Exploring Madagascar!

Have you seen the movie?? Well, it’s nothing like that… It’s pretty different from the rest of Africa too, it split off from the mainland around 160m years ago, and never looked back! I travelled in August, part of a small group tour with G Adventures – a leading light of the adventure touring market, with a real focus on responsible tourism and making a positive impact on local communities. There were only eight of us, age range from 30 to 70, a mix of couples and single travellers, all with a love of exploring new places.

Antananarivo is the capital – mad busy, noisy, colourful, colonial architecture and endless street stalls sitting comfortably side-by side. A welcome dinner, some get-to-know-you beers, and the next day we flew south…

Ifaty couldn’t be more different – on the south west coast, it has a Caribbean feel, with palm-fringed beaches, stunning sunsets, and cool beach bars. There’s also loads to do – snorkelling on a distant reef, dugout canoe trips, and of course the unique Spiny Forest Reserve, with its ubiquitous Baobab trees.

Now began the long slow journey north east back to Tana, via the vast interior savannah. Not long ago it was all forest, now 85% cleared, it’s seen a lot of change. Fortunately the remaining 15% is protected, and there are efforts being made to reverse this catastrophic deforestation. It’s worth mentioning the roads – they’re not great! Potholes galore, our expert driver weaved his way around as best he could, but progress was inevitably slow. So expect some long days, but the effort is worth it.

Eventually we were into the mountains, which run along the central spine of the island. We had a full day hiking, one of the best I’ve ever done. The scenery was ruggedly spectacular, but there were also waterfalls and deliciously cool natural pools to cool off in. Here we spotted our first lemurs, the largest wild animal in Madagascar. They come in all sizes and colours, we spotted the classic ring-tailed variety amongst the cliffs and canyons.

Heading ever north, we mixed national parks with local community visits, really getting to know the country and the people properly. Always welcoming, it’s a poor country but hard-working and positive, it was a pleasure to spend time with them. A bit of French didn’t go amiss either!

Eventually we hit the rainforest, created by the prevailing weather coming in from the Indian Ocean. Wildlife galore – lots of lemurs (obviously), chameleon, reptiles, and of course the Indri (as you know, a black and white diurnal that feeds on leaves and fruit). Everywhere we went there were opportunities to explore, including village visits and night walks.

Finally it was back to Tana, tired but fulfilled. Two weeks was enough to really get under the skin of the country, and to experience so many different landscapes, with incredibly diverse flora and fauna . If you get the chance, go!