Category Archives: Adventures

Adventures, Hiking, Madagascar, Outdoors

Ranomafana National Park

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Ranomafana National Park is a stand of rainforest covering more than 200 square kilometres, sitting on the eastern edge of an escarpment that runs like a spine down Madagascar. It is a relatively short (3 hour) winding and potholed drive from Fianarantsoa. Even for this country, one of the world’s top five “megadiversity” countries according to Conservational International, it is extraordinarily species rich, It boasts 12 species of lemurs, 265 bird species, chameleons, geckoes, frogs and eight species of carnivores, including the elusive fossa.

We stayed in a nice bungalow at Manja Hotel overlooking the river about 8km further on from the National Park in Ranomafana town http://hotelmanja.com/. Most hotels are in this area, unless you can afford the more expensive hotels near the park. We engaged an excellent guide, Theo (he is in the Lonely Planet, but his number has changed) +261 33 04 244 02. He even has a species of frog named after him. The first morning we started at 7am and walked until about 2pm. We were both exhausted. We saw many weird and wonderful creatures, including some cheeky sifakas playing right at our feet and some lovely primary and secondary forest. One leaf tailed gecko completely looks like a piece of bark, I mean completely.

After hitching a ride back to town with some local university students (Theo had taken them on a night tour then night before), we walked to the local swimming pool, which is fed by an underground spring. It was hot, good for the muscles, but HOT! We also indulged in a 30 min massage for about $4.50. After that is was back on the road for a night walk. Our guide spread banana on a branch and several mouse lemurs came to snap it up, sooo cute! Then we were off to find some chameleons, and we were not disappointed. Theo has an uncanny eye for finding the most camouflaged of creatures. The next day we ventured out to an arboretum that was set up by an Englishman almost twenty five years ago. It was a lovely place, with many native and exotic species. We would recommend going early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the sun and heat.

 

Adventures, Madagascar, Outdoors

Hello Madagascar

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The question we get asked the most – why Madagascar? Most people who ask know there are many reasons one would want to visit this island nation, and David Attenborough’s documentaries have undoubtedly helped promote the unusual flora and fauna. For us, there are many reasons, mostly relating to the environment, people and animals. The biodiversity and high endemism of the island is staggering. 80% of the countries plants and animals only live in Madagascar! The rate of extinction is alarmingly high, so we thought we need to go now.

The more we read about Mada, the more intrigued we get. This country split off from Africa approx. 160 million years ago. Yet humans only stepped foot on Mada approx. 2000 years ago, even though the eastern coast of Mozambique is only 1000km kilometres away. The tribes of Mada were geographically isolated, yet for a country over 1500km long and with 22 million people, they all speak the one language, Malagasy, which is closer to a Malayan-Borneo language than any other. This truly is a unique and fascinating country.

After nearly three months in Europe, Mada was quite a culture change. We had learned a few facts before we came, such as it is listed as 151 out of 178 countries on the Human Development Index. Comparing our last stop (Germany), you almost couldn’t think of two more different countries. The travel guides such as Bradt and Lonely Planet steeled us for high crime and poverty. One traveller wrote that the taxi ride from the airport to town would make you think you are driving through one of the dodgiest places on earth. So we were a little relieved on our taxi ride. Perhaps in part because we have been to other developing countries, but in many ways it seemed ok. Bustling shop fronts, people walking around in fashionable clothes, in many ways Mada is a very happening, modern place. The travel guides make it sound as though Antananarivo (the capital city, shortened to Tana) is extremely dangerous, and we were a little wary on our first few days. But we got the hang of it quickly and never really felt threatened or unsafe. Of course, in one of the world’s poorest nations, there is the other side – non-existent waste management, polluted waterways, beggars and homelessness. But on the whole, we felt quite comfortable in Tana.

We stayed at Hotel Jacaranda http://www.tana-jacaranda.com/description_en.html $23 with ensuite, or $18 with shared bathroom. It has hot water and a restaurant. We recommend.

Adventures, Europe, Hiking

Berwang and Neuschwanstein

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Through Europe we had pre-booked most of our accommodation in Europe; we were there in August, so we were actually very glad that we did. We had great accommodation the whole time and didn’t have to worry about where we were going to stay the next night. However we had left the last two nights of our road trip unplanned. We decided to stay in Berwang, Austria as we were interested in checking out Neuchwenstein Castle, which was a 45 minute drive from Berwang. We booked an apartment through www.Booking.com. It was also good, and had a breathtaking view across the valley. It was quite cold up in the mountains, but very beautiful.

We tried to book a tour of Neuschwanstein Castle a few days previously, but it was fully booked. However, we weren’t too disappointed as we read on the internet that the interior of the castle was never actually finished and also that the tours are very rushed. So we decided to go to the castle anyway and see it from the outside. We were glad we did, it is in a beautiful setting, with nice walks through the forest and a great view back to the castle if you walk on to further to a bridge.

On our last morning in Berwang, we caught the ski lift up to the top of a mountain and walked up to the top of the next mountain (a quite strenuous but quick – 30 minute hike). The view was quite obscured by clouds, but it was still a very atmospheric and lung cleansing walk :-).

Accommodation, Adventures, Sri Lanka

Mirissa, Unawatuna and Galle; our last days in Sri Lanka

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27 – 29 June 2014 Mirissa

From Ella in the highlands, we travelled on down to the beach. We were lucky that a driver was heading that way so we got a relatively cheap ride. We first stopped at Tangalle, but the waves were extremely rough and at that time of year looked a bit of a ghost town, so we carried on to Mirissa. The driver had an aunty with a guesthouse called Celestial Inn and they gave us a great deal http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g1407334-d6453035-Reviews-Celestial_Inn-Mirissa_Southern_Province.html. Alex was starting to get a pretty nasty fever by then, so we spent the next few days in the guesthouse. The owners were very kind and brought soup and food up to our room. We managed to get down to the beach for a swim though!

29 June – 1 July 2014 Unawatuna

We caught a tuk-tuk on to Unawatuna (also on the beach). It was only about 30 min from Mirissa. We had been warned that Unawatuna was over developed (like Patong in Phuket or Koh Samui), but we were pleasantly surprised. Perhaps because it was the off-season it wasn’t hugely busy, but it just had a lovely chilled atmosphere, but plenty of restaurants, shops and a few bars.

We first stopped at Kahuna Club guesthouse, but that was hugely disappointing, termites in the bed, musty mouldy pillows and sheets. So we decided to look for somewhere else, and we were glad we did! We found the best accommodation for our stay in Sri Lanka at the Pink Elephant, same price as Kahuna Club, but all new furnishings and a balcony with a great view over the beach http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g644047-d4340355-Reviews-Pink_Elephant_Hotel_and_Restaurant-Unawatuna_Galle_Southern_Province.html. It is a shame that after the 2004 Tsunami, huge rocks have been brought into Unawatuna to prevent the houses from being washed away, which has affected the beauty of the beach (before the Tsunami it was frequently cited as one of the top ten beaches in the world). But it was still a great place to hang out. The owner of the Pink Elephant was an awesome guy, we shared a few drinks and stories with him. We also spent a morning at Galle, a walled fort city about 20 min via tuk-tuk from Unawatuna. Definitely worth a visit, but quite touristy.

1 – 2 July 2014

Bus back to Colombo, one night with Shehan (where we started) as we had a 6am flight to Dubai. The bus was very comfortable and fast. We shared one last kottu with Shehan and 3am we caught a taxi to the airport, farewell beautiful Sri Lanka!