Earlier this week, we
resumed our tour of Madagascar’s reserves and national parks. Heading south from Ambalavao, the
community-run Anja Reserve was our first destination. Relative to many of the sprawling national
parks, the reserve was diminutive, with only 37 hectares of mountain and forest
to explore. The small area, bounded by
three distinctive peaks, is home to hundreds of ring-tailed lemurs, various types of chameleons, and many weird-looking insects.
Hiking into the reserve, we
were lazily greeted by the first of many troops of ring-tailed lemurs. With their distinctive tails, these unique
animals could briefly be confused with a raccoon, at least until they emit one
of their cat-like calls or effortlessly jump to the next tree. Although we arrived at the reserve just in
time for the lemurs’ midday treetop nap, there was still plenty of
activity. A few were prowling along the rocks or descending to the river for a drink of water.
After our visit with the
lemurs, we continued our southbound journey on the N7. As a series of sharp peaks interrupted the
landscape of the hauts plateaux, we
exited the tarred highway to travel southeast along a bumpy dirt track. We were headed to Tsara Camp in the Tsaranoro Valley, alongside Andringita National Park.
Several mountains, including some of Madagascar’s highest peaks, formed
a scenic backdrop to the secluded tented camp. This region of the country is known for its
trekking and mountain climbing, and we had just one full day to explore.
To the west, the steep
face of the Tsaranoro Massif loomed above the valley, with the aptly named Mt.
Chameleon immediately adjacent. Without
the two full days required to summit Mt. Boby, Madagascar’s second
highest peak, and without the free climbing skills to complete the ascent of
the neighboring Tsaranoro Massif, we settled on climbing Mt. Chameleon.


The trek down the other side of Mt. Chameleon offered similar awesome vistas, as well as a short section of path between two valleys reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings. It seemed like the perfect location for the picnic we knew one of the guides was carrying, but instead of stopping to enjoy the view, we continued to trudge down the steep trail. Just as Stephanie decided she couldn’t go a moment longer without a bite to eat, we arrived at a small hotel on the outskirts of a village. It turned out that our picnic was much fancier than anticipated! The guides had brought real plates for the pasta salad and we could buy a beer to accompany the meal. It was well worth the wait.
Back at camp, we enjoyed
the beautifully isolated surroundings complemented by three-course dinners. We have been continually impressed with the
food here in Madagascar, even in the most remote locations. One evening, a friendly hedgehog even visited
us at mealtime, perhaps also intrigued by the gourmet cuisine. Of course, it’s not all cute hedgehogs and
lemurs – we also encountered what we have determined to be a monstrous “cockahopper”
in our tent, which once again put Giorgio’s manliness to the test. (Stephanie, as usual, outsources all killing
of bugs, spiders, and scorpions to Giorgio.)
On Saturday, we left the
mountain-ringed Tsaranoro Valley behind and merged back onto the southbound N7
en route to Madagascar’s vast plains and Isalo National Park.
#stephandgio
Excellent and very exciting site. Love to watch. Keep Rocking. fennec fox for sale
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