Tsingy de Bemaraha and Avenue of the Baobabs

As breakfast wasn’t included in our package, we walked through the village to see what we could find.  We stopped in a couple places and tried ask what they offered for breakfast, but we were unable to get our point across or understand their answers.  So we wandered to the local market hoping we’d have better luck.  We found a stand that had tea and coffee as well as different types of breads and fried doughs.  Since we knew how to order our drinks, we got thé olé and café olé, which means they add sugar as well as sweetened condensed milk to your drink of choice.  We grabbed breads as we wanted them and counted as we went.  When we were ready to go, we gave him our total counts and got the final price.

 

 

There were 2 women sitting on the ground behind us as we ate breakfast that were selling tobacco.  They had braided the leaves into a long cord and would cut according to what the person asked for.  The measurements were in coordination with the length of the women’s forearms.  Tico and Sarah wanted to try the local crop so they convinced the women to cut just a small amount and even had her roll it into cigarettes so they could taste it in the moment.

 

 

Back at the hotel, we loaded up the 4x4s and left Belo sur Tshiribihina behind us.  The trip was less than 100 kms (62 miles), but would take us most of the day.  We followed the dirt road through small villages and stopped in one around midday for lunch.  There was a structure made from branches that had a couple tables and chairs inside.  The crew had bought samosas and other street foods before leaving town that we ate with fruit.  Once we were done, we still had time to kill before we piled back into the cars.  Sarah took advantage of the time to share the pictures in her guide book with the kids and they loved it.

 

We drove until we reached the Manambolo River, where we needed to use another ferry to cross.  This trip was much shorter and involved driving a bit into the river to reach the ramp.  We again were pushed along by a noisy motor and reached the other side in no time.  The ferry was much smaller so once we were all on the same side of the river we discussed the options for the rest of the day.  Petit Tsingy or Little Tsingy was near the ferry and it was up to each of us if we wanted to pay entry to this section of the park to see a miniature version of what we’d see the following day.  

 

 

Petit Tsingy

There was a group of 7 of us that decided it was worth seeing the extra tsingy.  We walked to the park gate and figured out how much it would be.  There was a fee for the guide and even though the paper listed a price we were informed that it was different.  No matter how much we argued, we lost the battle.  So we set off on a tour of Petit Tsingy with Narciss, our guide.  

 

It was a labyrinth walking around and in between the limestone formations.  Tsingy in Malagasy means “walking on tiptoes” and you have to literally do that to walk on top of the structures.  There is some disagreement as to how they were formed, but the most supported is that there was an underground cave system who’s roof was eroded away from years of rain.  ThIs one is thought to be smaller as it is closer to the river and would have suffered from more erosion.

 

 

We ducked under pieces and climbed on top to get a view from above.  Trees grew in and around the rocks and it was something so different than anything we’d seen before.  It was comparable to a canyon yet nothing like it at the same time.  The end of the path took us towards more trees and that was where we spotted Rufus brown lemurs.  They were making their way to the tops of the trees for nightfall to avoid predators.  We walked around to the river and back to the entrance to complete the tour.  

 

 

 

A car was waiting for us near the ferry and we caught a ride to our camp in Bekopaka.  Our tents were already assembled and we had time to see a glimpse of the sunset before it disappeared.  There were bucket showers, which we didn’t complain about as we hadn’t cleaned up in 3 days.  As the sun was already down, we used headlamps to light the stall and were glad it wasn’t cold out as there was no hot water.  Dinner was served at a long table under an open patio and then it was time to get sleep before our hike the next day. 

 

 

Grand Tsingy

We had breakfast and then split up into the cars for the trek North to Big Tsingy.  The Jeep was left for us again and we were the last to leave camp.  We made it not even a kilometer before we heard something scrapping on the ground.  The driver didn’t think much of it at first, but when it continued he got out to look at what happened.  All of us followed his lead and looked under the car to see if we’d caught a branch or something else.  It turned out that the muffler broke in two pieces in the middle of the Jeep.  He tried to break the long piece of the muffler off the car, but it was connected to the bumper too well and there was no hope no matter how hard he pushed or threw his weight into it.  

 

He tried to call Luva, but there was no luck.  So he kept working on the car and we began to wonder if we’d make it to the rest of the group.  He finally decided to pull out a rope and tie the broken piece to the undercarriage so that it wouldn’t drag on the ground.  While this was happening, Sarah and I went back to the camp to get Luva so the rest of the group could be informed.  After a few more minutes, the ‘repair’ was complete and we headed North.  

 

We picked up one of our guides along the way and started asking questions about the area and what the plan for the day was.  As it turned out, there was confusion as to what hike we’d do, but he was able to speak to the other guide and everything was organized for us to do the longest circuit.  We reached the rest of the group, who were waiting for us, and we were briefed on what we’d do for the rest of the day.  Our picnic lunches were handed out and we each got a harness.  As we’d be climbing on top of the rock structure, we would clip in for safety.

 

The start of the trek was through a forest and we kept our eyes peeled for lemurs.  While we didnt see any, that didn’t take away from the hike.  We quickly reached the limestone formations and would climb to the top.  There was a ladder with a metal wire bolted into the rock that we clipped into as we worked our way up.  As we were reaching the top, there was a Gray’s Sportive lemur hidden in a hole in a tree.  The nocturnal lemur wasn’t very happy that one-by-one we tried to get close enough to take a picture, but it didn’t leave his bed.  

 

 

Once we reached the highest point, we were literally walking on the tips of the rocks.  They were jagged rocks and that had small flat areas between the sharp edges that we used as stepping stones to move around.  The guides were very attentive to where we stepped and gave us a helping hand when needed.  From there, we could see out into the distance and see how expansive the tsingy really was.  No matter the direction we looked, there were pinnacles reaching towards the sky with trees emerging where they could.  

 

 

The group made its way towards the first hanging bridge and again clipped in using our harnesses to walk across.  There was a viewing platform waiting for us, which we took advantage of to try to capture the amazing view we had.  Then it was time to work our way back down to ground level.  The stairs down were pieces of limestone that had been bolted into the side of another rock.  Our harnesses gave us the security that we had nothing to worry about as we stepped on the squarish blocks.

 

 

 

 

The walk continued and as we were at the back of the group we got to spend time with the second guide and his eagle eyes.  He spotted a few Decken’s sifaka lemurs high in the trees.  We would walk around below the trees to find a better angle as they hung out in their natural habitat.  Along the edge of the path, there were large stone walls that were the bases of pieces we’d just seen the tops of.  There were sections that looked like they had fallen off and others that created caves and overhangs.  Our lunch spot was under one of the latter, where we found boulders or fallen logs to use as chairs.

Once we were all finished, we continued to move through the maze.  We reached a spot where we felt like we were in a hole as the formations surrounded us.  From there, we could see how some of the trees were living.  The base was attached midway up a rock so that they leaves had a better chance of reaching sunlight while the roots were exposed over the rock extending all the way to the soil.  It was a sight that made us appreciate nature even more.  

 

The instructions before leaving camp hadn’t  been to bring a headlamp and the time had come to use them.  There was a small opening in one of the rocks and we would shimmy our way through it and into a large cave.  First, we had to pass our bags through as the hole was just big big enough of us, but once we were inside it opened up quite a bit.  While the rocks on the outside were different shades of grey, what we encountered on the interior was off-white walls that appeared to be covered in popcorn.  There were holes in the ceiling that we were told is where the bats lived.  

We moved along the path and had to maneuver around pieces of rock and climbed up and down as the formations changed.  There were times we hooked ourselves to the metal rope and others when we dodged an overhanging structure to not hit our heads.  We could see light entering as we reached the end of the cave and we again crouched through a small opening.  As we exited, there was a mongoose running around looking for food scraps.  He would hide in a small hole only to run out again and cross the path.

 

 

The path led us to another set of rocks that would be used as steps and made our way to the top.  We reached our last viewing platform and saw how some of the formations appeared to be sitting on each other.  Due to movement of tectonic plates, there were pointy rocks that had a another set of pinnacles sitting on top of them with a flat bottom.  It looked as if someone was stacking Legos, but they didn’t join properly.  We crossed another hanging bridge and then went back down to the ground.

 

We followed the path back to a car park, but stopped along the way to see imprints of seashell fossils in the rocks.  There was also a family of sifaka lemurs in the trees where we stopped one last time to hear more about what we’d just seen.  We said goodbye to our guides and drove back to the campsite.  Spending the day at the world’s largest stone forest was eventful and had us ready to get some sleep just after dinner.  

The alarm sounded early the next morning and we were in the cars and at the ferry before we knew it.  There was a line to cross the river so our car got on the manual ferry and we were pulled across by several men tugging on a rope that was stretched across the river.  We drove with a mission as we wanted to be at the baobobs by sunset.  There was a break for lunch in a village, but then we were on the move again. 

 

Baobabs

The rest of the day would be admiring some of famous trees in Madagascar.  Baobabs are considered special by the locals and the country has 6 of the 8 species that exist in the world.  Our first stop would be to see Baobab Sacré.  As the trees don’t have rings, it is difficult to determine their age, but this particular tree is thought to be one of the oldest in the country and world.  We were told to remove our shoes before entering the fence and found several offerings at the base of the huge tree.

 

From there, we continued on to see Baobab Amourex.  This is 2  separate trees that have grown together and wrapped themselves around each other over the years.  It appears that they are hugging and from the top you wouldn’t know that they were not one tree.   Not far from there we stopped to take pictures with baobabs in an open field.  It didn’t matter where we looked there were baobabs near us.

 

We reached the Avenue of Baobabs and all unloaded so we could walk through the trees.  The road is lined in such a way that it looks as if they were planted for decoration yet their lives began many years before the road was ever thought about.  There was time to walk around and find the best angle for the sunset.  We headed into the nearby field and as the sun neared the horizon more and more people gathered.  There were clouds in the sky, but that didn’t stop the orange sun from shining through just before it tucked itself in for the night.  

 

 

 
That night we would stay in Morondava on our own accord as the tour had officially ended.  We found a hotel that we were satisfied with and cleaned ourselves up before dinner.  The group would meet one last time to say our goodbyes and reminisce about everything we’d experienced over the past week.  From floating the river to getting to hike around amazing limestone formations, the trip had been a complete success and we were glad we got to share the experience with a group and our visitor, Sarah.

Helpful tips:

• Due to rain, it is not possible to cross the Manambolo River in car from December to April.  This means access to Tsingy de Bemaraha is only accessible by boat (different than our trip along the Tshiribihina River) or flight during these months.
• Petit Tsingy is similar, but still different from Grand Tsingy. The walk was roughly 45 minutes although there are circuits that take longer if you have time.