"Holidays in Madagascar" Tour

Dec. 20*, 2001 through January 8*, 2002

·       (Our flight leaves Paris on the evening of Dec. 19 and arrives in Madagascar on the morning of Dec. 20.  The return flight leaves Madagascar the night of Jan. 8 and lands in Paris on the morning of Jan. 9, 2002.  If you wish to join the tour in Paris or Antananarivo, I'll help you figure out how to best rendezvous with us from wherever you're coming at either of these points.)

There are currently 5 people already signed on for this trip!

20  Days  In  Madagascar

Day 1 (in Madagascar): We arrive in Antananarivo (Tana), the centrally-located capitol of Madagascar, on the morning of December 20, check in through customs, buy telephone cards for calling home (optional), and change some currency for Malagasy Francs.  After lunch in town, we drive out to Perinet Reserve, located 2½ -3 hours to the east in mid-elevation rain forest.  We’ll stay in A-frame cabins near the old train station where we can relax and “de-jetlag”.  I’m usually able to find some elephant ear chameleons in the area that are willing to demonstrate their unique feeding styles to us.  A night walk after dinner will introduce us to some of the abundance of native “small game”, including chameleons, geckos, nocturnal lemurs, and a host of other creatures.

Day 2: A late morning hike will take us into the main reserve to see and hear Madagascar’s largest lemur, the indri.  Its wailing call is unforgettable, and usually we’re able to observe a few of them quite closely.  This forest is alive with many other animals too, from tiny long-necked giraffe beetles to gorgeous day geckos to cackling coucals and shy bamboo lemurs.  After lunch, we’ll hit the road back to Tana, stopping en route at a wildlife farm / zoo to see a fine assortment of endemic animals that we can often hold, feed, photograph, etc.  The folks here are great and always make this stop a fun couple hours.  After lunch at their new restaurant, we’ll continue back to Tana and stay at my favorite little hide-a-way hotel near the airport.

Day 3: This morning we’ll embark upon a cross-country drive down through the central highlands, stopping en route in the scenically historic town of Antsirabe.  We’ll end up in Ambositra this evening, a town known for its woodworking artisans.  Along the drive, we’ll stop to sample native foods, look at handicrafts for sale, and see the picturesque homes and countryside of the Malagasy highlands culture.

Day 4: Today, after visiting the art and woodworking shops, we’ll take a side trip out to the Itremo area to the west to explore and seek what may be Madagascar’s most exquisite little gem of a lizard, Minor’s chameleon.  Afterward, we’ll drive south to stay overnight in Fianarantsoa.

Day 5: We continue our drive south, stopping along the way for whatever catches our eye – odd plants, tribesmen tending herds of African humped cattle (zebu), giant chameleons in trees, etc.  We’ll arrive at our hotel near Isalo National Park tonight. 

Day 6: Christmas day will be spent exploring unforgettable Isalo, the “Grand Canyon of Madagascar”.  This region is scenic and varied, offering a great walk through sculptured rocks to a hidden swimming hole.  Bizarre pachypodiums grow from pure rocky cliffs, and other odd plants will make this spot a botanist’s paradise.  We’ll also walk tonight to search for animals near a special place I know of near our lodge for boas, tenrecs, and other inhabitants I’ve found there before.

Day 7: We’ll continue on our drive southwestward through the Zombitze Forest and into baobab tree country, always stopping to explore interesting habitats, talking to local people, etc.  By tonight we’ll arrive at the southwest coast and spend the night in Toliara.

Day 8: A short drive up the coast will bring us to the excellent birding area of Ifaty.  We’ll pass through very scenic thorn forest en route, stopping to look for the abundant lizards that scurry everywhere underfoot, and also seek a couple rarely seen chameleons, tortoises, and the large and beautiful Standing’s day gecko.  A night walk in the same habitat will hopefully also acquaint us with a host of nocturnal creatures from this strange dry habitat.

Day 9: Back to the south to visit St. Augustine Bay, where an early European colonization attempt failed to endure the rigors of this scenic land.  Many incredible spiny plants grow along the road.  During the day we’ll also visit an extensive outdoor arboretum featuring a fabulous selection of unique plants from the region.  Back to our hotel in Toliara again tonight.

Day 10: After picking up supplies, we’ll drive inland to the remote Beza-Mahafaly reserve where ringtail lemurs, Verreaux’s sifakas (the models for the mammals in Disney’s movie ‘Dinosaur’), radiated tortoises, and Dumeril’s boas wander the riverine forest.  After a walk at dusk, we’ll camp here tonight for the first taste of two days of real outdoor fun.  Camping gear is provided, of course.

Day 11: A day of exploring the forest and surrounding thorn scrub to observe the lemurs and other wildlife at length.  The comically active lemurs may require patience to approach closely, so we’ll spend a lazy day on the trails letting them get used to our presence while finding some of the other hidden wildlife that abounds here.  We’ll camp again tonight.

Day 12: We’ll drive back to Toliara, stopping at a special artisan’s shop of wood carvings where some interesting lower life forms usually can be found hiding nearby.  We’ll arrive back to our hotel in time to see the city sights and souvenir vendors, freshen up, and prepare for a seafood dinner at my favorite little seaside restaurant.  For exotic transportation, we’ll take pousse-pousses (Malagasy rickshaws) as our ‘taxis’.

Day 13: We’ll fly back to Tana, having time to explore the city by car this afternoon.  Among the possibilities, depending on time and tastes – the zoo, downtown bookstore, grocery stores for supplies, the artisan’s market, the crocodile farm, and museums.  Tonight will be spent at our motel out near the airport.

Day 14: A flight up to Diego Suarez at the northern tip of Madagascar where we’ll check into a comfy lodge with a splendid view of the world’s second largest natural harbor.  An excellent swimming bay lies directly opposite the lodge for a relaxing dip.  This evening we’ll go for a hike up French Mountain, a jagged rocky plateau that’s home to a great variety of reptiles, nocturnal mammals, endemic spiny plants.  A matchless view of the city and harbor from the top at night will reward us. 

Day 15: Our vehicles will take us to Amber Mountain via a winding road along which I’ve had superb results finding numerous fascinating local creatures.  We’ll explore the rain forest trails at length up on the mountain, staying into early evening for a peek at the nocturnal fauna that abounds along my best hiking path.  We’ll return to our seaside lodge tonight.  This will be a high-intensity day of learning about nature, the reptiles and amphibians especially.

Day 16: We’ll drive south to explore the Ankarana Massif, an isolated mass of limestone riddled with caves and unique animals.  We’ll explore the surrounding dry forest, descend into a giant bat cave, and hopefully encounter curious ringtail mongooses, crowned and Sanford’s lemurs en route.  By tonight we’ll check into a fine new hotel in Ambilobe, a charmingly scenic Malagasy town that few visitors ever see.

Day 17: Our drive today will take us on south to the Sambirano Domain.  Along the way, we’ll stop to frequently photograph the landscape and any animals we encounter, sample local foods and drinks, and meet local people.  The entire cultural mode here varies tremendously from the south.  The next two nights will be spent at my all-time favorite Malagasy lodging near Ambanja.  After dinner, we’ll walk to an area where I’ve found a small treasure trove of cool herps (reptiles & amphibians), bugs, and mammals by flashlight.

Day 18: In the morning, we’ll visit my “secret grove” where we’ll fan out on foot to hopefully find some of Madagascar’s largest snakes - giant hognose snakes and Madagascar ground boas, and also some of the world’s most beautiful chameleons - Ambanja cobalt-blue panthers.  These big lizards are stunningly colored, and were the inspiration for my company logo.  After lunch, we’ll visit a local Malagasy elementary and middle school with which I’ve built an ongoing friendly relationship.  The students will be expecting our visit and will spend an hour or so trading questions and answers about our culture and theirs, showing us local animals and plants important to their lives, etc.  Afterwards, we’ll relax at our lodge with free time to swim, photograph things we've caught, and relax.

Day 19: At high tide, a motorboat will take us across the channel to visit the island of Nosy Komba briefly to experience the famous black lemurs, up close and personal.  Then, on to the next tiny island of Nosy Tanikely where we can swim and snorkel in the coral-laden waters, explore the lizard-infested paths, and hike to view a colony of giant fruit bats, etc.  A sumptuous seafood picnic lunch will be prepared for us.  This afternoon, we’ll proceed by boat to Nosy Be, Madagascar’s resort island, and check into a beautiful hotel.

Day 20: January 8, 2002. A vehicle will take us to explore Nosy Be, including a tour of its capitol, Hellville (not as bad as it sounds), ylang-ylang (perfume), coffee, and sugar cane plantations, and the highest point on the island, Mont Passot.  We’ll also be watching to spot the renowned turquoise blue panther chameleons endemic to only this island.  This afternoon, we’ll fly back to Tana and connect with the evening flight back to Paris, using our little motel as a base to repack and freshen up before departing.

This is the planned itinerary.  It's always possible that the order of stops will change to accommodate interior flight changes within Madagascar.  Madagascar is just that way: don't let that worry you.  Air Madagascar is a modern and safe airline, just a little fickle in scheduling.  It's that way for all travelers there, as any guidebook will truthfully advise.  

How much "spend money" would you need?  $1000.00 should cover all “normal” extras more than adequately.  You could "get by" on half that amount if necessary, or splurge with much more.  Additional expenses could possibly also occur due to changes in the rate of currency exchange, acts of nature, etc.  It doesn't hurt to bring a MasterCard and Visa credit card along, just in case.

A deposit of $ 750.00 per person will secure a place on this tour, and is requested as soon as possible to reserve airline flights, hotel lodgings, vehicles, etc.  Your deposit is safe, and will be refunded in full if I am not able to find enough tour members for any particular trip.

TRIP  CANCELLATIONS:   If a trip you've signed up for fails to happen due to lack of participants, I will contact you to completely refund all monies paid to Blue Chameleon Ventures and cancel the trip.   At that time, I would also bring up two options, ones that have been used on occasion in the past, in case they might salvage the journey :

   1.) The fewer number of tour members may choose to pay an additional fee to do the tour with less than six tour members.

   2.) You may switch over to join a different later tour.

I will refund all monies paid, except a $100.00 handling fee, if  YOU  back out of the trip more than 60 days before the departure date from the U.S.   A $750.00 charge will occur if you back out between 60 and 30 days prior to departure.   No refund can be given for cancellations for any reason less than 30 days prior to departure.

As with any major trip abroad, I strongly advise you to consider purchasing trip cancellation insurance to cover emergencies that may force you to either cancel at the last minute, or return home before the tour ends.  Two excellent sources for it are:  Access America International, P.O. Box 90315, Richmond, Virginia 23286-4991 (TEL: 800-284-8300), CSA Cruise and Tour Protection, P.O. Box 919010, San Diego, California 92191-9970 (TEL: 800-888-8459), and Travel Guard International, 1145 Clark St., Stevens Point, Wisconsin  54481  (TEL: 800-826-4919) <www.travelguard.com>

Return to Blue Chameleon Ventures' Home Page