Madagascar – ORYX Photo Tour Leader Dale Morris
I’ve conducted photographic tours in Madagascar more than 20 times over the past decade or so, but I have never travelled there during the month of June.
It’s not the high season, and birders prefer not to flock there due to the absence of migrants or specific “hard to find” species. But I’ve never really focused on Madagascar’s birds.
Yes, for sure, there are some lovely photogenic species, but to be honest, it’s the lemurs, the fossas, the giant baobab trees, and the chameleons that steal the show.
The first thing I noticed upon arrival this June was the temperature. It was cool. Wonderfully so…
What a treat it was to be out in the spiny forests of Madagascar’s South in a long sleeve shirt and not feel like I was slowly being cooked alive. I was comfortable all day long, which in turn made the forest hikes and photo sessions with lemurs all the more fun.
The ‘steamy’ rainforests of Andasibe and Mantadia were not steaming at all. They felt cool and fresh.
I’ve now officially fallen head over heels with Madagascar’s winter.
I was told that Chameleons, frogs, and other herps would be difficult to find.
But this turned out to be false. For sure, the chameleons we found were a little torpid, but the local guides I work with know the forests and its denizens like the back of their hands, and thanks to their fantastic knowledge and eagle eyes, there was no shortage of reptiles and amphibians to photograph.
I love my annual expeditions to Madagascar. Its uniqueness, its friendly people, and its endemic wildlife. What’s not to love?
The infrastructure… That’s what!
Madagascar’s roads have potholes the size of a politician’s ego, and travel can be an endurance at times.
But have you ever heard the saying “There’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh asphalt to announce the approach of an election”?
Madagascar recently had such an ‘election’ and as a result, some of the piles of rubble that were optimistically called ‘roads’ now actually offer a smooth(ish) ride.
Travel times between some of my regular destinations have been much reduced thanks to a flurry of construction.
My private tour group and I visited my usual photographic hotspots.
We shot the milky way as it rose over the magnificent Baobabs of Morandava …. And there were no crowds of tourists.
We hiked in jungles and listened to the haunting cries of the Indri… Without crowds of tourists.
We photographed the dancing sifakas of Berenty, the weird Aye-Aye, the fossas of Kirindy, and, of course, ‘King Julian’ the Ring-tailed Lemur.
We did night walks to see the adorable mouse lemur, we rose early (but not too early- because the sun comes up a bit later at this time of year) to find waking lemurs in glancing light, and we spent countless hours in the varied and wonderous habitats that make Madagascar such a unique destination…. All without the usual high-season crowds.
I’m going to run tours in Madagascar’s winter as a regular offering from next year onwards.
Be cool. Chill out. Don’t sweat it.
Come join me in Madagascar. Its undoubtedly one of the best wildlife photographic destinations in the world…. Especially in winter.
