Powdery white beaches, palm trees and impossibly blue waters dominate everyone’s imagination of tropical island escapes. Even better if there is no one else there.
This is the case at Cap Masoala, the destination of the Blue Lagoon Expedition, where time might as well have stood still for the past few hundred years. Rural people survive there on a subsistence lifestyle and over the past 20 years have accepted guests as part of the community.
Some 50km from the base camp at Masoala Forest Lodge lies Cap Masoala, the very tip of the Masoala Peninsula. This remote location holds a small rural population that depends largely on the sea for subsistence and has the luxury of a fortnightly visit by a coastal trading boat for rarer goods. It really is miles from anywhere and as a result has an idyllic, disconnected feel.
Access is literally only by boat from Masoala Forest Lodge and guests can stay there only as part of the Blue Lagoon Expedition, the first nights of which are spent at Masoala Forest Lodge after first flying into Maroantsetra Airport some 90km from Cap Masoala.
On this expedition you combine the core area of Masoala National Park and rainforest with a marine exploration of the Blue Lagoon, its beaches, fringing reefs and offshore islets by kayak and outrigger pirogue. Walk the shores and snorkel the coves while still finding time for night walks in search of lemurs and sundowners on old crumbling colonial lighthouses. Simple food, fresh air, and midday siestas in shady hammocks are the order of the day.
This expedition takes place in the summer months of October, November, and December during optimal ocean conditions.
Day
1
Antananarivo to Masoala National Park [Masoala Forest Lodge]
Scheduled charter from Antananarivo to the small coastal trading town of Maroantsetra where you are welcomed by the lodge team. Drive to the harbour and boat to Masoala Forest Lodge. Meet your guide and the lodges managers and settle into camp. Enjoy the sunset with a drink at the beach fire followed by dinner.
Day
2
Masoala Forest Lodge
After a leisurely breakfast head to the primary forest in search of Red Ruffed Lemurs, Helmet Vangas and an array of other rainforest wildlife. After lunch enjoy snorkeling and swimming in front of the camp, and then later the adventure of a forest night walk.
Day
3
Masoala Forest Lodge
Kayak or boat south along the coast to the sacred island of Nosy Ndraindra, continue to the nearby beach of Ampamoavana where a picnic lunch is set up for you. Kayak or boat back and enjoy the stunning views of the forest from the ocean. Join us back at the lodge for a traditional Malagasy night.
Day
4
Masoala Forest Lodge
Snorkel the reefs at tooth rock near the lodge in the morning. In the afternoon enjoy a coastal walk to the Tampolo River and take the traditional dugout canoe up the river. Here you have good chances of spotting bamboo lemurs, Nelicorvi weavers and kingfishers. You will also encounter the unique scenery of mangroves and volcanic rock formations and enjoy the magical silence on the river.
Day
5
Cap Masoala [Crusoe's Cabin]
This morning you load up the expedition boat and travel 40km south to Cap Masoala, the very tip of the Peninsula; after lunch and settling into Crusoe’s Cabin we explore the marine surroundings.
Day
6
Cap Masoala [Crusoe's Cabin]
Take the kayaks across to the island of Nosy Behento to a secret snorkeling spot and an outing to an old lighthouse.
Day
7
Cap Masoala - Blue Lagoon
Today you take a packed lunch and have a full day on the Blue Lagoon; snorkeling, swimming, exploring the sacred point and enjoying the white sand beaches and waving coconut palms. A night walk after dinner may reveal new lemur species for the trip.
Day
8
Cap Masoala - Masoala Forest Lodge
After breakfast and a swim, you head back north along the coast, back to Masoala Forest Lodge and the comfort of the lodge. Enjoy a walk in the private reserve and a massage in the afternoon. Meet the new guests at the camp fire.
Day
9
Masoala Forest Lodge
The primary forest beckons again today, with another chance to see Red Ruffed Lemur, White-fronted Brown Lemur, Short-legged Ground Roller and a number of Vanga species in amongst the giant hardwoods of the rainforest.
Day
10
Masoala Forest Lodge
Meet the Betsimisaraka people, at their village. We will stop by the Masoala Forest Lodge preschool where the kids sing for us. Together with the children, we will leave the school to go to the village where we meet their moms for a music and dance performance and a spice market.
Day
11
Masoala Forest Lodge
Your final morning spent either relaxing on the beach or in the ocean, or instead combing the forest for any species not yet seen. Take the sailing boat out for a sunset cruise in the afternoon and on return to camp, join the bonfire before dinner and meet one of the nine nocturnal lemur species on a night walk.
Day
12
Depart
Today you head back by boat to Maroantsetra to catch your scheduled charter flight to Antananarivo and your onward travel home or elsewhere in Madagascar.
RATES & INCLUSIONS
10 nights - 6 070.00 Euros pp sharing
10 nights - 7 225.00 Euros pp single
10 nights - 4 145.00 Euros child 12yrs sharing
11 nights - 6 410.00 Euros pp sharing
11 nights - 7 667.00 Euros pp single
11 nights - 4 312.00 Euros child 12 yrs sharing
Antananarivo return flights, road and boat transfers, all meals and cooldrinks, locally made rums and selected spirits, private guide per day, park fees, guided walks, boat trips, kayak excursions, snorkeling, 30 min massage, laundry.
Guided exploration of the local National Park islands
Guided sea kayak tours in the Cap Masoala lagoon
Birding, mammal & reptile spotting at Cap Masoala
Guided visit to the local Ville Masoala to experience the local culture
Guided nocturnal walks at Cap Masoala
Guided visit to Anjanaharibe, ancient rock formation
Exploration of the white sand beaches in the area
A visit to the local mangrove forest
Snorkeling at the reefs, equipment included
ON THE MAP
