Madagascar October 28 – November 12, 2016

© Giovanna Fasanelli; Cover: © Jonathan Rossouw

Expedition O ver view Madagascar is home to one of the most unusual wildlife collections on Earth, its exceptional fauna and flora having evolved over millions of years of isolation. The world’s fourth largest island, it boasts a remarkable diversity of habitats and is often called “The Eighth Continent.” Madagascar’s legendary uniqueness is reflected in its mammals, with every one of its 150 native terrestrial species being found nowhere else on the planet! Best known as the home of the © Jonathan Rossouw

lemurs, with an amazing 100 species divided over five endemic families, the island also boasts a host of colorful chameleons, fascinating flora and bizarre insectivores. Madagascar’s endemic birds are equally renowned, with no fewer than 140 species and 5

Photos: (Cover) Red-fronted Lemur,

complete families entirely restricted to this appropriately named

Verreaux’s Sifaka

Fantastic Leaf-tailed Gecko,

“laboratory of evolution.” W W W. A P E X - E X P E D I T I O N S . C O M

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© Jonathan Rossouw

Itinerar y Friday, October 28: Johannesburg Arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa, and take the complimentary shuttle the short distance to our hotel. Gather this evening for a welcome dinner and briefing. Overnight at the Southern Sun OR Tambo Hotel. © Jonathan Rossouw

Saturday, October 29: Antananarivo This morning, we fly from Johannesburg to Antananarivo, Madagascar. Crossing the Mozambique Channel, a journey of little more than 250 miles, we’ll approach the western edge of the “Big Red Island” en route to the capital. Driving into Antananarivo one is struck by the stark differences from the African continent: rice paddies, worked by men and their Zebu ox-drawn ploughs, flank the city, with the architecture a combination of French colonial and traditional Merina, all of which imparts a strangely Asian feel to an island so close to the African mainland. Overnight at the Relais de Plateaux on the outskirts of Antananarivo.

Foremost in our minds will be finding the lemurs, including the localized Crowned Lemur and the striking Sanford’s Brown Lemur, as well as seeing our first

W W W. A P E X - E X P E D I T I O N S . C O M

© Jonathan Rossouw

Sunday, October 30: Antsiranana / Amber Mountain National Park Today we make an early departure for Antsiranana, or Diego Suarez as it’s still commonly known, a natural port on Madagascar’s extreme northern tip. Upon arrival, we’ll transfer to a convoy of 4-wheel drive vehicles for a short drive southwards into the highlands of Amber Mountain, to one of the country’s most famous national parks. Montagne d’Ambre was set aside as a protected area during the colonial period, both to act as a water catchment area for Diego Suarez and as a forestry research station. Today, this scenic park protects one of the most accessible and rewarding areas of montane forest on the island, home to a rich array of wildlife, some of which is found nowhere else on Earth.

Photos: Ring-tailed Mongoose, Panther Chameleon, Crowned Lemur

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© Jonathan Rossouw

chameleons. Almost two-thirds of the world’s species of chameleons occur on Madagascar and are found nowhere else, and with careful searching we should locate a bewildering array that ranges from the attractive Amber Mountain Chameleon to the tiny Brookesia stump-tailed chameleons, once considered the world’s smallest vertebrate animals. The cool forests of the park also offer excellent birding, with specialties such as Pitta-like Ground-Roller and the highly localized Amber Mountain Rock Thrush. We’ll overnight at the edge of the forest in the colonial village of Jofreville at Nature Lodge.

Monday, October 31: Ankarana National Park Amongst Madagascar’s most celebrated land formations are its areas of limestone karst, known locally as tsingy, which literally means “the place one cannot walk without shoes” in Malagasy. Our journey today takes us south to the Tsingy of Ankarana. Winding through attractive countryside, we’ll stop frequently to appreciate the passing pageant of rural life unfolding at the roadside, small villages of grass-thatched huts, Zebu-drawn carts and verdant green rice paddies, before arriving at Ankarana. Overnight at Ankarana Lodge.

© Jonathan Rossouw

Tuesday, November 1: Ankarana National Park

© Jonathan Rossouw

The tsingy is world famous, a landscape of razor-sharp pinnacles and eroded canyons and sinkholes. The geology is reason enough to visit but the park also protects rich deciduous forest that is home to a fantastic array of wildlife, from the endemic Ankarana Sportive Lemur and dapper Ring-tailed Mongoose to a plethora of reptiles. Chameleons are well known for their camouflage but here are totally outclassed by one of the most cryptic creatures on the planet, the bizarre Fimbriated Leaf-tailed Gecko, whose resemblance to tree bark beggars belief! Groups of the beautiful White-breasted Mesite, a bird family entirely endemic to Madagascar, pick their way slowly through the dry leaf litter, often followed by dashing Madagascar Paradise Flycatchers. In the late afternoon, we’ll be able to appreciate the soft, changing light on the other-worldly limestone karst landscape. Overnight at Ankarana Lodge.

Wednesday, November 2: Antananarivo After a final morning spent exploring Ankarana, we’ll return to Antsiranana in time to catch an afternoon flight back to the capital. Overnight at Relais des Plateaux.

Thursday, November 3: Taolagnaro / Berenty Reserve

Photos: Sanford’s Brown Lemur,

Friday, November 4: Berenty Reserve Berenty is justly famous for its lemurs, not only because its deciduous gallery woodland is home to six species but particularly for the ease with which they can be

W W W. A P E X - E X P E D I T I O N S . C O M

© Jonathan Rossouw

After breakfast, we fly to Taolagnaro, a seaside town at the southeastern extremity of the island, well-known for its picturesque bays and windswept headlands. From Taolagnaro, we embark on a journey that traverses the full spectrum of Madagascar’s varied habitats. From the well-watered east coast, with its emerald patchwork of paddy fields, the road winds past the peculiar triangular palms and mixed woodland of the so-called “transitional zone” into the arid rainshadow of the Andohahela Mountains, where the distinctive profiles of Octopus trees herald our arrival in the “Spiny Desert” proper. Nearing Berenty, the native vegetation has been replaced by extensive sisal plantations stretching as far as the eye can see. Berenty Private Lemur Reserve is an island of natural habitat in this sea of cultivation, and one of Madagascar’s most legendary wildlife sanctuaries. Overnight at Berenty Lodge.

Blue Vanga, Ankarana Sportive Lemur, Baobabs

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© Jonathan Rossouw

seen and appreciated in the wild. Undoubted favorites are the Ring-tailed Lemurs and Verreaux’s Sifakas. The bands of cat-like, quizzical Ringtails are often the first to steal any visitors’ hearts but their appeal is easily matched by the strikingly patterned Sifakas, with their soulful expressions and bipedal locomotion. In addition to these two diurnal lemur “super-stars,” Red-fronted Brown Lemurs also occur in large numbers in the woodland during the day. Although Madagascar is most famous for the spectacular lemurs that have adapted to a daytime existence, a number of species of these primitive primates remain denizens of the night. On spotlighting walks in the “spiny forest” adjacent to our lodgings, we will search for and should find White-footed Sportive Lemur and two species of Mouse Lemurs.

© Jonathan Rossouw

A further highlight at Berenty is a roost of Madagascar Flying Foxes, where over 300 of these impressive fruit bats, sporting 4-foot wingspans, spend their day jostling for position in the treetops. Amongst the birds, the pheasant-like Giant Coua is often encountered stalking along the paths, whilst both the camouflaged Madagascar Scops-Owl and the handsome White-browed Hawk-Owl are commonly found asleep at their day roosts in the gallery woodland. Reptiles are well represented by the bizarre Three-eyed Lizard and huge Warty Chameleon.

Saturday, November 5: Taolagnaro After a final morning at Berenty, we’ll retrace our route back to Taolagnaro for an overnight stay at Croix du Sud.

Sunday, November 6: Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

© Jonathan Rossouw

Returning to Tana, we’ll turn eastwards across the open landscape of the Horombe Plateau, which offers insight into the traditional lifestyle of the highland Merina people. Terraced rice paddies, tall earthen houses with thatched roofs, and roadside markets displaying a wide variety of farm produce, are all set against a backdrop of golden-yellow grasslands and bare granite inselbergs. By the afternoon, we’ll arrive in the small town of Andasibe, or Perinet as it’s still commonly known, gateway to the magical Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. Our accommodation for the next two nights is a delightful lodge, located overlooking a lake at the edge of the forest. Wildlife is often right on our doorstep: fluorescent green day geckos scuttle on the walls of the chalets, Madagascar Wagtails flit along the paved walkways and if we are very lucky, we may hear the eerie calls of Indri right from our cabins. Overnight Vakona Forest Lodge.

The superb Andasibe-Mantadia National Park protects a large expanse of some of Madagascar’s most pristine primary forest, a sanctuary for the richest assemblage of birds and other wildlife on the island. Though it has only relatively recently been opened to the public, the slightly higher-altitude Mantadia sector is now an essential destination on any trip to Madagascar, having gained a reputation as an excellent site for a handful of scarce forest-dwelling lemurs. Not least amongst these is the exquisite, gentle and highly localized Diademed Sifaka, although we will also be searching for the more widespread Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, Gray Bamboo Lemur, Red-bellied Lemur and Common Brown Lemur. The Andasibe-Mantadia area is also a rewarding site for nocturnal exploration, with such charismatic nocturnal lemur species as Eastern Woolly Lemur, Furry-eared Dwarf

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© Jonathan Rossouw

Monday, November 7: Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

Photos: Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec, Ring-tailed Lemurs, Vakona Forest Lodge, Diademed Sifaka

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Lemur and the diminutive Goodman’s Mouse Lemur all possible, along with a plethora of chameleons, geckos and frogs. Overnight at Vakona Forest Lodge.

Tuesday, November 8: Andasibe / Antananarivo © Jonathan Rossouw

This morning, we make a special effort to see the park’s most famous resident: the huge, singing Indri, largest of all extant lemurs. Standing beneath a family group of these magnificent creatures as they issue their peculiar, Humpback Whale-like songs is one of Madagascar’s most unforgettable wildlife experiences.

© Jonathan Rossouw

While the rainforest lemurs are the undoubtedly highlights of our time in the Perinet area, we will also be on the lookout for a plethora of smaller evolutionary oddities, like the peculiar Giraffe-necked Weevil, the impossibly cute Lowland Streaked Tenrec, the seriously weird Sikora Leaf-tailed Gecko, Madagascar Tree Boa, and the giant Parson’s Chameleon, heaviest chameleon species on Earth. Andasibe-Mantadia also offers the best rainforest birding in Madagascar, and we can expect to see such avian jewels as Blue Coua, Blue Vanga, and Madagascar Cuckoo-Roller. In the afternoon, we’ll retrace our route to Tana, overnighting at the Relais de Plateaux.

Wednesday, November 9: Anjajavy A charter flight carries us northwestwards to our final destination in Madagascar, the magnificent wilderness of Anjajavy, for a three night stay at Anjajavy Lodge.

Thursday & Friday, November 10 & 11: Anjajavy

© Giovanna Fasanelli

Situated on the island’s northwest coast, in the so-called Sambirano Domain, this 1,000-acre private reserve covers a ruggedly beautiful area of secluded bays flanked by baobab-studded semi-deciduous forest. Wildlife is abundant, with the ethereal Coquerel’s Sifaka, boisterous troops of Common Brown Lemur and flocks of brilliant-green Grey-headed Lovebirds resident right in the grounds of our comfortable lodge. Nearby caves in the limestone karst boast the fossilized remnants of a long-extinct lemur, as well as an impressive collection of stalagmites and stalagtites. We’ll also spend time along the forest trails, where Collared Iguanas loaf in sunny spots and Madagascar Plated Lizards scuttle through the leaf litter. With luck, we may locate the goblin-like Milne-Edwards’s Sportive Lemur at its day roost in a tree cavity. Explorations after dark are equally productive and may reveal the eye-shine of a darting Golden-brown Mouse Lemur, Madagascar Nightjar hawking for insects or perhaps a sleeping Warty Chameleon. Overnights at Anjajavy Lodge.

Saturday, November 12: Antananarivo

© Jonathan Rossouw

After a final early morning at Anjajavy, we’ll return to Antananarivo in time to connect with international flights homeward.

Photos: Indri, Fimbriated Leaf-tailed Gecko, Giraffe-necked Weevil, Golden-brown Mouse Lemur

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Your Expedition Leaders Jonathan Rossouw Jonathan Rossouw is one of the world’s most experienced expedition leaders, having guided wildlife trips in over 150 countries on all seven continents. He combines a legendary energy and enthusiasm with a broad knowledge of all aspects of natural history, gained from three decades spent in the pursuit of the world’s mammals, birds, reptiles and coral reef fishes. Indeed, having seen over 8,000 species of birds, 800 mammals and 2,000 coral reef fishes, he will likely experience more species of vertebrate animals than anyone in history! A medical doctor by training, Jonathan was born and raised on South Africa’s east coast and spent his family vacations in the games reserves of Zululand. It was here that the foundation was laid for a lifelong passion for wildlife and wild places and, in 1996, a “short break” to cycle across South America from Buenos Aires to Cusco led to two years spent guiding at eco-lodges in the Amazon and doing bird surveys in the Andes. He returned to Africa to start a birding travel company, before joining Peter Harrison and Shirley Metz, to assist in expanding their global portfolio of natural history destinations. An accomplished photographer, Jonathan’s images have appeared in many books and magazines, and he has co-authored birding site guides to Uganda, Southern Africa and Madagascar.

Giovanna Fasanelli A life-long love affair with the sea propelled Giovanna into the world of marine biology, conservation, underwater photography and natural history documentaries. From an early childhood exploring the rock pools of South Africa’s shorelines she immigrated to Australia and wasted no time in getting her PADI Dive Master certification. She has since logged over 1,000 dives throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Whilst completing her marine biology degree at Australia’s James Cook University, Giovanna worked at an underwater film company, gaining experience tagging Tiger Sharks and Green Turtles in the Coral Sea and assisting with film production. This opportunity spawned a decade-long career in television, presenting the latest developments in aquaculture and fisheries science. In 2013 Giovanna worked with National Geographic Channel in co-presenting a documentary series, Australia: Life on the Edge, as the marine biologist and submarine pilot showcasing stories from around the continent’s shores. Giovanna’s passion for wilderness and animals has driven her to explore habitats around the world from Snow Leopards in the Himalayas to Komodo Dragons in Indonesia and Mountain Gorillas in Uganda. Fast approaching 100 countries visited, Giovanna has extensive experience as a guide and naturalist all over the world. A talented photographer and skilled writer, Giovanna’s work is regularly featured in several Australian magazines. Her deep love and concern for the environment has led her to be an advocate for conservation.

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“When it comes to expedition travel, in particular, one needs to be led by a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, entertaining and confidence-inspiring professional. We have yet to meet anyone quite like Jonathan who so completely ticks all these boxes!”

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– Pat G., Durban

Expedition Details Madagascar

October 28 – November 12, 2016

$14,770 Per Person Rate $15,590 Solo Rate 16 Days Trip Length 16 Guests Group Size Johannesburg / Antananarivo Start/End

Included Apex Expeditions’ rates include all accommodations; all meals, activities and excursions as described in the itinerary; air within Madagascar, as noted in the itinerary; services of two Apex Expedition leaders and local guides throughout the itinerary; local beer & wines at lunch & dinner; all gratuities; airport transfers; permits and entrance fees; all taxes.

Not Included Costs not included in the price of your Apex expedition include travel to and from start and end point of trip; air from Johannesburg to Atananarivo, which should be booked as part of your international ticket; premium brand drinks and liquor; travel insurance (Trip Cancellation and Interruption, as well as Emergency Medical and Evacuation insurance, are highly recommended); airport departure taxes; excess baggage fees; passport and/or visa fees; items of a personal nature (phone calls, laundry, souvenirs, etc.); and independent travel arrangements pre- or post-trip.

Payments & Terms 20% of the trip cost will confirm your place on the expedition. The final balance is due 150 days prior to departure. All prices are quoted in U.S. dollars and must be paid in U.S. dollars. Per person pricing is based on double occupancy. The Solo Rate is paid by participants who specifically request single accommodations and is subject to availability. If you are traveling alone and wish to share accommodations, we will try to match you with a roommate of the same gender. However, if a roommate is not available, the published Solo Rate will be charged. Upon confirming your reservation you will be required to pay the published Solo Rate, if we are able to pair you with a roommate, the difference will be refunded at the time that the final trip payment is due for all participants. Note that solo accommodations are limited and cannot always be guaranteed throughout. For our full set of Terms & Conditions,

Peacock Day Gecko © Jonathan Rossouw

please visit our web site at www.apex-expeditions.com/expeditions/the-fine-print/

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Madagascar

October 28 – November 12, 2016

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