Madagascar has been referred to as the VANISHING EDEN: it is definitely like nowhere else on Earth.  The 4th largest island, it is believed to have separated from the supercontinent Gondwana ~160 million years ago during the evolution of the Mozambique Channel between the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean.  For 3 weeks in August 2005, we joined members of a Cheesemans' Ecology Safari to explore this republic, considered by many as the earth's 8th continent.

Madagascar was an independent kingdom before becoming a French colony in 1886.  While the people regained their independence in 1960, it wasn't until the 1992-93 free Presidential and National Assembly elections that single-party rule effectively ended.

The country's natural resources consists of graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower.The country experiences periodic cyclones and faces soil erosion from ongoing deforestation utilizing uphill 'slash/burn' techniques after which 'hill rice', that is not irrigated, is planted.  During one of our night flights, we saw more than 40 fires burning at one time while returning from Toliara to Tana.

Estimated to have a population of 15,506,472 in July 2000, 45% of which was 14 years of age or younger, the country has a growth rate of ~ 3.02%  The average Life Expectancy from birth for the Total Population is ~55 years.  

 
The Malagasy Nationality is composed of the following Ethnic groups: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, and Comoran. 

Peoples' religious beliefs revolve around indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%.  The Official Languages are French and Malagasy.  The climate is tropical along the coast, temperate inland, and arid in the south.  The terrain reveals a narrow coastal plain with a high plateau and mountains in the center. 

This image of Madagascar from space confirms what Emma, one of the local guides you'll see later down, had told us: 'the country has an outline similar to that of a folded poinsettia leaf'.  While the poinsettia was introduced from Mexico, it is one of their favorite plants.

Having met our 'Group' in Johannesburg, South Africa, we flew the next day to "Tana".

Madagascar's capital, Antananarive, (usually known simply as Tana), straddles several hills.  In the center of this image is Lake Anosy as viewed from our Hilton Hotel room.

This row of barber shops stood above Lake Anosy.

Flower stalls were colorful, but basic.

An outing within Tana to Lake Alarobia introduced us to many interesting or colorful insects, including this Golden Orb-weaver spider, Nephila madagascariensis: above is the female...below the much smaller male.

This irridescent blue butterfly is a member of the Pansy butterfly genus Precis.

Traveling north from Tana, we visited Ambohimanga (Blue Hill), which was the original capital of the Merina royal family.  It has remained something of a sacred site and was off limits to foreigners until relatively recent.  Emma, pictured with Michel, was our guide and gave us an excellent tour of the walled Rova, the palace compound of King Andrianampoinimerina, who ruled from 1787 until his death in 1810.  It was quite spartan, but he shared it with his 12 wives.

A view from the 'Royal Hill' shows how everywhere is cultivated.

A traditional home in the highlands from the French colonial time.  It is made from a mixture of red-clay and cattle dung.  It is not unusual to have the livestock in the lower level.

Leaving Tana, we rode south and then east to Ranomafana, which means 'Hot Water'.  During colonial times, it was the waters, not the lemurs, which drew visitors.  Then in 1986 the world's attention was drawn to this hitherto unprotected fragment of high-altitude rainforest with the discovery of the Golden Bamboo Lemur.  Ranomafana National Park was created in 1991.   

We passed a busy local butchery in the outskirts of Tana.

Stopping to inspect some Tombs, we were immediately besieged by children.  This was to become a frequent occurrence.

A wedding procession passed by on their way to the local village church as we listened to how the relatives' bones are unburied every 5 years.  At this time they are carried home and unwrapped before being placed in the center of where a huge party will be held.  Ancestors are still worshiped and respected.  

Brick-making is a common sight in the highlands, where all the trees have already been cut and made into charcoal, which is what people use for cooking and heat.

Rice was introduced by seafaring Malay-Polynesians who settled Madagascar ~2,000 years ago.  Today, rice paddies dominate much of the landscape as it is a staple.

Children were selling wild guavas, which they'd picked in the nearby rainforest.  They tasted quite good and were very inexpensive.

A female chameleon, Furcifer balteatus, greeted us at our hotel in the small town of Ranomafana.  We enjoyed watching it use it's bifid feet, which are perfect for twig-gripping while rolling each eye 360° independently.  We didn't see it SHOOT out his tongue and nail an insect.

The Park Entrance: Ranomafana is home to 12 species of lemur, more than 100 species of birds with 36 of these endemic, plus wonderful reptiles, butterflies and other insects.  We ventured through the park aided by 3 young guides.  With their knowledgeable sharp eyes, we had creatures pointed out which we'd all have missed due to their haunting camouflage.

Diurnal green geckos, Phelsuma quadriocellata scamper into view at one of the overlook decks.

Our leader Gerhard held a Furcifer nasutus on his fingertip.  This chameleon is one of the smallest of the 'typical' chameleons, rarely exceeding 100 mm.

A juvenile female Red-bellied Lemur was quite inquisitive.

A Striped Civet, Fossa fossana, a nocturnal hunter, made her appearance, too.

Then just after dark, a Rufous Mouse-lemur arrived to lick the ripe banana off the bark.

A "wise" Zebu bull crosses the nearby Namorona River utilizing the pedestrian bridge.

17 people were jammed into this Renault as few people own autos in the countryside.

Continuing our journey south by bus, we proceeded to Isalo National Park.

Traveling further south to Isalo National Park, we met many herds of Zebu being driven to market over the only paved road. 

Rich enjoyed listening to the children's rendition of Frere Jacque during a lunch stop.

Our leader, Gerhard displayed a Furcifer oustaleti, which can grow to become the largest of the genus, measuring almost 27 inches.

Our lodge in the NP blended well with the environment.

The nymphs of the Flatid Leaf-bugs, Phromnia rosea, excrete a sort of white waxy substance which 'grows' from the animal like long wispy feathers.  If a bird or another predator grabs for one of these insects, it gets a beakful of white nothing, while the animals hops away.

A Pied Crow peers down at us from one of the rock formations in Isalo.

Further south, we hiked in Zombitse Forestry Station.

Doug held a Hog-nosed Snake, Leiheterodon madagascariensis, at Zombitse Forest.

Besides the many species of birds observed at Zombitse, we also saw this Red-tailed Sportive Lemur.

Arriving on the southwest coast in Tulear, we birded nearby areas.

Pousse-pousse "pull-pull" rickshaws were common in Tulear.

A young girl sells roasted red peppers on the street in Tulear (AKA Toliara).

Friendly locals in their zebu-drawn carts vied with our birding route near Tulear.

Heading north, we made our way to the spiny forest habitat of Ifaty.

This local woman applies a mixture of clay and oil to her face.  It is both a mark of beauty and a sun protectant.

We visited the Ifaty Fortest at dawn and again prior to dusk.  These baobabs were photographed at dawn.

This Subdesert Mesite was photographed after dusk, using a flash.

With the sun up, a baobab tree appears as a large carrot.  This is Adansonia rubrostipa, one of the common species of baobab in Ifaty. Madagascar has 7 of the eight species in the world. They store water inside the swollen trunk. All the species occur in seasonally arid areas, and are deciduous, shedding their leaves during the dry season.

Sunset from our lodge near Ifaty reminded us of home.

Returning to Tulear, we then flew to Fort Dauphin before bourding a bus to Berenty.

On our way we journeyed through small villages on our way to the private Berenty (means 'big eel') Reserve.

Berenty is famous for its population of well-studied Ring-tailed Lemurs.  As their underlying skin is black, they love to soak up the first rays of sun as it comes above the tree-line.

A Verrieaux's sifaka peers back at Dean.

Preferring to be in trees, the Verrieaux's sifaka only goes to ground to run to the next clump of trees.

Giant Coua were frequently seen along the wooded trails in Berenty.

A troop of Brown lemurs put their tails in the air.

A Yellow-billed Kite

A well-documented White-footed Sportive Lemur looks back from its favorite day rest.

A Sickle-billed Vanga (an endemic family) peers back, also.

Red-fronted Lemur as 'The Thinker'.

With Gerhard looking on, Rich films a Madagascar ground boa, Acrantophis madagascariensis.

Doug holds the ground boa for the cameras.

Lesser Vasa (Black) Parrots squawked as they moved between fruiting or flowering trees.

Amongst the creatures we saw on a nightime walk at Berenty was a Furcifer verrucosus.

Returning to Fort Dauphin for our flight back to Tana, we saw this container vessel which had recently become stranded.  Waiting for our plane at the airport, we saw large ropes and chains being off-loaded from a South African cargo plane.

Returning to Fort Dauphin, we flew back to Tana and overnighted.

While in Tana, we visited Tsimbazaza, which is comprised of a museum, botanical garden and zoo.  There Dean filmed a Crested Coua, a bird we saw several times in the wild, too.

Gerhard is holding a female Panther Chameleon at the Zoo.

A Lined Chameleon holds onto a branch.

Later in the day, we flew to Majunga.

After overnighting on the Mozambique Channel, we drove to Ampijoroa Forestry Station...upon our return to Majunga, we saw this huge baobab.

Nearing the forest, we saw harvested rice being transported on backs.

In the forest, we saw this white-morph male Paradise Flycatcher.

We saw this cooperative Madagascar Kingfisher on a night watch.

Having flown back to Tana, we then rode easterly to Perinet.

These chalets is where we stayed for several nights while touring nearby.

Indri, the largest of the lemurs, are often seen at Perinet.

A Madagascar Wagtail worked the grounds of the lodge looking for insects.

A Ward's Flycatcher perches amongst the blossoms.

The rarest bird species we observed was this Madagascar Rail; fewer than 100 remain due to loss of habitat and predation.

A female Nose-horned Chameleon was seen on a night walk.

On the morning of our departure back to Tana for our flight to Johannesburg, we spied a Madagascar Pigeon attempting to stay warm.  We had enjoyed our first trip to this unusual island country...we doubt it is our last.