By Louise Palmer
The guidebooks promised lush rainforests teaming with lemurs and other species found nowhere else in the world besides Madagascar. They promised crystal-clear seas with beautiful untouched palm-fringed beaches.
They promised culturally exotic people with laidback island-style friendliness. They promised the freshest, most sumptuous seafood spreads and deliciously strong rum cocktails... the guidebooks didn't disappoint.
We had only 12 days in Madagascar and so we had to be highly selective with our itinerary, having heard that road conditions on the island could turn a 100km drive into a full day's journey, stealing precious holiday time.
We decided on a combination of rainforest, city and island - Perinet Nature Reserve, Antanarivo (the capital) and Ile St Marie (a small island off Madgascar's north east coast) all in relatively close proximity to each other.
From the international airport in Antanarivo, the popular Perinet Nature Reserve (now called the Parc National D'Andasibe-Mantadia) was a bumpy but scenic three-hour car journey away.
Our drive ended at the Vakona Forest Lodge, an upmarket hotel situated in a small section of rainforest near Perinet. The property included more than 20 comfortable bungalows, a large restaurant and games area, swimming pool, and several mountain bike, horse and hiking trails.
Our two days there were devoted to walking in the reserves, enjoying the incredible range of trees, plants and creatures. Our first walk was in the rarely visited Mantadia Reserve - we did not see a single other person during our time there.
We hiked through dense, untouched rainforest in search of the diademed sifaka and the black-and-white ruffed lemurs that inhabit this park. Along the way, we spotted a large family of tenerics (minute hedgehog-like creatures), exotic birds of all varieties and an astounding array of plants and trees, most of them endemic to Madagascar.
We eventually found the diademed sifaka - strange black, white and brown-coated animals with bodies like large monkeys and faces like Chihuahuas. Seeing these rare exotic creatures in this deserted park was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
Our next adventure was a fascinating night walk just outside the Andisabe Reserve where we spotted giant chameleons, miniature luminous green frogs with huge eyes, and dwarf lemurs all expertly found by our guide and his torch in the pitch dark of the jungle night.
Our last walk the next day was in the more popular Reserve Speciale d'Analamazaotra. Entering the park in the early morning, we were welcomed by a cacophony of forest sounds, occasionally punctuated by the odd crying out of the lemurs.
The lemur's cry is more like a scream - a startling, indescribable noise which carries for up to 3km! Finding the lemurs was like a treasure hunt - the guide would stop, sniff around, look at the bushes and trees, listen to the sounds, continuously looking for clues.
It didn't take long for our experienced guide to find a huge group of black and white indris - the largest of the lemurs - and what an impressive sight they were. We couldn't stop staring at these fascinatingly bizarre primates. We were lucky to get really close to some of them - they seem unfazed by human presence, lolling in the trees, munching on the leaves and then suddenly without warning, careering through the trees with lightening quick giant flying leaps.
Leaving the quiet, peaceful forest behind us we were catapulted into the chaos of Antanarivo (or Tana as the locals call it). On arriving in the city, we joined the queue of hundreds of cars trying to squeeze down impossibly narrow streets, just missing the multitudes of pedestrians and stalls which line the main streets. The city is jam-packed with people, vehicles, markets, shops and old buildings which give Tana an incredible energy and make it a fascinating place to explore.
The best place to base yourself is at the Sakamanga Lodge, which has an unbelievable range of accommodation from affordable, simple but comfortable rooms to luxury suites. The lodge includes interior gardens, chill-out areas, a vibey bar and excellent restaurant where we spent a wonderful evening.
A day and night in Tana was enough for us and so, as planned, we headed out the next day to the old pirate colony island of Ile St Marie - a 50-minute flight away. Coming in to land we were impressed by the spectacular sight of a lush palm-covered island with long, white sandy beaches surrounded by reef. It really was your perfect image of an Indian Ocean island.
Our 25km journey from the airport to our lodge, La Crique, in the north-west of the island, took over an hour as the lodge's 4x4 ploughed through the giant potholes on the almost unnavigable road. But it was worth enduring the bumpy ride for the reward on the other end - beautiful La Crique bay, lined with a few bungalows and a relaxed beach bar and restaurant, and nothing else.
La Crique is the perfect destination for those who want to do nothing but relax, and that's exactly what we did our first couple of days there - we basked in the sun on the palm-fringed beach, we snorkelled in the crystal-clear sea admiring the variety of unusual fish and luminescent coral, we overindulged on sumptuous seafood and coconut rum punches, and we dozed in our airy bungalows, drifting off to sleep to the sound of the sea.
On our third day there, we mustered the energy to explore the island and hiked across to the east coast. We were accompanied by a wonderful local guide who kept up a constant French monologue the entire two-hour journey, explaining everything from the plants we were passing, to the economic, political and social situation in Madagascar.
The walk exposed us to the amazing natural fertility of the island - everywhere you walk you see trees of countless variety - coffee trees, cinnamon trees, mango trees, trees loaded with vanilla pods, all filling the air with an amazing array of aromas.
The walk through jungle-like vegetation ended in mangrove swamps where a pirogue was waiting to take us across to the Ampanihy Peninsular - a long strip of sand off the east coast where powerful waves crash onto the outlying reef - a spectacular sight.
The next day we left La Crique and headed back down the west coast to the Libertalia lodge. The bungalows at the lodge were right on the beach so that the sea lapped at your doorstep. The best spot at the lodge was at the end of a long jetty running from the restaurant out to sea. The jetty ended on a tiny island where there was a wonderful tidal pool to swim in and seats where you could sit and watch the spectacular sunsets.
A romantic spot - well, at least my boyfriend thought so and proposed to me right there and then!
Our holiday started to get more adventurous and active from here as Libertalia hires out mountain bikes and motorbikes. We spent an afternoon mountain biking in the south of the island - relaxed cycling along the village roads where we were greeted with friendly bon jours.
Then, on to more challenging single-track biking through the muddy paths of the island's lush interior. The next day we hired a motorbike and set out to explore as much of the island as possible. On our last day at Libertalia we went diving with Max who runs the La Baleteria Dive School.
We didn't have to go far off shore to find a great dive site where we saw turtle, moray eel, giant crayfish, and an endless variety of striking fish and coral.
We then moved on to Ile aux Nattes - a tiny island below Ile St Marie, which you could walk around in less than three hours. The last two days of our holiday were spent discovering Ile Aux Nattes on foot; snorkelling; buying cinnamon, vanilla and coconut oil from the local children; and passing happy hours at restaurants or lodges set right on the sea.
It was difficult to snap out of this deliciously relaxed state and gather enough energy to pack up and head to the airport for the 5am Air Madagascar flight back to Joburg. And so we boarded our plane home with our heads full of images of lush rainforest and long white beaches. We'll return soon to experience some more Madagascar magic.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on August 12, 2006
