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Day 1: Fly from Antananarivo to Fort Dauphin
Today we take a short flight to Fort Dauphin (also known as Taolagnaro), in the south-eastern corner of the country where we will overnight in a comfortable hotel.
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Day 2: Fort Dauphin to Berenty Lemur Reserve
After an early breakfast, our Madagascar photo tour departs for the world-famous private lemur reserve of Berenty. The reserve protects tall gallery forest along the Mandrare River, and various patches of xerophytic spiny forest away from the river. The main drawcards here are the photogenic Ring-tailed Lemur, which sport appealing “zebra striped” tails and whose mostly terrestrial nature make them a joy to photograph, and Verreaux’s Sifaka, the famed “dancing sifaka”. Berenty is also home to a large contingent of wildlife including noisy flying foxes, attractive birds including the ground-dwelling Giant Coua, and befitting of an area with a hot climate, a large number of lizards, skinks, geckos and chameleons.
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Days 3 & 4: Berenty Lemur Reserve
Berenty truly offers a lot to wildlife photographers, and we will be kept very busy during our stay here!
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Day 5: Berenty to Fort Dauphin, flight to Antananarivo
Today we depart Berenty and drive back to Fort Dauphin, where after we catch our flight back to Antananarivo. Here we will overnight before continuing our
Madagascar photo tour in the mesic east of the country.
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Day 6: Drive Antananarivo to Perinet
Our Madagascar photo tour departs early for the drive eastwards across the Highland Plateau, before heading down the escarpment to the famous Andasibe area, home to the famous rainforest areas namely “Perinet” Reserve and Mantadia National Park.
Whilst in the Perinet area, we will make a special effort to see and photograph the reserve’s most famous resident: the huge, singing lemurs known as the Indri. This area is also home to the noisy Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, which sports impossibly luxuriant fur, and also Diademed Sifaka, one of the most handsome of all lemurs. However, these are not the only mammals on offer, and our excursions may reveal various lemurs including Common Brown and the colourful Red-bellied, roosting Eastern Woolly. At night, the tiny Goodman’s Mouse Lemur bounces through the vegetation, while careful inspection of forest paths may reveal a foraging Lowland Streaked Tenrec, a bizarre hedgehog-like mammal. Macro opportunities are endless, from Giraffe-necked Weavil and leaf-tailed geckos to colourful Mantella frogs and hulking chameleons. Photographic opportunities are superb during the day and at night, and both with telephoto and macro setups! Should time allow, we may also visit Mantadia National Park.
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Day 10: Road transfer from Perinet to Ankanin’ny Nofy
This morning after breakfast, we will drive from Perinet to Ankanin’ny Nofy, which is an approximately 3-hour drive. Following the drive, we will transition to water-based craft and once we arrive at our pickup point, will transfer to our boat and enjoy a scenic cruise of 30-45 minutes to our lodge, which will be our home for the next two nights.
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Day 11: Ankanin’ny Nofy – Morning, afternoon and evening excursions
This mini paradise comprises of a variety of flora and fauna, with lemurs being quite habituated – perfect photographic delights!
Other than our main target, the forest is also home to 9 other lemur species, including the Indri and Black-and-White Ruffed lemurs and much like Perinet, also boasts colourful frogs, snakes, chameleons and geckos. Palmarium Beach also has a well-kept orchid population, which begins to bloom in late October or early November, and also sports a good population of carnivorous pitcher plants.
Today we will embark on some nature walks to photograph the area’s quirky wildlife and plants, and in the evening, we will head back to Aye-Aye island for one final photo excursion.
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Day 12: Boat trip to Tamatave, afternoon flight Tamatave to Antanarivo.
This morning we will have an early breakfast and say goodbye to this private reserve, before departing via boat (approximately 3 hour boat trip) back to our pick-up point. We will then take a flight to Tana (times to be confirmed)
Once back in Tana, depending on our arrival time we can unwind or edit images until we meet up again at dinner.
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Day 13: Full day Antananarivo
Today we have a full day to explore the beautiful city of Antananarivo. We may visit a local market or do some street photography.
Your ORYX photo tour leader will discuss the various options available for the day.
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Day 14: Depart Antananarivo
Today is the last day of this incredible adventure, and after breakfast our tour concludes, and we say our Goodbyes.