At Friday lunchtime on 27th September, I walked out the Naturetrek HQ doors for the final time ready for the adventures that lay ahead. First up was joining Emily out in Madagascar. She had been out in Mad for a week already, having cleaned up in some western localities, namely Kirindy and Grand Tsingy. I wasn't to head out west, but instead we would team up from Tana and visit Andasibe, Marojejy NP, Ankarana and Nosy Be. The first 8 days (Andasibe and Marojejy) was my creation and then Emily's itinerary would then take over for the final and more relaxing leg. With this, there was little chance of a full sweep of endemics that most would want to achieve in a single trip, instead, I/we would be targeting some stunning birds which had long been on my target list, mainly the ludicrous Helmet Vanga, plus have time for snorkeling and relaxing.
On the evening of Friday 27th, I flew out of Heathrow with Ethiopian Airlines and arrived early morning in Addis Ababa. It had been 12 years since my first and only time in Ethiopia and I enjoyed an hour of sitting on a window chair within the terminal, seeing what I could on the airfield. Nyanza Swift, Lanner, Black-headed Heron, Augur Buzzard, Sacred Ibis, Swainson's Sparrow and Pied Crow were all I could muster, although a goose flying over was almost certainly the endemic Blue-winged, but it was just too distant, so just as well I had been previously.
A mere four hours later I arrived into Antananarivo. I had already ensured being first off the plane, which meant first into the visa queue; my luggage was one of the first off and my driver was waiting for me when I went through arrivals... an unexpectedly easy start! I had two nights at the Relais Hotel only ten minutes from the airport, where Emily would join me the next day. With twitchy feet, I wanted to make the most of my time here and a small wetland only a twenty minute walk away was my target. Over the weekend I saw Mad Swamp Warbler, Malagasy Kingfisher, Mad Kestrel, Mad Cisticola, Mad Lark, Mad Scrub Warbler, Greater Painted Snipe, Three-banded Plover, Mad Stonechat, Red Fody, Malagasy Green Sunbird, Souimanga Sunbird, Mad Mannikin, Mascarene Martin, Mad Martin, Mad Palm Swift, but best of all, a superb Baillon's Crake! A Striped Madagascar Garter Snake was also seen.
It had been a great start and with Emily's arrival on the Sunday afternoon and meeting our ground agent, Eugene Rakotobe, to lay out the plans in muffled English, we were ready for the early departure on Monday morning for Andasibe. It turned out Eugene wouldn't be with us at all throughout the tour, which was a surprise, but, he had sorted us out very well and we were in excellent hands as he'd sorted the parks' best wildlife guides, good vehicles and decent enough accommodation.
As a summary, Madagascar far surpassed my expectations - it was blooming brilliant! The birds, lemurs, reptiles and amphibians, sea life etc all shone through and we had an amazing time. The only sad moment was learning of Roger Charlwood's passing. Although it's been a while since my time in Sussex, the good old days of Beachy Head birding are best remembered of the excellent birds and wonderful hospitality by both Roger and Liz at Hodcombe. I first met Roger in 2001 (??) at the Rough-legged Buzzard at Rodmell Brooks where he was all too pleased to talk about his wonderful garden and the presence of the Black-and-white Warbler there. My condolences to Liz and family.
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| Baillon's Crake |
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| Three-banded Plover |
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| Malagasy Kingfisher |
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| Madagascar Wagtail |
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| Madagascar Swamp Warblers |
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| The pools at Vision Valley |
