Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
KIRINDY RESERVE
This is one of the most rewarding natural areas in Madagascar and is part of the 125,000ha
Menabe protected area. It is not to be confused with the Kirindy-Mitea National Park (see
but despite this selective logging, the wildlife here is abundant. It is one of the few places
where you may see the giant jumping rat and the narrow-striped mongoose, and is also the
best place in Madagascar to see the fossa. See box on
Click Here
for more on Kirindy's
wildlife.
For a more exciting experience visit the park when the fossas are overcome with spring
fever.JonathanEkstromreports:'TheymatevoraciouslyoverfourdaysbetweenlateOcto-
ber and late November. The timing is pot luck but you would be guaranteed good views.
There are camera teams there every year to film it!'
Accommodation is pretty basic but even if you normally dislike roughing it, you should
try to stay a night here. Day visitors see far less than those able to observe wildlife at the
optimum time of dawn and dusk, and a night-time stroll is usually an exceptional wildlife
experience with nocturnal lemurs and chameleons easily seen and - if you are really lucky
-agiantjumpingrat.Ontheotherhand-ifyou're
unlucky
-youcouldhaveanexperience
such as readers Paul and Inbal Kolodziejski had on their honeymoon: 'An hour into the
nightwalkourguidestartedtolooknervous,walkingbackandforth.Itturnedouthe'dlost
the track. Hestarted walking incircles andwecould see hewas beginning topanic -never
a good sign from your guide in the middle of the night in a scary forest! After much frantic
running around, he told us he must consult the spirit of his grandfather, so he crouched,
covered his head, and rocked back and forth. We waited, having visions of sleeping in the
forest.Afterhefinished,hedidn'tlooklikeheknewanythingmorethanbefore,butatleast
he'd calmed down and we could talk to him!'
Eventuallytheystumbledacrossanumberedtreetagthatallowedthemtoworkouttheir
location; perhaps grandfather had sent a signal after all.
KIRINDY: AN ISLAND WITHIN AN ISLAND
Lennart Pyritz
