Teilnehmerstimmen - Tanalahorizon - Madagaskar seit 1995

Participants’ voices

This is what our guests say

A travel to Madagaskar sound adventurously – and adventure is what our guests expect from us. Every tour is special and unique. Our main goal is to have satsified, happy guests, who return back home healthy and with lots of amazing new experiences. In the following testimonials, our guests tell you their experience, write critics and praises.

Dear Thorsten,

After 2019, this was our second trip to Madagascar. And once again, our time there was wonderful, packed with exciting and sometimes adventurous experiences. The trip first took us to the rainforests of Andasibe and Maromizaha, where we were able to discover numerous different and very rare lemurs, chameleons, a variety of other sometimes bizarre reptiles, insects and endemic plants. We continued on to Antsirabe and then to the rainforests of Ranomafana. There, too, the flora and fauna were unique in a beautiful landscape. At our next stop in Ambalavao, we had the opportunity to visit a large zebu market, a unique experience. From there we also visited the Anja Community Park with its impressive rock formations and the ring-tailed lemurs that live there. We continued on to Isalo National Park with its unique gorges – and there we were actually able to observe the dancing sifakas up close. Before our final destination in Ifaty with its large beach and impressive coral reef, we visited the Antsokay Arboretum, a good mix of relaxation and an educational tour through the lovingly designed botanical garden.

The route was varied and the accommodation was top-notch. The local guides in the national parks were all extremely friendly and very well trained. They were always tirelessly searching for new highlights and were only satisfied when we had seen as much as possible.

Of course, none of this would have been half as enjoyable without our tour guide Dimby, with whom we had already travelled in 2019. He always had interesting stories to tell, but also gave us time to process our impressions. Thanks to his friendliness and sociability, we were always able to learn exciting details about life and everyday life on the island at the numerous stops along the route. And these stops at different markets, in workshops for aluminium processing, wood carving, paper, silk and popcorn production made the trip something very special.

One of the many highlights for us was the scrap metal art workshop in Antananarivo, where many people who would otherwise have no chance of making a living create beautiful works of art. Dimby always had an open ear for our wishes (and also patiently endured our many photo stops), he is simply the best!

Many thanks to the whole Tanalahorizon team,
it was certainly not our last trip with you,

Ellen und Stefan Sieh

Salama Thorsten,

So, now the dreary weather in Germany has got us back and I thought I’d give you some brief feedback on our trip: There were five of us travelling with very different expectations of the tour. Both your planning and José’s tireless and fantastic efforts during the tour made our holiday in Madagascar a wonderful experience for us. And not to forget: Nany took us everywhere safely and changed brake pads and even repaired the car’s coolant tank during our stay. 😉

I have been on many wonderful tours in Africa with guides, but no one has ever been as sensitive, relaxed and endeavoured to meet the wishes of our group as José. Of course, it helped me a lot that he is also an amphibian/reptile enthusiast, has a great eye for spotting chameleons and also has good photography skills. So I was able to fully pursue my hobby of animal photography and realise some of the pictures I had in my head (next time I have a 400mm, 2.8 with me in the rainforest). He also took us to visit shops, markets, a school, the zebu trade and even the fire brigade in Antananarivo (a fellow traveller is active in the fire brigade and wanted to see how a fire brigade in Madagascar is equipped). Of course, the poverty in some areas could not be overlooked (this is not always easy to digest, but it is part of the truth and should help us Europeans to ground ourselves and realise how well off we are). I hope that Josè will make it to Germany in the next few years – he told me about his failed attempts to leave Madagascar for a holiday.

The accommodation was great, there was something for everyone when it came to food and we hardly had any problems with nausea etc. The highlight for all of us was of course the Palmarium at the end of the trip: few chameleons, but indris and other lemurs up close and a great beach for the girls to relax on. And I saw the radiated tortoises (in the enclosure), my favourite tortoises… the two bungalows no. 17 and 18 were of course also a hit there.

So short and to the point:
If we were to plan another Madagascar tour in the next few years (which is not unlikely), we would certainly want to plan the tour with you again and organise a trip with José, everything was just perfect!!!! …and a few pictures that I wasn’t able to take during the last tour are still buzzing around in our heads 😉

Thanks for everything and greetings and Veloma
Michael Berwanger

Dear Thorsten,

It’s about 10 days we’re back from Madagascar. It was a fantastic trip and we’re fully satisfied with it. The itinerary was well planned and the tedious travel days were wisely followed by long stays in nice places: a great balance! We loved Ranomafana, Andasibe and the resort near the ocean.

Dimby was a great guide and we couldn’t have wished for somebody better. Always kind, attentive, patient and eager to fulfill our needs. A great interface with local guides and the other people we dealt with. The car was always OK.

We saw plenty of wildlife: 17 species of lemurs, more than 50 of birds, about 20 of chameleons plus snakes, frogs, geckos and insects. Quite a nice collection, considering it was not the ideal season for this kind of trip!

We’d love to go back, but in the “right” season, and this is currently incompatible with our work. In a few years, we should be able to overcome this problem and we’ll take this opportunity in serious consideration as the experience we just lived was absolutely amazing! We just hope the malagasy people won’t go on destroying their land at the same speed. Walking in the primary forest and then look around to see how it has been turned into a depressing landscape all around the last prisitne surviving patches is heart-breaking!

Thanks for the great experience you made possible for us to live!

Take care and best regards
Daniele & Laura Colombo

Dear Mister Negro,

I’ve just got some time before José picks us up for dinner, so I wanted to write to you briefly to say that the trip was wonderful. In addition to the incredibly moving wildlife, the great nature and the many nice people, Aimee and I especially enjoyed ‘our fun travelling group’. It very quickly felt like we were all on holiday together.

José is a fantastic guide with a big heart, enormous knowledge, the patience of an angel and an absolute sensitivity to always do or say the right thing – a dream!!! Nany, what can I say. When he wasn’t there, I missed him. So nice and funny and always made you feel good and safe on the journey. Everything was rounded off by Nassaina and Yori – I think Aimee would prefer to stay with them. They have so much fun together – even without speaking the same language!

And the four places we visited were all so special. I don’t even know where I loved it the most. I was sad every time we travelled on. So, thank you very much for this great trip, where everything just fell into place – it really enriched us.

So, now I have to go – eat lots of little zebu sticks at Chez Luc! 🥰
Best regards,
Katharina Hirmer

Erfahrungsbericht Franziska Balster in Madagaskar

Madagascar!

A journey full of surprises. Outstanding biodiversity, beautiful landscapes, long car journeys, lots of photos and a wonderful team! And a cyclone that overturned all our plans. Temperatures ranging from 15 degrees to 37 degrees Celsius, lots of sunshine and high humidity, and of course rain. Good food and learning a lot about Madagascar and its culture.

Every day was unique and my soul was able to find some peace. Strangers have become family! I feel honoured to have met such great people and to have been able to experience such moments. It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime. But what can I say? I’ll definitely be back – I promise!

Thank you Thorsten and above all Dimby, José and Fitah and the whole Tanalahorizon Team ❤️

Veloma Madagascar
Franziska Balster

Erfahrungsbericht Svea Brüne in Madagaskar

Madagascar…

We saw lots of interesting animals, beautiful landscapes and learnt new things, but I also got to know and love the friendly and helpful nature of the people there. But the best thing about the tour was that I met great new people who are now part of the family and whom I would never want to miss again. Misaotra betsaka to Thorsten, Dimby, José, Fitah and ourdrivers for this incredibly wonderful time and your great commitment. I’m really looking forward to my next trip to Madagascar and to seeing you all again!

See you soon,
Svea Brüne

Erfahrungsbericht Olli und Nadja Utfeld in Madagaskar

Dear Tanalahorizon team,

Fortunately, Thorsten helped us at very short notice to plan and realise our holiday in Madagascar. Due to special circumstances, we were unable to go on our usual annual holiday in the Amazon jungle this year. At the last minute, so to speak, I got myself two flash units and a control unit and practised a bit at home. With little time to prepare, we then set off on our trip to Madagascar and were absolutely not disappointed.

In Madagascar, Mamisoa (driver) and Fitah (guide) were our companions. Fitah taught me a lot about photographing with flashes during this time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him once again for her great teamwork, which is reflected in the fantastic images. As a biologist, I was very pleased with the in-depth knowledge of the local flora and fauna of Mamisoa, Fitah and the local guides in the parks and was able to learn a lot of new things. Despite the sometimes difficult road conditions, our drivers Mamisoa and Joseph did an excellent job and we felt safe at all times during our trip.

We arrived as strangers and left Mamisoa and Fitah after 21 days as friends and as part of the Tanalahorizon family. The time was wonderful and over far too quickly. Madagascar is definitely worth a trip and if anyone ever says to you: “Go where the pepper grows”, then please take this literally and travel to Madagascar! 🙂

Many thanks to Thorsten, Mamisoa, Fitah, Josepf and the whole Tanalahorizon team for the wonderful trip, which is in no way inferior to the Amazon.

Andreas and Kerstin Längin

Salama dear Tanalahorizom team, dear Thorsten,

We were able to spend almost the whole of September 2023 with your team in Madagascar. It was a dream come true for us – after the cancelled trip due to Corona 2019. Everything was perfect, from the journey to the sad but heartfelt farewell at the airport.

Our journey took us from Tana to the west to the Tsingy, the Kirindy dry forest and, of course, the baobabs. From there we travelled back through the highlands to the cloud forests of Andasibe, to the Nest of Dreams on the Pangales Channel and finally to the Ile aux Nattes to relax. I have to take up the cudgels here for our guides/drivers. Actually, for the whole Team Tanalahorizon. We have never felt so well looked after or travelled in such a friendly/family atmosphere as here.

You could tell that the whole agency is very deeply and firmly rooted in nature and people. Everywhere we went with our guides, we were almost always treated very favourably and always had the privilege of experiencing many things off the typical tourist trail. Specially selected local guides, who know a great deal about their area, rounded off the whole experience. We were on an adventure to actually experience nature and not like large groups in coaches who often only stay one night and then rush on.

Hats off especially to José, Nany and Dimby. You are so much more than guides/drivers, you have become real friends on our best expedition yet. The meals with our guides outside the hotel facilities in typical local Madagascan restaurants rounded off the perfect cultural immersion.

We would also like to congratulate José and his wife on their son Yori, who was born during our round trip and waited dutifully in Tana until dad was able to welcome him into the world. The little guy had perfect timing!br>
José, Nany, thank you so much for making this dream trip possible for us. For Madagascar, we will only recommend Tanalahorzion and its super team with a clear conscience.

Thank you, merci, Misaotra 🥰

Best regards
Olli and Nadja Utfeld

Dear Tanalahorizon travel team!

We are currently on our way home from our fantastic Madagascar round trip. While we are sitting on the train from Salzburg airport to our home in East Tyrol, we are reviewing the three weeks and writing these lines. We had read up and informed ourselves in advance about the great island, but did not know exactly what to expect.

Die professionelle Vorbereitung und Information via Mail, Post und per Telefon von Thorsten ließen uns die geplante Individualreise entspannt antreten. Our permanent travel companions on site, José as guide and Nany as driver, were very professional, courteous, relaxed, flexible and cordial. Insights, information and interesting facts about the country, its people, history, fauna and flora of Madagascar, as well as insider tips on the excellent local cuisine and, of course, on ideal photo spots and photographic techniques.

We can absolutely recommend Tanalahorizon’s The Scent of Nature trip to all people who love to travel, are close to nature and are interested in a different kind of travel experience.

Angelika & Erich Pitterl

Erfahrungsbericht Familie Götter mit Tanalahorizon

Happy new year!

The second trip with Tanalahorizon could not have given us a more beautiful turn of the year. “Deep in the jungle” followed by a few days of relaxation on the Indian Ocean – what more could you want!

On the way to wonderful accommodation close to the natural jewels, always with our fantastic tour coordinator, driver and guide Dimby. We were surprised and delighted to discover a completely different side of the country besides the familiar parts. Fauna and flora captivated us every day. The destinations were perfectly chosen and the guides, who knew their way around, did an excellent job of guiding us through their forests by day and by night. We were able to discover extremely exciting things, observe and photograph many animals and had a lot of fun. Dimby also impressed us this time with his great manner and his enormous knowledge of nature, the country and its people.

The New Year’s Eve party at the Palmarium was terrific. Besides a gigantic buffet, there was live music and dancing until the early hours of the morning. A real recommendation for next year!!!

Dear Thorsten, thank you very much for the excellent preparation of the tour and the many phone calls during the trip planning. We are very happy that we were able to spend these weeks on the Red Island again.

Kind regards
Anne and Heiner Götter

Hi Thorsten,

The organisation of our Madagascar trip with Tanalahorizon, which also specialises in photography, worked out super well. Without our extremely friendly and professional guide Dimby, we would only have experienced a fraction of the diversity of Madagascar’s wildlife and the warmth of the Malagasy people.

Tanalahorizon was a stroke of luck and can be absolutely recommended!

Best wishes,
Andrea and Mario Rogalas

Hello Thorsten,

Finally I get to report about my trip “Tour of Diversity” from September to October 2019. Looking back, I am incredibly grateful that this trip was made possible for me before Corona times. The trip introduced me to “eerily” beautiful wildlife, interesting plant life, and lovely, friendly, helpful people. For our guide Dimby I have only words of praise. Be it his friendly manner, his cheerfulness, his experience from straightening wristwatches to assisting with night photography – and not to forget the always exciting search for animals, the sovereign driving on not always easy roads, his knowledge about fauna and flora and about the island in general. All the other guides were also super nice and impressed me with how open-minded and always helpful they were.

My wish is to visit this island again. Maybe the spirit of Madagascar has also grabbed me. I wish all, all the best in this difficult time that has hit Madagascar. And of course for the whole Tanalahorizon team continued success!

Best regards from Munich,
Brigitta Wegmann

Dear Thorsten,

we still live on the experiences and fantastic photos of Madagascar. December 2019 to January 2020 we were on the way to the somewhat modified South Tour. We had already had some safari holidays (also as self-drivers) in different African countries and were able to take many photos of animals and landscapes.

But Madagascar was different & special for us: Often the photos in Africa were connected with “heavy equipment”, i.e. with proper telephoto lenses. Of course, we had them with us. BUT: on Madagascar, it is rather the small animals that are incredibly exciting. Here we mainly used the macro lenses. Unbelievable what you can discover on the camera and later on the pc in detail and color drawings. You should not leave the flash at home – some pictures are great because of this additional light. We feel sorry for the vacationers who were only on the road with smartphones – they really miss something. Despite the many & also desired “photo appointments/photo locations” and the photos we had, thanks to the very good planning of Thorsten, enough time to look at the photos & enjoy and to relax. But the bigger lenses were already necessary if you want to capture the sifakas, mouse lemurs, and ring-tailed lemurs on the photos. Thorsten had advised us to do so in advance and we were lucky and had all sorts of beautiful encounters.

The accommodations were mostly better than we expected. José as a guide & Mamy as a driver were almost like family for this time. José, with his 27 years of age, could really tell us a lot about the country and its people, ways of life, animals, flora and fauna. He was great support when taking pictures and he is not easy to satisfy – but we really mean that in a positive way! With pleasure, we had the saying “Not the right focus!”, “It’s not sharp!” or from us “Only a little bit sharp…”. But José also speaks German relatively well and understands it even better.

Madagascar, we will be back – and we will make the next Madagascar trip again with Thorsten Negro! This is our simple judgment about the country and also about the organizer!

Greetings
Hans Fuchs

Dear Thorsten,

now our dreamlike journey, expected in advance with much excitement and extreme anticipation, is unfortunately already over. For us time to say THANK YOU for a perfect organisation from the first planning phase to the last minute at the airport. We had many ideas and wishes for this trip, all of which were exceeded by far.

With Dimby at our side we felt safe and extremely comfortable from the first moment on. We had a lot of fun with our circumspect, sensitive and funny guide and he contributed significantly to the fact that the density of experiences during these three weeks was unsurpassable. The choice of destinations, accommodation and local guides in the parks was fantastic. The “treasures of the jungle” were brought to us in an excellent way day and night and our concerns about the season were completely unnecessary. We had daily sunshine, hardly any rain showers and most importantly, there were almost no other tourists. We returned happy, healthy and with wonderful photos in our luggage and hope to see Dimby and the Red Island again some day.

Greetings
Anne and Heiner Götter

Hello Thorsten,

we are now two months back from Madagascar and still totally enthusiastic about this, in every respect, unique country. The organisation of the trip “The Scent of Nature” was perfect.

Your local staff, our guide José and the driver Nanni are the best travel companions one could wish for. How you can keep a car so clean for three weeks at a time in these road conditions is still a mystery to us today – with a permanent smile on their faces. José, with his friendly, easy-going manner, is simply a dream in every respect as a guide and was very helpful to us, especially when it came to night and macro photography. Also in the different parks we had, thanks to your good relations, always the best local guides who could show us more than we ever hoped for.

Thorsten, you have created something very special with “Tanalahorizon” and we are happy to have experienced such a great journey. Thank you very much for that. We wish you all the best for the future and continued success with your company!

Best regards, also to our companions
Horst and Ingrid Schulz

Erfahrungen Madagaskarreise mit Tanalahorizon

Dear Thorsten, dear Tanalahorizon team,

we have been back home for three weeks now and are still raving about our three-week trip at every opportunity. Madagascar has been our dream destination for several years now, and thanks to you our expectations have been exceeded in every respect.

We visited (and climbed) the small and big Tsingys, were in the rainforest of Andasibe, at the Lac Ampitabe in the “Nest of Dreams” and finally for some days on the small island Nosy Nato. The landscape was beautiful everywhere, the wildlife (lemurs, chameleons, frogs, humpback whales…) unique. The trips between the destinations were long, but never boring. The change from dry plateaus to green rice terraces, areas with many Baobabs etc. showed the whole variety of this island. We could never have experienced this with domestic flights.

All this would be reason enough for a great and varied holiday. But it was our tour guide Dimby who made it truly unforgettable. He accompanied us for the whole three weeks, and has grown fond of all three of us from day one. With his cordial and funny nature he taught us a lot about the country and its people. No matter if about plants and animals, history of the country, old traditions, current politics (and sometimes also about strange behaviour of other tourists), he knew everything. He had infinite patience, no matter how many photo stops we wanted. Even days later he remembered the little things we were interested in and could show us somewhere along the way. And his eagle eyes during the excursions and hikes (especially when tracking down chameleons, no matter how small and well camouflaged) were unsurpassed. We especially liked the fact that you could always feel his love for the country and its people.

The local guides in the national parks (especially Olivier in Palmarium), our additional driver Dani (on the way to the Tsingys) as well as Dimby’s brother José on the last day were a great addition. The accommodations were well chosen, especially in the Tsingys, Palmarium and Nosy Nato.

The farewell from Madagascar, especially from Dimby, was accordingly very difficult for us. For us it is certain – this was our first, but not our last trip to Madagascar.

Love
from Ellen, Stefan and Moritz Sieh

Dear Tanalahorizon team,

I enjoyed my herpetological tour (Herpeto Research Expedition Part II – The Forgotten World) to the full: Traveling the northwest of Madagascar is an adventure in itself, but the superbly trained Tanalahorizon team made everything seem child’s play. Even cloudbursts, collapsed bridges or impassable terrain were always compensated by the rapid reorganisation of the route. Food and drink, tent construction – we were taken care of all around, from the first to the last day.

So we participants could devote ourselves completely to our interests, be it nature photography, herpetology or both. Nobody put us under time pressure, everyone could scour the most attractive habitats for their inhabitants – at any time of the day.
We were all rewarded by an excellent yield of motifs and species. We sighted 111 amphibian and reptile species in dry forest, island coastal zones and mountain rain forest. But also lemurs, birds, insects, spiders and crustaceans presented themselves in all splendour.

This excellent biological excursion was only possible due to the excellent organization of Thorsten Negro and his Tanalahorizon team. At any time I will gladly travel with them again – in fact this is already planned!

Dr. Philipp Wagner

Salama the second!

We’re repeat attenders! 🙂 We liked our first trip through Madagascar four years ago so much that we decided to take another trip to other areas of Madagascar – the “Treasures of the Jungle”. This trip was another great experience. The animals, which are described in the travel description, were to be seen “almost as ordered” and we could observe and photograph them extensively. Dimby and Christian accompanied us every day completely safely. The local guides were also perfect.

Madagascar a third time? Why not? The island is so big, interesting and the Tanalahorizon team is your perfect travel companion. However, we still have to work on our language skills. 😉

Misaotra!
Guido and Silke Schelenz

Erfahrungsbericht Madagaskarreise mit Tanalahorizon

Dear Tanalahorizon team,

Now we are already back since 4 weeks in the everyday life, but Madagascar is still in our heads. Thanks to you we have experienced a wonderful journey of diversity. At Tanalahorizon everything is just right: the fact that you are not a subcontractor, that you know the country and its people from your own experience, that the trip is carried out on-site, which leaves nothing to be desired…

Mamisoa drove us sovereign around or through all potholes, always in a good mood, nothing could disturb him, the car always in top condition. José impressed us not only with his knowledge of culture. He was always there for us with his pleasant nature and had everything under perfect control. No frog was safe from him, no chameleon too small and no gecko camouflaged well enough to escape his eyes. With his tips and tricks for taking pictures we got great pictures. Often enough the first attempts didn’t stand up to his critical eye and we “had” to do it again and again and again – and if it didn’t work out at all, he took the photo himself. 😉 Macro photography has opened our eyes for the details in the land of the “small five”.

Mamisoa and José were more than best driver and best guide ever to us – they were dear companions!

A big thank you also to the local guides. We have seen so many lemurs, in Ranomafana alone six of the seven species living there. Unforgettable the ring-tailed lemurs in Anja Park (including rock scrambling 😉 ) and later the close contact to the lemurs in Palmarium with Aye-Aye and mouse lemurs. The accommodations were all well chosen and the finish at Sambatra Lodge on Ile aux Nattes was the icing on the cake of this unforgettable 4-week trip.

We had a hard time saying goodbye.
Misaotra betsaka and veloma!
Ellen and Rudolf Schneider-Kohler

Dear Tanalahorizon team,

From the very beginning we (my husband and I) felt very well taken care of, both with the telephone consultation in the run-up, how and when we arrange the trip best, up to the pick-up in the middle of the night from the hotel, so that we were again on time at the airport. Our guide José and our driver Mamy were always very courteous and also funny, which made our stay even more relaxed, more beautiful and more fun.

All in all it can be said that Madagascar is a great and absolutely worth seeing country with incredibly impressive animals. And this although we have only seen a part of the country so far. Our round trip started in Andasibe, where we already had the chance to see some great animals. Also from the accommodation in Feon ny Ala we were more than surprised (positive!), whereby we were accommodated here in a very nice wooden house and ate several times in the delicious hotel restaurant in the evening. And then came Ankanin’ny Nofy – wow! That’s all I want to write, you have to convince yourself. We have been back home for almost a month now and often remember our constant companions, the “Black and Whites”. I hope that many people will convince themselves of the great nature and wildlife in Madagascar and still keep the idyll, because that is what makes the country and the great organization of Tanalahorizon so special. A lot of time and peace, few people and a lot of nature!

Best regards and wish you all the best
Ben and Bianca

Reisebericht Madagaskar mit Tanalahorizon

Dear Mr Negro,

I would like to give you some feedback about our holiday in Madagascar. The holiday was really unique, we saw so much, animals, landscape and people and were very impressed. Of course José as our guide made a significant contribution to this. I think we couldn’t have gotten a better guide. He also helped me intensively with photography, I learned a lot there. In addition to his extensive knowledge about the animals and the country, the different ethnic groups and their customs and much more, which he gladly passed on to us, José also suited us very well with his calm but open-minded nature. A really very pleasant and nice person. We felt in the best of hands. Also Mamy, the driver, was very nice and always available for fun. We also had the impression that we had the best guides on site. José said that we had also had a lot of luck with the animal observations. Almost all lemurs already had young ones, I hadn’t expected that, that was beautiful. I also improved my poor language skills in Malagasy and at least haggled a little with the souvenirs. That was a lot of fun.

Now our everyday life is slowly returning, but my thoughts are vehemently resisting and constantly remembering Madagascar, I think this is a good sign. At least the editing of my photos and the creation of a photo book will often remind me of this beautiful time. Thank you very much for the great trip!

Yours sincerely
Franz Bonzelett

Dear Thorsten,

We wanted to report from our trip and give you all great praise. Two thumbs up! 👍🏻👍🏻 Tanalahorizon can only be recommended!!

Everything was perfectly planned. José and Mamy couldn’t have been better travel companions for us. Both extremely likeable and very helpful and always at our side. We saw a lot of the country, learned a lot and laughed a lot. José told us a lot about the different regions and customs of the local people and was a wonderful guide in the rainforest. He also helped us out a lot when we didn’t get good and sharp pictures ourselves. José was also great with the animals and he is lightning fast in catching snakes (we saw a snake while driving by – he jumped out of the car and caught it to tell us what kind of snake it was). 🙂 Mamy is an excellent driver and has driven us everywhere safely. The car we had was very good.
The landscapes (from west to east) were totally interesting, the people in Madagascar unique. Always happy and friendly despite the great poverty. We were fascinated by how people live and how houses are built differently in different regions depending on what the country has to offer. We wish we could have brought the people in Madagascar things they could use for their daily life there. We had some things to share for the kids but we would also have liked to give the adults something useful. The accommodation in the hotels was simple and good.

The wildlife was great. We’ve seen everything that crawls and leaps through the woods. We hiked across country and through the forest in search of lemurs or chameleons etc. We have taken thousands of pictures and have to work through them first. There are some really great shots.

Thank you again for this beautiful adventure! It was better than we imagined.

Greetings from Arizona
Sabine & Charles Dalluge

Erfahrungsbericht Reisen mit Tanalahorizon

Erfahrungsbericht herpetologische Reise auf Madagaskar

Dear Thorsten,

three months after having joined your team on a personalised herping tour to Madagascar, Leonard and myself are both still talking about the great moments we had with your fantastic team, namely José and Mamisoa, our guide and driver respectively.

José is a marvel when it comes to finding animals, be it Snake, Chameleon or Frog. The number of species we managed to photograph superseded our expectations by far. Just amazing. Jose not only helped with finding the animals, he also helped in their photography, helping out with the flash and other technicalities. A job well done.

Mamisoa turned out to be a real expert driver. Not one single hitch or mishap came our way, thanks to his attentiveness and professionalism, but what we remember most about him is his sense of humour and patience when it came to us wanting to stop here and there for a photo or simply to enjoy the view.
As a matter of fact, we both feel we now have a couple of true friends in Madagascar, which by the way happened to have been on our bucket list for some time.

We must also mention the fact that having met your good self, more members of your team, like Dimby and also some of your other great guests, enhanced our experience. The evenings always turned out to be one of the highlights of the day when we could exchange the day’s observations and experiences.
And of course we are still stunned by the variety of wonderful species we managed to photograph. Most if not all reptiles encountered are lifers for us, as most of the fauna is endemic. We will never forget the Madagascan Tree Boa, the Leaf-nosed Snake, Giant Madagascan Hognose, the various species of Day Geckos, the Satanic Leaf-tailed Geckos, Panther Chameleon, Parson’s Chameleon, Leaf Chameleons and so many more species. And of course there is also the amazing Lemurs, like living Teddy Bears.
The list is never ending, but the amazing thing is that there are so many species to see that it will take more than one trip to really get to know the wildlife of this amazing place.

We both believe, after having experienced it for ourselves, that the only way to really get to know and enjoy Madagascar and it’s wildlife is with TANALAHORIZON, and Thorsten’s team of experts. Thank you.

Guido and Leonard

Dear Tanalahorizon team,

An unforgettable journey now lies behind us and we will talk a long time about this unique country with all its inhabitants and revel in memories.

The “Magic of the East Coast” has truly captivated us. The trip was perfect for us, just as it was. Because we were always at one destination for several days, you could really enjoy, discover something new every day and process what you had experienced. And thanks to our top guide José we have found so many different animals of all kinds. Even the night excursions, which I had some reservations about from a photographic point of view at the beginning, were so great that I find the pictures taken at night almost better than those taken during the day!

So a huge praise and thanks to José, who organized everything so well on site, took care of everything and answered and explained all our questions. We could really rely on him blindly and hope to hear a lot more from him. An equally big thank you to Mamisoa, our great driver, who took us safely everywhere. Always laughing and joking. Thanks to all the great local guides, who know exactly what we want and take all the time in the world and make the effort just to get these unique encounters paired with extraordinary pictures. Thanks to Dimby, who spent the last two days with us and made it even harder to say goodbye. Thanks to Thorsten for the top support and handling in advance. Your little “tourist manual” is really worth its weight in gold!

Many thanks to everyone involved for this wonderful journey with unforgettable moments, experiences, impressions and memories in this incredible country. It’s not out of the question that we’ll be back!

Best wishes
Lisa and Alex

Dear Tanalahorizon team,

Thank you for the fantastic impressions we received from Madagascar thanks to you. The care and service you have given us, especially the knowledge about the animals and how best to capture them on a photo, have far exceeded our expectations. For us it is certain that March 2018 was the first, but certainly not the last time that we traveled with you to Madagascar. There is still much for us to discover in this beautiful country.

Best wishes
Lars and Jutta Dwinger

Moin Thorsten,

we always wanted to contact you again and this is a good opportunity now because I’m traveling by train at the moment. We really liked our travel, it was a great experience and I think the kids had remarkable impressions, too.

The route with a mixture of culture, nature and animal kingdom was perfect for us. Inbetween I thought that the trip to St. Marie could be redundant since I’m not a friend of beach holidays and I thought the efforts linked with this part of the travel (long drive, ferry, expensive domestic flight with annoying weight restrictions) might be too much. I’ve never been so completely wrong. It was the crowning glory of the travel! Not only due to the unbelievable many humpback whales, but also due to the great accomodation, the lively conservations during diner at the long table andandand.

In the end, the travel team is the linchpin of such a travel. Mamy excellently chauffeured us as a considerate, circumspect driver who always was in a good mood. He has our fullest confidence and I looked over his shoulder to gain some knowledge about driving in Malagasy traffic (maybe I need it somewhen!). It is still a mystery to me how he managed to detect when exactly Anke took her camera during driving, because exactly then he slowed down the car to ensure better pictures.

José was definitely a lucky choice. This young guy also was on very good terms with our children. I’ve never heard our youngest boy talk so much English as when I heard those two discussing tv series, movies or games. I’m sure José had also fun while our happy animal watchings or during pirogue driving or snorkeling.

Of course, with this travel we somehow bought the pig in a poke, you never know before with whom you will have to hang around and how the accomodations will be. But trusting you really paid off and we felt completely well cared for. The travel was really worth the money! Anke and I can imagine to join one of the other travels, too. But first we have to work on progressing all the pictures from this trip.

Much obliged,
Ulrik and Anke Neupert

Erfahrungsbericht Madagaskar individuell bereisen

Reisen mit Tanalahorizon Erfahrungsbericht

Hello Mr. Negro,

it’s been a while now since we came back from our travel, so it’s time for a feedback.

On behalf of the group I want to thank you most sincerely for the great planning and realization of the travel – everything went exceptionally well. We want to thank you especially for choosing Dimby as our guide – he was a perfect match for us. He is a prudent, humorous guide who always cared well for us. May it be the non-arriving luggage at our arrival day (unfortunately, we had such a delay coming from Vienna that we managed to reach the flight from Paris to Antananarivo, but our luggage didn’t), the quality of our rooms or wishes concerning lunch, drinks or shopping. He made it possible for us to visit a winery (although it was more an adventure than a degustation, but very interesting 😉 ), bought and tried with us all kind of ripe fruits and was responsible for our culinary highlight (Mad Zebu!!!).
Dimby has an outstanding knowledge about animals and plants, and always chose amazing local guides (especially in Ranomafana and Isalo). He is an excellent photographer and helped us to get a lot of great animal pictures.

Even our driver, Ayna, was very thoughtful and met all challenges (among others a flat tire) very professionally. We never felt unsafe.

Well, everything was exactly as you had advertised it: An amazing travel with many highlights. I did not want to miss any little part of it. Dimby made us even appetite for more – but for teachers, it is not so easy to travel for a long time at other interesting times (mating time of chameleons, bird watching). But maybe if I’m in retirement, of course with Dimby again!

In any case, we will for sure recommend Tanalahorizon!

Warm regards from Vienna
Gabriele Andre

Hello and good evening,

I just wanted to send a short feedback to you:
Mika, (our great chameleon finder) chauffeured us perfectly around the island. Everything went perfectly, no breakdowns, everyone was punctual, the car was always clean (we already wanted to pull off our shoes before getting in), the food (with few exceptions and breakfast in Madagascar in general) on the island is really outstanding – we did not expect everything like this and we are also not used to it from Africa. But, this of course was the other Africa. Even the domestic flight was punctual to the minute! 🙂 Probably we were just favoured by fortune. In Raphia hotel, we learned to know Swedish people, who had booked a car including driver via Europcar – they had nothing but trouble. Another confirmation that we did everything right with Tanalahorizon!

Anyway, we have seen and experienced a lot. And we hope for the island, that the incredible gentle and friendly people there learn how important it is to retain and rebuild their nature, the forests and the habitats – for the animals and in the end, for the people. I had imagined the island and also the highlands being much lusher. It is quite alarming how much land is burned to gain acre and charcoal… But this is a global topic, too, in the southern hemisphere. So long and many, many thanks for the perfect organisation. If I ever – and this is rather probable – want to visit the island again, I will get in touch with you.

Greetings from freezing cold Munich,
Gabi Grötzbach-Fischer

Erfahrungsbericht Reisen auf Madagaskar mit Tanalahorizon

Due to our hobby, herpetology, Madagascar and its animal kingdom has been our dream for a long time. But we always refrained from a travel on our own, because we were worried about bad infrastructure, lacking tourism and thus bad hotels. That we both do not speak French was only the icing on the cake. By accident, we heard from a friend who traveled with Thorsten and Tanalahorizon some years ago. She allayed all our concerns and strongly recommeded to go. Originally planned for 2015, we finally made it in 2016 to the island and joined Herpeto Research Expedition Part II.

Our bottom line: WOW! The island has casted a spell over us! We had never thought that we would get up willingly at 5 a.m. with joy, walk sweating around at temperatures felt like 40°C and take cold showers for three weeks without a murmur. We had incredible much fun to look for and photograph animals, especially reptiles. The lemurs were another absolute highlight. This was only possible with great local guides inside the national parks and the members of Tanalahorizon team, that found animals with their experienced eyes we would walked by without noticing. Generally, we had a lot of fun traveling in a group. It was amazing to photograph together and support each other, talk shops and identify all creatures in our pictures in the evening together. This tour arised friendships we do not want to miss anymore.

A big thank you to the local team! We learned to know fantastic people, that accompagnied us as driver, guide, tour leader, cooker etc. Everyone mastered his task with flying colours, but as a team, they were unbeatable. As guests, we always felt welcome and after a short period of time, we didn’t even feel as guests, but as part of the family. With Mika as driver, we felt safe all the time and learned a lot about local life. Dimby and José cared for all our questions and problems, always with high spirits, and Eric and Andry pampered us during camping with really good meals.

At the end of the tour, we already knew: We will come back! There is so much more to see and discover, and there are so many places we want to travel to. We are already planning our tour for 2017, and we are looking forward to another travel with Tanalahorizon with huge joy. All that is left to say is: Veloma and see you soon!

Stefan & Stefanie Leber

Ready for adventure – for a various and often bizarre animal kingdom, dragons and spirits of the forests – breath taking landscapes, that couldn’t be more contrastful between north and south and heavenly beaches? Then you’ve come to the right men with Thorsten and his team Tanalahorizon.

Since I watched my first photo presentation about Madagascar, I was fascinated by this far away country. Now, this is 15 years ago, and it was not before this year that I could realize my big dream. Seven weeks full of indescribable beautiful impressions and experiences are over – seven weeks, in which I learnt to love a country and its people, and since no day passes without me thinking of it. With all my heart, thank you Thorsten and your team!

In 2016, I joined Herpeto Research Expedition Part I and II. During the first tour, we were accompagnied by Christian (our bus driver) and Rapha. On the second tour, we were on the road with 4×4 and I had a real sunshine with Mika as driver. The fascinating animals of the national parks Ranomafana, Ankarafantsika, Amber Mountain and many others casted a magic spell over me. Never before, in none of my many travels, I had seen so many different and fascinating animal species. The experienced national park guides made us draw attention to every hidden and even the smallest animals – and those weren’t only a few – I only say Uroplatus and Brookesia. My goal was to see lemurs in Madagascar. But Madagascar exceeded all my expectations. Not in my wildest dreams I would have imagined such a species-rich nature.

The beaches of Ankify, Nosy Nato, Nosy Tanikely and Nosy Hara were our recovery from all the adventures. But also there I yielded my desire to explore and soon I was walking around with my camera, everywhere one could discover animals. At the beaches, the team came up with something really special: We had BBQ at the beach two times and it left nothing to be desired for gourmets. Everything fresh from the sea and cooked with love – simply unforgettable experiences. Two folklore evenings created a great atmosphere and quickly we turned them into German-Malagasy folklore evenings… :).

Dimby:
I know that tour coordinator is really understated for what he does. Dimby is the man for all situations – he is the sunshine of the Tanalahorizon group! He is guide, driver, animal spotter and outstanding nature expert, and anticipated us every wish. He was there when someone needed a phone card or if hotel staff told us with Malagasy serenity that there was no booked room. Even a cyclone coming closer couldn’t shock Dimby – three phone calls and he had organized people bringing us back from the island onshore. Questions about photography, about the camera or even when my camera felt in the sand and he helped me to free it from sand with a toothpick: Dimby is just always on the spot.

José:
He’s in education to become tour coordinator, and what can I say, one doesn’t recognize he’s still in training. José was always there, no matter if one needed help with translations or when ordering food or if there were other questions. José can also excel with his German skills.

Eric & Andry:
Two top cooks that have no equals. They surprised and pampered us during the second tour each day with tasty meals of the Malagasy kitchen. In Ankify, they even took over the hotel kitchen and conjured an amazing buffet. We honoured them as a group with two GaulMillau stars.

Christian & Rapha:
Christian chauffeured us safely with his bus through Madagascar. Even with pot holes as big as a truck, the bus cleared every hurdle. And even while driving, no animal was safe from Christian and Rapha – they discovered everything. One eye on the street and one eye looking for animals. It was just unbelievable, because they saw chameleons where I could only see bushes. 🙂

Mika:
His driving skills excited me already when driving along the beach in northern direction, needing 9 and a half hour for 140 km. With coolness he chauffeured us through felt millions of water holes, and safely guided us over all ferries. He even wasn’t shocked by the steep road to the Tsingy rouge – I moreover had the feeling that he had fun driving this rough terrain, and this joy was carried to us. He, too, always had one eye on the street, the other scanned the environment for chameleons. Simply unbelievable what he already discovered while driving!

Alex:
I always admired her knowledge about animals. Alex is a gold coin in knowledge! She is a very competent contact person, no matter if you have questions about animals or the country. In the evenings, we searched the field guide together to write down all the animals we had discovered before – and that were a lot. Small accidents, for example as I stepped into a sea urchin, couldn’t shock Alex – she was on the spot with her scalpel. Even my new friends – the leeches – weren’t safe from her. 🙂

Thorsten:
He’s the chief of the team and he brings all the threads together. Thorsten is open for every fun and also contact person for questions about animals and country. His 20 years experience in Madagascar are of benefit for the whole group. He knows the best local guides in national parks, and I think, he knows almost each animal personally. 🙂 For me, he mainly was my person concerning photography. He showed me how to put animals in the dense rainforest or during night walks in the limelight. Also during our milky way shooting on the island of Nosy Nato, he provided advice and assistance. Thanks to him, I have fantastic pictures of the Malagasy starlit sky.

In summary, I can say that my travel was a giant adventure, that you really need to have experienced once in your lifetime. No two days were the same, and this kind of traveling thrilled me – so you can find me next year’s spring on the “Return to the island of dragons” with Thorsten. This country is so big and there is so much more to discover – and you do it at best with TANALAHORIZON !!!!!

A very special thank you I want to say to the whole team of Tanalahorizon, who made such indescribable amazing holidays come true for me.

Misaotra betsaka!

Ines

Madagascar…

I don’t know anymore how long I’ve been wishing to once travel this country. Chameleons, day geckos, lemurs… it was my dream to experience all these animals in their homeland. Due to my hobby – I keep and breed some species of geckos -, I already knew Tanalhorizon from some internet forums. For years, I have been fascinated by images of different chameleons and travelogues.

In the end of 2015, I was ready and booked a seat for Herepto Research Expedition in east Madagascar. From the first e-mail on, contact with Thorsten was completely uncomplicated. All my questions (and I had a lot) were answered promptly, he booked the flights and gave me advice concerning equipment. I felt that I’ve been in good hands.

And then finally it was time to go! March 2016! I met Thorsten and Alex as well as two other guests at the airport in Paris, this was from where Thorsten had booked the flights. Of course, I had asked me in advance if a group travel would be the right thing for me? Being at the airport, I could answer this question straight away with “yes”. From the first moment, there was a great atmosphere – although we just learned to know each other then. The next day, we finitely arrived in our destination and from here, I try to be briefer and avoid going beyond my scope here.

Our travel led us to Ranomafana, Andasibe, Ankanin’ny Nofy, Ambodiriana and for relaxation to the island of Nosy Nato. Whether by bus or 4×4, our guides and drivers cared for us perfectly. I also want to mention Dimby (the local tour coordinator), this guy is worth a mint!!! If there was any communication problem, Dimby was always there to help!!! About the chosen accomodations, I can only say this: Far better than I had imagined. Everywhere we had nice hosts, a good kitchen and enough cold drinks… The forests, the landscape, the animals, simply everything was an unforgettable experience for me. About the variety of species, I felt like there was no prospect of an end. Concerning lemurs, geckos, snakes and of course chameleons – our guides always had an experienced eye to find them.

For a longer time, I’ve been around “snapping” pictures as a hobby, so I also booked a photo workshop with Thorsten. The first he said then was: “Switch off the automatic mode!” Still today, I follow this advice. Actually, the work shop ran the whole time, Thorsten looks over your shoulder, gives tipps and hints about aperture, ISO, exposure time and whoosh, snapping became photographing. As I looked at my pictures at home, I immediately noticed the difference. The pictures before the first work shop day were simply snapped, and then everything changed with the backgrounds, perspectives etc. I’m very thankful for this.

I’ve been back at home for three months now, and I think no day passed yet without thinking about this time. Fellow travelers became friends and what should I say… I’m with Tanalahorizon in April 2017 again! “Return to the island of dragons”, the name says it all.

My overall judgement of this travel: ABSOLUTELY recommendable!!!

Many thanks to Alex, Thorsten, Dimby and the whole Tanalahorizon team.
Markus Bartels

Hello Thorsten,

Hallo Thorsten,

Our travel “The eighth continent” took place with a mini group: Andrea and me as well as Dimby and Mamy from Tanalahorizon. Together we had fantastic, breath taking, funny and eventful holidays. We will surely become repeat offenders, too. And with that actually everything is sad; at least in short version.

At arrival in Tana, Dimby was already waiting for us. After welcoming he helped us to change money and buying a prepaid card for our mobile phone. Since Andrea already lost her glasses the second day, Dimby took her camera in some cases. What should I add about this guy, that has not been mentioned by many other travelers? Maybe this: Dimby proudly presented us his knowledge of German – “Alles fit im Schritt?” has pleased us so much that now even the manager of Palmarium knows this sentence. As already mentioned, there was also Mamy. With Mamy’s driving style, we always felt secure and he was a great addition to Dimby. Together we laughed a lot and had a lot of fun. Moreover, Mamy could recognize every cat without a problem – but that’s another long story Mamy can surely tell you another time.

Our accomodations were without exeption great; staff was very friendly and helpful. The food was also well, sometimes even too much with breakfast, lunch and diner. 😀 Well, and we’ve seen a lot. Everything we had intended to see long before the travel was there. And then many other things we had never thought of before, but Dimby pointed to. We always had plenty of time for everything; at eacht stop (no matter for what reasons) we continued only after us saying “Let’s go!”. But I also need to mention that we were very depressed about the people’s poverty. On the other hand, we admired how this people deals with it. Our biggest respect for this. We were already touched if a bag of jelly bears was rewarded with a heartly smile. Or like they were happy about us sharing some t-shirts. We were so glad that these people were so happy.

This wasn’t our last travel with Tanalahorizon.
We’ll meet again, Thorsten, Dimby and Mamy!

Best wishes from Andrea and Rainer Stratmann

Hi everyone,

we just turned up again in our everday life. The Madagascar tour was simply divine, Dimby as tour guide a real piece of gold! This guy appreared to be a two-legged chameleon: One eye watching the road as driver, the other eye watching nature and finding one or another chameleon. We got to see sooooo much of the flora and fauna, it exceeded our expectations by far, just amazing. Dimby and the guides always had a helping hand for us “old fools”, when a section of our track was a little more exhausting. When photographing, I always had an enthusiatic supporter in Dimby.

The arrangement of the driving routes, the chosen landscapes/national parks, the accomodations (we were glad to have geckos and lastly even Phelsuma n our room in two plaves – wonderful adult and young animals!)… everything was really great. We will never want to miss any second of this travel! So cordial thanks for the outstanding organisation and greetings to Dimby.

Keep it up, best wishes
Horst Juscka and Gloria Jansen

Dear Thorsten,

many thanks to you for this awesome organized Madagascar travel. We got more in front of our camera lens than expected and everything worked very well. Dimby was simply great. He often saw more than the local guides and always knew more about the animals and nature. As well it was a lot of fun to travel with him.

Again thank you so much with kind regards from Namibia,
Telse and Dirk Blumenberg

Dear Thorsten,

many thanks for the organisation, everything worked out really well. The accommodations were without exception good or very good, the guides of the national parks were all very friendly and knowledgeable, and even Air Madagascar surprised us positively with kindness and timeliness.

We want to particularly thank Dimby. We could not have wished any better guide for us. He was always there for uns and made the travel and unforgettable experience.

A travel to Madagascar was the childhood dream of my mother and became – thanks to your well preparation and care – the travel of her life. Many thanks to all the team, we will gladly recommend you!

With kind regards from Vienna
Birgit and Gerlinde Weidenauer

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