For the adventurous spirit in you, you’ve picked the perfect country to visit – Madagascar.

It’s a large island off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. This very unique country is home to endangered species such as the lemur, chameleons and numerous plant life. Untouched dense tropical forests, caves and rivers await you to explore them, and little private islands to experience your paradise dream. Even though it is one of the 6 poorest countries in the world, it holds so many wonderful adventures that can’t be experienced anywhere else in the world.

My family love to take adventurous vacations to places off the beaten track, so Madagascar seemed like the perfect country to explore. Below are the contact details of a French expat team whom we used as our tour guides during our trip. These guys are partners, and work different parts of the country. Gilles has been in Madagascar for 10 years, prior to that 5 years in the Comores. Mathieu has been there for 4 years. They are both excellent – the prices may seem expensive, but it was well worth it.

Gilles Gautier (www.madamax.com)
Antananarivo 101
Madagascar
Tel : (261 20) 22 351 01
GSM : 032 02 216 15
Fax : (261 20) 22 354 50

Here are the top 5 things we did in Madagascar:

Mantadia Andasibe (Perinet) National Park

Why?
This national park in eastern Madagascar is wild and beautiful. Madagascar’s largest lemur, the Indri can be seen here in the dense forest, as well as 11 other lemur species. There are also a number of endangered and rare species, waterfalls and rare orchids that can be spotted here.

Agenda
I recommend doing a 7 day trip of hiking followed by canoeing down the river. Walk for the first 3 days through the park close to its edge. Continue until you reach the calmer part of the Vohitra river, where you will begin the canoeing part of your trip. Paddle down for 2-3 days to Brickaville. This is the end of your trip, where you will drive back to Antananarivo (also known as Tana) in the evening.

My personal experience
During our trek we had a crew of 14 with us including a very knowledgeable guide, cooks and porters. They cooked each of our delicious meals, helped set up our tents, helped us paddle during our canoe trip.. They even carried a live chicken for the majority of the trek until they cooked it on the last day! The whole team were incredible.

For the trek, it’s really an amazing and special experience being surrounded by lemur’s. Not only are they adorable, it is one of the main reasons in my opinion to come to this fascinating island. I found them surprisingly tame. Watch out for your lunch..they are not shy!

You will be out of civilization or normal modern life for the whole 7 days, which is such an adventure and experience in itself. No showers or toilets, and certainly no mirrors girlies! It is definitely the longest I have taken without any normal daily amenities, apart from Mt. Kili. I was not a pretty sight by the end of it I’ll be honest!

It was a real ‘roughing-it’ jungle adventure, being surrounded by rare species of lemurs poking their heads out at us amongst the trees. At one point with trepidation we stepped in to a very wobbly, dug-out wooden tree-trunk made by the local villagers to cross a large river. I think I pretty much held my breath the entire way as any sudden movement would certainly have sent us hurling over the edge in to the brown murky river water. Of course we were in safe hands with the villagers, who all had huge grins on their faces as we jumped up and down with relief at making it across the other side. It was the best kind of nervous/excited feeling!

It was enlightening to walk through the village, getting an insight in to such a different and basic way of living. The small 2x2m huts with thatched roofs were homes to large families. The children were running around playing hopscotch in the dirt while clutching on to their pieces of sugar cane. They were the most cheerful and carefree kids, just how it should be.

At one point along the river, we had to take our canoes out and walk past a particularly dangerous area due to the strong rapids. All the villagers nearby came down to greet us, it was the first time that most of them had seen white faces, they were so fascinated! One of the most memorable travel experiences I’ve had is when our guide took out a square piece of chocolate from his bag. Gradually more and more children ecstatically ran towards him as he used his thumb to literally shave off slivers of the chocolate to each of the children. He could barely move as the children tightly surrounded him, grabbing and jumping for any chance of his chocolate shavings, grabbing them off the floor and trying to take them from each other. The reaction took us by surprise. It was a very eye-opening experience, a lesson we all took home with us.

On returning to civilsation, the whole trip really made me appreciate such basic things in every day life that I think we all take too much for granted in the western world, such as running water and a toilet seat! I didn’t leave the bathroom for a number of hours when I got home, I just had to savour every second of it!

Cost?
85 euros x 6 days x 1 person = 510 euros . Includes all transfers, camp logistics, river gear, park fees, guides, all meals.

Nosy Hara’s archipelago

Photo credit: www.gdargaud.net

Why?
Located in north Madagascar, these 10 beautiful islands are completely unoccupied, and densely populated with endangered marine species and coral reefs. Located about 30km from the mainland, a short boat trip will take you to your very own little slice of paradise.

Personal experience
Our tour guide and team took us to the tiny, postcard-perfect Andantsara Island. He arranged a boat for us to get to this private island, and looked after us entirely. This was a whole new kind of luxury. I really felt like I was in my own version of Castaway, except for the fact that we had just for my family –  two cooks, a 30ft boat with a Captain and fisherman, a house boy, a translator, and a french climbing instructor with his wife. Everything was supplied for us: snorkling gear, spear guns, climbing equipment etc. Our menu included fresh crayfish, fish and duck.

Feeling like a true wild islander, we spent our days spear-fishing for our dinner (it is not easy!), rock climbing, doing yoga on the white, soft sand over-looking the clearest of blue seas, snorkeling, fishing and taking our small speed boat to the nearby islands.

Of course our fisherman was much more successful at catching fish than we were, and managed to catch squid, octopus, crayfish etc. every single day. Imagine, the freshest of fish being cooked by your own personal chefs in a makeshift kitchen carved from the inside of a cave. It was incredibly done, truly amazing! We would listen to Bob Marley in the evenings with the fresh sea breeze in our hair, eating our delicious seafood dishes, with not a single worry in the world. Heavenly. Without a doubt my favourite part of any vacation.

Amber Mountain National Park

Photo credit: www.burrard-lucas.com

Why?
North of the capital, this park is a huge tropical forest known for its wildlife, unique fauna and flora, lemurs, waterfalls and lakes.

Agenda
Stay at the Sakay Tany Inn. Must-sees are visits to the crater lakes and waterfalls on the first day. The next day a 6-7 hour trek to the top of the Amber Mountain (1450m) will give you stunning views over Antsiranana (also known as Diego-Suarez Bay )bay which is the largest natural bay in the northeast. It’s considered one of the finest natural harbors in the world, according to wiki! Also views of the Nosy Hara’s archipelagio are not to be missed. Return that night to the Inn.

Ankarana Park

Why?
This is a huge rugged limestone plateau in northern Madagascar, full of caves, canyons (100km of cave routes) and underground rivers due to it’s rock formation. It’s likely that the longest cave passage in Africa exists here! It’s also home to a number of different lemur species, such as the brown lemur and perrier’s black lemur. The thick tropical forest is home to hundreds of unique wildlife such as bats, reptiles, birds, snakes and frogs. The walking trails and sights here are fantastic.

Agenda
Visit the many large caves, morning treks through the nearby village, take in views of the canyons and tropical vegetation. There are many camps in the park to stay at – it’s wonderful to sleep under a canvas in the forest with the lemurs to keep you company. A good lunch spot is at the crocodile cave.

Visit the Capital – Antananarivo

Photo credit: wikipedia

Why?
Also known as Tana, you will likely fly in to Madagascar’s capital, so it’s worth spending a day to have a look around – one day would be enough. It is easiest to get around by taxi. Check out the markets too. A great place to dine with a lovely veranda setting is restaurant La Varangue.