A Short Horned Chameleon seen in Mitsinjo Reserve, Andasibe

Madagascar plays host to some of the highest biodiversity on the planet. The country has more than 11,000 endemic plant species. All species of lemurs are found in Madagascar and nowhere else. Half of the world's chameleon species are endemic, as well as around 6% of its frog species. This is the result of the country being isolated for about 88 million years, allowing evolution to take a truly unique path.

When most people think of Madagascar's wildlife they think of iconic species like the Ring Tailed Lemur (Madagascar's national animal), Panther Chameleon and Giraffe Necked Weevil. They're all amazing species and have gained their famous status for good reason, but I was also looking forward to exploring Madagascar at night in 4 of the different areas I visited there. Often you find a completely different array of wildlife that comes out at night.

Night walks presented a new challenge for me as nocturnal photography is something new and getting to grips with flash-guns, or speedlites, on and off the camera is a whole new ball game. Fortunately I had managed to get plenty of practice in working with species at home. From the easier Common Frog to the 'never standing still' Pine Marten of Scotland (see my blog post dated 21 August 2015) I felt more and more comfortable with the controls behind flash photography and working with light modifiers to control the direction and spread of light.

The first opportunity for nocturnal photography presented itself in Ranomafana, the first main area on a month long trip in Madagascar. Ranomafana National Park is in south-eastern Madagascar. The park was established in 1991 with the purpose of conserving the unique biodiversity of the local ecosystem. It is part of the World Heritage Site Rainforests of Atsinanana. Ranomafana literally means 'hot water'; Rano is Malagasy for 'water' and mafana means 'hot'. Unfortunately, trekking through national parks at night is forbidden in Madagascar, so night walks here follow the road. That might not sound that adventurous, but dense rainforest lines the road so a whole myriad of species can be found.

We would start at a well known waterfall just before dusk slowly walking along the road, eyes peeled, and made our down until we were close to the entrance to the national park. The first animals we came across were Nose Horned and O'Shaughnessy's Chameleons.