Perinet / Mantadia

Perhaps the most-visited wildlife site on the island, Andasibe/Analamazoatra (usually known as Perinet) is a rather small block of forest, famous for holding the only habituated Indri groups on Earth. The nearby Mantadia NP (reached along an appalling road) is a much larger affair, but is impacted by nearby graphite mines. Both are good examples of mid-altitude seasonal wet forest, and between them they hold almost all the forest endemics of Madagascar, although several much sought-after species are very rare indeed here, and almost never seen.

The journey to Perinet from Tana by road took a very long and bumpy five hours, with very little to look at from the wildlife point of view on the way. We were staying in the Hotel Feonany Ala in wooden huts, which were small but comfortable enough. However, there was no soundproofing whatsoever, so your neighbours could wake up to the sound of your suitcase zip (sorry Wim!) at 3.30am. This was when we had to arise for much of our time here, as Mantadia is quite a drive from Perinet. We also found greater numbers of 'civilian' tourists here than almost anywhere else that we stayed, which was a bit of a shock. The weather was cooler and we had a fair amount of rain (and therefore a few leeches). Whilst we were here we also celebrated Glen's birthday, with a lurid cake that the hotel had rustled up for him.

Our guide, Patrice, was quite fierce and ordered us about mercilessly. We did see some excellent birds with him, however. In Perinet we saw Blue, Red-fronted and Red-breasted Couas, Stripe-throated Jery, Nelicourvi Weaver and two Collared Nightjars roosting together in a peculiar Siamese-twin fashion. The best sighting of the first night here was two Madagascar Crested Ibis seen in the gloom of dusk by the water's edge. Red-tailed and Nuthatch Vanga were also seen at Perinet, as were Madagascar Spinetail and Madagascar Brush Warbler. We also had views of a juvenile rail, which caused some debate. In the end the general consensus was that it was a White-throated Rail.

Mantadia was about an hour's drive away on a very bumpy road, and so this entailed getting up exceptionally early on two mornings. Luckily we were rewarded for our efforts with some excellent birds and mammals. The relatively unexciting ones included Green and Wedge-tailed Jery, Cryptic Warbler, Dark Newtonia and Rand's Warbler. It was with difficulty that all of us eventually got onto Grey-crowned Greenbul and the rather drab Forest Fody. Not everyone saw White-throated Oxylabes, however. We also found Madagascar Blue Pigeon, Frances' Sparrowhawk, Tylas Vanga, Madagascar Starling, Ward's Flycatcher and our first Spectacled Greenbuls. We were fortunate enough to see three owls one day - Rainforest Scops Owl really well calling at night, Madagascar Long-eared Owl briefly and a fleeting glimpse of a Barn Owl first thing in the morning. We also actually saw a Madagascar Lesser Cuckoo, whose call is ever present in the forests here and can call all night, inducing irritation or even madness...

It was here also where we first connected with some of our main target birds - the stupendous Pitta-like Ground-roller, and eventually two elusive Scaly Ground-rollers. Patrice had found a nest of Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher and so we managed excellent views and photos of this beautiful bird. The rare Madagascar Little Grebe was found on a lake, along with a brief sighting of a Henst's Goshawk for some. At this point one of our group, Tom, fell over spectacularly in his excitement. This was the first of several memorable 'nose-dives of the trip, mainly by Tom who attempted some very high-tariff moves. Another stunning bird, Velvet Asity, was seen in all plumages here, and the full male posed confidently for an extended photo-shoot. The best experience of all here for Julia was certainly the confiding Madagascar Flufftail, which was calling and shivering its tail right at our feet for several minutes, affording brilliant views.

Perinet is famous for its Indri and we were fortunate to see and hear these really well. The sound of an Indri calling when you are no more that ten feet away is thrilling, if also ear-splitting. We also connected with Red-bellied Lemur, and the beautiful Diademed Sifaka. At night we found Eastern Woolly Lemurs and a very tame Greater Dwarf Lemur feeding right outside the lodge, behaving in much the same way as our Grey Squirrels on wires. We also had Eastern Grey Bamboo Lemur by the roadside.

We did see plenty of 'herptiles', especially on the night walks. The walks were not always pleasant as they were largely on busy roads, especially in Perinet. We did see Short-horned, Nose-horned and Band-bellied Chameleons, and a Black-and-White Striped Snake at the lodge. There were also several frogs, including several Yellow-banded Tree Frogs, and several Lineated Day Geckos and Madagascar Plated Lizards. By day, a particular highlight was the much-trailed and suitably spectacular Giraffe-necked Weevil, although it had stiff competition from an infestation of over 50,000 "Pill Bug" Millipedes (estimated), and the world's coolest Stick Insect.