Ranomafana National Park

Ranomafana means “hot water” in Malagasy and is called such because of several natural hot springs found in the park. It is one of the most visited parks of the island as it has well developed trails and fantastic biodiversity including 100 species of birds, 30 of which are found only in this park 12 species of Lemurs and  countless insects, amphibians and orchids. Established in 1991, it is 415 km² of dense moist primary and secondary forest at altitudes between 800m and 1.200m.

Ranomafana gets rainfall every day usually in late afternoon and evening, so afternoon walks can be very wet experiences.

The terrain consists of steep hillsides narrow ridge trails and sharp riverine valleys. In order to travel a kilometer as the crow flies you will ascend and descend at least three steep hillsides. The hillsides are always wet and side trails are treacherous due to the lian vines, slippery roots, red mud and wet grasses laying over fallen bamboo shoots.  Of course when seeking the Lemurs and other critters you spend most of you time in these conditions often moving quickly between valleys to follow groups of the next species of Lemur to be seen. It’s exhausting work when lugging camera gear as well.

Needless to say after seven hours hiking from 530 am to 1230 pm lunch then another 4 including a night walk you have no problem getting to sleep before 900 pm.

I was very lucky to have an excellent guide that has a species of frog as well as a sightless snake named after him. He has been guiding this park since inception and is a popular lecturer at amphibian and ornithology conferences that are held here. His keen ear is outstanding, he will pick a rare bird or frog out of the cloud forest sounds and follow it to source in minutes. Equally as handy he is keenly attuned to preserving his client’s ego. Any time he heard me huffing like a locomotive on a long steep climb, he always seemed to find a need to get the Ipod out and attempt to call some bird species in. I never once had to beg him to stop for a breath. J

On the first day and third morning we hiked the upper portion of the rainforest 1000-1200 m, on the second day the lower 800 – 1100 as each area had its own specific species to be seen.

The lower range has the greater number of Lemurs as well as the tourists seeking them so I encouraged my guide to head off into less traveled areas. The guides here need to learn wildlife viewing etiquette, they are so focused on the possibility of tips they work on getting their clients to see as many Lemurs as possible at any cost to other people trying to view and photograph, more importantly impact to the animals. It becomes a bit of a zoo after 730am or so when the bulk of the tourists start on the trails. These aggressive guides hurry clients to the best viewing spots then make noise to get the Lemur’s attention for a good photo op then loudly move to the next area when the animals move away. I got immediately pissed off and had to leave in a hurry before I went all medieval. Needless to say my Lemur shots from this park are not the best.

A classic example of this poor behavior; I sat for a half an hour at a Pitta-like Ground Roller’s nest waiting for the opportunity to photograph this rare bird. Just as the bird was approaching and as I was readying my camera a guide with a young lady came walking up and moved directly between me and the bird, he grabbed the girls cheap point and shoot camera for her to take a picture all the while moving forward towards the bird and it’s nest. Needless to say he scared it away, it did return later much more wary and flighty. You could have boiled water from the steam coming out of my ears. Being the good polite Canadian I held my tongue. I did ask my guide to speak with him later though.

Two of the tree days we walked the difficult upper sections mostly on our own so I was a happy camper. It was absolutely fantastic and I am going to keep these memories for a lifetime.

Mantella madagascarensi

 Pitta-like Ground Roller (Atelornis pittoides) 

Walking Stick Insect (ytbd)

Golden Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur aureus)

YTBD

Blue Vanga (Cyanolanius madagascarinus)

Collared Nightjar (Gactornis enarratus)

Giant snail

Velvet Asity (Philepitta castanea) 

 pitta-like ground roller (Atelornis pittoides) 

ytbd

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Golden Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur aureus)

Cup Fungi YTBD

Henst's Goshawk (Accipiter henstii)

Mantella madagascarensis (baby)

Mantidactylus melanopleura

Milne-Edwards' sifaka (Propithecus edwardsi)

Pill Millipede (Sphaerotheriida sp.)

Yellow-bellied Sunbird-asity (Neodrepanis hypoxantha) (female)

ytbd

Ranamofana Chute

About Mosquitoes

We all have tales of the menacing hordes of these heinous, villainous little creatures. No one has ever or will ever see the likes of the terrors we have faced. The unbridled loathing of these critters espoused whilst trading such tales with sole motivation of one-upmanship are astounding. Legends are born of this stuff, “you haven’t seen anything until you have been” …… (insert any region of Canada here); the muskegs of NWT/Yukon/Labrador,  I could go on for days. Its fun stuff and a topic that is near and dear to my heart. If you aren't being bitten by mosquitoes in Canada, you aren't outside and that just sucks. So bring it on you little ratbags.

It’s when you add the threat of serious debilitating disease to the mix, you really have my attention. Luckily Canada has remained relatively free of such maladies, although a few variants of Equine Encephalitis still maintain a foothold and West Nile Disease is very slowly moving west across the country.

In the tropics though, there are areas that are rampant with Yellow Fever, Malaria, Chikungunya and Dengue Fever. Before travelling it is important to understand the characteristics of the mosquito borne diseases that can be contracted in that area. There are often specific species that carry the disease as well as periods of activity.

The very first thing I check when I enter a lodge or guest house is the quality of Mosquito netting. Secondly, how well the netting can be sealed. The nets with flaps that overlap to provide a way in are a pain, at some point in the night the flap will open slightly. It’s like a freeway directly in to your sleeping space for those little buggers. This is another good reason to pack small cloth-pins or small clamps to seal the net flaps. One bungalow I stayed in recently had a cheap net that included flaps for access on three sides. I always carry a high quality net in my pack for occasions such as this. If you do not have that luxury soak yourself in mosquito repellent and keep coils lit all night.

Use high percentage DEET lotion, and yes it is nasty but so is the alternative if you are bitten by the wrong mosquito. Citronella based and other natural products are a good deterrent but are not effective for long periods like overnight or especially when sweating as one tends to do in the jungle.

I am not a fan of mosquito coils although effective I don’t believe they are any good for our lungs or the residue in our blood stream. Especially the cheaper Asian coils, they are downright terrible. That being said if it’s the only answer it is better than nothing.

There are several effective prophylactics available for Malaria, my preference is Malarone. Check for side effects for whatever one you choose.

So yes it is entirely possible that a moose was carried across the Yukon river by a mosquitoes alone and yes there are some incredible areas of mosquito density in our beautiful country but all joking aside, if you are travelling to a tropical country please take these little buggers seriously.

Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

Andasibe-Mantadia National Park is a 155 square kilometre protected area about two hours by good highway east of Antananarivo.  There are two separate parks; Mantadia National Park and Analamazoatra Reserve. The bulk of the tourist visit the Analamazoatra Reserve as it has easy access and paths as well as large numbers of Indri, Madagascar's largest Lemur and the parks star attraction.

Not surprisingly to those who know me I spent all of my time in the less visited park Mantadia where the trails are more remote and difficult.

The primary growth forests of Mantadia are dense and humid, covered with lians, moss, fern tress and more than hundred orchids species The Park’s elevation ranges from 800-1260 meters with steep hills and stream laden valleys. The trails are well marked an in great shape but by the end of a full day hiking up ridges and down along the valleys chasing after lemurs I was one bagged puppy.

It is a rough eight km 4wd ride up to the hiking trails from my lodge but once you get up to the main valley it becomes immediately obvious it is so very worth it. Three days of hiking Mantidia was phenomenal, one big time benefit was that this park was coolest temperature of any I had been so far, twenty six to twenty eight degrees. When you catch a breeze on the hilltops it was actually somewhat cooling for a change.

The Indri calls reverberate up and down the valley, they are incredibly loud and haunting. Indi groups maintain regular contact with each other with these calls. Very cool

The Mantidia waterfalls and lakes are sacred to the local people so we take great care to ensure we respect their traditions and culture while we are there. Once my guide was aware that I was interested in this aspect he opened up and was quite a fountain of information. He even serenaded me with one of the songs sang at the main waterfall gathering area. Yet another reason why I like to explore alone with a guide.

There are healthy populations of Lemurs, chameleons, lizards and I was able to see my first Madagascar Tree Boa (the picture sucks as he would not show his head) as well as a very cool little Tenrec, it looks like a cross between a mole and a porcupine

I had a wonderful time hiking the highlands at this place few tourists and a bonus, my lodge was quite posh, I had to be close to the park you know..... birders have to start early. (wink) Besides after 5 weeks into this trip a little extra comfort is much appreciated.

Perinet's Chameleon (Calumma gastrotaenia)

Lowland Streaked Tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus)

Madagascar plated lizard (Zonosaurus madagascariensis)

Southern Lesser Bamboo Lemur [Hapalemur meridionalis]

Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus diadema)

Southern Lesser Bamboo Lemur [Hapalemur meridionalis]

Common Brown Lemur (Eulemur fulvus)

Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus diadema)

Deceptive Nose-horned Chameleon (Calumma fallax)

Giant African Land Snail (Achatina fulica)

Madagascar Lynx Spider (Peucetia madagascariensis)

Nose-horned Chameleon (Calumma nasutum) 

Perinet's Chameleon (Calumma gastrotaenia)

Sportive Lemur (Genus Lepilemur sp ytbd)

Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata) 

Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata)  carrying baby in mouth

 Indri (Indri indri) 

Indri  (Indri indri) with baby

Madagascar Grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii)

Mantadia highlands

Nosy Mangabe

Nosy Mangabe is a mall island located approximately a third of the way from Maroansetra to the tip of the Masoala peninsula. It has an interesting history including a center of trading, a refuge for Dutch sailors busily engaged in marauding French commerce vessels and has several bays known for being pirate havens.

The island is for the most part steep hilly terrain covered in dense tropical rainforest. A protected reserve was created primarily to save the endangered nocturnal Aye-Aye, a small and very strange looking Lemur brought to the island for protection from extinction.

Luckily enough the island has proven to be a fantastic source of species discovery including many plants, insects and the five smallest Chameleons in the world. One of which I was lucky enough to find and photograph.

The island is also famous for its heavy population of Henkel’s Leaf-tailed Geckos making for easier daytime spotting despite their nocturnal habit and being the at best camouflage among all Gecko species.

The highlands have a healthy population of the endangered Black and White Ruffed Lemurs, they tend to be less shy than the Red Ruffed Lemurs of the Masoala Peninsula, probably due to limited predation by locals. There are no villages on this island and fauna population density is reflective of that fact.

Although hiking is rigorous with steep ascents and descents between hilltops the trails are fantastic and the setting idyllic. I could stay here for a good while.

Nosy Mangabe

Long Horned Cricket (Orthoptera Ensifera)

Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata) 

Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata) 

Yellow-backed Mantella (Mantella sp)

Henkel's Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus henkeli)

Peyrieras' Pygmy Chameleon (Brookesia peyrierasi) 7 cm in length