Saturday, October 15: East and West Ankarana NP
Today we had an early day planned. We needed to get to our new lodge for lunch, but some of us wanted to go for another hike in the morning before we left East Ankarana. So we decided to get an early start to see how much we could get done that morning.
Since we weren't sure whether we'd get back before our noon checkout time, we had to pack up first thing in the morning and leave our bags in the room. That way, if we were late, they could empty the rooms for the next guests.
We had an early breakfast at 7:15 today, with bread and jams, crepes with honey, and nice strong coffee. By 7:45, four of us were in the jeeps, headed out to the park, and two stayed behind to rest up, enjoy the facilities, and have the morning at leisure. I was tempted by the nice swimming pool... but you can swim anywhere, and we were here to see wildlife. So, off to the park!
We started hiking at 8:00 and set a pretty good pace right from the start. Good thing we'd loaded up on carbs and honey for breakfast!
We crossed a dry river bed, and headed into the woods, with the "pont suspendu" (suspended bridge) as our target, 3.7km away.
Of course, we didn't walk continuously, as there is always something to stop and see.
We passed a few baobab trees, and opened the dried fruits that were lying on the ground. The dried seeds are coated in a tangy pulp that is not unpleasant to chew on.
We learned about the different species of trees in the park, and saw a few birds as we pressed onward.
But the highlight had to be the Madagascar northern sportive lemurs that we saw along the way.
They are a nocturnal species and they sleep in the knotholes of trees, with their eyes open, and they are adorable!
And, since they are sleeping, they are great subjects for photography because they don't move.
It was hard to stop watching them but we had to move on.
This guy looks a lot like my profile picture...
Soon we reached the edge of the forest and had to walk over tsingy. These sharp rock formations were formed over centuries, by the rainfall which eroded the limestone into amazing shapes.
We slowed our pace for safety; a fall here could be deadly. Even out on the bare rocks, there were a few hardy plants and plenty of birds to see.
And the landscape was like nothing I've ever seen before - well, before yesterday - rock spires, stretching in all directions as far as you could see. Amazing place!
We made it all the way to the suspension bridge. Looks a little unsteady, but we crossed it without incident, one at a time.
I'm not a big fan of heights but it really wasn't too bad, and there was a nice rest area at the other side with a bench and some cover from the sun, which was starting to feel warm by now. We had some water and rested for a few minutes.
Soon it was time to get going – and then we learned that we had to turn around and go back the same way that we had come! Off to cross the suspension bridge again!
The rocks are amazing.
On the way back, we took a few interesting detours from the main path. One led to another Tsingy overlook. This landscape goes on for miles. It's wild.
The rock formations are so complex. Layers of rock piled on top of each other. It looks like it might fall over at any minute.
Soon we were back to the forested section of the trail. The shade felt nice.
More wildlife. Pretty color on the Blue Vanga.
There were many more birds to see on our walk back through the woods.
Another side path led to a large chasm in the riverbed that looked like a Roman amphitheater. Very cool, even though it was dry now.
As we walked along the riverbed, we could see several whole trees entangled in the rocks lining the river banks. Some were hanging out in the air, well over our head. Supposedly, the river gets that high in the wet season, and it is powerful enough to move trees!
It was a pretty good hike, and we covered over 4.5 miles this morning. I think it was worth the effort, though. The lemurs were adorable, and the tsingy were amazing. What a great combination!
And, we even made it back to our lodge before noon. We grabbed our bags from the room, settled the bar bill with the hotel, and collected our two companions.
We then piled into the cars for the rough drive to Iharana Bush Camp, our next accommodation on the other side of Ankarana National Park. This was to be the most "rustic" of all our facilities, so we were not sure what would be in store for us.
Back to the RN6! The road south of Ankarana was not bad at all for the first 25km, but the side roads were dirt and very rutted, so the last 15km took a long time. We arrived in a little over an hour, though, which was a good travel time compared to what we expected.
The staff were waiting for us, took our bags, and we were able to check in. Of course, we had to order our lunch first, but that was second nature to us these days.
Good netting around the bed. Looks like we'll be needing that.
The rooms were pretty rustic but the place had a cool vibe. The construction was said to be traditional Malagasy. Wooden poles, with woven branches forming the framework of the walls. The solid portion of the wall was dried mud. The tops and bottoms were not filled in with mud, in order to let air circulate.
The open walls also let wasps in. There was a nest of them in the bathroom, where they've drilled holes in the posts. They don't bother us, however.
Lunch was served in an open-air restaurant with a nice view. The food was simple but tasty. Seafood salad, and zebu meat with vegetables and rice.
The view from the restaurant wasn't bad either.
We learned that we had a free afternoon today, so after lunch, we rested and didn’t do all that much.
The view from our front porch was similarly pretty and that was enough activity for now.
The cliffs surrounding the camp were beautifully illuminated by the afternoon light just before the sun set, and the full moon cast a lot of light after sundown.
They had some interesting plants around the camp as well. I don't know what they are but they were very photogenic.
Dinner was served in their open air restaurant as well. The bar menu was fairly limited, without too many good wine choices, but the food was pretty nice. We weren't very hungry for dinner, which we assumed was because of the late lunch. The shrimp were tasty, though.
Unfortunately after dinner, we realized that our lack of appetite was because we had both come down with a stomach bug, which made for a less than comfortable night - and not much sleep! We'll have to see whether we feel better tomorrow.
Today we had an early day planned. We needed to get to our new lodge for lunch, but some of us wanted to go for another hike in the morning before we left East Ankarana. So we decided to get an early start to see how much we could get done that morning.
Since we weren't sure whether we'd get back before our noon checkout time, we had to pack up first thing in the morning and leave our bags in the room. That way, if we were late, they could empty the rooms for the next guests.
We had an early breakfast at 7:15 today, with bread and jams, crepes with honey, and nice strong coffee. By 7:45, four of us were in the jeeps, headed out to the park, and two stayed behind to rest up, enjoy the facilities, and have the morning at leisure. I was tempted by the nice swimming pool... but you can swim anywhere, and we were here to see wildlife. So, off to the park!
 |
| River Crossing, Ankarana NP |
We started hiking at 8:00 and set a pretty good pace right from the start. Good thing we'd loaded up on carbs and honey for breakfast!
We crossed a dry river bed, and headed into the woods, with the "pont suspendu" (suspended bridge) as our target, 3.7km away.
 |
| Bela, our main guide for the journey |
Of course, we didn't walk continuously, as there is always something to stop and see.
 |
| Baobab Fruit |
We passed a few baobab trees, and opened the dried fruits that were lying on the ground. The dried seeds are coated in a tangy pulp that is not unpleasant to chew on.
 |
| Malagasy paradise flycatcher, Ankarana NP |
We learned about the different species of trees in the park, and saw a few birds as we pressed onward.
But the highlight had to be the Madagascar northern sportive lemurs that we saw along the way.
They are a nocturnal species and they sleep in the knotholes of trees, with their eyes open, and they are adorable!
And, since they are sleeping, they are great subjects for photography because they don't move.
It was hard to stop watching them but we had to move on.
This guy looks a lot like my profile picture...
Soon we reached the edge of the forest and had to walk over tsingy. These sharp rock formations were formed over centuries, by the rainfall which eroded the limestone into amazing shapes.
We slowed our pace for safety; a fall here could be deadly. Even out on the bare rocks, there were a few hardy plants and plenty of birds to see.
And the landscape was like nothing I've ever seen before - well, before yesterday - rock spires, stretching in all directions as far as you could see. Amazing place!
 |
| Chris first! |
We made it all the way to the suspension bridge. Looks a little unsteady, but we crossed it without incident, one at a time.
 |
| Now it's my turn! |
 |
| Suspension Bridge, Petit Tsingy. Well-anchored to the bedrock. |
I'm not a big fan of heights but it really wasn't too bad, and there was a nice rest area at the other side with a bench and some cover from the sun, which was starting to feel warm by now. We had some water and rested for a few minutes.
Soon it was time to get going – and then we learned that we had to turn around and go back the same way that we had come! Off to cross the suspension bridge again!
The rocks are amazing.
On the way back, we took a few interesting detours from the main path. One led to another Tsingy overlook. This landscape goes on for miles. It's wild.
The rock formations are so complex. Layers of rock piled on top of each other. It looks like it might fall over at any minute.
 |
| Blue Vanga, Ankarana NP |
Soon we were back to the forested section of the trail. The shade felt nice.
More wildlife. Pretty color on the Blue Vanga.
 |
| Sickle-billed Vanga, Ankarana NP |
There were many more birds to see on our walk back through the woods.
 |
| Crested Drongo, Ankarana NP |
Another side path led to a large chasm in the riverbed that looked like a Roman amphitheater. Very cool, even though it was dry now.
As we walked along the riverbed, we could see several whole trees entangled in the rocks lining the river banks. Some were hanging out in the air, well over our head. Supposedly, the river gets that high in the wet season, and it is powerful enough to move trees!
It was a pretty good hike, and we covered over 4.5 miles this morning. I think it was worth the effort, though. The lemurs were adorable, and the tsingy were amazing. What a great combination!
And, we even made it back to our lodge before noon. We grabbed our bags from the room, settled the bar bill with the hotel, and collected our two companions.
We then piled into the cars for the rough drive to Iharana Bush Camp, our next accommodation on the other side of Ankarana National Park. This was to be the most "rustic" of all our facilities, so we were not sure what would be in store for us.
 |
| Driving from Ankarana, along RN6 |
Back to the RN6! The road south of Ankarana was not bad at all for the first 25km, but the side roads were dirt and very rutted, so the last 15km took a long time. We arrived in a little over an hour, though, which was a good travel time compared to what we expected.
 |
| Bedroom, Iharana Bush Camp, West Ankarana |
The staff were waiting for us, took our bags, and we were able to check in. Of course, we had to order our lunch first, but that was second nature to us these days.
Good netting around the bed. Looks like we'll be needing that.
 |
| Sitting room, Iharana Bush Camp, West Ankarana |
The rooms were pretty rustic but the place had a cool vibe. The construction was said to be traditional Malagasy. Wooden poles, with woven branches forming the framework of the walls. The solid portion of the wall was dried mud. The tops and bottoms were not filled in with mud, in order to let air circulate.
The open walls also let wasps in. There was a nest of them in the bathroom, where they've drilled holes in the posts. They don't bother us, however.Lunch was served in an open-air restaurant with a nice view. The food was simple but tasty. Seafood salad, and zebu meat with vegetables and rice.
The view from the restaurant wasn't bad either.
We learned that we had a free afternoon today, so after lunch, we rested and didn’t do all that much.
The view from our front porch was similarly pretty and that was enough activity for now.
The cliffs surrounding the camp were beautifully illuminated by the afternoon light just before the sun set, and the full moon cast a lot of light after sundown.They had some interesting plants around the camp as well. I don't know what they are but they were very photogenic.
Dinner was served in their open air restaurant as well. The bar menu was fairly limited, without too many good wine choices, but the food was pretty nice. We weren't very hungry for dinner, which we assumed was because of the late lunch. The shrimp were tasty, though.
Unfortunately after dinner, we realized that our lack of appetite was because we had both come down with a stomach bug, which made for a less than comfortable night - and not much sleep! We'll have to see whether we feel better tomorrow.
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