2015/10 Madagascar

The IPS board meeting was in Madagascar, which gave us a good excuse to visit. We started by flying to Toliara and driving up to Isalo NP with our amazing driver Haja. He dropped us off for a three day backpacking trip through the park with Peter. It was our first time backpacking with porters and cooks, and it was a truly luxurious adventure. The extreme heat made the hiking a bit difficult, but the overall experience and scenery was more than worth it. Especially the group of ringtailed lemurs we saw climbing over the rocks at sunset the first day. After backpacking we had a night at the upscale Jardin du Roy before we made our way to Zombitse NP on the drive back to Toliara and then on to Tsiminampetsotsa NP by boat. We again camped for a couple of nights in this park, and had some wonderful hikes with our guide Julian. The next few days were spent on Ile St. Marie for the palm meeting, which was more of a typical tropical beach location. Following the palm meeting, we made our way to Andasibe-Mantadia NP where we were blessed with William as our guide. He was able to find every animal imaginable, including the highly elusive foosa. It was mating season, and William said he can smell the urine during this time of year! We were able to spend well over an hour watching a pair of these incredible animals. What a way to end our vacation!