Madagascar is often referred to as the ‘Eighth Continent’ and its exceptional fauna and flora have evolved over millions of years of isolation. This legendary uniqueness is nowhere better reflected than in its birds, and the island hosts no fewer than five endemic families (the ground rollers, cuckoo roller, mesites, Malagasy warblers and asities), plus the near endemic vangas! But the wonder of Madagascar extends well beyond its avifauna, and we do not neglect the amazing lemurs, colourful chameleons, and fascinating flora of this appropriately named “laboratory of evolution.” For our Madagascar Highlights tour we have cherry-picked the best of Madagascar and offered it in a shorter package, and as a result, this expedition provides a more relaxed pace and less demanding Madagascar experience than our Comprehensive tours. We target all five endemic Malagasy bird families as well as good numbers of lemurs and other representative wildlife, making this ideal for travellers with limited time or less interest in targeting every single endemic bird.
Subdesert Mesite; Cuckoo Roller; Long-tailed, Pitta-like, Rufous-headed, Short-legged & Scaly Ground Rollers; Red-breasted, Red-fronted, Running, Red-capped, Blue & Giant Couas; Velvet Asity; Nuthatch, Lafresnaye’s, Crossley’s & Sickle-billed Vangas; Madagascar & France’s Sparrowhawks; Madagascar Sandgrouse; Madagascar Buttonquail; Madagascar Owl; Madagascar & Collared Nightjars; Madagascar Crested Ibis; Madagascar Wood Rail; Brown Emutail; White-throated Oxylabes; Archbold’s Newtonia; Thamnornis; Nelicourvi Weaver.
Indri; Ring-tailed & Red-bellied Lemurs; Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur; Diademed & Verreaux’s Sifakas; Madagascar Flying Fox
rainforest, riparian forest, deciduous woodland, spiny desert, mudflats, wetlands
cool to warm, cold evenings in highlands
8 with 1 Rockjumper leaders & local leader
slow to moderate
comfortable hotels and lodges
mostly unchallenging but several difficult rainforest skulkers
120-130
Spiny Desert, Berenty, weird herps & insects, coral reefs, shopping, culture
incredible
This was our first tour with Rockjumper and it was absolutely fabulous. Adam Walleyn is by far the best bird guide we have ever had the privilege of working with. His combined qualities as the overall tour leader in terms of personality, ability to deal with whatever got thrown at him and interactive skills were all great. He was very good at keeping us informed of what was planned and was happening next. He was very good at imposing a gentle but essential discipline on the group - rotation in the procession, rotation of positions in the buses, ensuring that everyone got to see the bird - all made for a really good functionality in the group. His sharpness in the field, knowledge of bird calls and bird identification were simply remarkable.
Adam Walleyn went above and beyond to find just about everything there was to see. His knowledge of herps, mammals and birds is very comprehensive.
Adam Walleyn was amazing, and we will definitely be looking into arranging a private Rockjumper tour with him in the future. Not only did he have extensive knowledge of the birds, but also the other flora and fauna, as well as some of the historical aspects of Madagascar.
Just a short note to say that I thought Heinz did a great job with the Masoala extension---he's a a sharp birder, energetic, and very personable with a lot of good stories! I look forward to traveling on another trip with him…
Stephan was an excellent guide and leader. Excellent knowledge, bags of energy, calm and attentive to the needs of the group. Accommodation and food generally very good and local ground agent had logistics well sorted - even internal flights all to plan.
Tour Leader: André Bernon
Tour price (Per person): USD7,295 * GBP5,834 * EUR6,773 * AUD11,046
Single Supplement: USD1,010 * GBP808 * EUR938 * AUD1,529
Flight costs: USD1,075 * GBP860 * EUR998 * AUD1,628
Tour Leader: Gregory de Klerk
Tour price (Per person): USD7,295 * GBP5,834 * EUR6,773 * AUD11,046
Single Supplement: USD1,010 * GBP808 * EUR938 * AUD1,529
Flight costs: USD1,075 * GBP860 * EUR998 * AUD1,628
Tour Leader: Forrest Rowland
Tour price (Per person): USD7,295 * GBP5,834 * EUR6,773 * AUD11,046
Single Supplement: USD1,060 * GBP848 * EUR984 * AUD1,605
Flight costs: USD1,080 * GBP864 * EUR1,003 * AUD1,635
Tour Leader: Lev Frid
Tour price (Per person): USD7,295 * GBP5,834 * EUR6,773 * AUD11,046
Single Supplement: USD1,060 * GBP848 * EUR984 * AUD1,605
Flight costs: USD1,080 * GBP864 * EUR1,003 * AUD1,635
Madagascar - Herz & friends 2023 - November 2023
Madagascar - Comprehensive III 2023 - October 2023
Madagascar - Whitlock 2023 - October 2023
Madagascar - Highlights II 2023 - October 2023
Madagascar - Comprehensive II 2023 - September 2023
Madagascar - Kingsbury 2023 - September 2023
Madagascar - Vounnou 2022 - November 2022
Madagascar - Highlights II 2022 - October 2022
Madagascar - Comprehensive II 2022 - September 2022
Madagascar - Highlights II 2019 - October 2019
Madagascar - Comprehensive II 2019 - October 2019
Madagascar - Comprehensive III 2018 - November 2018
Madagascar - Masoala Peninsula Extension 2018 - October 2018
Madagascar - Highlights II 2018 - October 2018
Madagascar - Franzen 2018 - October 2018
Madagascar - Comprehensive II 2018 - October 2018
Madagascar - Comprehensive I 2018 - July 2018
Madagascar - Highlights I 2018 - July 2018
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