Practical Information - Madagascar - page 157

Studying seed dispersal in black-and-white ruffed lemurs involved several months of
gruelling fieldwork, trailing a family group every day to collect their excrement. For
my team and me, navigating through the forest undergrowth, often at high speed, was
exhilarating and exasperating in equal measure.
I never thought a defecating lemur would excite me so, but whenever I saw one
coming I'd shout ' poo! ' and it was all systems go: plastic bag, hurried notes, GPS
point, tree-marking, identifying the perpetrator and avoiding the shower of turds (not
always successfully; faecal samples were regularly collected from our heads and
arms). To gather the droppings I hired an extra guide, whose name was pronounced
bear . The irony of having 'Pooh Bear' on our team never grew old.
ITINERARIES Theinformationaboveshouldenableyoutoplanyouritinerarywithade-
greeofconfidence.Bewareoftryingtocramtoomuchintoyourvisit-thisisahugeisland
and it can take a while to get from place to place. Bear in mind also that tour operators
usually divide the country into north and south (with Tana at the centre) because there are
no connecting domestic flights linking the two halves. You often have to spend a night in
Tana. If your time is limited you should choose either the north or the south.
TOUR OPERATORS
UK The internet is the ideal way of finding out the best tour operator for your purposes.
ATTA (African Travel and Tourism Association; www.atta.co.uk ) has a comprehensive
listing for Madagascar, separated into different interests. Safaribookers
( www.safaribookers.com ) has a listing of madagascar specialists. The organisation Re-
sponsibletravel.com promotes ethical tour operators.
The listings below are the specialists.
Aardvark Safaris 01980 849160; f 01980 849161; e [e-mail] ;
www.aardvarksafaris.com . Exclusive tailor-made holidays.
Africa Travel Centre 0845 450 1520; f 0845 450 5725; e [e-mail] ;
www.africatravel.co.uk . Flights & tailor-made holidays. See ad on Click Here .
Audley Travel 01993 838044; e [e-mail] ; www.audleytravel.com
Bridge & Wickers 020 7483 6555; e [e-mail] ;
www.bridgeandwickers.co.uk . Newcomers to offering Madagascar tours. See ad after
page 408.