Mariarano camp is really the main base whilst we are operating in the Mahamavo forests, situated in the northwest of Madagascar. It is next to the small friendly village of Mariarano, hence the name, which is home to roughly 500 people. Everyone who comes to the forest site will spend at least a few nights at this camp, which is a great opportunity to see how people in rural Madagascar live and get involved with the cultural element of the expedition. The camp site is comfortable and well set up, with accommodation being 2-man tents under the shade of the trees, a long-house for lectures, dining and socialising and jungle showers and toilets. There is also a small building converted for use as a small field laboratory with a library, computers running the biodiversity database, GIS, and statistics software. Being the main base, it is the largest and busiest of all the camps sites and has a real research feel, with science teams coming and going, data being analysed and samples being processed.