On the RN (Road Nationale) 7
Zebu Cart
We left the Reniala Forest Reserve and headed back south to Toliara, then back the RN 7 a ways until the junction with RN 10. The RN 7 is a good road by Madagascar standards; paved and not too many potholes. The RN 10 si unpaved, and its condition depends a lot on the weather. It was the end of the dry season and the start of the rainy season, and it had just rained in places, so there were quite a few places where the road was slow going at best. We were headed for Bezaha-Mahafaly Special Reserve.
Somewhere along the way we stopped and I saw some kids playing with marbles, and I remember thinking that would be a good thing to bring along to give away. I remember loving marbles as a kid — they're pretty in all their variants, and you can make all sorts of games with them.
It was mostly flat, but at one point we crossed a low range of rocky hills
Everywhere we went, people had been making charcoal to sell. It's no wonder the forests are disappearing.
Lova told us there is a lot of child labor used to mine mica in the area. We stopped in a Bara village and met the chief, who had a television, and a teacher who, like everyone else, lived in a small hut and did not. We also met a fourteen year old with two children. This is a harsh, poor country; conservation is difficult when most people are struggling just to survive.
As we approached the Onilahay River and Tongobary, we stopped for a break on a hill with a small building that proclaimed "Rasoa Kininike, Queen of Tsapiky from Madagascar." I didn't understand it at the time, but Tsapiky is a form of music popular in southern Madagascar. It has a joyful spirit and rhythm. and is played at celebrations, night clubs, and funerals and other solemn occasions,
We crossed the Onilahy River, filled with sediment laden water from recent rains. In Tongobary, we stopped for lunch.
South of Tongobary we saw a big red dust storm ahead of us. We were certain we would be driving through it, so we rolled up the windows and prepared for the worst. Fortunately we only caught the edge of it and it moved on away from us.
As we continued south, the road continued being sketchy, and we worried about recent rains that might have made it impassible. I was surprised that with all the water-filled muddy spots in the road, we still crossed rivers that completely dry. In places, the road seemed like pure sand several feet deep; it would be impassable if it got wet. Other places that were wet were fortunately more rocky.
As in other parts of southern Madagascar, we passed many colorfully painted and decorated tombs.
Sometimes we would pass what looked to be a livestock truck converted to transport people — a truck-cum-bus.
At Betioky we stopped to pick up some supplies; there are no restaurants at the reserve, so we would have to bring our own food. While Caesar and Lova bought supplies, we wandered around. I heard some cool music and went searching for it, but just as I was about to get there Lova and Dona were gesturing for me to return so we could leave.
Among our supplies was a live chicken, which Caesar built a cage for in the back with our luggage and other boxes of food.
After we turned off the RN 10 the road got worse, but not impassable. We persevered, stopping occasionally when we saw something interesting.
We found several snakes that escaped by heading down holes; the snakes had no stripes, and Lova and Caesar said they turn red as an adult.
At last we arrived at Besa-Mahafaly! It had been a long day, and we were ready to stop traveling.
We slept in tents set up on platforms under thatched roofs. They were great accomodations, except that it was unbearably hot and humid, with virtually no breeze inside the tent.
We wandered around checking out the plants and animals. Towards evening we found a Click Beetle. If you pressed gently on its back or belly it would "snap," and the snap would propel it some distance away. I believe when it's "right-side up" and you press on its back, the click/jump is to avoid predators; while when it's on its belly the click/jump is to right itself.
The next day we did a short 2km bird walk in the dry Gallery Forest near the Sakamana River. The Sakamana is a seasonal tributary of the Onilahy and is normally dry during the long, hot dry season. The name means "Red Cat;" I wonder how it got its name?
One of the cool things we found was a well-camouflaged quail nest with eggs in it. We started our walk in the afternoon, at about 15:30. It was still really hot; we may have gone that early to make sure the lemurs were still holed up in their trees and would be easy to find.
In the afternoon we took a short 1km walk in some Spiny Forest. One of the animals we saw was described to us as a "Wooly Sportive Lemur." However, I haven't been able to find anything by that name — there are Sportive Lemurs, and Wooly Lemurs, but no "wooly sportive" lemurs. I'm not sure which it is; based on the location and our photos, I'm going to guess it's a Petter's Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur petteri). We also found the dessicated remains of a lemur crammed into a slot between the trunks of a cluster of Compass Trees.
We did another night walk where we saw more Grey Mouse Lemurs and Sportive Lemurs and some chameleons.
The station at Beza-Mahafaly had nice platforms where we could erect our tents, which we did; but there was no breeze and it was stiflingly hot inside our tent. So Dona and I decided to hang our mosquito netting up in one of the picnic / work shelters, over one of the tables, and we slept on that. If not perfect, it was a lot better than the still, muggy heat in the tent.
At the entrance to the ranger station there was a small "garden" of native and non-native plants with labels to identify them. The signs had the species, genus, and family names, as well as the Malagasy name. It would have been great if I could have committed them to memory...
Everywhere we went it seemed like there was an example of a "Tourist Tree," so called because the bark dries out and then peels like a sunburned tourist. It seemed to me like there were more than one kind of tree that could classify as a tourist tree.
When it came time to pack up and leave, Caesar was there with "our" truck. Our hosts were cheerful and gave us happy good-bye waves and smiiles. It would be nice if everyone the world over were this cheerful and welcoming.
Then we headed west toward Ambola and the Mozambique Channel.
