We travelled with Bunnik Tours on their Discover Madagascar 13 day trip:
Come along and explore the hidden gems of Madagascar. Picture jaw-dropping landscapes, incredible national parks and an astonishing variety of wildlife. On our journey we’ll meet friendly locals, discover the creatures of the night, see the famous ring-tailed lemur and trek through lush rainforest. Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?
- Uncover Andasibe National Park’s fascinating nocturnal wildlife and be amazed by the stunning scenery. This tour is full of surprises, from hidden creatures to breathtaking landscapes!
- Hike through Ranomafana National Park with a tracker and ranger, discovering unique flora and fauna—plus, an exciting evening excursion to spot nocturnal creatures awaits.
- Explore Isalo National Park’s dramatic canyons, oases, and lunar landscapes with a park ranger, and finish with a breathtaking waterfall that’s sure to amaze.
- Explore the Reniala Reserve, where we’ll discover the stunning baobab forest and learn about fascinating medicinal plants—nature’s wonders waiting to be uncovered.
Although Madagascar was on my bucket list, I realised that I knew surprisingly little about the country. I certainly knew that it was a large island off the coast of Africa and that it was a biodiversity hot-spot (over 90% of its wildlife is endemic) with amazing flora and fauna especially lemurs, chameleons and baobab trees. I had watched many documentaries on the wildlife and of course the animated movie(s) Madagascar. When people asked why I was going there, I often replied that I wanted to go and meet King Julien (great king of the lemurs in the movie).
I thought it would be helpful to share a few details about Madagascar before telling you about our travels:
The Republic of Madagascar is the world’s fourth-largest island (Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo being larger), the second-largest island country by area (Indonesia is the largest), and the 46th-largest country overall. Its population is around 32.7 million. The capital and largest city is Antananarivo with about 4 million people.
Madagascar was first settled in 500-700AD by Austronesian peoples (most likely coming from Indonesia). They were joined by Bantu groups from East Africa around the 9th century. Other groups have continued to settle on Madagascar over time, including Arab traders. There are now more than 18 classified peoples of Madagascar, the most numerous being the Merina peoples of the central highlands.
Madagascar has been a Monarchy (ruled by Merina nobles), a French Colony, and gained independence in 1960. “The country has since undergone four major constitutional periods, termed republics, and has been governed as a constitutional democracy since 1992. Following a political crisis and military coup in 2009, Madagascar underwent a protracted transition towards its fourth and current republic, with constitutional governance being restored in January 2014.” Corruption in Madagascar is pervasive and is exacerbated by political instability and poverty; it was particularly noticeable in neglect of infrastructure, especially roads.
The island has a subtropical to tropical maritime climate, but a key factor is altitude. I was surprised that even though it was the dry cooler season, it was cooler than I expected. But then I realised that we spent most of our time at reasonably high altitudes: Antananarivo is at 1,280m. There is a massive central highland plateau and even the rainforests we visited were considered high altitude rainforests (>900m). It was really only as we came down to the southwest that it became warmer.
The western and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to dry deciduous forests, spiny forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Due to their lower population densities, Madagascar’s dry deciduous forests have been better preserved than the eastern rain forests or the original woodlands of the central plateau.
Madagascar Topographical Map
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