Madagascar Photo Galleries

Lots of time spent driving means lots of car pics.  These carts are used to transport lots of thing

Such as bananas

We stopped at a gas station not for gas (our car has two tanks) but to buy snack

You can find old cute cars around Madagascar in unexpected places. Many are Peugot brand from the French occupation

Chopping up meat with pig head

Kids find all sort of ways to amuse themselves

We drove through a really long grassland area and then the landscape began to change again

We started to see some very steep granite mountains

Root vegetables after harvest

There were very few cars on this stretch of road so we pulled over for a few pictures

Small town school and church

There are police stops along the way checking documents

Rice terraces with granite peaks

We stopped at a small nature reserve where we saw several chameleons in the daytime

A green chameleon spotted by the Anja Reserve guide

Black and white chameleon

Blending in to the tree branch

The Anja reserve has several large families of ringtailed lemurs

We were able to get up close to the lemurs as they are used to people

Lemur in the tree

Another chameleon

The ringtailed lemurs

They were getting ready for sunset feeding

Up close of a lemur

Ringtailed lemur on the ground

On our way out we saw a large group of lemurs in the tree

We got to hear them making their alert calls because of a bird overhead

Ringtailed lemurs in the trees

Eating some berries and leaves

The views behind Anja Reserve

In Ambalavao, we stopped at a paper making workshop

The make the paper from cooked tree bark and embed local flowers

Michel showing us the process because the workshop was already closing

Next up was a silkworm workshop, these are natural silkworm cocoons, not farmed

Showing the difference between farmed (left) and natural cocoons (right)

They cook the natural cocoons and it is a long process to make the thread by hand, then loom to weave

All of the colors come from natural sources

Ambalavao door at sunset

Flowers used in the paper making

Our bungalow for the night in Ambalavao

The next morning we spent 3 hours getting to Andringitra National Park

The road was a very rough dirt, but fantastic views of the rice terraces

Some colorful homes along the terraces

These villages are very remote and most have to walk

We reached the entrance to Andringitra NP

We set out for 2 1/2 days of trekking

First views of where we would trek along

We had porters to carry equipment and food including these live chickens and duck

The porters coming up the trail

Several large waterfalls on our first day of trekking

Waterfall with the granite peaks

Stopping for a viewpoint for pictures

There was an alpine lake you could swim in but it was very cold

A campsite near the lake but we had further to go

The porters also cooked every meal over the campfire

Including carmelized bananas for dessert

After sleeping, we got up at 3am to start our hike up Peak Boby for sunrise

We made it to the top just as the sun was starting to come up

Views from Peak Boby at sunrise

Views from Peak Boby at sunrise

Views from Peak Boby at sunrise

Views from Peak Boby at sunrise

It was a hard climb in the dark but worth it!

Coming back down from Peak Boby

Coming back down from Peak Boby

Grasslands near Peak Boby

Peak Boby on the left

Looking back down toward our campsite

JB wrote our names on the tent in the frost.  It was very cold at night!

The Peak Boby basecamp with tents

Our tent with the peaks behind

After the sunrise hike we had breakfast

Then only a short rest before more hiking

Campsite from the drone

We hiked through a grassland past so many granite peaks

An aloe plant blooming

Our NP guide, Volalahy and his cowboy hat rock

We entered another area of granite

He called this the moon landscape

A lizard along the trail

Views down into the valley where we would camp

Looking back up a steep section where we descended

The campsite in the valley

Finally a little rest after a very long day

Sunset at the campsite

Sunset at the campsite

Our crew of JB, Volalahy and the porters / cooks

On the next morning we hiked out to a nearby town

The baobab shrubs blooming

Almost done and time to say goodbye to Volalahy, who would walk back to his village

At the end, locals watching as we were met by Michel with the car

Heading out of the NP

Corn drying in a small village