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An island apart Where nature goes off script
EPIC JOURNAL

An epic journey to magical Madagascar

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Magical Madagascar

written by: Rob Barbour 11 Sep 2018

 

“Madagascar is a curious wonderland. It’s an unrepeatable experiment, a set of animals and plants evolving in isolation for over 60 million years. We’re still trying to unravel its mysteries.” – Sir David Attenborough.

 

Understanding the geological history of this island country off the southeast African coast, helps explain why Madagascar is such a unique destination.  Part of the original land mass of Gondwana land, Madagascar split from India approximately 88 million years ago.

Wildlife has evolved independently ever since. This explains the 80% endemicity and exclusivity of Madagascar’s birds, reptiles and mammals. Nothing bites, stings or eats you which is good news for travellers. Even the snakes and spiders are harmless to humans, making wildlife viewing an anxiety-free affair.

Most see Madagascar as part of Africa however it has only been discovered and inhabited in the last 2000 years. The first people were actually from Indonesia. Today, the culture is an interesting mix of southeast Asia, Africa and most recently French, due to the colonial period. The wonderful fusion of distinctive food, customs and architecture makes Madagascar a feast for the senses.

Magical Madagascar has something for everyone. From pristine beaches and abundant, well protected marine and endemic wildlife, to lush emerald forests and incredible scenery. There are strange plants and creatures, seemingly from a Dr Seuss book, including the famous and magnificent baobabs.

The lemurs of Madagascar

This wild and mysterious country, the world’s fourth largest island, is perhaps best known as the home of lemurs. With over 100 different types, these adorable, cheeky creatures like getting up close and personal, particularly with Rob!

At least half the world’s 150 chameleon species and many endemic birds, frogs and mammals like carnivorous fossas also live exclusively here.

While on safari Rob experienced amazing night walk adventures and more close encounters with strange and colourful amphibians and reptiles.

Distances are long, but whether you travel by road or air, there is always something interesting to look at whilst moving. It may not be the first country on your travel list but, if you have been to the more prominent wildlife icons on the African continent, then Madagascar is well worth a visit.

It truly is the Indian Ocean’s ‘Galapagos’ and a wild and magical place worth experiencing.

Watch Rob’s Madagascar video highlights:

 

If you are interested in exploring this ‘gondwana land’ of endemic flora and fauna, please get in touch at  epic@epicprivatejourneys.com

 

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A photo taken in Africa feels like it’s for someone else. I don’t need to remind myself of any part of Africa because, in Africa, I was inescapably present. If you’d hypnotised me, I couldn’t have done a better job of blocking out the rest of world. What else would I think of while watching a pair of cheetahs push themselves to keep eating despite their burgeoning bellies; or a lion physically challenged to pull its kill to safety from circling hyenas and vultures; or a young baboon endlessly distracted while their troop moves on with steady pace and determination. The pictures that I took to memorialize these moments may be interesting to friends and family but are simply too one dimensional for me. In my mind these moments are enriched with the smell of dirt and grass, the smell of fresh blood and old/dried blood, the smell of the sun and heat radiating off every living thing during the day and that smell being slowly put to rest at night. I see the changing colours of the high grass in the winds and the crescendo of a sunset from yellow to orange to bright red with clouds of pink and purple. I hear the birds and crickets playing a calming soundtrack to a day filled with extreme exhibitions of both life and death. I feel a profound connection to a zebra with a broken ankle and another zebra that won’t leave its side; to a couple of gorillas that agree rolling down the grassy hill would be preferable to walking down; and to a lioness who only wants a moment to get a drink for herself and is tackled repeatedly at the hole by two of her cubs. Everything that is beautiful about life is in Africa absent the numbing competition of traffic, work, tv, social media, and the rest. Samadhi refers to “a state of profound concentration and absorption, often described as the merging of the self, mind, and object of meditation into one, leading to a state of bliss or enlightenment.” For me, this has only ever been achieved in Africa. Thank you to your entire team for the great gift that you shared with us. I cannot imagine a more perfect experience.
Christie family – East Africa
Leonardo Abedum de Lima Hanzawa
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