Parc National Andasibe Mantadia

The following morning we were up before the sun to make sure we caught the ferry back to the mainland.  We walked back to the canoes, stumbled upon a tuk tuk as there were none there when we crossed and made it to the port with time to spare.  We bought breakfast at the local bakery while we waited and then boarded after the scheduled departure time.  As our transfer to Toamasina was with the same company, we weren’t worried.  Although, we did have aspirations of moving onwards if we arrived in time. 

 

We saw a few whales as we went and actually had to change our direction once to avoid hitting one.  The bus was waiting for us in Soanierana Ivongo and we stood outside the door waiting for them to open.  We grabbed 2 seats towards the front and Tico went in search of bananas.  Everyone was loaded and ready, but there was no sign of Tico.  I communicated to the driver that we were missing one person and the woman next to me reiterated the same thing in Malagasy.  Once he was back, without bananas, we started the rest of our journey.  

 

The bus took us back down the same road and we even stopped in the same shop to use the toilet.  It moved slowly and after arriving a couple hours before sunset, we decided to stay the night.  As we walked back to the hotel from our previous stay, we stopped to buy bus tickets for the next day’s trip.  We were told to return the following morning at 7:30 am to catch our bus to Andasibe.  

When we arrived, we noticed that 2 buses were already full and leaving before ours.  We never know if buying a ticket the day before is actually helpful and at this moment we regretted already paying.  The bus that was associated with our ticket wasn’t there and we decided to get clarification.  The response of the bus office was a joke about them running on Malagasy time and gave us another license plate number.  We waited as they loaded up 3 other buses, which preceded to pull out.  As we were losing the last of our patience, they gave us the signal to load our backpacks on the roof.

 

Even though we thought this was a good sign, we continued to sit and wait.  At 9:30 am, Tico went in search of another bus.  It would mean having to pay all over again, but we’d arrive before sundown and we didn’t feel like we had much choice.  While he was gone, a man came to inform me and the few other passengers that the bus wouldn’t be leaving.  They would move us to another bus that was almost full.  Tico still wasn’t back, but I took our daypacks while someone carried our big bags.  Not long after I spotted Tico on the street and waved him over.  He was accompanied by 2 men that had an almost full bus to Tana.  As we’d been told that the new bus would leave ‘now,’ we stuck with the original plan.  

While we waited for the new bus to fill, we got fresh sugar cane juice and watched a practice cock fight.  For whatever reason, 2 men had their roosters on the side of the street and were egging them on to fight.  It was a needed distraction from just waiting and before we knew it we were called over to board.  We took the road we’d taken a week earlier past palm plantations and along the side of the green-covered gorge.  There were farms on both sides and people selling lychees on the side of the road.  

 

Parc Mitsinjo

We were dropped off at the turnoff for Andasibe and as we knew the hotels were closer than the town, we walked.  We checked out the 3 options and realized that they were all the same price.  Our first option won as it was locally run and we’d have our own hut.  We set down our bags and asked about the night walks in Parc Mitsinjo.  One woman told us she could guide us along the road, but we wanted to go through the community-run reserve.  We walked to the entrance and found no one so we walked further in as we heard voices.  There was a village within the reserve and they were able to call someone to come to the front gate.  We walked back out and people were starting to show up for their night walks.  One of the guides called a friend and we were told to wait for him to arrive.

He led us into the reserve and we followed with our headlamps scanning the trees that lined the path.  We watched where we stepped as it was damp and muddy and waited to see eyes reflecting back at us.  After crossing a bridge, the guide went down to the water and asked us to wait at the top.  He was looking for frogs, but wasn’t able to find any.  We continued on and when we passed other people we asked what they had seen.  Then, our guide found a dwarf chameleon on a leaf.  We have no idea how he was able to locate it considering it was smaller than the last joint of our fingers.

 

We made it to the Orchid Garden and were greeted by staff members.  They led us directly to a good-sized chameleon on a branch.  The reptile was not as happy to see us as we were to see him.  With our bright lights directly on him, he started to back his way up the tree branch.  As he moved, he slowly changed from green to brown.  Even though it used to be thought that they change color to camouflage themselves, it is now known that this a response to rival males or to attract females.  We watched in awe as this happened and were so glad we got to witness the color change, especially as not all chameleons undergo this change.

 

He led us back to the road where we saw several other groups using their lights to find creatures.  Almost immediately, we walked up to another group that was looking at a small green frog hanging onto a tall blade of grass.  At little further down the road, we spotted a pygmy leaf chameleon on a tree and again wondered how he’d found it.  The night walk ended there, but as we headed back to the hotel we continued to illuminate the trees and ground to see if we could find anything else.  We had hoped to see an aye aye lemur, but we didn’t get that lucky.  The next day we’d see the diurnal lemurs so we knew there was more to come.

 

Parc National Andasibe Mantadia

People had told us about the call of the indri lemur, but we didn’t know exactly what it sounded like.  The following morning we woke up and opened the windows of our little house.  We immediately identified the noise and sat listening as they communicated with one another.  They only call for a few minutes every day, but as the population is large, it seemed to carry on and on.  We admired the family of brightly-colored day geckos on our front porch before eating breakfast and walking to the national park entrance.  Once we paid our fee, we were provided with our guide, whose main job was lemur spotting.  We had a trainee guide join us as well and we set off along the path.  

 

 

There are several species of lemurs in the park, but it is best known for the indri, which is the largest of the lemurs.  Their size has been compared to seeing a 2 year-old climbing a tree.  As we entered the rainforest, both of our guides did most of the searching.  The first thing we saw were the shadows of geckos through the leaves of the giant pandanus plants.  They live in the center as they are protected from birds and other predators as the spikes on the plant deter them from entering.  We continued on and our guide pointed out a vine hanging from a tree.  It looked like something Tarzan would use and once our guide reassured us of its strength, Tico climbed up to test it.

 

 

The first lemurs we spotted were 2 common brown lemurs that were huddled together sleeping.  They didn’t seem to be bothered that we were below them and crushing leaves to get a better view.  Our guide left us there and went on a search for the indri as he thought they were near.  He came back and told us to follow him.  Sure enough, there was a family of 4 fairly close to the ground.  During the time of year that we were visiting they typically stay higher in the trees to avoid the mosquitos.  They sat and ate for the most part, but one moved around.  We admired them with the large group of tourists that all had their cameras pointed in the air.  

 

 

 

 

After spending a good amount of time with them, our guide told us we should move on to see what else we could find.  We followed the path up and found diademed sifaka lemurs above us.  They jumped between the trees and we watched as they landed with precision.  Our guide made noises of a predator bird as we carried on in an attempt to scare the lemurs into moving.  The movement would then let us know they were there as the forest was quite dense.  There were termite homes attached halfway up trees as they would be washed away if they had been built on the rainforest floor.  

 

 

We spotted more indri at the tops of the trees, but were glad we’d been able to see them much closer earlier in the day.  Our guide left us again and then we followed him off the path.  We squeezed between trees and around the large plants.  The lemurs heard us coming before we made it and we only heard the sounds of them scurrying away instead of getting our eyes on them.  Back on the path, we walked to Lac Vert and looped around in search of bamboo lemurs.  It was getting later in the day by this point and we knew we had a small chance of finding them.  They are also one of the more elusive species in the park.  We got to see different vegetation as we went, but didn’t see any more lemurs before our tour ended.

 

 

 

We said goodbye to our guides and sat down at a picnic table to enjoy the packed lunches we’d asked for at breakfast.  Slowly, we made our way back to the hotel and kept our eyes peeled for movement as the road separated the park and the reserve.  We relaxed the rest of the afternoon before we went in search of dinner.  The first restaurant was full of tourists so we went to the next option.  After sitting down, we found out that they didn’t have any more zebu.  As it was our last night in the country, we felt like we needed to find that for our last meal.  We went back to our hotel and ordered zebu fillets with our favorite beer to say our goodbyes.  

 

As we’d lost days in transportation, we weren’t sure if we’d make it to these parks.  We were glad that we managed to make it work as we got to see some of the nocturnal creatures as well as the infamous indri.  Their sound is so distinct it’s not something we’ll easily forget.  Wandering through the rainforest was the best way we could have finished our time in the country.  

Helpful tips:

• The entrance to Parc Mitsinjo is opposite the entrance to Andasibe Mantadia.
• There’s no need to reach the town of Andasibe unless you are looking for a post office.
• The reserve offers the same species as the national park, but the park does have different types of vegetation that is worth seeing.
• We highly recommend a night walk in Parc Mitsinjo as they are not allowed in the national park.