MADAGASCAR AZM

Yes I am - I am looking forward to it - see you there. Jerry

cant wait for this trip,sept is too far away

 

G llewellyn

Looking forward to a great trip

see you soon

Gwen

Hi guys

first time I have had a reply, and 3 arrive, wow.

just back from Mongolia, but the Madagascar trip will be my first with an enphasis on wildlife,

so high hopes for a good trip, my only doubts  are what the mossies will be like.

See you all there.

Dave P..

Hi all,

I just wondered what you were all doing about Madagascan visas?  Exodus tell me that you have the choice of either getting a visa at the airport on entry, or getting it beforehand. There seems to be no downside to waiting and getting at the airport, so to save time I am going to do that.  But wondered what you all were doing?

Looking forward to meeting you. I think there are 8 of us on the trip.

Jerry 

Hi

I shall get my visa on arrival, mainly because lack of available time beforehand, but it would seem to be the simpler option, just a formality at the airport ( I hope ).

Dave P..

G llewellyn

Hi All,

Like Dave, I plan on getting my visa on arrival. Should be ok.  (I hope!) 

Thinking of packing now.  Will probably take too much as usual. See you all soon.

Gwen

Hello...there are no reviews for this trip....how was it?

Hi Tanya

Overall the trip does Discover Madagascar, for me the Grands Tsingy was great, but not everyone was able to do this bit, due to ladders and wire rope pulls. also the optional walk from the Canyon des Makis to the Piscine Naturelle, once again not everyone was able to do this, the original price quoted for this walk was very expensive, but finally brought down to a more realistic amount.  The 11 hour drive to Bekopaka on a mostly very bumby 'road' may not be to everyones likeing, personaly I enjoyed it, which is more than I can say about the camp site there, with a cockrel kept just metres behind the tent that crowed almost continously from 03:00 the three nights there were long and sleepless.

I had a few issues with this trip. Madagascar is best known for its wildlife, so when the brochure quotes   "One day will be devoted to the Grands Tsingy" that what I expected, however after leaving the limestone area and entering the forest

there seemed to be a rush to get back to the  vehicles, arriving at 13:30.  For me this was a loss of several hours that could have been spent wildlife watching rather than stuck back in the camp site.  This was one of several such cases.

I must say this was not the opinion of many in the group who seemed quite happy to spend the time back at base drinking, and although everyone enjoyed seeing the lemurs, most  seemed to have less intrest in anything else, which I found surprising. 

So overall we saw a fair amount of Madagascar, had some very good sightings of lemurs and a good species count, plus quite a few bird species. A good trip, but one that could have been great.

Dave P..   

 

 

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive.

Hello Tanya.......I agree with what Dave says.... he was an avid nature fan and wanted to maximise the time spent in nature watching.  For me, however, I think Exodus got the balance right - I enjoy nature but also wanted to spend time relaxing, experiencing the local cuisine and the music, speaking French with the locals and experiencing the sights, the people and the culture. There are some long driving days as Madagascar is a big place.... and there are some internal flights in small planes (fun..... but not if you are claustrophobic!). You spend a lot of time with the group and there is limited opportunity to go off on your own.  One of the UK based Exodus sales reps, Lyndal Montgomery, was on the trip with us and I suggest you call the Exodus office and ask to speak with her.  She is very helpful and can obviously speak first hand about the trip.  Enjoy! Jerry