Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WHERETOSTAYANDEAT
Thereare13bungalowsand17rooms.Generators
are switched off at 22.00, after which there is no electricity (without the electric fans it can
get very hot).
Thereisasnackbarnearthebungalowswherebreakfastisserved,andthebar/restaurant
(near the museum) offers fixed-menu meals, and cool outdoor seats for your pre-dinner
drink.
EXCURSIONS
Tourists staying more than a day should take the two excursions offered.
The area of
spiny forest
here is superb (though hot) and may be your only chance to see
mature
Alluaudia
trees. Some tower over 15m - an extraordinary sight. A visit to the
sisal
factory
may sound boring but certainly is not.
MUSEUMOFTHEANTANDROY
Thisisundoubtedlythebestethnologicalmuseumin
Madagascar, and if your interest in the region extends beyond the wildlife, you should al-
low at least an hour here. Several of the rooms are given over to an explanation (in English
and French) of the traditional practices of the Antandroy people, illustrated by excellent
photos. There are some beautiful examples ofhandicrafts and a small but interesting natur-
al history section including a complete elephant bird egg. This museum should be seen in
conjunction with the replica Antandroy 'village' near the botanical garden, where you can
step inside a traditional house.
MANDENA CONSERVATION ZONE
This protected reserve was established by QMM to protect 230ha of rare littoral forest
in the region that is the centre of their controversial ilmenite mining project and is now
mainly community-managed. The conservation area includes 160ha of the least degraded
fragments of forest and 60ha of wetlands. Twenty-two species of flora are endemic to this
region, with about 200 species of large trees. In 2001 a troop of collared brown lemurs
(
Eulemur collaris
) were relocated to Mandena from a small, threatened area of forest out-
side the conservation zone.
I have visited Mandena twice and absolutely love it! It is completely different from the
Berenty experience, has been thoughtfully conceived to give tourists as much variety as
possible,andthelocalAntanosypeopleareinvolved.Atpresentthisisprimarilyabotanic-
alexperience.ThesixspeciesoflemurintheMandenaareaarestillshy;nodoubttheywill
become habituated in time, but you'll see plenty of birds and reptiles meanwhile. There
is an easy circuit which takes three to four hours and a boat trip which takes you down a
