Madagascar Madness: My epic 6-week trip to Madagascar

That was a great read and thanks for posting the link. Seeing 130 mammal species is insane and I really enjoyed your attention to detail in the 137-page report. Having a clear itinerary and a detailed map to kick things off allowed the reader to have a sense of your journey. You remind me of myself when I spend months planning a detailed zoo trip, but this Madagascar trek is beyond anything I've ever done.

Your photos are terrific, from the dizzying assortment of species (some of which I'd never heard of!) to the staggering landscapes, and you've produced quite a magnificent document. You've got some informative anecdotes, whether it is enduring a bumpy vehicle ride for hours or having a tarantula on your thigh. And it sounds like you were horribly sick once you returned home. Yikes! Lastly, that big chart at the end is brilliant. Congratulations on the adventure of a lifetime. :)
 
Wow, what an impressive trip and report. Madagascar is high on my list to visit, not only for the mammals, but like you showed on part of the photo's also for it's chameleon, birds, plants and landscapes.
I understood that the south of Madagascar could be issued with poverty and unrest, did you experience any issues?
As Madagascar is a previous French colony and French should be the main official language I was wondering if you had troubles with organizing everything and during your travel with speaking English (or are you a fluent French speaker)? As my French is very poor, this has been a reason why I am a bit doubtful to go there.
 
Giant Eland said:
Hey all! Wanted to share the trip report I wrote from last year's trip to Madagascar. I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to ask questions!

Madagascar Madness- Alex Meyer- Oct/Nov 2023 – Mammal Watching
Click to expand...

Following up on this, I'm so excited and honored to announce I've been nominated for Mammalwatching.com's "Best Trip Report." (You may recognize some of the photos from what I've also posted on Zoochat)

Vote Now for the 2024 NUTTER Awards and Claim Your Place in History – Mammal Watching

There are some other zoochatters nominated in other categories too! Including @Jonas Livet for "Most Inspiring Conservation Project / Person / Place visited" and @Therabu for "Best First Report"

Would really appreciate if anyone on here wanted to help vote! Here's the voting link below:
Mammalwatching Nutter awards 2024
Voting is opened until February 14th! Thanks in advance!

-Alex
 
Last edited:
Stefan Verhoeven said:
Wow, what an impressive trip and report. Madagascar is high on my list to visit, not only for the mammals, but like you showed on part of the photo's also for it's chameleon, birds, plants and landscapes.
I understood that the south of Madagascar could be issued with poverty and unrest, did you experience any issues?
As Madagascar is a previous French colony and French should be the main official language I was wondering if you had troubles with organizing everything and during your travel with speaking English (or are you a fluent French speaker)? As my French is very poor, this has been a reason why I am a bit doubtful to go there.
Click to expand...

Ooo, sorry @Stefan Verhoeven, forgot to reply!

Thank you so much for the kind words! And yes, I highly recommend it to any nature lover!! Possibly my all-time favorite trip!

I was told the one rule for the South was to not drive at night, so we followed that closely. Despite going all over the country we never had any issues.

I don't speak any French, but the main guide I used (patrick.v7v@gmail.com) is fluent in English, French and Malagasy. He has connections across the entire country and is perfect to plan a trip with and travel with (he's a great spotter too). Even if you wanted a cheaper option you could probably get along fine by hiring cars with drivers that speak a little English and then using local guides at each park that all mostly speak enough English.
 
Thank you @Giant Eland for mentioning!

Hiring cars with drivers work quite well also. They know how to build an itinerary and will help with translation.
I would say that expecting local guides to speak enough English is quite bold. French was not always spoken already. They know the names of the birds and lemurs but that's all (and for birds not always very accurate). You can also read my report where we travelled for a big part independently and another with the help of a driver which I recommend.
 
Therabu said:
Thank you @Giant Eland for mentioning!

Hiring cars with drivers work quite well also. They know how to build an itinerary and will help with translation.
I would say that expecting local guides to speak enough English is quite bold. French was not always spoken already. They know the names of the birds and lemurs but that's all (and for birds not always very accurate). You can also read my report where we travelled for a big part independently and another with the help of a driver which I recommend.
Click to expand...

Sorry yea I should clarify- I don't need much English to get by out in the field. I more meant they're used to dealing with English-speaking tourists, and they're all exceptionally good at locating the wildlife so you get what you came for. But having the driver and/or a overseeing guide like Patrick with you will help bridge the gap for sure.
 
Giant Eland said:
Following up on this, I'm so excited and honored to announce I've been nominated for Mammalwatching.com's "Best Trip Report." (You may recognize some of the photos from what I've also posted on Zoochat)

Vote Now for the 2024 NUTTER Awards and Claim Your Place in History – Mammal Watching

There are some other zoochatters nominated in other categories too! Including @Jonas Livet for "Most Inspiring Conservation Project / Person / Place visited" and @Therabu for "Best First Report"

Would really appreciate if anyone on here wanted to help vote! Here's the voting link below:
Mammalwatching Nutter awards 2024
Voting is opened until February 14th! Thanks in advance!

-Alex
Click to expand...

What an honor to win the award for Best Report!!
The 2024 N.U.T.T.E.R. Award Winners – Mammal Watching

Many thanks to any of you on this site that may have voted!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top