You and an elite group of adventurers will trek across some of the world's most remote, wild, and spectacular locations on an incredibly challenging but highly rewarding journey.
Under the guidance of one of our field experts you'll learn how to lead your own expedition, including camp craft, navigation, leadership, and field safety. Along the way, you'll pass through some of the most dramatic landscapes that the world has to offer, where animals never before seen and communities almost entirely cut off from the rest of the world live.
With over 80% of species found nowhere else on Earth, Madagascar is an ideal country for you to explore. The country's dramatic mountains, verdant valleys, and miles of untouched coastline will be an adventurous wonderland that you'll never forget!
Read the latest science updates from this project on SeeConservation
Check out all the latest updates, videos, pictures and articles
from our Madagascar projects on the Gap Year Blog:
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
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Trek through some of Madagascar's most spectacular landscapes
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Learn survival skills
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Make lifelong friends
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Location |
Madagascar |
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Activities |
Pre-departure planning & preparation
Expedition skills
Expedition leadership
Scientific survey work |
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Transport |
Volunteers must make their own way to the project site |
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Accommodation |
Camping |
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Before you go |
Pre-departure support
Travel & medical advice & documentation
Equipment advice
Discounted medical kit
Free Frontier t-shirt
UK expedition management training weekend |
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In-country |
Food
Accommodation
Internal Ground transfers & in-transit accommodation
Local orientation and training
In-country emergency support
24-hour international HQ back-up
Vocational qualification certificate in Expedition Management available |
What Next? Apply Now!
WHAT DOES THE PROJECT DO?
Madagascar is a country unlike anywhere else on Earth. Places on this mysterious island have vegetation and animals so strange that at times you'd even think that you were on another planet! Here, you can find almost all of the world's 63 kinds of lemurs, dozens of kinds of chameleon including the worlds smallest and largest, and strikingly beautiful wild cats called fossas. The landscape varies from majestic mountains characterised by steep cliffs and dense tree coverage to dry spiny forests filled with forbidding thorny trees. The coastal areas have no shortage of pristine white sand beaches. Offshore, in the clear blue water around Madagascar you can find brightly-coloured coral reefs, rays, humpback whales, and sharks.
Sadly, the region suffers from an unsustainable level of forest clearance and destruction for the use of charcoal production and agriculture. By compiling a comprehensive species list and identifying areas of disturbance, we will help to highlight the potential conservation issues that affect the area. Much of the work that you will carry out will be of great importance to ANGAP, the National Parks authority and will help Frontier identify areas for future study.
WHAT WILL I BE DOING?
You'll learn all the skills that you need to lead your own unforgettable expedition. These will include:
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Pre-departure planning and preparation
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Risk assessments
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Personnel selection
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Fundraising
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Marketing
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Budgeting
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Health and safety awareness
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Expedition skills
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Navigation
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Camp siting
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Provision planning
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Communications
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Health and safety
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Expedition leadership
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Route-planning
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Debriefing
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Team communication
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Decision-making
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Problem-solving
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Taking responsibility
Scientific survey work will involve studying a number of indicator species using standardised rapid biodiversity assessment methodologies. The details of the programme will be put together by the Expedition Scientist but typically will include elements from:
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Vegetation surveying
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Small mammal sampling
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Amphibian sampling
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Butterfly trapping
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Bird-watching
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Opportunistic observation of birds, reptiles and mammals
What Next? Apply Now!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I ARRIVE?
You will be welcomed by a Frontier representative in Nosy Be and will spend your first couple of nights there before setting off on your expedition. While in Nosy Be you will have a series of briefings and introductions to the expedition and Frontier-Madagascar. In Nosy Be you will also be responsible for procuring supplies for the expedition. This task will also form part of your BTEC requirements. Haggling with market traders will be much easier if you practice your Malagasy, or French!
From Nosy Be you will deploy (along with all the equipment) to the expedition area by foot: a short stroll to warm the legs up! During your time you will experience travelling across Nosy Be in a small local boat to camp. Here you will make your final preparations and start trekking into Babaomby, locally known as "land where zebus come from" and head north to start your exploration.
WHERE WILL I BE STAYING?
You'll be camping in tents that you carry (along with anything else you need) on your back! You and your teammates will set up camp each night in a place of your choosing, ensuring that it's close to a water source and, if possible, with the best possible views!
After you set up your tents, it's time to build a fire and get down to cooking your dinner of beans, rice, and vegetables, and whatever else you've brought. You'll be amazed at how good food tastes when it's cooked in the open air, with the splendour of a tropical island bathed in the evening sun spread out before you.
What Next? Apply Now!
Trekking the wilds of Madagascar
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31 Aug 2007
August Update
Well what an amazing time, I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. ...
Read more
Dolphin and whale encounters on Madagascar Marine
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31 Aug 2007
If Madagascar entered a lonely hearts column, it would read....."Wild, passionate, exotic, b...
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Madagascar Volunteer Diaries 31st July 2007
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31 Jul 2007
After four weeks of thrills and spills the Madagascar expedition has finally come to a conclusion...
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Madagascar Volunteer Diaries 1st January 2007
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1 Jan 2007
We've just returned from expedition MGE071, where we had an amazing time studying assessing a...
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Madagascar Volunteer Diaries 1st August 2006
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1 Aug 2006
"Aah, wasps!" shouted Tim, shortly before the pirogue tipped over, carting its forlorn ...
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Madagascar Volunteer Diaries 1st July 2006
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1 Jul 2006
The July expedition to Analamerana Special Reserve Northern Madagascar was eventful from the star...
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Madagascar Volunteer Diaries 1st January 2006
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1 Jan 2006
Our adventurous expedition to Analavelona was an amazing experience. After negotiating the crossi...
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Madagascar Volunteer Diaries 1st July 2005
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1 Jul 2005
"We started out long trek to the Munombo River from Heathrow in the early hours of the morni...
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Madagascar Volunteer Diaries 1st January 2005
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1 Jan 2005
"A group of expedition management trainees met up with leaders in Tulear after two days trav...
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Madagascar Volunteer Diaries 1st August 2004
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1 Aug 2004
Getting to our expedition starting point from Tulear was an expedition in itself! - It turned int...
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REPTILES UNDER THREAT
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20 Feb 2013
19% of the world’s reptiles are currently threatened with extinction according to a paper p...
QUALIFICATIONS
Participants on the Frontier-Madagascar Expedition Management Project can gain a nationally accredited BTEC Advanced Certificate in Expedition Management for an additional US$416.
The Expedition Management BTEC incorporates the training and participatory learning already experienced by all volunteers on Frontier expeditions but adds depth to your experience by actively building your research and fieldwork skills under the close supervision of top field professionals. To complete the BTEC you'll fill in a daily work diary, one written survey plan and one verbal presentation, among other things.
