Madagascar's Lemurs Tour Report.pdf

The group flew into Paris on several flights and gathered at the Park Inn Hotel near Paris Roissy Airport. Over dinner, they shared past experiences and anticipated the weeks ahead. The next day, they took a bus to the airport, checked in their bags, and boarded a flight to Antananarivo. The flight was not full, and they enjoyed the selection of films and music on board. After a slight delay, they landed and went through immigration, where they were processed quickly. They then waited for their bags to arrive and were greeted by local guide Rivo. They exchanged their currency for Ariary and checked into the Orchid Hotel.

The next day, they had a briefing on the holiday at the hotel's terrace, where they spotted Mascarene Martins and Black Egrets foraging in the rice paddies. They then visited the Lemur Park, a small private zoo that introduced them to nine lemur species, including Black and White Ruffed Lemur, Ring-tailed Lemur, and Common Brown Lemur. They also spotted several other bird species, including Common Sandpiper, Madagascar Wagtail, and Mascarene Martins. A Collared Iguanid and a Zonosaurus Plated Lizard were also seen.

After lunch, they set off towards Antsirabe, but got caught in traffic. They passed an exhumation ceremony, known as famadihana, where relatives of a deceased family member exhume the bones to rewrap them in a clean burial shroud and parade them around the village. They then continued on the RN7, the main road south, and passed the president's residence, an opulent edifice modelled on the nineteenth century Queen Ranavalona's palace. They ended the day arriving at Antsirabe, where they checked into the Camelia hotel.

The next day, they started early and continued the drive south through the mountainous backbone of the island. They saw ever-changing scenes from village life, including zebu cattle and rice paddies. They stopped to photograph a trio of Hamerkops displaying on the paddy wall and saw flocks of Brown-throated Sand Martins in flight over the paddies. A Long-billed Green Sunbird flew over, its iridescent plumage lit up by the early morning sun. They passed through a forest of native Tapia trees and spotted several bird species, including Souimanga Sunbird and Madagascar Bulbul.