Andasibe, Madagascar

7 October 2007

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After a brief overnight stay in Joburg and dinner with Conrad and Heidi, I was onwards to my next adventure stop – the magical island of Madagascar. Landing in Antananarivo (for obvious reasons shortened to Tana) I headed off with my guide/driver Willi (whose name is a story in itself – his christened name is Andre August but at the time he was born Willi Brandt was Premier of Germany and had just initiated his policy of Ostpolitik and was thus seen by Malagasies as some kind of hero. Hence the nickname!) to Andasibe Mantadia. Staying at the good Grace Lodge, over the next two days we visited the Mantadia National Park and the Perinet Special Reserve in search of the odd and beautiful animals that proliferate in Madagascar.

The main highlight were the gorgeous and immensely entertaining Lemurs. Within Perinet we saw saw 4 species: the Diademed Sifaka, the Greater Bamboo Lemur, the Common Brown Lemur and the largest of all, the Indri whose haunting call is amongst the loudest of all the jungle sounds. The Indri were especially fun to watch as they caromed amongst the rain forest, looking live living pinballs bouncing from tree to tree. Despite the initially huge crowds of tourists and the relatively low light in the shade, I had a great fun tracking them for over two hours and photographing their antics.

In addition to a wonderful assortment of birds such as two species of Kingfisher, the beautiful Madagascar Paradise Flycatcher, and the Blue Coua, the other fascinating creatures were the captivating chameleons (of which I was lucky enough to see the Short-horned and Parsons) and the most bizarre insect I have ever seen – the Giraffe-necked Weevil, whose neck is over two times the length of the rest of its body.

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