Day One:You will be collected from your hotel in Tana by Liva, our driver, and start the journey south, out of the capital, past Merino villages and the President's home. Breathtaking scenes pass by and for the photographer there are pictures around every bend. Rice paddies, zebu carts, children playing, women planting, roadside stalls and Merino tombs all flash past. Liva will stop for you whenever you wish.

France has influenced the cuisine in Madagascar greatly and as such a few favourites are very much a part of daily life. First stop is at a small duck farm. Tucked away behind a school lives a woman and her family. Their business is to raise ducks for the Foie Gras. Dreadful images of force fed ducks flash through the mind when thinking of Foie Gras but here, like everywhere in Madagascar, it is a gentle and caring process. Each duck is lovingly held and a mix of maize, oil and a little salt is slowly poured down the throat. A little rub on the neck to help it down and the duck wiggles it's behind and rejoins its friends.

Liva knows where fresh Foie Gras is available if you wish to buy some.

Next stop is Ambatolampy. There is a colourful market here and a great, French run restaurant where the deep fried Frogs Legs are a must!  Au Rendezvous des Pècheurs is also the only restaurant in the country where you can have trout.

Pop into the restaurant and order your meal - whilst you are waiting you can wander over the road to the Aluminium Crafters.  Here, in medieval surroundings you can watch them melting and moulding of cutlery, pots, pans, artefacts or whatever design is in demand that day.  Upstairs there is a little shop where you can make a few purchases.

After lunch you have a bit of time to wander the main street and get a feel for the town before moving on. There is a billiard table factory and a wood crafting place to visit.

A bit of exercise is needed to appreciate the beauty of Lake Tritriva ('tri' means deep and 'triva' means
the ridge on the back of a chameleon). Legend has it that two trees, intertwined, on the edge of the lake are in fact two lovers, forbidden to marry by their parents, who drowned themselves. It is said that if you cut the branches blood oozes out. Sadly this is one of the few places where the locals have learnt to pester tourists. Ask Liva to be firm and just say NO.

Take a slow drive on towards Antsirabe. Note the barley fields in place of rice paddies - the Star Brewery of Three Horse Beer fame is here. So is the famed Tika factory that belonged to ousted president Mark Ravalomana.

Check in at your hotel and after freshening up Liva will take you to La Trianon Restaurant for dinner. The owner is an ex rugby player and full of interesting stories. I recommend their duck and the Foie Gras!

Overnight at Couleur Cafe on a Bed and Breakfast basis.

Day Two:Liva will be waiting for you after breakfast and you have a full day ahead. Antsirabe (place of much salt) is a busy town and the Pousse Pousse (local rickshaw) capital of Madagascar. Go into town and park outside the Thermal Baths where people come from far and wide for the healing waters Liva will negotiate and accompany you on a Pousse Pousse tour of the city. Visit the Pousse Pousse factory, and the Zebu Horn crafting. Again, medieval surroundings with an enthusiastic trio that will demonstrate the unusual art of Zebu Horn carving. Moving on to Josephs Gem Stones where you will be taken on a short tour telling you a bit about the various gem stones in Madagascar. Some beautiful things to buy and please ask why there are eight live tortoises in a row!

Back to the vehicle and it's lunch time. Brochettes are a typical Malagasy dish and we know just the place to try them. Le Venise makes the best brochettes. After you have quenched your thirst on an icy drink and while you are waiting for your meal pop into the shop next door. It is owned by Aina of Couleur Cafe. She has some lovely things - particularly the ones made of Vetiver roots. Aromatic and attractive - there are lots of presents here but be warned - the smell can get to you after a while and in confined spaces (car) it can give you a headache.

After lunch it's time to visit the honey farm where an old man works hard at his hives producing liquid gold. A last stop for the day is the silk farm. A short tour shows you the worms at work and the finished product. This is where the raw silk for the fashionable hand woven Malagasy silk scarves comes from.

Back to Couleur Cafe for a shower before having dinner in their restaurant. Aina serves a traditional Malagasy Highlands menu of zebu or duck with red rice, rougail spices and seasonal fresh vegetables finished with chocolate or lemon foam!!

Overnight at Couleur Cafe on a Bed and Breakfast basis.

Day Three:Lots more to pack in today and Liva will collect you after breakfast. Visit the vineyards and winery, a cheese factory and if you happen to be in Antsirabe on a Thursday, the amazing fresh market. There is an interesting "Zebu Bank" here too where - by prior arrangement with us - you can purchase a zebu which will be donated to a family. The family will use this zebu to work their fields and pull their carts before finally eating it. Good system!

Along the route back to Tana you will pass fruit sellers, fresh vegetable stalls, an area where they specialise in making religious statues, another of toy cars and trucks made of old cans, a rabbit salesman, baskets of chickens for sale outside an old railway station, and if you are there in December you will come across the Christmas Turkey man selling live turkeys with a make-shift wonky Christmas tree for effect!

Mike and I did this tour in just two days but were not able to include everything. We travelled with our friend Michele Moser from Tana and she used the opportunity to do some shopping.

Our shopping basket on returning to Tana looked like this:
A basket of plums, 3 bunches of carrots, Large Packet of potatoes, one live Rooster, Four live rabbits, Honey, Foie Gras, 3 kg Duck Breasts, Fresh beans, three pot plants, Cheese and Christmas presents.
Along the entire route I saw growing; strawberries, carrots, potatoes, beans, pineapples, rice, sisal, mangoes, bananas, maize, barley, vines, apricots, and tobacco.  Livestock included turkeys, zebu, long legged chickens, ducks, geese, scrawny cats and smiling dogs, a pig in a Pousse Pousse, ostriches (!), silkworms and rabbits.

As always we can tailor make your itinerary to suit your interests, time and pocket.