Category Archives: Adventures

Adventures, Hiking, Madagascar, Outdoors

Isalo National Park

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Isalo National Park is located in southern Madagascar on the RN7 heading towards Tulear. The park is well known for its sandstone formations and large canyons. The terrain ranges from rocky cliffs, to beautiful pandanus lined streams and vast dry grasslands. The scenery here was spectacular.

We stayed in a small village called Ranohira located just a few kilometres from the national park. We stayed in a nice relaxed place known as Chez Alice with views of the massif. On our arrival we made contact with a guide named Parson who works with WWF and once worked as a park ranger in Isalo. He was an amazing person and guide. He shared with us many stories about the local Bara people and history of the area. The Bara are traditionally nomadic people that have an unsurpassed fascination with zebu (cattle). If a young man wishes to marry he must first steal zebu to prove that he is worthy of the union. This tradition has almost died out but some remote villages still practice the old customs. He told us many interesting stories like this one about the history of the area mixed in with typically terrible “Dad” jokes.

We spent two full days hiking with Parson within the park. The park entrance and guide fees were the most expensive that we had experienced of National Parks in Madagascar. The first day we saw a huge spectacular canyon, catta lemurs, burial sites, grasslands and a hidden oasis. We had walked for almost 20km before reaching the main road back into Ranohira. Still 9km from town and decided it would be best for us to hitch a ride with someone. Within a few minutes a vehicle came along the road which we tried to hail down. It turned out to be the local police chief! He was happy to take us back into town.

The next day we had a shorter 17km walk. We saw another spectacular canyon into which we walked and followed a stream into the upper reaches. We bathed in a very cool natural pool with a couple of snakes. The wildlife was not visibly abundant in Isalo but the landscape and scenery easily made up for this. Not surprisingly this is the second most visited national park in Madagascar.

Adventures, Madagascar, Volunteering

Land Tenure in Madagascar

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Land in Madagascar is usually obtained through inheritance, gift, or clearing fallow land. Ownership of agricultural land is a significant determinant of welfare. 77 percent of the rural population is below the national poverty line, and those without land are the poorest. Only about 7% of agricultural land is registered.

The majority of landholders in Madagascar assert rights to land under customary law. Land is perceived as the land of the ancestors (tanindrazana). Although land may become individualized, many believe that it must be titled or recorded in some fashion before an individual can claim perpetual ownership rights to the plot. However, many villagers do not see the necessity of formal registration.

Madagascar established a Torrens land registration system during the colonial period. Registration under the system proceeded slowly and inefficiently. Records of land once formally registered have fallen out of date because of the high costs of the formal registration process. Registration requires an average of 74 days to navigate seven different procedures, with 24 steps involved. The organisations tasked with administering the system, Services Fonciers Topographie and Domaine lack sufficient funds. Local land registry offices have been established to allow people to legalise private property rights through the issue of individual or collective land certificates. So far, only one fifth of local governments have a land registry office.

The cost of obtaining a land certificate is approximately 9.7% of the property value. The average cost MGA 60,000 ($USD350), which is more than the annual wage of many farmers. If parents die, applicants must start process again. It is costly and lengthy to determine who owns a parcel of land and all inheritors must be identified. Once a land certificate has been issued, the recipient(s) must pay taxes, which many people cannot afford. Further complicating the issue is that often people who do not have a legitimate claim to the land are the first to come forward with a claim.

Malagasy NGO Ny Tanintsika works with communities on local projects to reduce poverty and improve conservation. One of their projects works with the poorest and most marginalised people assisting them to grow food crops using sustainable methods. Beneficiaries have mostly borrowed land from family, neighbours or acquaintances, and continued access to land is insecure. Beneficiaries run the risk of other people claiming ownership of land and crops produced.

Ny Tanintsika is working to secure formal land tenure for these households, though it is proving a complex and arduous process. They are in the beginning stages of assisting communities to set up local land offices to help smallholders receive land tenure certification or title deeds (part of the Malagasy government’s National Land Tenure Reform Programme). Once a land office is set up in a commune, the community is tasked with managing the office and setting fee charges for the service. Ny Tanintsika is currently applying for funding to establish the first land office in one of the communes that they work, Ankarimbelo in the central highlands. If successful, they will expand this to other communes in their sphere of influence. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/feedbacktrust/donate/

Adventures, Madagascar, Outdoors

Nosy Boraha and Ile Aux Nattes

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We left Maroantsetra by boat 10:30pm under darkness to Soanierana Ivongo. This boat trip was not fun or enjoyable to say the least! We spent over nine hours crammed into a tiny boat, the windows had to be closed because of water spray, so we were all sweating and there was no air circulation. They had a tv screen  constantly showing Malagasy pop videos the entire journey, yay! Alex was really suffering as he was crammed into the seat next to the wall which was really claustrophobic. The deck hand made trips down the passageway handing out (and collecting) spew bags. But, we made it! We were fortunate to be able to get a boat from Soanierana Ivongo to Ile Sainte Marie the same morning, we thought we would have to stay a night in Soanierana, which we weren’t hugely looking forward to. It’s a rundown seaside town with no attractions and activities. We arrived on Ile Sainte Marie a day earlier than expected, which was a great bonus.

We were picked up by a guy in a tuk-tuk, that Vincent from Sambatra Beach Lodge, had organized for us. Sambatra means ‘happiness’ in Malagasy but, on the funny side, it is also the name of a huge circumcision festival in Manajary, held every seven years. We took a pirogue to our hotel, which was in an absolutely idyllic location. It really was the beach that postcards just couldn’t do justice. The bungalows were brand new and really well presented. The hotel was still being finished and the restaurant wasn’t yet opened as the generator had not yet arrived. This was no problem for us but power was limited. We met a lovely South African couple, Tina and Nick, from Joburg. They were on honeymoon at Sambatra and had gone to high school with the owner Vincent. We went snorkeling, played poker with French expats, visited a remote sand-bar, ate amazing seafood and drank too much. We celebrated New Year’s Eve at La Petite Traversee with our new friends. We danced well into the early hours of next morning. Nosy Boraha (8)

After four nights on beautiful Ile Aux Nattes, we decided to see what Ile Sainte Marie had to offer. We really loved our time on Ile Aux Nattes, but we wanted to see what the bigger island had to offer….time to try something new.

We got a tuk-tuk on Ile Sainte Marie to take us to a few hotels to check them out. We decided on Lakana, which had bungalows right on the water. We spent one night in one of these bungalows, which was atmospheric, but there was no toilet or shower in the bungalow.  We were lucky to witness traditional fishing by the local women. Circling fish in shallow waters and forcing then into nets.

We spent the our last three nights in a bungalow on the beach. We enjoyed a few days eating, snorkeling and just relaxing. We hired bicycles and rode to the elusive ‘Pirate’ Cemetery which was interesting. Tina and Nick had booked a few days at an exclusive resort, Princess Bora. We joined them for a swim in the poolsunset cocktails and dinner. We were sad to leave this paradise of Nosy Boraha, but work was waiting for us back in Fianarantsoa, and one cannot laze around forever…

Adventures, Madagascar, Outdoors, Volunteering

Eucalypts in Madagascar – Why?

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Fuelwood, especially for the creation of charcoal, represents 92% of energy supply in Madagascar (source WWF). Estimates from the Ministry of Environment and Forests of fuelwood quantities required in Madagascar are greater than 12 million cubic meters annually. This roughly translates into 240 000 hectares of tree plantations and is the equivalent size of Masoala the largest national park in Madagascar. It is unsure whether Madagascar can meet the long-term requirements of the population with fuelwood. Dwindling supply of charcoal in some areas of Madagascar is a major threat to the remaining vestiges of native woodland and forest within these communities. Without adequate supply of fuel for cooking, reforestation projects will continue to be compromised in long-term success.

Eucalypts are fast growing, quickly supply fuelwood, are an ideal source of construction timber and provide usable timber for housing within 6-8yrs (optimum 10-18yrs species dependent). Targeted selection of suitable eucalypt species is required to improve growth rates, fuelwood supply and usable timber for construction compared to species currently used such as E. robusta. Most plantations across Madagascar exhibit very short cutting cycles (2-3yrs) that indicates more plantation wood is required to meet current fuelwood demands.

Some local native species are known that match early growth rates of eucalypts, however, native species do not sustain this level of growth over the long-term. Eucalypt species grow faster and produce more volume of wood than native species.  During the current critical period for fuelwood supply it is essential that eucalypt species are used that can meet and surpass the rate of charcoal use. The table below displays species that would be more suitable for specific climatic regions of Madagascar. Some of these are already in use but others are desperately needed in trial plantations.

Use of fast growing native species, innovation of cooking techniques and alternative energy sources will all contribute to long-term sustainable energy use in Madagascar. These initiatives will facilitate a shift away from the dependence on exotic species. However, fast growing eucalypts will meet the current demands of local, often remote, communities for fuelwood and reduce the pressure on remnant native forests.

Long-term efforts need to concentrate on a shift to incorporate native species timber plantations for construction and fuel wood supply. The time required to facilitate a shift to native sources would be reliant on a short-term need for eucalypt plantations. Native species provide multiple other benefits that exotic species do not provide.  Natural interactions with animals and other flora do not occur with exotic eucalypt trees as does with natives. The ecological-economic value of native species is much higher in the long-term than exotic eucalypt species. However, information regarding local species is not readily available although community elders, forest users and forest agents are aware of fast growing native species.

Propagation methods and planting advice for native species is also not easily available and this may be a contributing factor why widespread use of native trees has not occurred. There is much promise for the use of mycorrhiza in community nurseries which should help the growth and survival of native species. Since this technique was promoted a few years ago several groups have reported significant increases in growth and survival of native plants. VAM may be the key ingredient required to promote the use of fast growing native tree species.

Check out our post on VAM in community nurseries!

Adventures, Animals, Hiking, Madagascar, Outdoors

Nosy Mangabe

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The island Nosy Mangabe is part of Masoala National Park but is located 2km off the coast near Maroantsetra and is 520ha in size. The island is teeming with wildlife and groups of black and white ruffed lemurs have been translocated here from the mainland. No village has ever been located on Nosy Mangabe but fishermen have small huts on the foreshore and visit the island regularly. Old tombs and graffiti by sailors (several hundred years old) can also be seen during treks.

There is a camp run by the national parks centre with toilets and showers, a kitchen and six camp sites.  The camping is very basic but they have done a great job building wooden decking on the foreshore for tents. At any time you can hear the gentle breaking of waves. When we arrived it was almost lunchtime.  We had a refreshing swim followed by a tasty meal of fresh fish. After lunch we started on our first trek on the island. The island was practically deserted when we arrived, but a large group of Peace Corps volunteers arrived the next day for a day trip.

We had seen two different species of leaf-tailed gecko while in Ranomafana and did not expect to see such a different variety as in Masoala. The long, slender, almost blue body coupled with the huge white/silver eyes was a majestic sight to behold. We saw our first geckos sleeping through the day. Our guide Bionic had shown us our first one and after that Anneka and I kept spotting them. Anneka was also the chameleon guru spotting them playing dead or hiding within dense foliage. During the night walk we also saw many leaf-tailed geckos on the move. It was a wonderful experience.

The wildlife in Nosy Mangabe may have been even better than the main part of Masoala; we saw black and white ruffed lemurs, many leaf tailed geckos, chameleons (including Brookesia micra the world’s smallest), bats, many weird insects and four snakes!

We camped on Nosy Mangabe only for one night.  It began to rain heavily at the end of our night walk and only just made it back before getting saturated. We had a quick meal and retired for the night. We lay on our sleeping bags listening to the rain – imagining what may happen tomorrow. Thankfully we managed to keep all of the mosquitos outside of our tent. With recent rains the mosquitos were horrendous.

Adventures, Animals, Hiking, Madagascar, Outdoors

Masoala – Largest National Park in Madagascar

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Masoala National Park was just superb. It is the largest of Madagascar’s protected national parks and covers an area of 2,300km2 and another 100km2 of marine parks. The park is home to the red ruffed lemur and the elusive aye-aye. Many other species also call Masoala home; the brown tailed mongoose is only found there and humpback whales use the shallow coastal waters as a nursery ground for young. Sadly, many parts of Masoala are still under threat from illegal logging operations that sell rosewood on international black markets.

We took a small motorboat from Maroantsetra down the peninsula to a small rural village which was to be our home for the next few days. The boat ride was spectacular, with huge peaks of rainforest looming up on both sides and clear calm waters. We had lunch followed by a relaxing swim and an afternoon walk in the park. It was really beautiful, with primary forest and lots and lots of wildlife. We certainly could understand why it is considered one of the best national parks in Madagascar.

We spent three nights in Masoala, in a very basic bungalow, no running water and cold bucket showers. It wasn’t exactly your typical Christmas experience, but it was really enjoyable. We saw red ruffed lemurs, white fronted brown lemurs, the brown tailed mongoose, many chameleons, frogs and even a few tenrecs (like small hedgehogs). The insects of Masoala were also quite beautiful and the moss camouflaged mantis was one of the highlights.

We spent three nights in the coastal village of Masoala and trekked to different parts of the park over the three days. This was a good amount of time to spend in the same place. Those with more time (2 weeks) can trek the coastal route around the peninsula from Antalaha to Maroantsetra. Don’t forget your mosquito repellant and malaria meds.