After our trip to Tanzania a few years ago, Sid had indicated an interest in another trip with us. Dona and I have talked about going to Madagascar for quite a while; we've also talked about another trip to Australia, to visit the Kimberley. So we asked Sid whether he'd rather go to Australia or Madagascar. He replied that he didn't think he'd have too much trouble finding someone to go with him to Australia, but he didn't know anyone else who would go with him to Madagascar. So with that question answered, we looked at "typical weather" information and our obligations and decided that mid-October to mid-November was the best option.
Madagascar is a big place; it's the fourth largest island in the world. It's also one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. The Indian-Madagascar landmass separated from the African landmass when the Gondwana supercontinent broke up 150 million years ago. 70 million years later, Madagascar broke off from the Indian landmass. So the island has been isolated for about 80 million years. As a consequence, a huge proportion its animals and plants are endemic — unique and found nowhere else. So we were keen to go and see some of these strange and wonderful things. We knew we could spend years exploring a place like that, and to try to "see it all" was stupid, so we decided to concentrate on the south and southwest.
Sid only had two weeks, so Dona and I decided we would work out two weeks with Sid and then extend and do more exploring on our own. We asked Sid what he would like to see, and we spent some time with various guide books. My main source of information was Bradt's Guide to Madagascar. We had others but it seemed to be the most comprehensive. I made a long list; narrowed it down to the most important things, and then started trying to figure out how we could make a loop.
Roads in Madagascar are terrible, and as a consequence travel is slow. So backtracking takes up valuable time, and besides, it's more fun to see new things no matter where you're going. One of the things Sid really wanted to visit was the Tsingy, and access to it is awkward. It's near the west coast, and roads to it are terrible, being closed half the year due to flooding despite being in a desert region. But there is a river you can float down to get there. We enjoy river trips, and they are usually a good way to get to see the natural world in a less-disturbed state.
So I settled on a two week trip with Sid that included floating down the Manambolo River, visiting the Tsingy, and other parks and sites along the way. Then Sid would return home, and we would turn South and drive the more well-established tourist route to Toliara, then make another loop to some less well known parks and reserves.
I originally considered renting a vehicle and camping equipment from Road Trip Africa However, because of the difficulty in arranging the drop off and pick-up for the river trip, we ended up not doing that. In retrospect, that was a very good decision; see the section on the Manambolo float for why.
Walking is a necessity when visiting the National Parks in Madagascar, as there aren't roads in any of them. So we went prepared for walking. We brought a hiking pole for Dona, disguised as an old ladies walking cane.
We flew from Missoula to Denver, then on to Boston. From Boston we took a bus up to Portsmouth, NH, to visit Dona's brother Bob and celebrate his 80th birthday, and to visit one of my cousins, Ted Gupton and his wife Lisa. We stayed with Ted and Lisa in Hampton; Bob and Anne's house was overflowing with two kids living at home.
We had a great visit. We spent a morning rowing up the Lamprey River in Bob's Vermont Fishing Dory, hiked up Stratham Hill (twice!) in Stratham Hill Park, and enjoyed loads of good food. Dona pigged out on her favorite, lobster. We had a great breakfast with Bob and Anne, and Ted and Lisa, at the Country View; and a great brunch with Ted and Lisa at the Airfield Cafe. The fall colors were gorgeous. We have our nice Aspens and Larches which turn yellow in the fall, but they can't compare with the kaleidoscope of color you get in the east.
Bob dropped us back at the bus depot for our return to Boston for our flight to Paris. As we got out of the car and were counting our bags to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything, he reminded us of his and Dona's father's travel blessing / advice, as he padded himself down, "Spectacles, testicles, watch and wallet." Ok, I'm good to go...
There is a saying that "Getting there is half the fun..." We flew from Boston to Paris, where we were to meet Sid. From Paris we were to fly together to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. We had a three hour layover in Paris, which should be more than enough to make connections. Or so we thought. But you have to do a complete new security check when changing planes in Paris, and that used up most of our three hours. By the time we got to our gate there was a long line and they were already boarding; Sid was nowhere in sight. His plane had been delayed on departure. Dona got in line and shuffled along toward the gate; I walked back looking for Sid. Fortunately, as the line was shrinking and we were down to the "all passengers, all rows" boarding criteria, Sid came hurrying along.
