Just Back: Highlights from Madagascar

“Wait here,” said Roland. That was fine by me, as I needed a rest and a gulp of water. We had just spent several hours walking through the open and spectacular landscape of Isalo National Park, passing small Elephant Foot plants impossibly growing from granite, and witnessing a Madagascan Kestrel catching a chameleon and eating its prize on a rocky outcrop. We had just walked down a steep path into the Namaza Valley and reached the cover of trees. Roland, an official guide at Isalo National Park and my guide for the day, was hoping to find something worthwhile and he returned with good news. “Sifaka. Follow me.” We crept about 100 metres down the path and sure enough, guided by the movement and sound of bending branches, I got my first glimpse through a myriad of leaves of Verreaux’s Sifaka. Belonging to the Indriidae family of lemurs, this gorgeous animal is covered in all white fur, save for a brown patch on the top of its head, and like all sifakas, has a very long tail which it uses to help with balance as it passes through the forest. So highly adapted to arboreal living that when they do venture onto the ground, the only way they travel is by bouncing, giving them the moniker of ‘dancing sifakas’.

I could make out three of them and when they started to move, Roland ushered me back up the path and told me to wait behind a tree, confident that they would come our way. More waiting… things tend to take time in Madagascar, so much so that the phrase ‘mora mora’ (‘slowly slowly’), is the unofficial national motto. It had been a long journey to reach Isalo, travelling along National Highway 7, one of the main arteries in the country, linking Tana with Toliara in the south-west. This ‘road’ deteriorates during each cyclone season and has not been repaired for at least three years, leaving it littered with potholes which are better described as craters. Yet it is crucial infrastructure, not least for the communities that live alongside it, and affords the traveller a unique insight into everyday life that rural Madagascans lead, as well as serving as a rite of passage to see the amazing wildlife this country has. You have to earn it!

“Here they come,” said Roland. I had my eyes trained on the vegetation along the side of the path, seeking any signs of movement, yet I should have been looking lower down. Round the corner bounded a sifaka, followed by another. They paused, then set off again in our direction, taking great strides each time. I thought they were going to come right past, but just before reaching us they diverted onto a rock and into the trees. Not wanting to be left behind, three more appeared at the bend in the path and followed the same route. Unfortunately, their appearance was all too fleeting, but unexpectedly seeing such iconic behaviour from this animal was truly special and will stay long in the memory.  

As we were making our way out of the valley, Roland recounted the endearing story about this family group. Several years ago, there was a family in this territory but one day they upped and left and were last seen heading deep into the valley and beyond the sight of man. Soon after, one of the young reappeared, seemingly wanting to have the territory for herself. On one occasion Roland was guiding, and completely out of the blue, she made her way down a tree and leapt onto his shoulder. He was taken aback and rather concerned, as of course this was not usual behaviour. He, other guides and park rangers were worried that she would become habitualised and live a solo existence. It happened on a few more occasions, and seemingly only to Roland, although not through any encouragement on his part. Then Covid struck and like the rest of the world Madagascar was placed into lockdown. A year or so later, a park ranger called Roland and said he should head into Namaza as there was a surprise waiting for him. He rushed down there and lo and behold he found her with a mate and a baby clinging on. He was overjoyed. Since then, they have had two more offspring and he is thrilled that she no longer seeks contact with him and for the time being at least, the future of the ‘dancing sifaka’ in Isalo is secure.  

This was just one of the stories that Roland shared with me on that day, as well as the depth of wildlife knowledge he has about the flora and fauna of Isalo. His skills in the field were extraordinary and his passion extended to everything – I now know more about scorpions than I ever thought I would! When stopping for lunch, he was off into the undergrowth searching for more and proudly took me to see a pair of roosting White-browed Owls, a Western Rainforest Scops Owl and a Common Big-eyed Snake. When he realised I was from Naturetrek, he grinned massively and professed his joy in guiding Naturetrek clients around Isalo over the years. In fact, everywhere I went, at the parks and reserves or in the hotels, people were very happy to meet someone from the company. This is especially true of the national local guides that I met whilst out there: Claude, Desi and Parson. All of them are very proud to guide for Naturetrek, and in the case of Claude, for almost two decades now. All very likeable and affable men, and clearly experienced and knowledgeable guides, they wish they could guide all year round, as this generates the most income for them. However, the reality is that the main season for travel in Madagascar when the wildlife is at its best is mid-August to late November and inevitably, guiding work within this 3–4 month period is not enough to see them and their families through the year. The Covid years in particular were a real struggle for them and all Madagascans, and whilst they are very pleased that tourism has returned, they are all hoping for a return to the same levels as pre-Covid.

Thanks to the help of local guides, my other wildlife highlights included finding two male Parson Chameleons at Ranomafana Arboretum; a close-up encounter at Ranomafana National Park with a Red-bellied Lemur which came down a tree trunk, gave me a sniff and then darted off into the forest with the rest of its family; being surrounded by multiple troops of unperturbed Ring-tailed Lemurs at the community reserve of Anja; Giant Coua in the dense thickets of Zombitse National Park; a trio of gorgeous Diademed Sifakas launching themselves from tree to tree in Mantadia National Park; and finally on the last day of my trip, the hauntingly beautiful call of multiple Indri groups resounding across the forest of Andasibe. Truly spine-tingling!

For all the wonderful wildlife, what was just as fascinating for me was the people of Madagascar and the life they lead, which is completely different to ours. There is no shying away from the fact that life is incredibly hard for a lot of people who live day to day, but it is very clear that family and community are lynchpins in their society. I greatly enjoyed passing through villages on market day, with throngs of people from the surrounding settlements filling the street, dressed in their best, brightest clothes, and trying to communicate with locals – even using just a few words in Malagasy – will result in a beaming smile of pleasant surprise. Despite the difficulties faced, I thought they were friendly and welcoming.

Visiting Madagascar makes a very tangible difference to the lives of many people there, as well as the unique and extraordinary wildlife that still resides in the habitats that are left. If you have ever been curious about it, I urge you to act on it and visit. There is no other place like it and I cannot wait to go back.

Barney travelled outside of the traditional season, in late June/early July 2024, on what was essentially a Tailormade version of our Madagascar’s Lemurs itinerary. As well as visiting the reserves and seeing as much of the wildlife as possible, he also visited various accommodations and met guides and other partners that we work with.

All of our group holidays to Madagascar in 2024 are either full or cannot take any more bookings, although Tailormade travel this year is still possible. Alternatively, group tours for 2025 are available, for which we would recommend booking sooner rather than later and, in addition to our regular tours next year, we have a new herpetology trip, as well as revamped itineraries for Northern Madagascar and Madagascar’s Endemic Birds (coming soon!).

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