{"id":1084,"date":"2006-12-27T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-12-27T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/?p=1084"},"modified":"2017-09-22T23:54:39","modified_gmt":"2017-09-23T03:54:39","slug":"day-12-ankarana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/?p=1084","title":{"rendered":"Day 12 &ndash; Ankarana"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We awoke early in the morning to have breakfast and prepare for our excursion leaving at 7:30 AM.\u00a0 The weather was looking good for our trip to the Ankarana Nature Reserve to see some wildlife and unusual land formations.\u00a0 Our driver picked us up on time, and we set out for Ankarana, about 130 km south of Antsiranana.<\/p>\n<p>After stopping to pick up our picnic lunch, before leaving we had to steer around a goat that had decided to sit down in front of the car.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6087\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6087.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6087\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Continuing down the road, we again passed through some flooded streets in town that had still not been cleared from the cyclone a few days earlier.\u00a0 We had to drive through the water pictured below.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6090\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6090.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6090\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6091\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6091.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6091\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We then headed south out of town, along RN6.\u00a0 I took photos along the way, and have posted a few of them below.<\/p>\n<p>RN6 heading south out of Antsiranana\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6094\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6094.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6094\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One of the many small mountains along the way\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6096\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6096.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6096\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cZebu crossing\u201d sign\u2026\u00a0 We don\u2019t have these back in Canada!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6097\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6097.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6097\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Herding geese?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6105\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6105.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6105\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One of the many rivers we would cross, and there were a lot of them\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6109\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6109.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6109\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6110\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6110.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6110\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Eating and drinking fresh coconut at the side of the road\u2026\u00a0 It\u2019s really good!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6118\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6118.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6118\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Red cliffs along the road\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6120\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6120.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6120\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Chameleon we nearly squished on the road\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6123\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6123.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6123\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sapphire village along the way.\u00a0 Apparently the area is rich with sapphires and every roadside stand is trading them\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6132\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6132.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6132\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We arrived at Ankarana National Park where we met our park guide.\u00a0 Guides are mandatory in the park, and for good reason&#8211;It would be very easy to get lost or hurt without one.\u00a0 This nature reserve is very large, 18,255 ha, and many visitors here hike for 30 or 40 km while camping over several days.\u00a0 We would only be hiking for a few hours.\u00a0 Shown below is the park entrance.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6133\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6133.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6133\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Our guide was very knowledgeable, and had studied botany in university in Madagascar, so he could tell us everything about nearly everything we saw here.\u00a0 Fortunately, our guide was also the only guide around who spoke English, as well as French and Malagasy.\u00a0 Here are some photos of our journey through the reserve.<\/p>\n<p>A millipede moving along the ground\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6145\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6145.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6145\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Moving over some loose rocks\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6151\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6151.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6151\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>An orange crab with purple legs\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6154\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6154.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6154\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The white things that look like flowers are actually insects\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6155\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6155.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6155\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Look very close to see the lemur in the tree, centre of photo.\u00a0 This is one of ten species of lemurs found in the park, and we would see four of them before the day is over.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6157\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6157.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6157\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Parrots in the trees\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6163\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6163.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6163\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After hiking a bit through the forest, we would now climb up to see the Tsingy, which is a very unusual rock formation.\u00a0 These a sharp spiny rock formations, and I&#8217;m sure it would hurt like hell if you fell on them.\u00a0 Here we are starting to climb up.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6156\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6156.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6156\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On top of the Tsingy\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6172\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6172.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6172\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6175\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6175.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6175\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6176\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6176.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6176\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Tsingy close up with water pooled inside\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6180\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6180.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6180\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6182\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6182.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6182\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6184\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6184.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6184\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6185\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6185.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6185\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Very unusual tree that keeps water inside this bulge\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6188\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6188.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6188\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More Tsingy close up\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6189\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6189.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6189\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Holy shit it\u2019s hot here!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6190\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6190.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6190\" width=\"574\" height=\"764\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Watch your step, it\u2019s a long way down\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6192\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6192.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6192\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dave and Nadine on top of the Tsingy\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6193\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6193.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6193\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dave walking very carefully on the Tsingy with our guide in the background.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6204\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6204.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6204\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More Tsingy.\u00a0 These rocks are damn sharp.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6205\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6205.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6205\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6206\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6206.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6206\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Climbing back down.\u00a0 Fat people would have considerable difficulty.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6207\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6207.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6207\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Still climbing down\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6208\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6208.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6208\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re still climbing down\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6211\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6211.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6211\" width=\"574\" height=\"764\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A few lemurs in the trees\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6215\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6215.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6215\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More lemurs\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6218\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6218.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6218\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Another lemur\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6219\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6219.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6219\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Below are a couple of short video climbs of the lemurs in the trees.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lZfsgTvrJtI?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rceB-fOeEck?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>After a quick break watching the lemurs, it\u2019s back to climbing down toward the bat cave.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6222\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6222.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6222\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Holy crap!\u00a0 Are we going to have to climb back up again?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6224\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6224.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6224\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6225\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6225.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6225\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>OK.\u00a0 I think we\u2019ve finally made it to the bottom!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6226\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6226.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6226\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At the entrance to the bat cave\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6228\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6228.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6228\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We entered the bat cave, but didn&#8217;t go very far.\u00a0 It was really muddy in there.\u00a0 Supposedly it goes on for about 4 km and there is an exit at the other end.\u00a0 Our guide also said that the river in the bottom sometimes rises by many metres to the point where everything you see in the picture above is all under water.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6232\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6232.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6232\" width=\"574\" height=\"764\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Inside the bat cave\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6235\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6235.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6235\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Coming back out of the bat cave\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6233\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6233.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6233\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We then began the dreaded climb back up.\u00a0 It was very steep and incredibly tiring, and the heat and humidity didn&#8217;t help.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a baobab tree in the forest.\u00a0 There are about 7 types of baobab trees in Madagascar.\u00a0 We saw 3 of them in the Morondava area.\u00a0 There are a few other types in this area.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6243\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6243.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6243\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Lemur peeking down at us from the tree\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6248\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6248.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6248\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6250\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6250.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6250\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6253\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6253.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6253\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We then walked to an area where you see the convergence of 3 rivers.\u00a0 Actually, the rainy season has started yet, so we only saw the river beds, but I&#8217;m told that if we were to come back in a month or two, there would be a lot of water moving through.<\/p>\n<p>The interesting thing here is that all three rivers come from different directions and converge in one spot, but there isn&#8217;t a fourth stream as an outlet for the rivers.\u00a0 In fact, the 3 rivers all empty into an underground river that then flows for 20 km underground into the Mozambique Channel.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6266\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6266.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6266\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Following one of the rivers\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6267\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6267.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6267\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6272\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6272.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6272\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Fossil in the riverbed\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6275\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6275.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6275\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One of the 3 rivers approaching the big hole\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6273\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6273.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6273\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The second of the 3 rivers\u2026<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6279.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6279\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6279_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6279\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The third of the 3 rivers\u2026<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6287.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6287\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6287_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6287\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Approaching the big hole\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6276\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6276.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6276\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Nadine peeking over the edge\u2026<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6283.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6283\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6283_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6283\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6284.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6284\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6284_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6284\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6285.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6285\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6285_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6285\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Looking down the hole\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6278\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6278.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6278\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Notice the entrance to the underground river at the bottom of the hole\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6280\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6280.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6280\" width=\"574\" height=\"764\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We then walked up one of the rivers and headed for the park exit to have some lunch.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6289\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6289.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6289\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is a gecko who joined us for lunch\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6300.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6300\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After lunch, we headed back to Antsiranana.\u00a0 I think we slept most of the way, so I didn&#8217;t take many photos on the return trip.\u00a0 We then had some ice cream at the hotel bakery and spent the evening relaxing at the hotel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We awoke early in the morning to have breakfast and prepare for our excursion leaving at 7:30 AM.\u00a0 The weather was looking good for our trip to the Ankarana Nature Reserve to see some wildlife and unusual land formations.\u00a0 Our &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/?p=1084\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-1084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-madagascar","tag-ankarana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1084"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3518,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions\/3518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}