Image above of Sugar Mountain in one of Diego’s bays.
We just returned from a 14-day adventure in Madagascar and are thrilled to share with you the beauty of this extraordinary country!
Located off the southeast coast of the African continent, Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, but by far the most fascinating. What other country can claim that 90% of its wildlife evolved only there and nowhere else on planet earth?
Although our itinerary was 14 days in duration, keep in mind that we design 100%-customized itineraries for our clients. Therefore, you could have a longer or shorter itinerary based on your specific preferences.
It’s also important to mention that a flight from Johannesburg to Antananarivo, Madagascar is approximately 3 hours in duration. This means you can easily combine a Madagascar vacation with a South African family safari or honeymoon safari, should you wish.
Below is a brief glimpse into our life-changing journey through Madagascar (note that this is part I of our itinerary. We will also publish part II and part III to this blog over the next two weeks):
Day 1: Antananarivo
It was 11 pm when we arrived in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s bustling capital city. We were escorted to our hotel, the Palissandre Hotel & Spa, to spend the night.
Day 2: Diego Suarez
The morning begins with a flight to the port of Antsiranana where we witness the second largest bay in the world (see picture above). Afterwards, we visit a local and extremely remote beach (literally untouched) that we had to get to via 4X4. After a refreshing swim in the crystal blue waters of the bay, we enjoyed some warm Madagascar sunrays before taking a small hike.
Our hike allowed us to see a 180-degree view of the bay and baobabs (the baobab species in this bay is endemic to this area—it grows nowhere else on the planet, except for this Diego bay—see below for a picture).
We then were brought through the charming city of Diego Suarez where we were dropped off at our hotel, Le Grand Hotel, where we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon poolside. Later that evening we enjoyed a traditional Malagasy dinner at the hotel’s elegant restaurant (seating both indoors and out). We sat outside where we were able to watch the city life pass us by—truly enriching!
Day 3: Amber Mountain National Park & Joffreville
Our exhilarating day began with breakfast at the hotel (croissants, crepes, fruit, and hot dishes) before we hopped into 4X4s to head to Amber Mountain—a lush rainforest, filled with endemic wildlife, including lemurs, chameleons, bizarre insects, and more). After our guide, Frank, debriefed us, we began our 3-hour hike through the rainforest. We first saw a large snake, followed by the world’s smallest chameleon! The rest of the hike opened our eyes to lots of gorgeous wildlife, and our guide discussed the various medicinal uses for their indigenous plants. In fact, one of their plants is used to clear the sinuses, but if smoked too much, you can hallucinate . . .
We soon arrived to the Sacred Waterfall where long vines dangled from rocky ledges as a shower of water fell from the rocks. Truly untouched and unexplored by tourists.
Our trek continued where we saw even more chameleons and, of course, lemurs! There was a large family of Sanford’s brown lemurs (they live in families of 10 – 15 individuals), which we witnessed eating and jumping from tree to tree.
After our hike drove to Tsingy, where we saw gorgeous eroded sand dunes that were once compressed by volcanic rock. When the rock began to erode, the condensed dunes began to appear. They are truly breathtaking (see picture below). We also learned that Tsingy is similar to the meaning of tip toeing. Because the dunes are so pointed and sharp, locals had to tip toe across them—hence the name Tsingy.
We enjoyed another evening of traditional Malagasy cuisine (which often consisted of rice, fish, zebu, samosas, calamari, curry, etc.).
Stay tuned for Part II of this post, which focuses on Nosy Be, Madagascar!