Adventures of NaDave

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

H'moon 5 - Mada Lemur Island

We awoke at 4am and quickly got on the road. We had to drive an hour to catch the 5am sunrise at the baobabs. We got there in time, and this time had the trees to ourselves with very few other tourists. We also got the see the local villagers wake up and start their day, it was great!

We then drove back to Morondava, and had a small breakfast at the shoreline. Again we watched the locals, and especially enjoyed watching two women fish with a net in the shallows, and whenever they caught a fish, it would go in bucket on their heads, amazing!

We then drove to the Morondava airport, and flew back to Antananarivo via a fly over of the Alle de Baobabs. We each fell asleep due to the early morning. After we landed, we were picked up by a new driver who had all of our stuff. We were done flying on planes, now it was time to drive the 4 hours to Andasibe to see the Lemurs!

We drove through Antananarivo and passed all kinds of sights. People were all over the streets, and we got see up close how the taxi-brusse vans worked. A man manages the rear door of the van as it swings open and close, and people hopped in and out in a way that seemed random. Somehow nobody got hurt, and cash was exchanged effortlessly, but it all seemed normal even though it looked crazy!

At one point we came along a river in the city, and this was the hub of the city. There were people bathing on the hot sun, there was also people doing laundry and spreading out blankets on the shore, and then there were all the brick building hubs. Up and down the river there were bricks being made with the mud from the dirt along the shores, and smoke was coming from the brick kilns. It was stunning to watch all of the activity.

As we left the city, the dwellings turned into more and more farm-like, and eventually turned in rice farms, with terraces. The influence of African, Indian and Asian cultures seem to come out in everything you looked at. We drove and drove, and eventually entered the mountains and climbed up and over, and followed along rivers and streams. We started the day in the desserts of the western part of the country, and were now entering the mountains and rainforest of the east part of the island.

We stopped along the way for lunch in a small town. We pulled off the paved road, and it started raining, so we quick ran inside. Our driver knew the owner of the restaurant, and the cuisine was asian themed. Since the weather was a little chilled, we each got a warm soup and some tea, and then continued on. As we drove along, Nadine and Dave each eventually dosed off and got some zzzs. But eventually we entered into the rainforest part of the country!

We got to our next stop, Lemur Island! Any Lemurs found as pets or injured, were brought here to be rehabbed. We pulled up and the weather was misty, but enjoyable. To get to the island, we had to hop into a canoe, as the Lemur Island was setup such that none of the animals could leave the island because is was surrounded by water.

As soon as we got off the canoe, Brown Lemurs came up right to us, it was crazy! They were so curious, but so friendly! We were playing with them, and then all of sudden one of them jumped onto Dave and scared the S%@# outta him! Dave had no idea they could jump 6 feet off the ground and onto his shoulder! HAHA, what a start. We continued around the island, and close up views of Lemurs because they were used to humans. It was amazing to see them up close. We saw Bamboo Lemurs up close, and also Brown Lemurs jumping from tree to tree. It was so amazing.

Then we ventured over to the Gator Park. The best part was the chameleons in the park! They were so hard to see because they blended into everything!

It was getting dark so we headed to our hotel. We checked in, and then got ready for our night walk. We joined our guide and walked around finding tree frogs, snakes, and even a Mouse Lemur! It was so small! It was raining the whole time, so it totally felt like a National Geographic tour. The frogs were making so much noise, and we were out in the elements, but it was warm and so enjoyable.

After our night tour, we headed back our hotel, washed up, and enjoyed our last dinner in Mada. We finally got to drink some Mada wine and again enjoyed some amazing seafood. We exhausted from a long day, so we retired back to our room and got ready for our last day in Madagascar. It was a great trip so far, and our final day would include a hike in the National Park with the singing Lemurs!

The sun beginning to appear for the baobabs!

Sunrise at Alle de Baobab!

Zebu (Malagasy cattle!)

Breakfast at shore

Alle de Baobab flyover

Coming in for landing in Antananarivo

Driving to Andasibe

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Lemur island!

Gator Park!

Fossa!

Mouse Lemur!

Tree Frog

Snake!

Dinner at Hotel

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

H'moon 4 - Mada River & Baobabs

On Tuesday, Dave awoke to a belly full of tummies. The salad had done its thing overnight. Luckily it was not terrible, but certainly made the next couple days uncomfortable.

But we awoke to a sunny morning and had a lovely breakfast overlooking the forest. We were expecting more hiking of the Tsingy, but our guides offered a pleasant surprise. We met for a local pontoon canoe ride on the Manambolo river, to see incredible birds, visit caves, and experience a peaceful morning.

We board the pontoons, and they were carved-out tree trunks...a couple boards used and benches, and we were suppose to sit on those. Wow, move the wrong way and you're in the water. Our 2 guides joined us, and we had a man as our motor. On the river it was a hub of activity for fishing, tours, and wildlife alike. We saw (and sometimes heard!) parrots, egrets, crocodile, kawai/koa, and more. The caves held calcified rock formations, wasp nets, and bats. At the end of the river, we came across a burial ground of tribal locals, and skulls could be seen on the ledge overlooking the river.

We headed back up the river, and then back to the boat launch. We tipped our motor man (with the help of our guides), we hopped in our car, and then drove back to the airstrip. We spent another hour driving past small villages, burial tombs, and along the terrible road conditions. We got back to the red dirt airstrip, and then got ready to head for Morondava & the baobab trees!

We took with Ellie and spent 1-2 hours in the air. Again we looked out the windows and explored along the Madagascar shoreline. We landed on the airstrip, which was a real airport with cement airstrip. We grabbed our stuff, passed signs for the plague (!), and hopped in our next car to head into Morondava.

This time the road was all paved, and as rolled into town, we people watched and saw all the shops, and people walking along the road. We even saw someone with a lemur on their shoulder!

Our first stop was lunch at hut spot along the coastal town of Morondava. We shared an amazing prawns dish...as we ate, a local walked in with a recent catch for the kitchen, unbelievable!

We then drove to our hotel and had 90 minutes before heading to the baobab trees. We checked into our room, and then we walked to the shore of the Mozambique Sea and enjoyed see local Malagasy sailboats.

We then met our guides at the hotel lobby and headed to the Baobabs to catch the sunset. Dave was super excited, he definitely wanted to see these trees. We had to drive about 1 hour to see the infamous Alley de Baobabs, and along the way we went through smaller and towns, and even had a traffic stop with a military personel who asked to see everyone's ID...and also there was a small cash exchange (what was that all about!)

As we drove up, the baobab trees started to appear. They looked like no other tree we had seen. The trunks were huge! The leaves were all at the top...this was Africa! We got to the Alley, and walked around, seeing all the trees and angles. There was also a small village nearby, so we watched them play a game of futbol with something that was some sort ball...and also saw their small huts up close. These people lived so different, no bed, no tables...just simple life.

Next we drover up the road to the famous Lovers Trees. Two baobab trees had grown together wrapped around each other. Perfect for our honeymoon! We loved it so much, we bought a local souvenir that was hand-carved from the local wood. It was beautiful.

We hung around for the sunset and snapped a few photos, and then drove back to the hotel. We got dressed for dinner, and enjoyed a lovely meal. Dave had a Zebu burger, and Nadine more seafood. We retired early to our room, as tomorrow we'd see the Baobabs at sunrise, then fly back to Antananarivo, and then drive all the way to Andasibe Nat'l Park!

Breakfast at Hotel