Fabulous, Frustrating Madagascar

[janzin]

The next morning, we had another early wake up call, with bags ready to head out to Tulear, as the boat for Nosy Ve departs from that city. As I mentioned in the beginning of the report, originally we were supposed to stay two nights in Tulear after our two nights in Ifaty, but due to the flight cancellation we now only had one night.

 

The drivers dropped us off at the "dock" for the boat and continued on with our bags to check them into the Victory Hotel, where we would stay that night. One of the women of our group went with them, to relax at the hotel, as she gets seasick and didn't want to risk the boat ride.

 

I say "dock" loosely because in fact, there is no dock. The water in the bay at Tulear is extremely shallow and very tidal, and to get to the boat you are taken out by Zebu cart! Depending on the tide you may have to go pretty far out.  It was quite an experience.  You can see the three "twitchers" in the cart in front of mine. Our speedboat is in the front.

 

 

 

The ride out to Nosy Ve takes about an hour. Nosy Ve is an uninhabited islet and its main attraction for birders is twofold: a good possibility of Crab Plover, and the nesting site for the Red-tailed Tropicbird.  It also can hold a number of tern species and waders in the right season.

 

We had a beautiful day for a boat ride, with little or no wind, and most of the ride is within the reef, so very calm.  We passed many traditional fishing skiffs and I entertained myself by attempting photos from the rapidly moving boat.  1/8000 of a second! Surprisingly I was rather successful!

 

 

I love the colorful sails.

 

 

One of the highlights of the boat ride was this encounter with a pod of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dophins. There were six of them leading the boat!  I took a video with my phone but I was so excited I forgot to rotate it, which would have been much better. Oh well.

 

Watch to the end to see them leaping!

 

 

As we approached the island we saw that there were fishermen at the point. This was unfortunate because this was, apparently, where the terns usually sit. Oh well, we did see some terns flying.

 

 

We rounded the point and David immediately spotted our main target bird--the Crab Plover!  Although its considered a shorebird, it is "monotypic" in that it is its own family. (Many birders aim to see all the monotypic birds in the world--depending on whose list you go by, there are anywhere from 31-39! and now I've seen 13 of them.) I took some "insurance" shots from the boat, and its a good thing I did. We quickly landed and David set up the scope but the birds were already walking quickly away down the beach. We got scope views but I didn't bother with any more photos as they were too distant.

 

 

 

David said let's walk up the beach and try to get closer. Here's one time where the "water" issue I mentioned earlier came up. They had brought plenty of water along with us in the boat. But at this point everyone thought the boat was going to stay where we left it and we'd just run up the beach a bit to catch the plovers.  But unbeknownst to us, David sent the boat away to "meet us on the other side of the island."  He didn't tell us to bring water or that the boat was leaving. So NO ONE brought water, as we thought we'd just be 10 minutes away from the boat.  As it turned out, we spent the next hour hiking the hot, sandy island to meet the boat around the other side. I was pretty furious as I thought this was pretty irresponsible. 

 

 

 

Notice we were far in the rear, as usual.

 

And to make matters worse, we never relocated the Crab Plovers.

 

However, we did see some interesting fishermen right off the shore.

 

 

 

 

 

And a few other waders, including Ruddy Turnstones. But they didn't let us get too close.

 

 

 

We crested the hill at the center of the island and set out to find the Tropicbird nests. At this point I was so hot, thirsty, and bothered that I hardly cared; and actually these were not life birds for us as we'd seen them in Hawaii.  We found some nests but too obscured for photos. However, they of course were soaring all around and I got some nice flight shots.

 

 

You can see the red tail on the adult male.

 

 

 

 

And we saw a Three-eyed Lizard (which we'd seen several times previously but I'd not got a good photo.)

 

 

Eventually we reached the meeting spot where the boat was waiting for us, and the guides quickly brought us water before we all passed out.  At this point, we had an option of going snorkeling or for a swim or just resting (there were some wooden semi-shaded seats, and all of a sudden also women selling trinkets...they just came out of nowhere!) Only two of our group opted for snorkeling.  But after drinking about a liter of water, Alan and I went down for a swim. It was great to cool off and here, like at the hotel, the water was shallow and warm.

 

After the snorklers returned, we got back in the boat and headed back to the mainland, but up the coast a bit to a resort area called Anakao, which can only be reached by boat. Here, we had a delicious fish lunch at the Hotel Safari Vezo.

 

 

 

Aside from lunch, the big draw here was to get yet another target bird. The Littoral Rock Thrush. While we waited for lunch to be served we set out around the grounds to find this very localized bird. After climbing some hills we found it perched, albeit very backlit and in the heat of the midday sun. So a terrible photo but a special bird.

 

 

 

After lunch, we got back in the boat. David asked the boatman if we could return to the point of Nosy Ve to see if the terns had come back, but he told us we didn't have enough gas. (We weren't sure that was true, more likely he just didn't want to go off schedule.) Anyway, we headed back to Tulear.

 

When we got back to the harbor, the Zebu carts were waiting for us again. The tide was much higher now so the Zebus were really in deep water and you could tell they didn't like it at all.

 

 

 

Several carts were waiting, all anxious to take us ashore. Taxi jam!

 

 

Children swam around trying to guide the Zebus.

 

 

Back on dry land, our vehicles awaited to take us to the Victory Hotel. Aside from the thirsty trek, it had been a fantastic morning!

 

But there was still more birding to be done that day.

 

Edited January 4, 2020 by janzin

[AKR1]

I found the zebu carts more fascinating than most of the aviary targets😎

[janzin]

After checking into the very comfortable Victory Hotel in central Tulear (pool, air conditioning, good beds, minibar!), and a very brief rest our 4WD convoy headed out again to the La Tabla area for a few last birds of the spiny forest. We were originally supposed to do this area in a more relaxed manner but because of the schedule change we had to squeeze it in here. And actually it seemed like we had sufficient time there. We drove towards the actual flat-topped "hill" that is called La Tabla but it turns out that wasn't actually our destination, but a patch of forest somewhere off the base. I guess the birding groups just call it La Table because of its proximity to that hill. I had been anticipating a hot climb up a hill but this area was flat.

 

But before we arrived, David spotted a good bird off the side of the road. We jumped out of our vehicles and got excellent looks at a Verreaux's Coua, another endemic. It was in the branches but I got some decent shot.

 

 

 

This jaunty bird reminded me of the Grey-go Away bird in Africa, although of course they aren't related at all. Anyway this was one of our target birds for the area so the pressure was off to find it at La Tabla. 

 

But this is where (I think) another annoying incident occurred. At least this one was no fault of the guides, but strictly my own. Somehow I lost my eyeglasses! I had been wearing my sunglasses and I guess my glasses were either in my lap or a pocket and when we got to the next stop I realized they were gone! Luckily I always carry a spare and I keep it in my camera backpack for just such a situation, so I had the spare with me. But this is the first time this ever happened to me. We looked all around the vehicle and watched the road on the way back. They were in a bright red case so should have stood out, but, no luck. And an expensive loss---ug, $500 to replace when I got home

 

BTW this was a trip of lost objects...along the way I also lost the flash diffuser for my Fuji flash and also the diffuser for my Nikon flash! And, I lost a fridge magnet that i'd bought as a souvenir. Alan lost his sunglasses (but then found them again!) and David lost his reading glasses. Something about this trip.....

 

Anyway at the spiny forest near La Table there were a couple of other endemics to find. And we did find them all. One that is fairly local here is the Red-shouldered Vanga. We saw a few, but they were quite active and here the brush was fairly dense. Here's the male and the female.

 

 

 

And Archbold's Newtonia, a rather plain warbler-like bird.

 

 

And the last bird of the day, the Green-capped Coua. This is actually considered a sub-species of the Red-capped Coua by most authorities, but it could be split one day. Its cap is more olive than red (hard to see in this photo.)

 

 

The next morning we were to head back to Tana on a flight a 12:30 flight. So we took one last morning outing, heading to a spot where the Madagascar Sandgrouse was known to frequent.  Unfortunately, even after spending a couple of hours there, we dipped on this bird.  We did see Madagascar Lark, Madagascar Cisticola, Madagascar Mannikin, Three-banded plover, and lots of butterflies, but no Sandgrouse...and no photos worth processing (all distant with heat haze.)  David assured the twitchers that there will be another chance at the Sandgrouse in Berenty, our next destination.

 

Amazingly this flight to Tana was more or less on time, although this was the one time that the check-in people gave some of us a hard time about camera gear/carry on weight. They took my bag several times to make sure it fit in the sizer, and they wanted to charge David $50 overweight for his bag (which held his scope and a big 300mm 2.8 Canon lens.) Finally they reneged when he slung the lens over his shoulder and carried it on that way!

 

We were pleased to find out our flight to Fort Dauphin would leave at 7:30 the next day, giving us plenty of time to get to Berenty for a late lunch. Or so we thought.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by janzin

[Galago]

Aren't the Couas amazing! Just love that blue eye patch. I was intrigued by the lizard called Three-eyed so looked it up. I'd never heard about this but apparently there are several different critters that have this patch on the head between the eyes that is photosensitive, linked to the pineal gland, and so regulates circadian activity. As Michael Caine said, Not alotta people know that   Having spent the entire afternoon catching up with TRs I can, at least, say that it has been highly educational!

[Zubbie15]

Still enjoying the great photos and the interesting experiences. My wife and I are also always at the back of the line when we are doing group tours, sometimes it's an advantage, like when I got to have a long chat with one of the park rangers while trekking to the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. We'll have to see who is slower during the shore landings in Svalbard! 

[kittykat23uk]

I like the way you caveat the end of this chapter with "..or so we thought!" ohoh!! 

[jmharack]

Haha, Tom!  My favorite back of the line story is when I was doing a gorilla trek with my daughter, who is of course much more agile and fit.  She had raced ahead with the younger folk on the trek, and I was bringing up the rear.  When I got to the ledge everyone was perched on, I was at the very end, with not a great view of the action.  Then a big male came from the other side and gave me a friendly tap -- I was the only one on that trip that got touched by a gorilla!  My daughter stays closer to me now

And Janet, I am loving this report!  Can't wait to go to Svalbard with you and read about the trip afterwards! 

 

 

[janzin]

59 minutes ago, Zubbie15 said:

Still enjoying the great photos and the interesting experiences. My wife and I are also always at the back of the line when we are doing group tours, sometimes it's an advantage, like when I got to have a long chat with one of the park rangers while trekking to the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. We'll have to see who is slower during the shore landings in Svalbard! 

 

Ha, I think anyone who lags behind in Svalbard might become Polar Bear lunch I daresay they won't allow any stragglers so we'll have to keep up!

[janzin]

9 hours ago, kittykat23uk said:

I like the way you caveat the end of this chapter with "..or so we thought!" ohoh!! 

 

Indeed...oh oh oh!

 

We had a nice relaxing evening back in Tana at the Relais de Plateaux...more good food...and another round of chocolate tasting plates. Oh and one nice thing about all these returns to the Relais is that they had excellent wifi in the rooms! So we were back in touch with civilization.

 

But now the sad news...at dinner David informed us that our 7:30 a.m. flight to Fort Dauphin was now leaving at 12:30. Ug!! Well at least Tsardadia informed us the night before so we wouldn't have to sit in the airport. But it would mean not getting to Fort Dauphin until around 3 p.m. and we had already been warned that the drive to Berenty would take about 3-4 hours on a horrible road--even though it was only about 80 km.

 

Arrrgh thank you Tsardadia, so now we would lose the entire afternoon at Berenty, and we only had two nights there. Not only that, we would likely arrive after dark.

 

Well at least we could sleep in a bit for a change, and have a good breakfast. After breakfast I wandered the hotel grounds and took some of the better shots of the Fody and Stonechat (which I posted earlier.) We got to the airport, taking our boxed lunches (!) but this time they offered us an option of an improved box lunch--chicken with noodles or rice instead of the dry sandwich. I chose the chicken with noodles and it was actually very tasty; we ate our lunches waiting at the gate.  At least the flight was on time at 12:30.

 

We arrived "on time" around 3 and headed out for the long, bumpy ride. Here we were all in one mini-van which oddly didn't seem to be 4WD, when we'd most need it! This was truly the worst road I've ever seen, if you can call it a road. It actually was once paved, which was the problem...it was never maintained and so at times the pavement would disappear from one side of the road, and there were potholes you could get lost in. Fortunately our driver was very experienced and seemed to know where all the giant drop offs were.

 

Because of the timing we didn't stop at all for birds on the way, even pit stops were made on the side of the road. The landscape here was very very different from what we'd seen before, somewhat mountainous in the distance. Very beautiful actually.

 

 

 

 

 

It was soon sunset, and we were driving in the dark. Thank goodness our local driver had likely done this road a thousand times.

 

Even after the sun set, we still had quite a ways to drive.

 

Finally, tired and hungry, we arrived at Berenty Reserve around 7:30 p.m. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our rooms were very large and modern; the nicest of the trip, with a separate sitting area, a stocked minibar, and air conditioning...which was needed here, although the electricity was turned off at 10 p.m. and turned on again at 5 a.m. 

 

Dinner at the lodge was a bit different than other places; it was a set menu, no choices (although accommodating to the one vegetarian in our group.) But the food was good and we retired to our comfortable rooms with excitement for tomorrow. We'll be up early to start our exploration of Berenty Reserve.

 

A word about the Reserve itself. It is privately owned and was created by the de Heaulme family, who founded a 6000 hectare sisal plantation on this site in 1936. They conserved 1000 hectares of the natural forests and its been maintained as a private reserve up to the present day. The sisal plantations are still in operation and for miles as you get to the reserve you see the sisal growing (of course we couldn't see it on our way in, as it was dark! but we saw the rows and rows of sisal as we left.) From their website: " (the reserve) includes closed canopy gallery forest of ancient tamarind trees, drier open scrub, and the surreal "spiny forest" of southern Madagascar. It is home to six species of lemur, the south's largest colony of Madagascar fruit bats, and 103 bird species, 56 of whom breed in the reserve. " It was opened to tourism in the 1980's.

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by janzin

[Soukous]

On 12/29/2019 at 9:23 PM, janzin said:

we returned vowing up and down that we will never, ever join a group tour again...we will only travel with a private guide from now on, or if in a group, one that we put together ourselves with like-minded friends.

 

not an uncommon sentiment. Especially if you are used to travelling to your own schedule.

[TonyQ]

Your report continues to be fascinating, and your photos superb.

I am enjoying seeing the landscapes, the Zebu carts and the fishing boats - as well as the birds of course.

[Soukous]

What a lovely TR @janzin. 

Super photos accompanied by terrific narrative that brings us the highs and lows of your trip.

 

A couple of mundane questions:

 

You said that you wrote to Rockjumper to express your views on the guide and 'pace' of the trip. What was their reply?

and in order to produce such a detailed report do you painstakingly keep a diary as you travel?

[janzin]

1 hour ago, Soukous said:

What a lovely TR @janzin. 

Super photos accompanied by terrific narrative that brings us the highs and lows of your trip.

 

A couple of mundane questions:

 

You said that you wrote to Rockjumper to express your views on the guide and 'pace' of the trip. What was their reply?

and in order to produce such a detailed report do you painstakingly keep a diary as you travel?

thanks @Soukous   I did get a response from RJ but of course it was quite vague and diplomatic, they apologized for the tour not meeting our expectations and talked about how the guide has to balance it for all participants, etc etc. It was pretty much what I expected. To be fair I was fairly diplomatic in my complaint letter, as I didn't want to burn all bridges, and suggested that in future we might use them again but only for a tailor-made tour.

 

A diary--never! Ha, I can barely keep track of my photos (and gear...and eyeglasses lol.)  This is why sometimes my reports are a bit out of order and not in as much detail as some others.  Mostly I rely on the photos to jog my memory, I keep them in order by date and so I can go through them and hopefully remember the circumstances For this report because I had so many photos from different sources (Nikon, Fuji, iPhone) I made temporary folders with the photos from all combined, sorted by place and date. But I still forgot to include a couple so they may get stuck in out of order

 

[janzin]

We started extremely early the next morning as we only had the one full day. Also, it gets quite hot here! 4:30 a.m. wake up and 5 a.m. breakfast! We were entertained at breakfast by our first Ring-tailed Lemurs in the trees, although we could hardly see them.

 

I went for the silhouette look

 

 

Although you can pretty much walk everywhere at Berenty, we took a very short hop in the car to a field to first try for the Madagascar Sandgrouse again, arriving just around sunrise. Yes, I know it says sunset, but it was sunrise: 5:33 a.m.

 

 

One of the first things we saw in this field was this awesome Rainbow Milkweed Locust. What colors!!

 

 

What we didn't see was any sign of the Sandgrouse.  David had hoped to catch them flying out but no luck, so we shortly got back into the car and returned to the lodge to walk the trails there.

 

One of the first things we encountered as we started walking the wide road that led to the forest trails was a group of Verreaux's Sifakas. Would they dance for us? Because these Sifakas are really geared for living in the trees, they can't actually walk on the ground; so in order to get from tree to tree they leap. But where the trees are too far apart for leaping, they "dance"...a graceful sort of loping, hopping movement.

 

Would he go?

 

 

Yes!!

 

 

Cameras gunned as everyone tried to catch them in mid-leap. Its not easy, especially early in low light! These are all at ISO 5000 with shutter speed of 1/3200.

 

 

I really like this shot because it also captures some of the striking spiny vegetation here.

 

 

of course, the Ring-tailed Lemurs were not to be outdone. They may not "dance" but they are awfully cute, and what many people visualize when they think of "Lemur"

 

 

 

They like to sit up to catch the first warm rays of the sun. This one was a bit scraggly and probably an elder.

 

 

We hadn't even really left the main grounds of the lodge yet, and lemurs were everywhere.

 

 

This mom and pup were getting a much-needed drink from a drain on one of the cabins.

 

 

We headed up a forest trail but not before we saw a small group gathered around something in the leaves. What were they looking at and photographing?

 

Our first (and just about only!) snake of the trip. A Madagascar Ground Boa. Not too large...maybe six feet long I'd say.

 

 

It was still only around 7:30 as we headed into the deciduous forest to find some birds.

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by janzin

[Zubbie15]

So great you got to see one dance. What a great start to your morning. 

[Treepol]

@janzin great action shots of the sifaka and the cute ring-tailed lemur.

 

What a a shame your time at Berenty was cut short by the flight change.

[janzin]

Thanks @Zubbie15 and @Treepol

 

Yes, it was very frustrating to lose the time there as that was one place I really would have loved to stay longer. I actually suggest to Rockjumper (in my post-trip commentary) that they book the first night in that area in Fort Dauphin, so that the group could be ensured to travel to Berenty in the morning, even if the flight was delayed the prior day.  If the flight arrived on time I'm sure there is some birding to be done around Fort Dauphin, which is on the coast. In fact looking at some of their trips from several years ago it seems they did it that way, I don't know why they changed it; I guess it would add one night to the trip but it would be worth it IMHO.

 

[Galana]

Just caught up with this great report for which thanks. Oh, what a disappointment with the pace and you were quite right to duck out at that first "bridge". Once in Ghana seeking Picarthartes we had a log crossing and I insisted they strung a rope at head height. It would not have saved me but it gave a sense of safety and balance that you need. No need to rush. The birds may not be there yet!

Keeping pace is so not me either. My $$s, my pace! And I say this knowing some future fellow travellers are reading this so they can be re-assured or concerned as the case may be.

Birded once with DH in Uganda. Seems he has not changed with age.

Enough.

I have really enjoyed the trip report, warts and all, and commend you for the patience and skill behind your excellent photos despite the set backs. Tip. Fix a pair of wooden spikes to your elbows. Or treading on a few toes is known to work.

Some great photography and very entertaining text as usual.

Looking forward to more.

 

 

[kittykat23uk]

3 minutes ago, Galana said:

Just caught up with this great report for which thanks. Oh, what a disappointment with the pace and you were quite right to duck out at that first "bridge". Once in Ghana seeking Picarthartes we had a log crossing and I insisted they strung a rope at head height. It would not have saved me but it gave a sense of safety and balance that you need. No need to rush. The birds may not be there yet!

Keeping pace is so not me either. My $$s, my pace! And I say this knowing some future fellow travellers are reading this so they can be re-assured or concerned as the case may be.

Birded once with DH in Uganda. Seems he has not changed with age.

Enough.

I have really enjoyed the trip report, warts and all, and commend you for the patience and skill behind your excellent photos despite the set backs. Tip. Fix a pair of wooden spikes to your elbows. Or treading on a few toes is known to work.

Some great photography and very entertaining text as usual.

Looking forward to more.

 

 

 

[janzin]

Thanks @Galana  Hmmm wooden spikes....I'll keep that in mind for next time

 

And I didn't know you knew D....we may have to discuss!

[Atdahl]

Stunning photos as always @janzin.  Great lemur shots and its awesome you were able to witness the dancing sifakas which is something we missed since it really only happens at Berenty apparently.

 

I love the composition of your boa shot too.  Snakes are not easy to photograph but your shot is really striking.

[janzin]

1 hour ago, Atdahl said:

Stunning photos as always @janzin.  Great lemur shots and its awesome you were able to witness the dancing sifakas which is something we missed since it really only happens at Berenty apparently.

 

I love the composition of your boa shot too.  Snakes are not easy to photograph but your shot is really striking.

 

Thanks @Atdahl.  Funny thing about that boa shot--it was taken with the iPhone! I took several photos with the Nikon and couldn't get a decent angle so I just shot off some with the phone and they turned out better.

 

 

[janzin]

Actually, I think I'm remembering the order of this morning a bit incorrectly. We didn't actually have breakfast at 5:00 a.m. but just coffee and cookies.  At this point--after exploring a bit around the grounds for the lemurs--around 7:30--we had our real breakfast. It was after breakfast that David decided to give the darn Sandgrouse one more shot. He was really, really determined to get those Sandgrouse!

 

We jumped back in the van for the short ride back to the fields. However we quickly jumped out again when we spotted this Frances' Sparrowhawk quite low in a close tree.

 

 

Nearby was also another endemic, the Crested Coua. We'd actually seen them around the grounds, they must nest there, but this was the first decent photo I could get.

 

 

Jumping back into the van we continued to the Sandgrouse spot. We walked a way along the road by the field, following this Madagascar Cuckoo. This is another bird we'd seen (and heard) several times over the trip but it was always either very distant or deep in the leaves. Here it was still distant, but at least in the open! And I liked the vegetation it perched on.

 

Distant and highly cropped!

 

 

 

Another nicely perched bird was the Madagascar Cisticola.  Again, seen many times previously, especially in Ifaty, but never photographable until now.

 

 

But where were the Sandgrouse? Suddenly, a group of about three small birds whizzed by and David exclaimed--there they are!  I got a brief fly-by look. They seemed to have landed in the nearby sisal field so David and the gang started following through the rows of baby sisal.  We followed as well.. trying to step between the baby sisal plants.  But it seemed that along with the sisal this field was filled with some other small cactus-like plant that left little stinging burr-like needles in your clothing. And in your skin! As we continued deeper into the field (with David way ahead of course) it was getting more and more painful! After a bit I stopped and said (to no one that could hear, since they were all way ahead) I'm going back. 

 

So I did, as did Alan, and spent the next 10 minutes pulling cactus burrs out of my pants leg and socks.  Meantime, the rest of the group ended up briefly seeing the bird on the ground in scope views. I settled for the fly-by view. Well now at least David was happy that he got his Sandgrouse and we could return to the lodge.  Of course, everyone was covered in these stinging burrs!

 

So, back to the forest we went. It was now about 9 a.m. and already quite warm. What might we see on the forest trails?

 

Well, quite a bit! Here's a selection of that morning's fauna.

 

Several White-footed Sportive Lemurs. While mainly nocturnal, they roost openly in trees in the daytime.

 

 

 

Hmm is this one giving us the razz?

 

 

Another target bird, the Giant Coua. Great looks at this one, and he was a cooperative poser. Can't resist multiple images.

 

 

 

 

A lovely White-browed Owl on a day roost.

 

 

More lemurs! Everywhere in Berenty there were lemurs.

 

 

 

The Red-fronted Brown Lemur is just considered a variation of the Brown Lemur by some, but some authorities consider it a species. These guys don't really care what they are, they are just chillin' in the heat.

 

 

Both morphs of the Madagascar Paradise Flycatcher.

 

 

The white morph is always a male.

 

 

And this very large Warty Chameleon. Oddly we didn't see a lot of chameleons here, and the only type we saw was the Warty.

 

 

 

The Vassa Parrots have got to be the most dull-colored parrots there are. There is a Greater and a Lesser and they are very hard to tell apart, but there is a difference in the beak. Anyway, this is a Lesser; we saw Greater only once, in Ifaty.

 

 

As we returned to the lodge, off the trail there was an enclosure where the lodge had a few of the endemic Radiated Tortoises that had been saved from markets, and apparently they have a breeding program here as well. Even though these weren't wild, they were the only ones we saw and so I'm including a photo here. They seemed happy enough

 

 

It was now around 11:30 and already getting extremely hot. In fact, we later found out that not only was this the hottest day of the trip, the temperature had reached over 100 degrees F (over 40 degrees C). Luckily we had water and Guy had brought along lots of juice and cookies on our long hike.

 

We headed back to the lodge for lunch and to take a bit of a cooling break in our air conditioned rooms. We'd head out again around 3, for a brief visit to the on-site museum and then a return to the forest as it cooled off. We still needed to get to the Flying Fox roost! and we had a night walk planned as well.

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by janzin

[xelas]

On 1/4/2020 at 8:33 PM, janzin said:

1/8000 of a second! Surprisingly I was rather successful!

This and f/8 works well also when photographing from a fast moving vehicle .

 

8 hours ago, janzin said:

And I didn't know you knew D....

Only been with @Galana a couple of times by now, and it looks to me he knows every person worth knowing  (not that I know any of those mentioned ).

 

 

@janzin, your are pushing the photos IQ into stratosphere! And that is true for every type of photography you have showed us here, and elsewhere. And the writing is so juicy, full of useful details. You are making our TR life on ST a difficult one ; better to bring that notebook along on the next trip.

Edited January 8, 2020 by xelas

[Galana]

1 hour ago, xelas said:

he knows every person worth knowing 

And many that are not worth knowing too.

 

More lovely photos @janzin All creatures great and small and 'softly sofly catchee monkee.'

At least the driver stopped for the Sparrowhawk and Coua etc., That's a start.