Thursday, October 13: Amber Mountain NP
We woke a bit later than usual after finally getting some solid sleep; the wind had died down a bit towards morning and things were quieter. We headed to breakfast at 7:30, and then got ready to drive to the park.
There was a colorful boa hanging out just off the front porch of the hotel. Good thing I had a zoom lens! No need to get too close...
We had not been able to hike in Amber Mountain National Park yesterday due to the change in our Air Madagascar flight time, but we had to begrudgingly admit that the rest had probably done us some good.
This morning was a relatively easy drive, less than 15 minutes to the trail head. We stopped at the park entry for tickets first. We posed for some pictures while our guides got tickets.
From here, we spent a few hours leisurely hiking through the woods, stopping frequently to see the different wildlife and landscapes that were on display.
We saw several different types of chameleons today.
The size range of these guys was unexpected. The Elephant's Ear specimen is quite big, but the little Boettger's is tiny in comparison.
There are three waterfalls in the park. Two are easy to see, but only one of them was running well. So we had some good photo ops here.
Of course, there were lemurs to be seen...it is Madagascar!
We saw a few crowned brown lemurs along the way. They were, of course, up in the trees and badly backlit. Someone needs to teach them how to pose better!
Turns out that we will get better pictures of these guys on another day.
We saw a section of forest where the trees form two parallel lines, called the "vioe de mille arbres" (way of a thousand trees).
There weren't quite a thousand of them but it was a nice spot just the same.
In addition to the wildlife and landscapes, the forest itself was very pretty.
There were many photogenic trees and plants here.
The flora here is so lush and green, the canopy very dense.
And myriads of mosses and epiphytes abound. Every tree supports many other plants.
This interesting tree had very rough bark. It was called a crocodile tree, for obvious reasons.
The wildlife here has some interesting adaptations that we have not seen before. Some of the lizards here have a great camouflage system. They can stretch their bodies almost flat against a tree trunk and hide so well that they are very hard to spot!
We also saw a ring-tailed mongoose, which was unexpected. We suspected that it belonged to a local kid and may have been a pet.
After a stop at the second waterfall, it had been a full morning, so we headed back to the Litchi Tree for lunch.
Lunch was served on the table out on the front porch with a beautiful view. We had a Spanish omelet - very tasty, and lighter than yesterday's lunch. So far, the food on this trip has been way better than we expected. And it's served in large quantities, which worries me. How will we be able to eat this well for three weeks?
We went back to the park in the afternoon for more hiking; this time we climbed on a path that led steadily uphill.
The forest was less dense at times and opened up nicely so we could see the sky above.
We had a nice sighting of some Sanford’s Brown Lemurs
Numerous birds were sighted as well - some native, some migratory.
This guy is migratory from South Africa.
We thought that we'd end up at a scenic overlook where you could see a lake, but instead we stopped short of the lookout, and did a steep downhill hike to the actual edge of the lake.
It wasn't bad going down, but it was a nice workout of a climb coming back up and out!
Two of our group decided to not go down to the lake, so they hung around at the top of the trailhead and waited for the rest of us to climb out.
If you got tired during the climb back up, you could always pretend you were taking pictures of birds... This guy is endemic to Amber Mountain.
So, worth the stop, I thought!
We headed back to our hotel after a great day in the park! Too bad we didn't have more time here, but even with two weeks to spend in Madagascar, some choices had to be made.
Back at the Litchi Tree, we had some more of our wine before dinner, sharing with the others while sitting around on our front porch like last night. The sunset over the surrounding plains was quick but pretty. It gets dark here by 6PM.
The hotelier was more sensible with portions today. I was worried that we had insulted him a little yesterday, by not being able to eat everything.
So today he served smaller amounts of food, family style, so we could serve ourselves as much or as little as we wanted. The main dish was chicken stewed in a tomato-based sauce, served with vegetables and mashed potatoes. We had a Chilean Shiraz-Malbec blend with dinner.
We went out after dinner to look for mouse lemurs, which had supposedly been seen on the hotel property last night, but we had no luck at all. After about 30 minutes of scouring the property, we decided that it was time to give up and recharge my "flashlight" (AKA cell phone) battery before the electricity was turned off for the night!
Off to bed after a full day! Luckily, we slept better tonight. Not sure whether that was because it was quieter outside and less windy, or whether we were just exhausted. Either way, sleep was nice.
 |
| Malagasy Ground Boa |
There was a colorful boa hanging out just off the front porch of the hotel. Good thing I had a zoom lens! No need to get too close...
 |
| I like the French name for the park - Montagne d'Ambre |
We had not been able to hike in Amber Mountain National Park yesterday due to the change in our Air Madagascar flight time, but we had to begrudgingly admit that the rest had probably done us some good.
This morning was a relatively easy drive, less than 15 minutes to the trail head. We stopped at the park entry for tickets first. We posed for some pictures while our guides got tickets.
 |
| Elephant's Ear Chameleon, Amber Mountain NP |
From here, we spent a few hours leisurely hiking through the woods, stopping frequently to see the different wildlife and landscapes that were on display.
 |
| Boettger's (Blue nosed) Chameleon, Amber Mountain NP |
We saw several different types of chameleons today.
The size range of these guys was unexpected. The Elephant's Ear specimen is quite big, but the little Boettger's is tiny in comparison.
 |
| Cascade Antankarana, Amber Mountain NP |
There are three waterfalls in the park. Two are easy to see, but only one of them was running well. So we had some good photo ops here.
Of course, there were lemurs to be seen...it is Madagascar!
We saw a few crowned brown lemurs along the way. They were, of course, up in the trees and badly backlit. Someone needs to teach them how to pose better!
 |
| Crowned Brown Lemur, Amber Mountain NP |
Turns out that we will get better pictures of these guys on another day.
We saw a section of forest where the trees form two parallel lines, called the "vioe de mille arbres" (way of a thousand trees).
There weren't quite a thousand of them but it was a nice spot just the same.
In addition to the wildlife and landscapes, the forest itself was very pretty.
 |
| Canarium Tree |
There were many photogenic trees and plants here.
 |
| Strangler Fig |
The flora here is so lush and green, the canopy very dense.
And myriads of mosses and epiphytes abound. Every tree supports many other plants.
This interesting tree had very rough bark. It was called a crocodile tree, for obvious reasons.
 |
| Lizard - before |
 |
| Lizard - after |
 |
| A lizard with very flat feet! |
We also saw a ring-tailed mongoose, which was unexpected. We suspected that it belonged to a local kid and may have been a pet.
 |
| Cascade Sacre, Amber Mountain NP |
After a stop at the second waterfall, it had been a full morning, so we headed back to the Litchi Tree for lunch.
 |
| Scenery at The Litchi Tree |
Lunch was served on the table out on the front porch with a beautiful view. We had a Spanish omelet - very tasty, and lighter than yesterday's lunch. So far, the food on this trip has been way better than we expected. And it's served in large quantities, which worries me. How will we be able to eat this well for three weeks?
We went back to the park in the afternoon for more hiking; this time we climbed on a path that led steadily uphill.
The forest was less dense at times and opened up nicely so we could see the sky above.
 |
| Sanford's Brown Lemur |
We had a nice sighting of some Sanford’s Brown Lemurs
 |
| Long-billed (cinnamon) roller, Amber Mountain NP |
Numerous birds were sighted as well - some native, some migratory.
This guy is migratory from South Africa.
We thought that we'd end up at a scenic overlook where you could see a lake, but instead we stopped short of the lookout, and did a steep downhill hike to the actual edge of the lake.
 |
| Lake Maharasika, Amber Mountain NP |
It wasn't bad going down, but it was a nice workout of a climb coming back up and out!
Two of our group decided to not go down to the lake, so they hung around at the top of the trailhead and waited for the rest of us to climb out.
 |
| Amber Mountain rock thrush, Amber Mountain NP |
If you got tired during the climb back up, you could always pretend you were taking pictures of birds... This guy is endemic to Amber Mountain.
So, worth the stop, I thought!
We headed back to our hotel after a great day in the park! Too bad we didn't have more time here, but even with two weeks to spend in Madagascar, some choices had to be made.
 |
| A Pleasant Evening at The Litchi Tree, Joffreville |
Back at the Litchi Tree, we had some more of our wine before dinner, sharing with the others while sitting around on our front porch like last night. The sunset over the surrounding plains was quick but pretty. It gets dark here by 6PM.
The hotelier was more sensible with portions today. I was worried that we had insulted him a little yesterday, by not being able to eat everything.
So today he served smaller amounts of food, family style, so we could serve ourselves as much or as little as we wanted. The main dish was chicken stewed in a tomato-based sauce, served with vegetables and mashed potatoes. We had a Chilean Shiraz-Malbec blend with dinner.
We went out after dinner to look for mouse lemurs, which had supposedly been seen on the hotel property last night, but we had no luck at all. After about 30 minutes of scouring the property, we decided that it was time to give up and recharge my "flashlight" (AKA cell phone) battery before the electricity was turned off for the night!
Off to bed after a full day! Luckily, we slept better tonight. Not sure whether that was because it was quieter outside and less windy, or whether we were just exhausted. Either way, sleep was nice.
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