The Solar Eclipse A Royal View 01 September 2016

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1 TOUR 1 - A ROYAL VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT OF MONTTOUR Maximum number of participants: 6 A 16-day tour, from 19 August 3 September KEY WORDS Whale spotting, Nature Reserve, Lemur Parks, Rainforest walk, train journey, watching the Solar Eclipse from the top of a hill, deep in rural Madagascar SUMMARY This tour gives you ample opportunity to see some of the highlights of Madagascar s east coast before the solar eclipse. Thus, you are already nicely adapted to the climate and the pace of life when on the 1 st of September the sun will be hidden by the moon. The tour includes a visit to two nature reserves and a lemur park, a train journey, a whale spotting trip and time to linger on the beach. There is also ample opportunity to meet the kind and open-minded population, and to encounter different kinds of lemurs and other specimen of Madagascar s unrivalled fauna. The highlight is to climb a hill in the rainforest, once the residence of a local king, and witness the solar eclipse from the top which towers above the surrounding landscape. For this tour it is advisable to be in reasonable good form and to bring comfortable walking shoes. 1

2 DESCRIPTION DAY - 1 Friday 19 August Arrival Arrival at Ivato Airport near the capital Antananarivo. A comfortable bus will pick you up at the airport to take you to a friendly and quiet hotel for a good night s sleep. DAY 2 - Saturday 20 August To Andasibe, night walk in Mitsinjo Park After breakfast the bus will take you to Andasibe to experience the tropical forest and spot its hairy and scaled inhabitants. You will be lodged in a small but comfortable hotel in the village Andasibe. At around 6 p.m. you are expected at the entrance of the Mitsinjo Park for the night walk to meet the nocturnal lemurs and other wildlife like chameleons and frogs. Dinner will be served at the pleasant Mikalo restaurant or another of your preference. DAY 3 - Sunday 21 August Andasibe, day walk Mitsinjo Park Back to the Mitsinjo Park, for a two hour walk to see the famous Indri-indri, locally known as Babakoto, Madagascar s largest lemur that doesn t survive in captivity and is endangered for loss of habitat. For the local people the Babakoto is a sacred animal and not to be killed. Besides the Babakoto you may come across mouse lemurs, dwarf lemurs, and sportive lemurs. Do not forget the chameleons and the frogs for which Mitsinjo is famous. In the afternoon you can roam the village or return to Mitsinjo for a more challenging walk (not included) or visit the National Park across the road. Lunch and dinner are again at your choice (our information will give suggestions), to allow you a maximum of possibilities. 2

3 DAY 4 - Monday 22 August train to Lake Ampitabe Breakfast will be served early and after that M Jean-Nico, the kind hotel owner will accompany you to the railway station, an interesting building from the times the train was the only connection between the capital and the main harbour, Toamasina. The train an unforgettable experience in itself winds its way east and later north on the strip of land between the Indian Ocean and the Pangalanes Canal, a 600 kilometres waterway composed of lakes and streams connected by canals. Your destination today is Lake Ampitabe, one of the canal s natural lakes. It has developed into a tourist destination with on its shores a lemur park, a nature reserve and in the villages a hospitable population. In Andranokoditra, a fishing-village-cum-beachresort you will be lodged in the bungalows of Les Orchidées, where the waves of the Indian Ocean will lull you to sleep. But before that there will be time to walk around in the village and visit the museum. That evening, after dinner, the village s women s association will entertain you with local dance and music. DAY 5 - Tuesday 23 August Lake Ampitabe, Vohibola reserve, Palmarium A visit to one of the last parts of littoral rain forest, Vohibola, is programmed. The boat will take you across the lake where the local guide will take you on an interesting and easy walk in the reserve. The canal and its banks are a rare combination of an ecological system dominated by the Indian Ocean and that of the tropical forests more inland. In the reserve plants are abundant. Rains are frequent here because the western (ocean) winds have to climb the mountain ranges further inland. An ideal habitat for many species of lemurs, lizards, frogs, snakes and turtles. After your visit to the Vohibola Reserve the boat will take you to the Palmarium where lunch will be served. You will immediately meet some of the lemurs that live in semi-freedom in this park. They ll try to join you in eating. When you are ready a guided tour will enable you to observe apart from the lemurs also turtles, chameleons, frogs, and a great variety of indigenous and wild plants and trees. When dusk sets in, the boat will bring you back to Andranokoditra for dinner at your hotel and maybe a dip in either the Ocean or the Lake. 3

4 DAY 6 - Wednesday 24 August to Tampina, Tapakala and Toamasina You proceed to Toamasina (also known as Tamatave) by boat on the Pangalanes Canal. On the way you will visit a distillery of essential oils run by village women in Tampina. A second stop will be at Tapakala, for a little round tour and a garden lunch of typical Malagasy food. Then it is only another 12 kilometres to Toamasina. M Victorien, the skipper will make sure you arrive safely at our. Dinner will be in one of the better restaurants in town. DAY 7 - Thursday 25 August to Ste Marie Island Early in the morning you will leave for Ste Marie Island. The bus will pick you up at the Centre, and after an interesting drive along plantations and small villages you ll arrive in Soanierana Ivongo, some 160 kilometres north of Toamasina. Here the boat will be waiting to take you across to Ste Marie Island. The island has an interesting history. After some Portuguese sailors found refuge from a terrible tempest here, the island became popular with seafarers on their way to or from the Indies. It also developed into a pirates nest. It became a French property as early as Relics of this history can still be found in places such as the Pirate Cemetery near Pirate Island, the first Catholic Church in Madagascar (1837) and the Old Fortress (1753). But the island is also famous for its white sandy beaches and for whale spotting. We have booked you a nice family hotel on the beach, a few kilometres south of the island s capital Ambodifotatra. The owner will pick you up when the boat arrives and the following days he will supply you with the information you need and will help you to rent bikes, scooters or quads to explore the island.. 4

5 DAY 8 - Friday 26 August Whale spotting This day you will board a small vessel to go and spot the whales at close range. Humpback whales pass the island on their 5,000 kilometres journey back to the Antarctic. And indeed, it is an unforgettable experience to see those huge animals leap out of the water, turn around upon their tail flukes or just to watch the mothers protectively circumvent their new-born calves. Lunch will be at the small island south of Ile Ste Marie, Ile aux Nattes. You can take the boat back to Ste Marie or walk back and take a pirogue to cross the short distance between Ile aux Nattes and Ile Ste Marie. DAY 9 - Saturday 27 August - Free day on Ste Marie Island Free day to explore the island. You can swim and snorkel or go to the other side of the island where mangrove is abundant, walk in the small forest in the middle of the island, visit the pirates cemetery.. You will find many good restaurants with fresh seafood to make your own choice. DAY 10 - Sunday 28 August Back to Toamasina Already time to return to Toamasina. The hotel owner will make sure you are on time to board the ship back to the main island. And once back in Soanierana Ivongo the bus will take you back to Toamasina and. DAY 11 - Monday 29 August visit to Ile aux Prunes or to Park Ivoloina This day you can choose to go either to the Ile aux Prunes or to the Ivoloina Park. For Ile aux Prunes (Plum island) you leave early in the morning to cover the 10 nautical miles (17 kilometres) to the little desert island. Once there, you have several options, swimming and snorkelling to marvel at the coral reef, climb the lighthouse (the highest in Africa) and enjoy the view, observe the Flying foxes (Pteferus rufus), a fruit eating bat, follow the guide for a tour around the island. A picnic will be served and you ll return to the main island around 3:30 p.m.. You may be on time to join the others for the night walk in the Ivoloina Park. 5

6 DAY 11 continued For Ivoloina Park you can get up a little later. Around 9 a.m. the taxi will be waiting to bring you to this small zoo north of Toamasina. Ivoloina is renowned for its twelve different species of lemur, some highly endangered like the Greater Bamboo Lemur and the Blue-eyed Black Lemur. Park Ivoloina participates in several breeding programmes to preserve endangered species from extinction. The park also takes care of animals saved from captivity. They are being prepared to return to the wild. Apart from the lemurs there are frogs, chameleons, turtles, snakes and birds. The park has more to offer, like a few hours hiking, picnicking near the waterfall, visiting the education centre or the sustainable agriculture model station. The night walk (at around 6 p.m.) is highly recommended as it is one of the few opportunities to see the weirdest of primates, the aye-aye. At the end of the day all participants will have dinner together at the Ocean's seaside. DAY 12 - Tuesday 30 August to Marovato Again early rising to be in time in Marovato to witness the solar eclipse. Accompanied by an English or French speaking guide you ll make the trip by bus, boat and hike that brings you to Fetraomby, the main village of the rural community with the same name. The community is located north-west of Brickaville, about a 100 kilometres inland from Toamasina. The area is hardly opened up. Fetraomby can be reached by boat only, from Brickaville or Anivorano via the Rianila River. But then, the real rural life of Madagascar will unfold before the eyes of the interested visitor. The forest is a protected area, part of the Corridor Ankeniheny-Zahamena, the habitat of the Indri-indri. 6

7 DAY 12 continued During the drive you can enjoy the views. About 20 kilometres from Toamasina the oil palm plantation of the Palmeraie of the Savonnerie Tropicale will appear. Here, oil to manufacture soap is extracted from the oil palms. About one hour later you will arrive in Brickaville. Time for breakfast and some last minute shopping before the boat leaves to take you up the Rianila River. After a three-hour boat trip you will arrive in Anivorano, where your lunch will be waiting. It is a beautifully situated village with large, white sandy beaches. From the bank you can enjoy a broad view across two joining rivers. After lunch the boat will take you all the way up to Fetraomby. At the Pakambo rapids you ll be asked to leave the boat and walk a few hundred metres to board again once the boat has manoeuvred through the rapids. Chickens also have to leave the boat as it is considered fady (taboo) to have them on board while crossing the rapids. Once you have arrived in Fetraomby our partner, the Association Rianala, villagers working together to develop ecotourism in their community, will take care of you. There are no hotels in this area, but the villagers have built special tourist houses with basic facilities. Members of Rianala will cook your meals, carry your luggage, and show you the treasures of their forest. After arriving there will be time to stretch your legs and roam the village or visit a phallus shaped sacred stone where women who want to become pregnant go to pray. Day 13 - Wednesday 31 August Marovato Today some uphill walking is necessary to reach Marovato. You ll walk through a man-made landscape of rice fields, plantations, but also through some forest with a reasonable chance to spot lemurs. On the way you ll pass a 120 metres high waterfall. After a ceremony for the ancestors you are allowed to take a dip in one of the lakes of the waterfall. Once you arrive in Marovato all you have to do is to be welcomed by the villagers and wait for the next day. 7

8 DAY 14 - Thursday 1 September the ANNULAR ECLIPSE After an early breakfast there will be ample time to reach the summit of the Monttour hill in time to enjoy the solar eclipse. The summit was once the residence of a local king. His grandson chose the name Monttour, it is short for Montagne Tourist Tourist Mountain. The mountain is special as it also contains the Beraty cave, used as a hide-out in times of trouble. Most recently during the uprising against the French colonial power in The cave will be pointed out on the way up and you can have a look inside on the way down. The eclipse starts at 10:58 a.m. local time, reaches its maximum at 12:50 p.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be served on the top. When the towns of Brickaville (and even Toamasina) again appear on the horizon, bathing in full sunlight, you know it s over. After you have made all the pictures you want it is time to descend for the afterglow of the eclipse experience. Lat.: S Long.: E Partial Solar Eclipse Magnitude: Obscuration: 93.70% MAROVATO Event Date Time (UT) Time (local) Alt Azi Start of partial eclipse (C1) : 2016/09/01 07:58: :58: Maximum eclipse : 2016/09/01 09:50: :50: End of partial eclipse (C4) : 2016/09/01 11:30: :30:

9 DAY 15 Friday 2 September Back to Toamasina And then it is time to walk down to the river (or hitch a ride with the graphite mine's tractor), drift down to Anivorano in a pirogue, where lunch and the bus will be waiting to take you back to Toamasina and the farewell dinner. DAY 16 - Saturday 3 September Back to Antananarivo and Ivato airport Alas, the end of the journey, the bus will take you back to Ivato airport. Lunch will be served in Moramanga. If your flight is scheduled later, we will suggest you some hotels until departing time arrives. PRICES With trip to Ivoloina Park (Monday 29 th August) p.p. With trip to Ile aux Prunes (Monday 29 th August) p.p. N.B. Prices quoted are maximum prices that may be lowered depending of the number of participants. INCLUDED - All transport - All lodgings - All breakfasts (16) - 10 lunches - 10 dinners - Entry fees to Parks and Forests - Local guides in Parks and during the trek - English or French speaking guide during the Treks - Performances by local dance and music groups - Traditional ceremonies - Protective glasses for the eclipse - All documentation and instructions EXCLUDED - Flight to and from Antananarivo (Ivato Airport) - Hotel after returning in Antananarivo ((if applicable / free choice) - Taxi after returning in Antananarivo to Hotel and/or airport - Drinks (including drinking water) - Souvenirs - Tips - 6 lunches (free choice) - 6 dinners (free choice) - Entry fees for other events than those planned 9