Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Divingiscoveredon
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.Surfingisagrowingsportinthesouthwest,kitesurfing
in the north, and sport fishing can be organised from Nosy Be.
Nightlife
The people of southern Madagascar are the most outgoing on the island, with
good discos in Taolagnaro and Toliara, but Nosy Be (and specifically Ambataloaka) is un-
doubtedly where the action is for tourists.
Museums
Madagascar has only a few good museums. The best by a long way is the Mu-
seum of the Antandroy in Berenty Reserve. Toliara has a good ethnological museum and a
marinemuseum,andMuseumAkibainMahajangashowcasesculturalhistory.Moramanga
has a unique and fascinating police museum.
People and tombs
Your tour operator may be able to organise a visit to a
famadihana
(only in the highlands and only between June and September) - an unforgettable experi-
ence. Merina tombs can be seen easily between Antananarivo and Antsirabe, but the most
intriguing and interesting tombs are those of the Mahafaly in the Toliara region. Many are
well off the beaten track and make this a particularly interesting area to explore by moun-
tain bike.
Finally...
Remember that youareinMadagascar toenjoyyourself.Here'sacomment from
a traveller who spent eight days in Ranomafana: 'Now I will make my confession: I never
actually went into the park itself! I'm not that keen on lemurs anyway - they look like half
monkeys and half cat, and I don't much like either animal. I absolutely love the thermal
baths, though!' Good for Sarah for knowing what she wants and doesn't want to do!
SOME DAYS IN THE LIVES OF WILDLIFE RESEARCHERS
A NAME THAT STICKS
Frances Kerridge, carnivore researcher
The wife of my assistant, Zely, was pregnant with their sixth offspring. A messenger
arrived to say she was in labour and I sent down a knitted baby jacket and some
sardinesandchocolatetosustainherthroughtheordeal.WhenZelyreturnedfrompa-
ternity leave he said we should choose his new son's name. I tried to make something
suitable from all our initials but the best I could manage was 'Frisbe', so we all chose
a name and put them in a hat. Zely picked out mine which was 'Faly' - 'happy' in
Malagasy. It could have been so much worse. We had run out of glue and a guide was
going to Vondrozo to do some shopping. I had written down Araldite' on a piece of
paper and somehow that got into the hat too!
RAINING SCATS AND LOGS
Kara Moses, primatologist
