Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park

The road inland from Tolaria the RN7 is an excellent highway for the most part although somewhat narrow. There are occasional groups of potholes that require navigation at lows speed but otherwise it is a significant upgrade from the roads I have travelled thus far.

It is very difficult to rent a vehicle in Madagascar, most often you simply arrange for a car and driver. It costs in the order of thirty five dollars a day plus gas so it is very affordable and convenient provided the vehicle is sound.  My driver for this trip is a young man named Jose (pronounced Josee) and the vehicle is a relatively stalwart Peugeot 504 Wagon. He speaks no English but my French is improving daily so allons-y

The highway rises up from sea level to a flatland plateau passing through many small villages located around water sources such as wells and small streams.  For reasons generally associated with livelihood, there are several small compounds with no water sources that are inhabited by smaller family groups, often single families. For these people life is a constant struggle. These compounds are composed of three or four thatched huts  (eight ft x eight ft x eight ft) with a central shaded area for cooking and gathering. Water is brought in by bicycles, Zebu cart or pushed in by hand cart every day. Often this is a journey of ten km or more. It is an emotional experience watching children in tattered, filth rags standing by the roadside begging for water, not money. On my return trip I was much better prepared and travelled with a case of water bottles to hand out. 

Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park is relatively large (367 km²) approximately 120km inland from Toliara. It is a transitional forest between the dry and the humid forests of Madagascar. As a result it is home to several very important species a few of which are not found anywhere else in Madagascar or the world. I was lucky to photograph two of these; the rare Appert´s Greenbul and the Standing´s Day Gecko.

Approaching this park is a grim reminder of the ravages of deforestation in Madagascar. Zombitse-Vohibasia is now a completely isolated forest, the entire area surrounding the park has been cleared to a stark and barren semi-arid desert.

While hiking this amazing forest my thoughts drifted from the sheer joy and excitement of experiencing these rare plants and animals to being incredibly thankful that at least now some effort is being applied to the stewardship of this unique place. 

Madagascan Spiny-tailed Iguana, (Oplurus cuvieri)

Warty Chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) 

Madagascan Flatid Leaf Bug (Phromnia rosea) adult

Madagascan Flatid Leaf Bug (Phromnia rosea) adult

Madagascan Flatid Leaf Bug (Phromnia rosea) nymph

Appert's Greenbul  (Xanthomixis apperti)

Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)

Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)

Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)

Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) baby

Giant Coua (Coua gigas) 

Standing's Day Decko (Phelsuma standingi) 

Hubbard's (Zombitse) sportive lemur (Lepilemur hubbardorum)

Anakao

Anakao is an idyllic Veza fishing community turned into a laid-back beach mecca for tourists looking to relax between trips into the forests of Madagascar. Water sports of all variety are available and fresh seafood is plentiful.

Getting to Anakao from Toliara begins with the rather chaotic process of getting yourself and your luggage into an Zebu cart to traverse the shallow waters of the bay to deeper waters where the speedboat is moored. The process is chaotic only in the sense that there are several drivers anxious to get you into their cart. They obviously prefer the tourists vice locals and freight as we are expected to pay a fee ( $1.00) for the trip. Better yet if they can convince you to allow your luggage to travel in anther cart then two drivers benefit instead of one. Big bubbles, no troubles but my Pelican case and Panda stay with me J

The speedboat is a modern open style cruiser (approx. 35 ft) with mandatory life jackets (nice) I bound one to my pelican case and Panda first. Lesson learned from a fun boat adventure in Galapagos. Further to that previous lessons learned I was also very pleased to see plenty of spare gas. Two for two = WIN.

Approximately 3km from the beachfront of Anakao lies the protected island of Nosy Ve, there are several species of birds nesting there as well as a coral reef with reasonable fish populations. It is open only to spearfishing and that is limited to fresh barbeque s for the tourist’s trips. After a few kilometer snorkel along the reef, I struggle to call it a sustainable fishery but I did not spend  a lot of time on the sea side of the reef as currents were wicked so I am going to use my rose coloured glasses and say that population density rocks out there. Anything to appease my guilt of enjoying that exceptional fish barbecue.

The sail back to the lodge was a blast surfing in on ten foot rollers, Once again my Pelican case proved its worth, keeping my camera equipment bone dry. Panda on the other hand had his first wild water ride and was drenched in salt water spray like the rest of us.

My digs overlooking the beach

Outrigger sailing excitement

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda)

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) juvenile

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) juvenile

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) 

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) 

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) juvenile

Zebu ride to the speedboat

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) juvenile

Fresh fish barbeque

Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) juvenile

Reniala Private Reserve - Ifaty

The drive to Ifaty from Tolaria takes you north along the coastline through several Reza fishing villages. The area is predominantly sandy dunes with spiny brush Euphorbia species and grasses. Although fishing is the main commerce in these villages there also many shallow ponds along the road where Spirulina is grown and harvested. A second important source of income comes from harvest reeds from the wetland edges.  The villagers fashion the reeds into thatched panels for walls and roofs. These panels become components of prefabricated homes that are easily transported by Zebu (cow) driven carts to any village in the surrounding area.  Although low quality bricks are inexpensive here and readily available, the light weight and trans-portability of these prefab  “mobile” homes have made this option very popular.

I note that a Chinese company is rebuilding the road between Toliara and Ifaty from an extremely rough trail to a workable dirt highway for "purely altruistic" motivation.

It is nice to see that an NGO is working to restore mangrove trees to the waters edges. Over time the existing mangroves trees were cut down for canoe parts, houses and firewood. With the loss of the trees, the micro eco-systems associated with them, fish, birds, reptiles and insects disappeared as well.  As a result in this particular case the importance of the Mangroves has become more obvious to the locals and with their support the reforestation project is a success.

Sadly many in most other areas of Madagascar the impact of deforestation has not yet become obvious to the local populations and land is cleared for farming and other cash tangible crops at a devastating rate.

The Reniala Private Reserve is 80 Ha of relatively pristine spiny forest with a good track record of working with local peoples to ensure the ongoing preservation of the incredible numbers of endemic species in the area. They provide facilities for local children’s study programs and guide training programs as well as offering scholarships to many students and universities.

The trails are well groomed with plants identified by signage. There are more than a thousand Baobobs on the property as well as more than 2000 other plant species. The guides are very knowledgeable while on our 500 am hike along the trails they worked as a team to spot every possible species they could including several incredibly rare birds now found only in that reserve. Really a special place to stay although the Grey Mouse Lemurs chattering and pouncing on the rooftop all night made for a very poor sleep. 

Flatid Leaf Bug (Phromnia rosea) nymphs

Flatid Leaf Bug (Phromnia rosea) nymph

Spirulina Algae ponds

Mangrove reforestation project

Prefabricated housing mada style

Prefabricated housing mada style