Lonely Planet Journeys: Maverick In Madagascar

'This is not my own lie. This is a lie that the ancestors told me.'

Intrigued by tales of the Vazimba people - a mysterious tribe of white pygmies according to some accounts; an invisible telepathic people according to others - Mark Eveleigh travels to the ancient "Isle of the Moon". He treks along Madagascar's north-west coast, accompanied first by his pack bull Jobi and then by an intrepid Malagasy guide, Eloi, who prudently dons a bullet-proof vest for the trip. Braving the dangers of the "Zone Rouge", Mark is probably the first European in more than a century to cross this forbidden bandit country.

Before he comes to the end of his quest, and hears the story of the last of the Vazimba at the feet of an old village headman, he explores the difference between myth and reality in a land that has spawned sacred crocodiles, schizophrenic tyrant queens, blood-guzzling spirit animals and people-eating plants.

Mark Eveleigh exuberantly captures the spirit of Madagascar in this magical modern-day adventure.