M A D A G A S C A R A W o r l d A p a r t S a t 0 8 N o v e m b e r - T u e 2 5 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 Formerly a landlocked plateau in the centre of Gondwanaland, Madagascar became marooned when that ancient landmass split into the island continents of Australia, Antarctica, South America and Africa. Separated by the Mozambique Channel from Africa’s eastern coast about 65 million years ago, Madagascar developed in isolation. Its natural history is unique. The world’s fourth‐largest island is another Galápagos, referred to by some ecologists as ‘the eighth continent’. Eighty percent of Malagasy plants and animals are endemic, rivalling Brazil in its biodiversity. Archaeologists believe that people began to arrive in Madagascar from Indonesia/Malaya about 4000 years ago and although they have eliminated some species they haven’t dominated nature: there’s simply too much of it. Eight whole plant families exist only on Madagascar, as do over 1000 orchid species, many thousands of succulents, countless insects, at least 350 species of frog, around 400 kinds of reptile, five families of birds and approaching 215 different non‐marine mammals including lemurs, the prosimians who comprise an entire branch of the primate family tree, the order to which we ourselves belong. Australian Museum Members offer interesting and worthwhile travel experiences. Madagascar will never be a low cost mass tourism destination: but it will be one you will never forget. Our itinerary has been carefully designed with input from leader Daniel Austin to showcase the array of animals and plants in Madagascar today. Fauna and flora, complex habitats and human colonisation all combine to make Madagascar a powerful and worthwhile travel experience. Please consider joining us on Australian Museum Members Madagascar: A World Apart. P R O G R A M L E A D E R Fascinated by Madagascar from an early age, Daniel Austin’s initial curiosity about its botanical and zoological wonders quickly extended to geological, historical, linguistic and cultural aspects. A longstanding association with the island was born and over the past eight years Daniel has spent around 24 months exploring, researching, writing and photographing in Madagascar. As well as being co‐author (with Hilary Bradt) of Madagascar – The Bradt Travel Guide (easily the best guide to the island) and Madagascar Highlights, Daniel is founder of the Madagascar Library Project (www.madagascar‐library.com), a committee member of the Anglo‐Malagasy Society and co‐ author of another Bradt publication Madagascar Wildlife Guide. When not in Madagascar, Daniel is based in the UK. He is looking forward to sharing his knowledge, experience and insights with AMM participants on this comprehensive tour of Madagascar, The Red Island. AMM Madagascar: A World Apart 2014 Itinerary a block of moist montane forest extremely rich in flora and fauna, reputably containing a higher number of frog species than any other comparable rainforest. We arrive and check into Grace Lodge for a two night stay. Andasibe ‐ Mantadia NP has an eerie Lac Vert (Green Lake) and an orchid garden. But the undisputed highlight of the park is the Indri indri, standing about a metre high, almost tail‐less and the largest of the lemur family. When David Attenborough came searching for Indris in the late 1950s he spent several days plodding through the forest and listening to their raucous call before catching a glimpse of them. Nowadays, Andasibe visitors who get an early start will almost certainly observe them at fairly close range. Optimum time is about an hour after daybreak. The remainder of the afternoon is spent acclimatising ourselves to the Andasibe experience and beginning our exploration. Dinner tonight at Grace Lodge. (B L D) Day#4 Tue 11 Nov 14 Andasibe ‐ Mantadia NP Day#1 Sat 08 Nov 14 Sydney ‐ Bangkok ‐ Antananarivo Our Thai Airways flight TG476 departs Sydney at 11h00 and arrives in Bangkok at 16h20. Here we change to Air Madagascar flight MD11 which departs at 17h30 and arrives in Antananarivo at 22h05. We are met and transferred to our Tana base, the Rova Hotel. ( Meals in flight ) Day#2 Sun 09 Nov 14 Antananarivo Low key day with a city tour of Antananarivo (commonly called ‘Tana’) accompanied by Daniel Austin and our National Guide Jean Jacques Randriamanindry. Lemurs Park Full day in Andasibe – Mantadia NP with our guides. There and the Queens Palace are included. Lunch at the Lokanga are nine species of lemur in Andasibe although we will not Hotel and welcome dinner this evening at our hotel. (B L D) see them all. It is worthwhile going on a nocturnal lemur hunt (the Park guides are expert at this) to look for mouse Day#3 Mon 10 Nov 14 lemurs and the greater dwarf lemur which hibernate during Antananarivo ‐ Andasibe ‐ Mantadia NP the cold season. Of course, other exquisite creatures are to be found in Andasibe: there are spiny and furred tenrecs, beautiful and varied insects and spiders as well as lots of reptiles. Parson’s Chameleon, bright green and, at half a metre long one of Madagascar’s (and the world’s)largest, lives here. Here also is one of the smallest chameleons, Calumma nasutum. This is additionally a great place for birdwatching. Lunch again at Feon’ny Ala; dinner this evening at our lodge. (B L D) Day#5 Wed 12 Nov 14 Andasibe ‐ Tana ‐ Antsirabe Our road journey through the centre begins. We return to Tana (approximately 4 hours) and then proceed south along the Route Nationale 7 (RN7) which bisects the southern part of the island; along the way we see Merina tombs and labour‐intensive rice paddy cultivation. After about three hours (169km) of varied highland scenery we arrive in After breakfast we drive the 140 kilometres (which will take Antsirabe. Founded by Norwegian missionaries in 1872 as a about three and a half hours) to Andasibe ‐ Mantadia health retreat, Antsirabe later became popular with French National Park, stopping en route at Marozevo for a short colons as both a spa town and a hill station. Elegant and visit of Pereyras private reserve and at Andasibe village for a sprawling Antsirabe, at 1500 metres altitude, is a cool look at typical Malagasy village life. We lunch at Feon’ny contrast from Tana. After a visit to nearby turquoise Lake Ala, close to the park entrance. Formerly known by its colonial name of Périnet Reserve, Andasibe ‐ Mantadia NP is 2 AMM Madagascar: A World Apart 2014 Tritriva, we check into the Cristal Hotel. Antsirabe is known studio of famous photographer Pierrot Men we continue for gemstones and has a thriving handicrafts sector; we will our trek to the south, passing through vineyards and explore some workshops and the central city during the terraced rice paddies. We pass the giant rock formation afternoon. This is the ‘pousse‐pousse’ (rickshaw) capital of Tanan’Andriamanitra (‘Hand of God’) which marks the Mada and hundreds of them abound. Lunch is en route at beginning of some of the finest mountain scenery in Pineta restaurant at Ambatolampy and dinner is at our Madagascar. We soon arrive for lunch and a walk in the hotel. (B L D) favourite highlands town of Ambalavao. Ambalavao is the home of the famous Malagasy Antaimoro paper, a papyrus‐ Day#6 Thu 13 Nov 14 Antsirabe ‐ Ranomafana NP type of paper impregnated with dried flowers. The scenery Visit some of Antsirabe’s artisan workshops before beyond Ambalavao is spectacular with huge granite domes continuing down the RN7. Today our destination is dominating grassy plains. Along the way we stop at the Anja Ranomafana National Park, a drive of 350 kilometres, some Reserve with its interesting Betsileo history, unusual plants sections over poor quality road. We leave behind dry and more cheeky ringtail lemurs. We proceed to our highland vegetation and move into greenery, flowers and isolated but comfortable accommodation at Camp Catta, stands of virgin rainforest. En route, after about two and a dramatically located in the valley between Tsaranoro half hours, we will stop and lunch (at the Artisan Hotel Mountain (800m) on one side and the mountain chains of accompanied by valiha playing Malagasy musicians) at Andringitra National Park on the other. Army style truck Ambositra, a great place to buy handicrafts. Ranomafana transfer is required for the last hour up the very rough National Park was created in 1991 and is particularly rich in access track. (B L D) wildlife. Here you may be lucky and see three species of bamboo lemur (out of the four found in Madagascar). The Day#9 Sun 16 Nov 14 Tsaranoro Valley ‐ Isalo NP most common is the lesser bamboo lemur which you may Morning spent exploring the spectacular Tsaranoro Valley. have already seen in Andasibe. The greater bamboo lemur Visit the Sacred Forest, an easy walk which will take you into is very rare and only known in two locations and you may an area inhabited by catta lemurs, to a waterfall, a natural find them by hearing the crack of big bamboo stems as they swimming pool, and nearby Barabory villages. The Barabory feed. The star of Ranomafana is the golden bamboo lemur live a traditional, rustic Malagasy life, with the weather, the which was only discovered in 1986 (researchers were trying sun and the rice harvest keeping time. After lunch we leave to find the greater bamboo lemur). A diet of bamboo tips the mountains and experience the transition to the containing cyanide may be responsible for their golden fur.