Madagascar is best known for its weird and fascinating wildlife! Its separation from the mainland means that completely unrelated animals have evolved to fill the gaps in the ecosystem. This is just one of the many reasons why Madagascar is such a special place!
Verreaux's sifaka, (Propithecus verreauxi) . Endangered.
My first love is Travel Photography > People and Culture, and road tripping in Madagascar certainly fulfilled my desire to see, experience and learn how the Malagasy people live in the cities, the countryside and in very remote areas.
In 2018 and 2019 I organised trips to Madagascar for groups of photographer friends and we ventured all over the country traveling east, central, west, south and everywhere in between. How to sum up a multitude of amazing experiences is rather daunting! Madagascar is much more than Lemurs, Chameleons and Baobab trees although they are indeed extremely amazing and fabulous, so that’s a great place to start!
Parson’s Chameleon (Calumma Parsonii) Near threatened , Male.
Madagascar is renowned for its delightful wildlife. It boasts a huge variety of unique critters > colourful and varied chameleons hiding in the bushes and trees, reptiles, tortoises, frogs, birds, insects and a huge variety of lemurs.
Tips > Photographing Chameleons
- Wait until both eyes rotate forwards or toward your lens.
- Take your time to compose and focus, they don’t walk very fast so there’s plenty of time to get it right.
- They vary in size and colour, some are teeny tiny (Macro lens) whilst most can be shot with a short zoom lens.
Panther Chameleon (Furcifer Pardalis) , Male.
Included in the Lemur family is the poor Aye Aye, which everyone thinks is ugly but .. I think is quite cute in its own unique way :-)
Not only does the Aye Aye look rather .. let’s say ‘special’, there’s an aura of superstition and myth surrounding it. The Malagasy people fear encountering the Aye Aye lest it point its long, hook clawed middle finger at them to impart misfortune or even death!
Such are the myths surrounding the Aye Aye that it’s usually killed on sight to avert impending evil! They are rare in the wild due to this fear but can be seen at protected reserves. Superstition aside, the Aye Aye is not dangerous to people. They are an unusual Lemur, and like all lemurs only found in Madagascar.
The nocturnal Aye Aye Lemur. Endangered.
One simply cannot travel to Madagascar without visiting the legendary and sacred > Avenue of the Baobabs. The avenue is approximately 45 minutes from the laid-back seaside town of Morondava.
A few K’s out of Morondava we turn off the main road and travel on a bumpy dirt road passing rice fields dotted with Baobabs, every now and then jumping out of our 4wd’s to photograph something that has fired our photographic imagination!
The avenue is lined with rows of around 20-25 Baobabs. The trees are up 800 years of age and reach heights of up 30 metres. The circumference of the larger tress can be up to 50 metres. They are giants! The site is protected and eventually there’ll be more ‘upside down trees’ lining the road due to new plantings and local conservation efforts.
Baobab Avenue at Sunset.
Baobab Avenue, Milky Way.
Baobab Avenue > Morning.
The avenue is wonderful to experience and photograph at any time although I recommend sunrise given the only people around are mostly locals going about their daily tasks. Sunset at the avenue is busier with tourists passing through on their return from the north heading back to Morondava.
It doesn’t really matter though as there’s plenty of room for everyone as well as outer areas to explore for those who are keen to get something different.
Astrophotography on the avenue is possible, though it’s worth noting there’s a risk of robbery after dark everywhere in Mada, it can and does occur. Being aware of this, I made arrangements to hire guards to protect our group while we were photographing at night on the avenue.
Overall I spent 45 days in Mada on the two separate trips and throughout all of our travels we always felt safe and were warmly greeted by the friendly Malagasy people everywhere we went!
Baobab Avenue > Morning.
Ringtail Lemur (Lemur Catta) Endangered.
There’s plenty to see in Madagascar, whether you intend a short trip to the iconic highlights or plan to explore further. My trips included sailing down rivers, ocean faring piroque trips to Vezo villages, climbing the world’s most extraordinary limestone pinnacles, lush canyons, trekking in fauna & flora rich rain forests to see and photograph the unique Madagascan wildlife and of course visiting and meeting the Malagasy people in their villages and towns to experience to learn about their culture!
