Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
worth visiting on the island is an enormous boulder at the Plage des Hollandais where
Dutch sailors left carved messages during the 1600s. A few decades later, Antongil
Bay and nearby Ile Sainte Marie became infamous to sailors as the strongholds of pir-
ates such as Henry Avery and James Plantain. Traces of many of these eras can still
be seen in the Masoala region. Others remain to be rediscovered!
Summarised from
Masoala: The Eye of the Forest (
see
Click Here
).
Visitors should be warned that logging and clearance for agriculture still persists (see
boxon
ClickHere
)andmapsofthepeninsulatendtobedeceptivelygreen.Thatsaid,there
are still large expanses of virgin forest along with stunning beaches of golden sand dotted
with eroded rocks. Some parts of the peninsula, seen on a sunny day, can arguably be de-
scribed as the most beautiful in Madagascar.
The wildlife is equally stunning. You will need to work for it, but nevertheless the op-
portunity to see red ruffed lemur in its only habitat, helmet and Bernier's vangas, scaly
ground-roller and other rare endemic birds plus a host ofreptiles and invertebrates is not to
be missed.
Switzerland's Zoo Zürich has established a link with Masoala and finances development
projects to encourage conservation. Their Masoala Kely exhibit - an 11,000m
2
indoor rep-
lica rainforest at their Zürich zoo - is well worth visiting (
www.zoo.ch/masoala
) - see box
below.
How to visit Masoala National Park
(
e
infos@masoala.org
;
www.masoala.org
) Unless
you're up for some serious trekking, Masoala can be reached from Maroantsetra only by
boat (1½-2 hours). For independent travellers, finding a safe but affordable vessel is the
main difficulty. The trip should be made as early in the morning as possible to avoid rough
seas. It may be possible to get a local cargo boat to Ambanizana, Andranobe or Lohatro-
zona, but they don't run every day. If you are staying in one of the Masoala lodges the boat
transferwillbepartofthepackage,otherwiseyouwillneedtomakearrangementsthrough
one of Maroantsetra's tour operators.
For recommended guides see
Click Here
. Park permits should be purchased in Maroant-
setra; prices are on
Click Here
.
MASOALA COMES TO ZURICH
Janet Mears
AuniqueecosystemprojecthasrecentlycometofruitionatZooZürichinSwitzerland
and is well worth a visit. With input from the Wildlife Conservation Society and
Masoala National Park, Zoo Zürich is now home to the Masoala Biome, some
11,000m
2
ofMadagascarrainforest.ThebrainchildofzoodirectorDrAlexRübel,the
