"Nosy Mangabe" Nosy Mangabe by quapaw

If you are staying in Maroantsetra a trip to the island Mangabe is definately a must. Especially if you do not have a whole lot of time to explore the Massoala peninsula and surrounding areas. You can easily go see Nosy Mangabe in two days. A one day visit is even possible.

We arranged this trip from hotel Le coco beach in Maroantsetra through Rakoto Vazaha. If you want to do trips around Maroantsetra and Massoala peninsula this is the guy to go to. It is also possible to hire camping gear with Rakoto.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the first morning we did some shopping at the market to take food etc. with us. The guide can come with you if you want but I reckon thats only onnoying as he wants you to buy loads of stuff you dont actually need. The boat picked us up right at the hotel and we were able to leave our valuable belongings at the hotel.
The speedboat was very quick and propelled us through the river nearly causing local dug out canoes to capsize. Through the river mouth we reached the open sea and in the distance we could already see the rainforests of Nosy Mangabe towering above the ocean.
After 25 minutes and pasing several rusty shipwrecks we arrived at the beach of the island.

master of camouflage

The boat will take you to the park hadquarters where there are tent shelters you can rent if you are spending the night there. The tent shelters are right on the beach; the sea is just meters away. The sandy beach is exellent for swimming and there is a small fishing village about a kilometre down the beach.
You will pay the guide per day and you can basically ask him to come with you whenever and whereever you want. There a a few good hikes on the island that take anywhere between 1 and 5 hours. One trail leeds to sacred Malagasy tombs under large boulders that date way back. During the day your guide can track Black-and-white ruffed Lemurs fairly easy. Their communications calls sound really weird and can be heard over large distances.

There is also Plage des Holandais where dutch sailors made some rock carvings back in the 17th century when they had established a camp on the island. It is quite hard to acces from the park headquarters but you can ask the boat to stop there when you are heading back to Maroantsetra

Micrucebus rufus on Nosy Mangabe

If you go to Nosy Mangabe you probably want to spend at least one night on the island. The nightwalks are exellent! Leaf tailed gekkos are everywhere and many chameleons, snakes (a 3 meter boa was right next to our tent shelter) and other creatures can be seen. The smallest primate in the world, Microcebus rufus, are also quite easily found and you can even see the Aye Aye if you are lucky. Whales are also common in the migrating seison.

This was a brilliant trip, but it is not very cheap I must admit.
Here are some prices (June 2005):

500.000 FMG. P.P. for the boat
50.000 FMG/day for the guide
10.000 FMG/day for tentshelter
75.000 FMG. park entrance fee (two people two days)
And you are expected to bring food and charcoal to cook for yourself and the guide.

• Pros:Really quiet, Primary rainforest with lots of wildlife
• Cons:Remote and not cheap to get to
• In a nutshell:Absolute nature lovers paradise