutch, English and finally the French. The Malagasy Republic was proclaimed on 14 October 1958, as an autonomous state within the French Community. A period of provisional government ended with the adoption of a constitution in 1959 and full independence on 26 June 1960. On 20 September 1960, Madagascar became a member state of the United Nations.
Poverty
Despite substantial economic growth since the early 2000s, quality of life remains very low for the majority of the population. According to the World Food Programme, as of January 2025, 1.31 million citizens faced high levels of food insecurity and more than 90% of its 28 million people lived on less than $3.10 per day. Approximately 69% of the population lives below the national poverty line threshold of one dollar per day.
The country ranks fourth in the world in terms of chronic malnutrition. Nearly one in two children under the age of five is stunted. In addition, Madagascar is among the five countries where access to water is the most difficult for the population. According to the NGO WaterAid, at least twelve million people do not have access to clean water.
Fauna and Flora
Madagascar is known for its high levels of biodiversity and unique wildlife, with many endemic animals and plants found nowhere else on Earth. Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are endemic.
Lemurs are endemic to Madagascar and have been characterized as "Madagascar's flagship mammal species" by Conservation International. As of 2012, there were officially 103 species and subspecies of lemur. A number of other mammals, including the catlike fossa, are endemic to Madagascar. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded on the island, of which over 60% (including four families and 42 genera) are endemic.
90% of the reptiles in Madagascar are endemic. The island is home to two-thirds of the world's chameleon species, including the smallest known.
More than 80% of Madagascar's 14,883 plant species are found nowhere else in the world, including five plant families.
Tourism
Tourism is a significant source of foreign income for Madagascar, and Malagasy government is actively working to revive and promote tourism as a key driver of economic development.
Tourism focuses on the niche eco-tourism market, capitalizing on Madagascar's unique biodiversity, unspoiled natural habitats, national parks and lemur species.
An estimated 180,000 tourists visited Madagascar in 2010, but the sector has been growing steadily for the last few years. A major government goal is to attract one million tourists by 2028, with a focus on sustainable and inclusive eco-tourism practices.
PREPARATIONS
The research for our Madagascar trip started about 10 months before our departure date. The TripAdvisor forum was a great source of information as was, of course, Google. We started by contacting about 10 different tour companies and individual guides recommended in the forum and finally narrowed it to one company – Dadamanga – as they were the only company that really listened to our requirements and offered great solutions. And, oh boy, we were SO happy we chose them. The entire Dadamanga team is FABULOUS, and their care and concern for their clients is second to none! If you know anyone considering a trip to Madagascar, tell them to go no further than Dadamanga when getting someone to help organize their trip.
ANTANANARIVO
Our Madagascar tour started in the capital Antananarivo and we travelled to the south, west and east of the country.
Our hotel here is cute and quirky with lots of lovely art work on the walls. Very comfortable rooms. Great breakfast.
We decided to go on a short guided tour around the city in the afternoon to get an idea of its size and layout.
BERENTY RESERVE
We flew from Antanarivo to Tolanaro (Fort Dauphin) in the South of Madagascar. One night in a hotel and then we set off for the Berenty Reserve which is approximately 80kms west of the town. We have 2 nights staying inside the reserve.
Before heading out of town, we called in to the office of the fabulous tour company that has helped organise our Madagascar itinerary. Dadamanga is owed by an Aussie guy who came to Madagascar about 30 years ago and fell in love with the country. He and his team have been fabulous with helping us achieve a tour that covers all of our main requirements of seeing fauna and flora. We called in the their office and brought them a bag of "Aussie" goodies including the quintessential Vegemite (which Brett tells us is like liquid gold to him!) Unfortunately Brett wasn't in the office but we met his team and they presented us with company shirts to say thank you for the gifts!
Berenty Reserve is a private wildlife reserve in Southern Madagascar, focused on lemur research. It comprises diverse habitats and is home to six lemur species including the ring-tailed and Verraux sifaka. It is known for being one of the best spots to view these confident and habituated lemurs at close range.
KIRINDY RESERVE
From Berenty we were scheduled to fly back to Tana and next day fly west to Morondava.
However we had a bit of an “experience” with our flights! Our flight from the south back to Tana was due to leave at around 8 pm. We then were notified that it was delayed until around 10 pm. Then it was announced that it had been cancelled! The next available flight was 3 am. Then within about 15 minutes, it was announced 3 am flight was now changed to 4:15 am!
So we were sitting in the boarding lounge of the tiny tiny tiny domestic airport at 9pm with a flight that wasn’t due to leave until 4am! The wonderful Dadamanga team were amazing. They organised a driver to come and collect us. They organised a hotel for us for a few hours. They organised for the driver to then return us to the airport. They are such an amazing team! And we are so lucky that we chose them.
We managed a couple of hours sleep. Then got the flight back to the capital. By then it was only three hours until our next flight so we just checked into the domestic terminal and sat there waiting for our flight feeling a bit shellshocked from lack of sleep.
The flight to the west (Morondava) was on time (whew!!!) and we were met at the airport by our lovely driver Fano.
From there we headed north about 60kms to Kirindy.
We had been warned that Madagascan roads were bad… but now we experienced our first one! Unfortunately Chris was feeling SO ill from lack of sleep that she was nauseous for the entire 2-hour drive (and managed to throw up once!!) When we got to our accommodation, Chris went straight to her room and fell asleep. She also unfortunately wasn’t able to make it on the night walk but Valerie did – and got some very cute photos of a mouse lemur.
The area here is known for its majestic baobab trees and it also hosts a unique biodiversity such as the Fosa, Madagascar's largest carnivore (Cryptoprocta ferox), the Sifaka lemur (Propithecus verreauxi), the giant jumping rat (Hypogeomys antimena), terrestrial tortoises (Pyxis planicauda), the striped mongoose (Mungotictis decemlineata decemlineata), Berthe's mouse lemur (Microcebus berthae), and _ species of lemurs (2 diurnal, and 6 nocturnal).
After all the drama, we did manage some lovely experiences and got some great photos… we hope you enjoy them
Click HERE to see photos
ANTSIRABE
Click HERE to see photos
From Morondava we began our drive towards the east of the island. It's a long slow drive as the roads in Madagascar are VERY pot-holed! In places the bitumen has completely disappeared and all that's left of the road are giant holes that the driver has to navigate his way around. At times we average only about 10 km/hr as we weave around the holes. And this is a MAJOR HIGHWAY! It's the main road connecting the capital city with Morondava - Highway 34!
The drive east is a scenic journey that traverses a variety of landscapes, from dry, arid areas to lush, highland terrain and passes through small villages of wooden or mud huts with thatched roofs, and small market towns.
We stopped overnight half-way in a town called Miandrivazo and next day continued on our way through small villages and towns, along pot-holed roads and over large rivers with huge bridges. At one bridge our driver showed us the local people smashing the river rocks into powder to fill buckets. Evidently this river contains gold and people are paid around 10 cents per 20kg bucket of rock powder that they sell to the mining company for processing for gold.
Just before Antsirabe, we stopped to visit the beautiful Lake Tritriva. It lies within a dormant volcanic cone, which gives the lake its distinctive and striking appearance. Tritriva is considered one of Madagascar’s most beautiful volcanic lakes due to its almost perfectly circular shape and deep blue-green water.
Finally we reached Antsirabe, a chaotic, highland city which is a jumble of rickshaws, beggars and some of the best crafts in Madagascar. Many of Antsirabe’s buildings date back to French colonial times. We took a traditional "pousse pousse" rickshaw tour of the town to see its varied colonial buildings and colourful markets. (Valerie decided she would NEVER cut it as a pousse pousse puller!)
ANDASIBE
PALMARIUM RESERVE
The last stop of our trip was on the east coast of Madagascar - the Palmarium Reserve. To reach here, we drove to the coast and then caught a small ferry to the reserve. It was a sad time getting on the ferry as it meant saying farewell to our wonderful driver and guide, Fano, who had driven us from west to east across the island. Fano's depth of knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the history, geography, culture, flora and fauna of Madagascar was amazing. He was the "icing on the cake" of our Madagascan adventure as we learned so much from him in our days spent travelling.
The isolation of Palmarium Reserve means it is one of the few places in Madagascar where it is possible to come very close to some of the least timid, free-ranging and tame lemur species on the island, including the largest lemurs, the Indri. In fact, you don’t need to go in search of lemurs at all… they are all around the accommodation and restaurant areas and are very curious and not at all frightened of humans!
The area is also home to the emblem of Madagasacar, the Ravinala, as well as frogs, reptiles, orchids, palm trees and the carnivorous pitcher plant.
We also managed to see the rare and endangered lemur species - the world’s largest and weirdest nocturnal primate, the Aye-aye. It has the face of a possum, teeth of a mouse, ears of a bat and very strange middle finger!
And to top off the final days of our amazing trip, at the Palmarium we met up with a couple of lovely guys from Brisbane, Tony and Darryl. Thank you guys for helping us end our trip with lots of great conversation and laughter!