Travel_LeisureIndiaSouthAsia-January_2017

9088 TRAVEL TRAVEL ++ LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 LEISURE / JANUARY 2017

Guide

T

H

E

EAST AFRICA

T

HIS large island on the Indian Ocean

has long been disdained as the shabby

cousin of its glitzier neighbours

Mauritius and the Seychelles, and been

derided as the place frequented by

only Frenchmen with a penchant for

bashlessly unadorned nature, the island’s

colonial past and the allures of its local

lasses. They’re quite happy to make you

see Madagascar as they do and that is

as a “celebration of the extraordinary;

a place where Nature’s creative genius

takes fl ight.” An ambition easily achieved

by the people behind Norman Carr

Safaris’ Chinzombo in Zambia, Miavana’s

sister camp, who’ve invoked none other

than Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens,

the much-sought architects of North

Island fame (yes, where Wills and Kate

honeymooned in the Seychelles) to

engineer a low-impact, high-style look

for the fourteen-villa lodge on Nosy

Ankao, part of a private fi ve-island

archipelago where the marine biodiversity

culminates. But it isn’t enough nowadays

to announce sands as white as virginity

and blue, blue waters that lap right up to

The easiest way to travel to

Madagascar is via Johannesburg:

You can book non-stop flights

between the two on SOUTH AFRICAN

AIRWAYS and AIR MADAGASCAR.

For those travelling from the West

Coast, book direct flights from

Guangzhou and Bangkok.

madagascar-tourisme.com

the door of your luxury villa from where

you could snorkel and scuba dive. You

need to be radical to get attention in the

blasé world of luxury travel and Miavana

manages to by shipping the land safari

to the oceanic wilderness with their ‘Blue

Safari’ guided water activities designed

to provide fascinating insights. They

hope to protect and conserve the island’s

vulnerable natural resources and provide

employment for locals. Think chopper

rides, lemur trekking, whale watching,

fl y-fi shing, deep-sea fi shing... If you’ve

had too much sun and see then they’ll take

you on a Rainforest Hike on the mainland

after which you’ll no doubt need to avail

of their spa.

KNOW

MADAGASCAR

BETTER

LEMURS ARE SACRED HERE

The over 100 species of lemurs are

considered a sacred animal in the

country. Remember the lemur King

Julien from the movie Madagascar

who likes to 'move it! move it'!

STRONG HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTIONS

Human rights are protected under

the constitution. Family, ethnic,

religious, and sexual minorities are

legally protected, and freedom of

assembly is also guaranteed.

UNIQUE SPECIES

Most animals native to the country are

in fact, not found anywhere else in the

world. Madagascar was also home to

extinct species like the giant flightless

birds and dwarf hippos.

MALAGASY FASHION

Whether it's women, men, children, or

elders, everyone in Madagascar wears

the same style of clothing called the

Lamba. Made with different fabrics,

it is similar to a wrap skirt.

LITERATURE

'Hainteny' is a Malagasy oral tradition,

that translates to 'knowledge of

words'. It heavily uses metaphors,

folktales, fables, riddles and historical

poems to convey simple messages.

MIAVANA ISLAND SANCTUARY

But perceptions are changing with the much-

hyped, much-awaited launch of Miavana Pvt

Island or Miavana Island Sanctuary as

they rather call themselves. All’s set to make

Madagascar hotter than its tropical climate could!

But Miavana has less blazing ambitions.

timeandtideafrica.com

Madagascar

HOW TO

GET THERE

COURTESY OF NORMAN CARR SAFARI(2); COURTESY OF MIAVANA ISLAND SANCTUARY