Northern Madagascar
Domaine de Fontenay
A small, friendly and comfortable lodge with its own 300-hectare private rainforest park ideal for night walks. The main building is a restored colonial villa with a large garden. Rooms are spacious and individually decorated with colonial era furniture and decor. The lodge is situated on the edge of JoffreVille village just 15 minutes’ drive from Montagne d’Ambre National Park.
In the main building is the small but intimate restaurant furnished with rosewood and other local Malagasy woods. It offers authentic and refined cooking, including both French and local Malagasy inspired cuisine, plus a bar and terrace for relaxing. The garden has a path leading straight into the rainforest reserve where an incredible variety of wildlife can be found. There are plans to install Wi-Fi in 2020 and the there is also a very old pet Galapagos giant tortoise in the garden.
Facilities
Spacious en suite bathrooms, restaurant and bar inside the grand main colonial building. Wi-Fi being installed in 2020.
Local Wildlife
The lodge sits next to a private forest reserve which acts as a wildlife corridor to the larger nearby Montagne d'Ambre National Park, the oldest National Park in Madagascar. Both the private reserve and main National Park protect a wonderful isolated mount of rainforest in an otherwise semi-arid landscape. This isolation has resulted in many locally endemic species found nowhere else. Lemurs include the crowned and Sanford’s brown, plus several localised nocturnal species such as the Montagne d'Ambre fork-marked lemur, dwarf lemur and mouse lemur.
Reptiles are a highlight here as the National Park is home to 11 species of chameleon including one of the world’s tiniest, the minute Amber Mountain leaf chameleon: (Brookesia tuberculate). This tiny species is usually only 25 to 35 mm in length when fully grown and confined to the leaf litter of the forest floor but is surprisingly easily found by the eagle-eyed local guides. The private park of Domaine de Fontenay is also the best location for spotting perfectly camouflaged leaf-tailed geckos, various snakes, stick insects and many species of nocturnal lemur.
Birdlife includes the Madagascar blue pigeon, Madagascar crested ibis and Madagascar pygmy kingfisher as well as the highly localised Amber Mountain rock thrush and the ring-tailed mongoose is a common visitor to the park’s picnic site.
Optional Activities
Walking in the National Park and private forest reserve which are perfect for night walks.
Claire Pote
Area Specialist
If you have any questions regarding our Madagascar tours, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
Having recently returned from a truly memorable 3 weeks in Madagascar we wanted to express our sincerest thanks to you Helen, and all at Reef and Rainforest for arranging such a superb wildlife viewing experience.
As you are aware, we were particularly keen to see and photograph the fosa. At Kirindy forest we actually encountered 3. Despite the rather challenging accommodation we would highly recommend the Kirindy experience to all those wanting an exceptional primate viewing experience.
Overall our lemur species/subspecies count was 22 and other notable sightings included 2 species of mongoose, giant jumping rats, a huge Madagascar ground boa, humpback whales and the Madagascar fish eagle.
Every detail of the trip from start to finish was superbly well arranged and managed, which cannot be easy in a country with such complex problems. Well done Helen.
All aspects of the trip were outstanding. Wildlife, people, culture and geography. We will certainly return again to visit the north of the island and return to paradise, Anjajavy.
This was our second trip with Reef and Rainforest and I cannot speak highly enough of your company. I would recommend your services to any natural world/wildlife enthusiast. Thank you again.