Trekking and rafting expedition in Madagascar
Maximum group size 10 Beach Extension: £695pp
Description of Trekking and rafting expedition in Madagascar
Madagascar is a one-off; there is no other place like it. Near the equator with an astonishing range of habitats, from rainforests to deserts to mountains to mangrove swamps, it’s one of the world’s most important countries for biodiversity.
This trekking and rafting expedition in Madagascar is a unique tour exploring the little visited regions in the east of the country. It combines the best that Madagascar has to offer - trekking and camping in remote rainforest, rafting a little-knownundocumented river and surfing on the beautiful east coast. During this adventurous trip, you’ll also get the opportunity to see amazing Madagascan animals, reptiles and birds.
The trek begins at the Perinet Nature Reserve. You’ll trek around 50km through remote rainforest over four days, camping overnight in clearings, before reaching the Sahatandra river, where you’ll spend the next few days riding the rapids. Each day you’ll encounter new landscapes and exotic flora, and see much of the endemic wildlife including lemur, reptiles and birds.
The last few days are spent relaxing by the beach at the small coastal town of Mahambo, where you can take advantage of the local surf school, if you’re feeling energetic.
Although there are a few days trekking over steep terrain, no more than a basic level of fitness is required. It’s possible to opt out of some of the longer treks, and there’s a full team of porters so you only have to carry a day pack. No previous rafting experience is necessary as full training will be given.
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Price information
Maximum group size 10 Beach Extension: £695pp
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Reviews
1 Reviews of Trekking and rafting expedition in Madagascar
Reviewed on 24 Nov 2015 by Catherine Nursaw
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
There were too many wonderful experiences to pick out just one as the most memorable or exciting! Some of the many highlights for me included: seeing so many different kinds of lemurs and chameleons; the extraordinary limestone Tsingy; staying in the tree-huts in the Montagne des Francais; eating delicious fruit of all kinds fresh from the tree; the amazing friendliness of the locals and the huge smiles on the faces of the children who would run out to wave at us as we went by!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you decide, like me, to add on some extra time in Madagascar, allow PLENTY of time (24 hours plus!) between any domestic flight and your international flight home. Air Madagascar, the only domestic airline, has a whimsical and unpredictable approach to timetables and will delay, cancel or (almost more frustratingly) bring flights forward by many hours without notice. I ended up missing my international flight as a result of Air Madagascar moving my domestic flight forward by about 8 hours without informing me. Laurenne at the operator was a complete star and very helpful, as were their local agents in Madagascar, but it still made for a very long, difficult and expensive journey home. I should stress that this was a flight I'd booked as an add-on to my holiday - the travel arrangements for that portion of my holiday all went very smoothly.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
To a great extent, yes. I loved the fact that we were off the beaten track - we saw no other tourists after we left Tana for the first 8 days or so, and we were buying provisions from local people and often eating in small local restaurants. Hopefully a lot of the money we spent did go straight into the local economy. I did have some concerns about the lack of environmentally-friendly toilet facilities eg when camping on the river bank. This is not something that a holiday company can fix by itself - the locals just use the river bank - but you don't want to feel like you're contributing to the problem rather than being part of the solution!
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
I had a fantastic time and would definitely recommend going to Madagascar with this holiday provider! There's still so much there to explore, I'm hoping to make it back there myself to see other parts of the country. I'm giving it 5 stars because I enjoyed it so much, though I've been lucky enough to be on some other amazing holidays so I can't honestly say it's the "best holiday I've ever been on". Still, I do think it deserves a 5 star review!
Responsible Travel
Planet
Our local agent on this trip, Gilles will give you a personal and knowledgeable insight of the region, where he has lived for many years. He is very active in reforestation and in 2008 raised funds for 230,000 trees to be planted. Giles works with local NGO Wood En Stock (which is actively replanting trees in Madagascar). For every client booked on any Madagascar trips, we finance one tree per day per client with Wood En Stock. We have just received our certificate that in 2010 our trips (many of these through rt.com) funded the planting of 400 trees.It is principally wildlife tourism that brings people to Madagascar and by using local businesses and services we can inject much needed capital into the local economy. On this expedition we are following a responsible camping procedure which leaves no negative evidence of our presence. We stay in small towns and villages interacting with the locals. By supporting the conservation of the rainforest, we can encourage the authorities to recognise the potential of wildlife tourism and photographic safaris, ensuring the protection of this unique environment.
You will be issued with instructions as to how you can help to preserve the environment and we hope that you will follow our advice to help make a difference.
People
Our local staff accompanying this expedition will give you a real sense of Madagascan culture. We pay all staff fair wages and treat everybody on the trip, including staff, with equal respect and we expect you to do the same.It is principally wildlife tourism that brings people to Madagascar and by using local businesses and services we can inject much needed capital into the local economy. On this expedition we are following a responsible camping procedure which leaves no negative evidence of our presence.
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