In April/May 2001 I spent 3 weeks in Madagascar. The tour was
organized by Eldertreks, an
adventure travel organizer for older people. The tour was very well
organized. Most of the time we traveled in a small bus. There was a
little fighting over seats during the trip, but it wasn't a serious
problem. All meals were included in the tour. The food was
exceptionally good throughout the trip. I was quite surprised about
that. We took a couple of flights in Madagascar to get to Tolagnaro
(Fort Dauphin) and back. Accommodations throughout the trip were good,
considering that we were in a really poor country. The other people
in the group were of different backgrounds, almost all of them over
60. This was a problem for me. The whole tour is designed for older
people who go to bed at 21:00. There were absolutely no activities in
the evening. At 20:30 everybody started to get restless if the dinner
was that long. By 21:00 everybody was in bed (or at least in their
rooms). I was the only person of the group that had a drink after
dinner. In most places the bar (if there was one) closed around
22:00. As I understand it, all tours through Eldertreks are designed
like that. The average age in this group was around 65, from what I
understand it is more like 70 or above for most of their tours.
Because of that I would not go on a tour with Eldertreks again, but if
that is the right environment for you, I can really recommend this
organization. One remarkable fact about this particular group was
that everybody was on time - always! We never had to wait for
anybody!
Madagascar is a desperately poor country. This is evident in a lot of
places. One result of this is the extensive deforestation. Only 10%
- 15% of the forests are left. Horrible erosion scars are everywhere,
and all the rivers are red/brown with the eroded top soil. One reason
is the need for local people for firewood, the other is clear-cutting
for agriculture. I am afraid that the only way out of this situation
is increased tourism which could bring much-needed money to the
country and would give more incentives to preserve what is left of the
forests. The page about the people of Madagascar shows some of what I
saw. There are some organizations that try to improve this situation.
One of them is the Madagascar
Wildlife Conservation.
I visited 3 nature reserves and saw lots of wildlife there. The
Lemurs are just what you expect from the pictures that you have seen.
Other type of animals that come in interesting varieties are the
reptiles (chameleons, geckos, and lizards), and insects (beetles,
butterflies, dragon flies, and more). The page about Nature in
Madagascar shows a few of the animals and plants that I saw.
Altogether it was a very memorable and enjoyable experience.
If you know the name of any of the animals or plants that are not
named in these pages, please let me know so I can add the names to my
pictures.
I divided the pictures in two parts:
All pictures are © Günther Eichhorn
© Günther Eichhorn
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