After we had arrived in Morondava and left our things at a hotel, Sneža and I got out onto the street in order to go for a walk. We first went to a nearby open market to buy some fruits and the most interesting there were the baobab fruits, but since we did not know what to do with them, I just took photos.
Baobab fruits on a stall
Admittedly, later during our journey we tried baobab juice which, I must admit, neither of us liked, but we each bought a couple of small jars of baobab jam which I can report to be sweet as jams usually are supposed to be. The rest is the question of taste.
The idea related to this twilight was to walk a little bit as far as the shore and possibly to sit somewhere there by the ocean, but in the end it all came down to just that short walk. The ocean in Morondava is not attractive at all, since the water seemed rather muddy on account of the proximity of the confluence of a river which must have brought a lot of mud with it. However, at the time when the Sun was getting ready to set and from the distance, this could not be discerned too well, so that even the beach itself seemed rather fine.
Beach in Morondava
As I’ve said, the two of us were not willing to stay out in the street after the sunset. After all, we were very tired because of the insufficient sleep of the night before, as well as the long day’s journey, so we returned to our hotel room rather early and went to bed. The next day, again, we had action and visits planned.
When I was negotiating the renting of the vehicle to be used during our stay in Madagascar, bearing in mind that we travelled in January, in other words when the rainy season was at its peak, the owner of the agency said that for this day we would get another car that was more powerful than the one we were driven in during the rest of the time. Namely, almost the entire excursion on this day took us along dirt roads that had a lot of large holes which could be easily filled with water and then, even if you had a 4x4, unless powerful enough, you could get stuck. Thus, on this day we also had another driver, while Rija took up my position in the passenger seat in order to make it easier for the two of them to chat in the front and for the two of us to chat in the back.
Road leading north of Morondava
The main goal of our excursion on this day was to go to the Alley of the Baobabs, the place which is located some 20 km away from Morondava, but not only that. I also came up with the idea to go to the Kirindy Forest, a private reserve. As a matter of fact, originally I thought that for a couple of days we could go more to the north to the Tsingy de Bemeraha Nature Reserve which is inscribed in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List on account of its very specific limestone landscapes. However, that reserve is practically closed during the rainy season, so I simply gave up on this idea.
At some point, the road we were on passed by two baobabs that are joined together with the lower parts of their trunks. This pair of baobabs should certainly not be confused with another pair that has its own name “Baobabs in Love,” which we would see a little later during the day. Still, even these two were absolutely not any less impressive.
Joined baobabs
Joined baobabs – view towards their tops
Along this road, occasionally we saw local residents who were going their own way, but sometimes, this felt as if they had been there only to make a photo more beautiful.
Scene on the road to the Alley of the Baobabs
And then we got to the Alley of the Baobabs. This is in fact a short section of this same dirt road, a couple of hundred metres long, along which there is a higher concentration of these magnificent trees.
The baobab is a type of deciduous trees and there are only eight species of baobabs in the world, out of which as many as six grow only on Madagascar. The biggest baobab species from Madagascar is Grandidier’s baobab (Adansonia grandidieri) and it is precisely the specimens of this species that grow along the Alley of the Baobabs.
Alley of the Baobabs
We agreed with Rija and the other driver that they should leave us at the beginning of the alley and they could then go by car to the end, while the two of us would walk.
To start with, we first visited something of a local information centre, but it was more like a souvenir shop than a place where you could get information. Still, next to the building it was possible to see numerous baobab plantings, since the Malagasy are obviously working on an increased planting of young baobabs. Baobabs are said to be very old trees, but it is in fact difficult to establish their age on the basis of tree rings, since these are very pale. Still, as I’ve read, by using the radiocarbon dating method, it has been established that a baobab which died in 2011 was around 2,450 years old! I don’t know the age of these Grandidier’s baobabs that grow along the Alley, but after all it is of no importance. They are simply magnificent, regardless of their age.
Alley of the Baobabs
Needless to say, as soon as I started walking along the Alley I ran to the first tree and hugged it with all my might. I love to hug trees and I always have an impression that they fill me with some fantastic energy. Still, in addition to illustrating this whimsy of mine, the following photo also clearly shows the size of these colossuses – Grandidier’s baobabs can grow up to the height of 25 to 30 m (I am 1.80 m tall).
A hug with a baobab
Among other things, I find these trees fascinating because of the way they grow out of the ground. Regardless of the size, it appears as if they had just been placed on the ground, since no root’s veins can be seen, although it is quite clear that the roots must be very strong in order to support giants such as these.
Baobab
Then we started to walk leisurely along the “alley” and, as it can be seen in the photos, one of the advantages when visiting this place out of season is that apart from some locals who were strolling up and down probably expecting photo opportunities and tips, there were no other visitors except the two of us.
Alley of the Baobabs
On the other hand, this is one of the most popular places on Madagascar and visitors certainly come here regularly in a higher or a lower number. What is sad in connection with this is that some of them are complete idiots and believe that it is important to engrave their names into the trunks of these fabulous trees. There is a rhyme in Serbian for this: “Imena luda nalaze se svuda” (The names of fools may be found everywhere).
Unfortunately, on the bark of this baobab it is possible to see parts of engraved names
Naturally, I was here with my friend Sneža and we both intensively enjoyed the beauty we were surrounded with.
Sneža in the Alley of the Baobabs
It seems to me that baobabs are often photographed when they have no leaves and they are often called the up-side-down trees, since their tops are reminiscent of roots when leafless and therefore they make such impression and hence the nickname. At the time when we were here their tops were full of leaves.
A top of a baobab
However, no matter how much we loved it here, we did eventually get to the end of the Alley of the Baobabs, looked back once again and then got into the car.
Alley of the Baobabs
Of course, baobabs grow in other parts of this whole area as well and along the way there are also a couple of smaller human settlements consisting of huts. The main activity is agriculture.
A zebu herd among baobabs
The drive further up north was very interesting. We often came across large potholes in the road that were filled with water and there was mud splashing all over the place when we drove through them. Thus I managed to take a photo of a vehicle that was coming our way and was driving through these pools. Just to make one thing clear – one drives on the right-hand side on Madagascar, but when trying to avoid potholes in the road and to choose the best path, then one drives all over the road.
Pools on the road north of the Alley of the Baobabs
At one point, Sneža and I asked the driver to make a stop since we wanted to look at and take photos of the baobabs adorning the skyline without the jumping and tossing in the moving car.
Landscapes along the road
Landscapes along the road
And thus we came to the Kirindy Forest, a private reserve and a protected area that covers around 10,000 hectares and that is situated around 50 km north of Morondava. There we agreed a walk through the forest with a local guide and thus we first went near the central section where we saw some lemurs. These were in fact the Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi).
Verreaux's sifaka
As soon we have finished with this, the guide told us to hurry up since practically already within the central part of the reserve where there is a restaurant, houses for the accommodations of visitors, etc., it was possible to see a fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox). This is the largest mammalian carnivore on Madagascar and the adults may grow up to the length of 70-80 cm.
Fossa
Fossa
I was a bit suspicious, meaning I was thinking what a carnivorous animal would look for on a toppled tree trunk during the hottest part of the day near wooden houses for the accommodation of humans and quite neatly positioned so that the visitors could see it and take photos. I still think that the reserve in a way “tames” some of these animals or at least makes them used to occasional “fast food,” but on the other hand, this is definitely not a zoo. This was all taking place in the middle of a forest, so whoever wanted easy meals also had some working to do, i.e., had to pose for the guests. And the guests did not mind it.
Thus we also had an opportunity to take photos of some butterflies that came down to the ground in a large number, right onto a very fine spot for taking photos. That particular spot was a little darker, so I think that before we arrived, “assistants” to our guide had poured some water there and the butterflies landed in order to drink a little.
Butterflies from the Kirindy Forest
Butterflies
Still, while we were walking around the “civilised” part of the reserve, we often came across small reptiles which are a fine combination of an iguana and a lizard, i.e., this is a type of Madagascar lizard. This may be one of two possibilities – Oplurus cuvieri or Oplurus cyclurus, but this is important only to serious connoisseurs of reptiles. I personally just found these small animals cute, especially their exceptionally interesting tail covered in spiny scales.
Lizard from Madagascar
Lizard from Madagascar
Talking about reptiles, here, too, we came across a couple of chameleons. One was in a tree top, while another one was walking on the ground.
Chameleon in a tree
Chameleon on the ground
As it may be concluded from the two photos above, after those butterflies and iguanas that were standing on some clearings, now we started with our walk around the forest following the guide. Although it was very hot and exceptionally humid, we both had completely closed footwear and clothes that involved long sleeves and long legs, since there are many insects and other tiny animals in the forest and it is a good thing for one to be protected.
A fantastically picturesque caterpillar in the Kirindy Forest
A millipedes on the bark of a tree
Spider from the Nephilidae subfamily
In the forest we could also see some slightly bigger animals, such as the narrow-striped mongoose (Mungotictis decemlineata) taken in the photo below.
Narrow-striped mongoose
On the other hand, although I am not a particularly big fan of reptiles, specifically the Madagascan lizards, I could not help myself and refrain from taking photos of them in different poses. Some of them were completely incredible.
Lizard from Madagascar
Two collared iguanid lizards during a fight break, while one is holding firmly onto the other with its tiny jaws
The same as above, but up close
This one was standing incredibly vertically with its head pulled up
However, perhaps the most interesting photo of a Madagascan lizard was next to a very unusual baobab which had quite a specific excrescence.
Lizard from Madagascar on a tree next to a baobab
Lizard from Madagascar on a tree next to a baobab
There are three species of baobabs in the Kirindy Forest: Adansonia Fony, Adansonia Za and Adansonia Grandidieri, only here, as opposed to the other landscapes we had seen earlier that day, they were surrounded by other vegetation, including trees.
Baobab in the Kirindy Forest
Baobab befriending other trees
The guide also pointed for us at rosewood, which seems like some camouflage clothing. Unfortunately, this tree is very valued because of the incredible rose colour of the wood obtained from it which is then used for producing exceptionally expensive furniture. This furniture is particularly popular in China where there are many extremely wealthy people to whom money is no object. This leads to a very big problem on Madagascar with illegal rosewood logging.
Rosewood is the second from the right and probably also the second from the left, but slightly older
After an hour and a half of walking around the forest, with the heat that was not mitigated even by the shadow in which we were and with the high air humidity, the guide asked us if we would want to look some more for lemurs. No way! We just wanted to go back to the central section where the restaurant was and where we knew we could buy something refreshing, since the water in my backpack already had the temperature of the outside air. Thus, the guide took us to a dirt road and then we continued along there.
Dirt road in the middle of the forest
There we saw some butterflies again, but this time they gathered on the ground spontaneously and posed for a little while.
Butterflies on the dirt road
No visit to nature would be complete in a way without some birds. The problem with birds, though, is that they are often prone to flying and then it is difficult to take photos of them, especially if the person taking the photos is an amateur and does not have a particularly powerful zoom. Still, I did manage to take a couple of shots that involved birds.
Broad-bill rollers that finally settled on a branch
A broad-bill roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
As a kind of a goodbye, the guide brought us back to the central part of the reserve and there again in the vicinity we went to see another species of lemurs. This was the red-fronted lemur (Eulemur rufifrons).
These lemurs know how to position themselves cosily
Red-fronted lemur
Red-fronted lemur
After this, we could finally sit down at a modest local restaurant where taking a cool soft drink we did not refresh too much, but still sufficiently.
Central part of the Kirindy Forest reserve