The road immediately out of Ankarana was the worst so far, hugely rutted. Incredible that this is the main road between Madagascars main port and capital city. Huge trucks were crawling along. This one fell victim to the conditions.
Of course the road wasn't the only obstacle, narrow bridges combined with cattle provided frequent delays
Of course there was plenty to look at along the way. A small flock of vasa, or Madagascan black parrots...
...a precious stone mining village...how not to get a sale!...
...remote villages...
...and a number of village markets - Monday being a non-work day for the Malagasy.
Plenty of characters, and colour
It took 2 1/2 hours to cover the 80 km to the turnoff for the red tsingy. A quick stop at the park entrance..
..then it was in to 4WD for the 20 Kms to the tsingy themselves. The road could have been straight out of Central Australia. Red dirt, golden grasses and lots of gum trees for charcoal production.
Our first glimpse of the tsingy was from the rim of the canyon - and it was WOW all round..
We would stack this view up against any in the world.
The tsingy are laterite, an iron oxide, with ochre, vermillion and magenta natural pigments. This is claimed to be the only place in the world where this type of formation occurs. It was literally spellbinding.
We then walked down into an adjoining canyon to see the tsingy up close.
Even the river bed was photogenic from the eroded laterite
It was then off for an amazing BBQ king prawn lunch at a "hotely" in the middle of nowhere
An hour and 3/4 later we were in Diego Suarez, but not before passing another village specialising in pre- prepared spiced vegetables that people bought to eat with rice.
In Deigo Suarez we checked in to Le Petit Paradis Hotel. Our base for four nights.
What amazing contrasts - not just rainforests but moonscapes as well. And a selection of gemstones to boot - I'm very interested in your purchases. Surprises at every turn.
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