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MADAGASCAR

Highlights Tour 14 days / 13 nights

2017 Oct. 27 – Nov. 9

$4980 Single supplement

$480 Small group surcharge will

apply for groups smaller than 6

2018 Oct. 27 – Nov. 9

$5450 Single supplement

$650 Small group surcharge will

apply for groups smaller than 6

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Overview This wonderful country is home to some of the world's most unusual wildlife. Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island, often referred to as the "Eighth Continent" and it is here that we will enjoy an epic journey in search of the many endemic birds and mammals. Madagascar offers unparalleled endemism with over 100 true endemic birds and five endemic families (Ground-rollers, Cuckoo-Rollers, Mesites, Asities, and Vangas). Lemurs are one of the star attractions and we will find many, both diurnal and nocturnal. Two thirds of the world's Chameleons are found here and we should see many species, from the smallest to the largest. Human expansion has impacted heavily on Madagascar and many species are in real danger of extinction.

Our new Highlights of Madagascar Tour offers those with less time to enjoy the splendour of Madagascar at a reduced cost. There is also an emphasis on making this trip less strenuous than our 19-day tour so this trip is ideal for participants with a moderate level of fitness. On this trip we’ll have a very good chance of finding all of the endemic bird families as well as a whole host of Lemurs and a great variety of reptiles.

Itinerary in Brief

• Day 1 - Arrive Antananarivo O/N Le Louvre or similar.

• Day 2 - Drive to Andasibe, O/N Vakona Lodge.

• Day 3 - Birding Mantadia O/N Vakona Lodge.

• Day 4 - Birding Perinet in morning then drive back to Tana. O/N Le Louvre or similar.

• Day 5 - Drive to Ranomafana, O/N in Antsirabe or Ambositra.

• Day 6 - Ranomafana, O/N Hotel Thermal.

• Day 7 - Ranomafana, O/N Hotel Thermal.

• Day 8 - Drive to Isala, O/N Relais de la Reine or Isalo Rock Lodge.

• Day 9 - Drive to Tulear, O/N Famata Lodge.

• Day 10 - Boat trip to Nosy Ve, lunch at Anakao, O/N Famata Lodge.

• Day 11 - Drive to Ifaty, bird spiny forest, O/N Le Paradisier or similar, Ifaty.

• Day 12 - Fly to Toliara, drive to Berenty, O/N Berenty Lodge.

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• Day 13 - Full day Berenty. O/N Berenty Lodge.

• Day 14 - Drive back to Toliara for flight to Tana and International flights out.

Day 1 – We will fly from Johannesburg, South Africa to Antananarivo (Tana), Madagascar. Participants could also fly directly to Tana from various other destinations. Time permitting, we will visit Lac Alarobia (Parc de Tsarasoatra) a 66- acre bird oasis near the center of the capital, where we will have our first encounters with some of the Malagasy birdlife. Dimorphic Egret, Madagascar Kingfisher and various duck species are common. Squacco Heron and Madagascar Pond Heron occur side by side and makes for easy comparison. We have even recorded Eleanora’s Falcon here before. O/N Le Louvre or similar (LD) Day 2 – This morning after breakfast we will waste no time in departing for Analamazoatra Special Reserve, better known as Perinet. We will be looking for Red-fronted and Blue Coua, Velvet Asity, Madagascar Blue Vanga, Nuthatch Vanga and Red-tailed Vanga. The thrill of birding in Perinet would not be complete without hearing and seeing the world’s

largest living Lemur, the Indri. The spine-chilling howls of this creature is something you will not soon forget. Other birds to be on the lookout for include Madagascar Wood Rail, Madagascar Cuckoo, Madagascar Spinetail, Tylas, Nelicourvi Weaver, Souimanga Sunbird, Common Sunbird-Asity and Madagascar Cuckoo-

Roller. What would a visit to Perinet be without a nocturnal outing, so we will embark on an unforgettable evening in the forest, watching for nocturnal Lemurs and birds, which might include Long-eared Owl, Rainforest Scops-Owl and both Madagascar Nightjar and

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the rare and little known Collared Nightjar. On the Lemur front, we hope to find Eastern Woolly, Greater Dwarf and the diminutive Brown Mouse Lemurs. O/N Vakona Lodge (BLD) Day 3 – We will bird Mantadia National Park, which is undoubtedly the finest place to find Ground-Rollers in Madagascar. Four of the five Ground-Rollers are found here, the only exclusion being the Long-tailed Ground-Roller. Some of the lesser seen specials at Mantadia include Red-breasted Coua, Madagascar Serpent Eagle (very rare here and better seen at Masoala), and the incredibly scarce Madagascar Red Owl. More common birds include Greater and Lesser Vasa Parrots, Madagascar Starling, Madagascar Blue-Pigeon,

Madagascar Flufftail, Madagascar Little Grebe, Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher, Forest Fody, Ward’s Flycatcher, Crossley’s Babbler, White-throated Oxylabes and many more. The elusive Diademed Sifaka and Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur are present here. O/N Vakona Lodge (BLD)

Day 4 – We will spend a full morning in Perinet Reserve or other nearby birding hotspots, depending on our target list. We’ll stop for lunch on the way back to Tana, where we should

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comfortably arrive in the late afternoon for a well-deserved night’s rest. Possibility of finding France’s Sparrowhawk and Madagascar Lark en route. O/N Le Louvre or similar (BLD) Day 5 – We will depart Tana after an early breakfast for today will be mostly a traveling day as our next destination, Ranomafana, is quite a distance away. As we head south over the Horombe Plateau, we could expect to see some of the commoner Malagasy birds but might even be surprised by the likes of Madagascar Buzzard or Madagascar Harrier-Hawk. We will break up this long journey by staying overnight in either Antsirabe or Ambositra. O/N Antsirabe or Ambositra (BLD) Day 6 – We’ll depart after an early breakfast, taking in typical Malagasy lifestyle and culture, with terraced rice paddies, unique earthen houses and the ever-present zebu cart (ox-drawn cart) along the way. We hope to reach Ranomafana in time for a good stint of afternoon birding before settling in at our very comfortable lodge. O/N Hotel Thermal (BLD) Day 7 – A full day to explore Ranomafana, translated as hot/warm water, which refers to the hot springs in the area. The park was originally proclaimed to protect the Golden Bamboo Lemur, first described to science in 1987. Birds that we will be on the lookout for include the elusive Brown Mesite, Forest Rock Thrush, Wedge-tailed Jery and Pollen’s Vanga. Pitta-like Ground-Roller is also fairly common. The higher elevation forest is home to the localized Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity, where we may also locate Rufous-headed Ground-Roller, Brown Emutail, Rand’s Warbler and Cryptic Warbler.

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We will constantly be on the lookout for the 12 known species of Lemur that occur here as well as a myriad of Chameleons and other reptiles and amphibians. O/N Hotel Thermal (BL) Day 8 – Today we will be driving from Ranomafano to Isalo National Park, crossing the Horombe Plateau for a second time, a distance of about 366 km which will take us about 5-6 hours of comfortable driving to reach. There will be a short diversion to Anja Community Reserve, where the main attraction being what is probably Madagascar’s trademark mammal, Ring-tailed Lemur. The animals here are accustomed to humans and are very accommodating for photographers, whilst the birding here can sometimes prove rather rewarding also. We will spend the afternoon birding around our overnight stop at Isalo Rock Lodge or Relais-de-la-Reine, located between the town of Ranohira and Isalo National Park. Our main target here is Benson’s Rock Thrush; other important birds en-route include Madagascar Sandgrouse, Madagascar Partridge and Madagascar Harrier. O/N Isalo Rock Lodge or Relais de la Reine (BLD)

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Day 9 – Depending our success with Benson’s Rock Thrush, we might head straight for the Zombitse Forest where we will search for one of the world’s most localized birds, Appert’s Greenbul. A variety of other dry, deciduous forest species are present including Giant Coua, Crested Coua, Madagascar Harrier-Hawk, Ashy Cuckoo-Shrike, Long-billed Greenbul and Madagascar Buzzard. The extremely rare and elusive Fosa, Madagascar’s largest predator, has been seen here on one of our previous trips. Depending on what time we get to the outskirts of Tulear we might stop at La Table to have a quick go at Red-shouldered Vanga. O/N Famata Lodge (BLD) Day 10 – We have a very early start to our day and, depending on our success the previous day, we will head for the “coral rag scrub” at La Table, where we’ll look for the localized Verreaux’s Coua and the recently discovered Red-shouldered Vanga again before returning for breakfast. After breakfast, we head for the island of Nosy Ve via the Onilahy Delta, where we might find Humboldt’s Heron and Greater Flamingo. Nosy Ve is an uninhabited islet with a breeding colony of Red-tailed Tropicbird that are very confiding. Other attractions include Crab Plover and numerous waders. Snorkelling is another favourite pastime here and we might opt for this if so agreed. Back on the mainland we will stop at Anakoa for Littoral Rock Thrush and lunch. Please note that today’s program will be dictated by the prevailing tides as we are dependent on high tide to get to and from the island. O/N Famata Lodge (BLD)

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Day 11 – We’ll depart after an early breakfast for morning birding in the Spiny Desert with specialties that include Sub-desert Mesite, Lafresnaye’s Vanga, Archbold’s Newtonia, Thamnornis Warbler, Banded Kestrel, Sub-desert Brush Warbler, Running and Green-capped Couas. The Spiny desert is also home to numerous reptiles and we should see the ever-present Three-eyed Lizards and may even be lucky enough to find the rare and beautiful Spider Tortoise or the equally rare Dumeril’s Boa. After lunch we will bird the mudflats around Tulear, where we hope to find species such as Saunder’s Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, Lesser Sand Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, and both Greater and Lesser Frigatebirds. On the way, back to Ifaty we will stop to bird the salt works where Greater Painted Snipe, Baillon’s Crake and Little Bittern have been reported. Our focus, however, will be on finding the endemic Madagascar Plover, reasonably reliable here at one of the few accessible sites for it. O/N Ifaty, Les Dunes Hotel or La Paradisier (BLD) Day 12 – Depending on the time of our flight to Fort Dauphin, we might opt for another foray into the Spiny Desert to look for any of the birds that we might have missed the previous day and maybe even better looks at the super handsome but as yet un-described, sportive lemur that we had the privilege to see on our 2016 trip. Our short flight will have us in Fort Dauphin in virtually no time and from there we have a short drive to our destination at the famous Berenty Reserve. An evening walk may prove rewarding with Torotoroka Scops-Owl and White-browed Hawk-Owl in attendance with a supporting cast of nocturnal mammals and reptiles. O/N Berenty Lodge (BLD)

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Day 13 – A full day in Berenty, home to no less than five species of lemur, which for the most part are quite confiding, which ensures spectacular photographic opportunities. The limelight is usually stolen by Ring-tailed Lemurs but the striking Verreaux’s Sifaka with its unusual, bipedal dancing locomotion often ends up being a crowd favorite. Spending time with these gentle creatures is often a highlight of any trip to Madagascar. This is also one of the better sites for Madagascan Cuckoo-Hawk as well as several other raptors such as France’s Sparrowhawk, Peregrine Falcon and even the occasional Bat Hawk. Madagascan Buttonquail, Giant Coua and Madagascan Sandgrouse are often encountered, and we hope to see all these and many more. A nocturnal walk may well produce the likes of White-footed Sportive and Grey-Brown Mouse Lemurs and another shot at owls and nightjars. O/N Berenty Lodge (BLD) Day 14 – A bit of early morning birding before heading back to Fort Dauphin for our flight to Tana and onward to our International destinations.

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IMPORTANT NOTE We may be forced to change or alter the itinerary at short or no notice due to unforeseen circumstances; please be aware that we will attempt to adhere as close to the original program as possible.

Price includes: • All lodging

• All meals from dinner on day 1 through breakfast on day

• Bottled water

• All ground transportation, including airport transfers

• All park entry fees

• Expert local birding guide(s) at a ratio of no more than 6 birders per guide

• Pre-trip gift package

• Post-trip electronic version of final checklist

Price does not include: • International airfare

• Airport transfers if you arrive on a day other than the scheduled start date or the day

before

• Items of a personal nature such as laundry, phone calls, extra snacks and/or

beverages, etc.

• Gratuities