FEATURE Due to the bad infrastructure the country
was being travelled by car with difficulty. Nevertheless, to see more about the country rather than the capital a car can be convenient. We only drove across the northern half of Madagascar in a four- wheel-drive vehicle with an excellent Malagasy driver by the way. Starting point was the capital of
Antananarivo, we drove eastward in the direction of Tamatave with the intention to drive along the shore to the north and driving back to Antananarivo via the west side. Unfortunately some rivers we had to cross with shaky bridges and broken down ferries stopped us. We had to drive back to Antananarivo from where we travelled via the west side northward to Antsohihy. From there we crossed the highland, where after some time we found no roads anymore. Not one single road map showed any road over there, but still we managed to cross the highland by car from the west side to the east side. Struggling through rivers, sliding away near abysses, sinking away in squashy meadows we still reached a road through the jungle, which lead us to the east coast eventually. Along the east coast we continued driving northwards to camp in the Ankarana Mountains in the northwest for a couple of days. Afterward we drove along the west coast via Plage Hermitage and Mavaetenana back to Antananarivo again. That was our journey in a nut shell. A nice tour, but in general it was spending many
hours in the car in a very hot environment, best described as hell. On the other hand Madagascar’s flora and fauna and native culture is that much interesting and fascinating that we wouldn’t have missed this adventure at any price. But, as I hear you asking impatiently:
“Anton, did you see any Vasa Parrots over there?” I can tell you, yes indeed……….. in Antananarivo’s Zoo! In the wild we sporadically observed some Vasa Parrots. At about 120 km east of Antananarivo,
just past Moramanga, lies the Mantadia National Park (better known as Périnet) where the largest lemur of Madagascar lives, the Indri. From the village of Andasibe the National Park can be visited. In the forest we could hear Vasa Parrots, but we didn’t see them. Along the entire east coast we have seen
no Vasa Parrots at all. The first Vasa Parrots we found near Antsohihy. While we drunk a little drink, I saw two Greater Vasa Parrots staying in a small shed behind, one of them spoke a few words. However, the owner did not allow me to approach the birds. In the same village we saw at the local butcher, who was chopping off his flesh, a Lesser Vasa Parrot beside the meat. Occasionally the butcher apparently cut wrong sometimes, because the bird was missing almost all toes. The bird was obviously very nervous and did not want to sit on my hand. Each rapprochement attempt was met with a biting reflex, and the bird quickly recoiled.
BIRD SCENE 45
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