Nov 3, 2018 - The end is nigh (again)

So today has been a day at leisure in the capital city, and so a little sightseeing has been in order. Like many capital cities, Antananarivo is built upon several hills and the Rova, Queen Ranomalfana's palace sits high above the city on the summit of the highest hill. The original burnt down in 1986? and has since been rebuilt, although it is nothing but an empty shell. The building itself is impressive, a marble palace which dominates the city skyline but must have been even more imposing when it was surrounded by low wooden houses...

Nov 2, 2018 - The end is nigh

So here we are, the final stop of another trip as we fly out of here in the early hours of Sunday morning. Today has been another day when we have done nothing much more than sitting in the minibus and retrace our steps north to the Madagascan capital Antananarivo. Before we left Ambrosita this morning we had a look round a wood working workshop, and had a demonstration of the native marquetry, and what most fascinated some of us was the machinery used for the cutting featuring such exclusive items as a bed spring and a cable cut from an...

Nov 1, 2018 - Roads, Madagascar style

So today has been a long days driving, so it seems like a good chance to comment on the roads that we have seen. The road network was put in place by the colonial power in the last century and at times it feels like it has hardly been upgraded since (although to be fair there were several potholes that have been filled in, but with several others close by). In several places local kids have filled these in with sand and sit at the side of the road asking for a gift. It is relatively easy to spot potholes, simply look for the slightly...

Oct 31, 2018 - Unexpected lunchtime guests

We've well and truly lucked out. Today's schedule was a 5 hour walk to Camp Catta while the afternoons entertainment is a wildlife walk in the local forest. We finished our trek by walking 5km up a Madagascan road before entering camp, and as we did we all got distracted by the sight of ring-tailed Lemurs in the trees around the entrance. Eventually we were persuaded to finish the walk to our waiting lunch, again lovely food with fresh bread brought in from Ambalavao and a selection of items to make our own sandwiches. Lunch got seriously...

Oct 30, 2018 - Pic Boby

So the big day of this trip has been completed and we stood on the summit of Pic Boby just after an sunrise. After an early start this morning which saw us up and leave camp by 2:30am so that we should reach the 2,650m summit in time to watch the sunrise. When we left it was a lovely clear night and we barely needed our head torches as the landscape was bathed in a beautiful silver moonlight with lots of stars on display and several shooting stars being seen. Yesterday's recce worked and the first section held no fears for us as we knew...

Oct 29, 2018 - An unforgettable birthday

Well, what an epic birthday - I really am very fortunate. The day started off early with us all rising before our alarms were set (basically with the sun) but as I rose from my tent I was serenaded with "happy birthday to you" (not for the last time today either) and so we were able to breakfast early and head on up towards the waterfall which was our first port of call this morning. It is at its lowest flow at the moment but even so it was impressive and its sound dominated the camp last night. According to legend it was linked to an early...

Oct 28, 2018 - Trekking begins

Another early-ish start, leaving our lodges last night just after 7, for a 3 hour drive into the national park. We saw a sign saying the park entrance was 41km, but as the speedometer of the 4x4 we were travelling in only rarely exceeded 10km then the journey wasn't going to be a short one. a proper road Madagascan style, a dirt road with wooden bridges of mixed status - several have definitely seen better days. At one point our 4x4 overheated on a bridge and so get out of the vehicle we thought was wisest, and another we had to pause to...

Oct 27, 2018 - Wildlife part 2

An interesting day and very enjoyable. We were up early this morning before heading back into the Ranomafana national park for a wildlife walk proper, last night was slightly false as the mouse Lemurs were encouraged to a certain spot by the guides trying bananas to the desired tree (however, as the banana is their natural diet then it's not doing anything unusual). However today was a chance to explore the secondary rainforest of the national park (secondary rainforest is that which has recovered after being totally destroyed). Today I...

Oct 26, 2018 - Wildlife part 1

My first night under a mosquito net and it makes it feel like the adventure has properly started. Today has been interesting, a quick look around Antsirabe, Madagascar's 2nd city with a population of about 300,000 and a walk down Independence Avenue, which celebrates the day in 1960 when they broke free of the French colonial chains. There was a large protest in march 1945 there when several Malagasy lost their lives but it really started the ball rolling towards their independence. There are elections taking place just after we get back...

Oct 25, 2018 - First thoughts

So here we are, Madagascar. I will admit that when we boarded our 2nd flight and the pilot said "Welcome to this flight to Antananarivo on the island of Madagascar" I found myself smiling with excitement. Having left the airport and their take on customs and immigration it took us 2 hours to get through Antananarivo in the minibus, and even though the road was generally good it was quite eye-opening. Stuck in a queue? Simple, use the oncoming carriageway and if anything happens to come your way head onto the mud verge. The French links are...

Sep 27, 2018 - Introduction

Welcome to another trip and so another journal. So where am I going this time? Well, the 4th largest island in the world, 226,917 square miles in size which makes it larger than the likes of Spain, Germany and Sweden which is divided down the middle by a chain of granite mountains, which rise to over 2,500m above sea level at their highest point (which of course is my destination). Like a lot of modern day countries it is moderately new as a state, becoming a single country in the early 17th Century (up to that point it was divided into...

Sep 3, 2018 - Bon's Travels

9-3 From Bon's texts: had been out all day wandering around w/ Cathy, Kim from Korea and Gemma from Catalonia. We all will leave tomorrow for a trip south and then west to see the baobob trees. Not all that far, but roads horrible (!)! So everyone says 4-6 hours. Then a day to drive to baobob area, a day to see and the reverse to Tana(Antananavo-Capital) for a night and then head north to Nosy Be. From there some day trips to parks, and snorkeling and then?? Fun group in the dorm.