Kirindy Reserve is just north of Morondava, which acts as a gateway to the reserve, on the west coast of Madagascar. Kirindy is the land of dry deciduous forests - the world’s most endangered ecosystem - and giant baobabs held sacred by local people that seldom leave one unaffected by their towering poise. Kirindy is a privately managed forest, home to seven species of lemur, including the pygmy mouse lemur and six species of nocturnal lemur, a number of reptiles, amphibians and a giant jumping rat.

The best time of year to holiday in the Kirindy Reserve is undoubtedly the rainy season. Whilst Kirindy experiences extreme seasonal changes, the short and hot rainy season between December and February is usually followed by a surge of activity as it explodes with green vegetation, frogs leap from one resulting rain puddle to the next, and the trees overhead fill with birdsong. However, this time of year is also the most popular and large safari groups pass through on a regular basis, en route to elsewhere, which can disturb the peace if you’ve selected to holiday here for a few days.

Interestingly, Kirindy is run by a Swiss company for commercial logging. Whilst this might sound contentious, they carefully remove economically valuable trees without disturbing wildlife, and then replant saplings of the same species. Night hikes are a highlight of a holiday trip through Kirindy and the evening skies are rent with a chorus of insects, lemur calls and the call of cicadas.