Savannah Musings
 

Heading north and I was in for a surprise, the mud, sand and featureless dust had given way to African savannah
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It felt and looked like Tanzania, I half expected zebra and giraffe to appear, but they don't live in Madagascar.

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The wildlife around here was mainly of the feathered variety

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I think the hawk was hanging around because someone had killed its mate
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and no, it wasn't me.

I was about to have some company - other foreigners who didn't seem to think it was odd to be wearing black leather trousers in the tropical heat

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A bunch of Italians - a nationality that is known for its chic sense of style.

Diamonds Are A Girls...
 

The lizard showed me the way

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Not that kind of lizard, more the sort that lounges on street corners looking disreputable. I'd arrived in the gemstone-laden ares in the south west of Madagascar, the scene of countless documentaries and journalists' articles. I was riding along RN7, a major road, though the words major road should be taken with a pinch of salt over here, there was tarmac and that was about all that can be said for it.
But instead of the bare countryside stretching away on both sides that I had become used to, there were long rows of gem shops, some of them gaudily lit up.
The area has a dodgy feel about it- lots of get-rich quick schemes and even the lowliest person can find a fortune in the earth.
After asking around- and having to approach some dubious blokes, I found a guy who leads tours through the sapphire fields, he invited me to tag along with his Italian group- who all nodded approvingly at my black leather trousers- not seeming to find it odd that someone would be wearing them in the Tropics.
Feeling like stray recruits in the foreign legion, we were led to the mines

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The lines of men, shovelling the sand and dust by hand were a sobering sight

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I attempted sorting through the trays of loose stones and gravel in search of a sparkling blue gem.
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Afterwards I was shown a tray of polished sapphires
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These stones earn a fortune for the gem shop owners but hide the reality of the poverty-stricken miners' families who struggle to live on the 5,000 Ariary wages they get for working. Less than $2 a day.
I passed one of the villages on my way out
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Sad scenes where little grows.

Hill Country
 

After leaving the mines the landscape turned from sandy plains to rocks and hills

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I wanted to get closer to them - show me a mountain or even a hill and I'm pulling on my walking boots ready to explore
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With only the birds for company I headed off
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(A Bee eater for any ornithologists amongst you)

I reached the hills
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and found a hidden waterfall
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- an oasis to swim in
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Village Life
 

I found a place to stay
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It has the most incredible setting

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I went out for a ride through the village and arrived at the local football match - every Sunday wherever you are in Madagascar there will be a game of football going on...
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A free kick looks something like this

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I loved the pace of life and the friendliness in the village

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This boy definitely got the Cute Picture of the Week Award http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/icon10.gif

Wildlife with Coates
 

Madagascan ladybirds...apparently

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The kids had been showing me around - I told them that in England the ladybirds have spots not stripes.
I went exploring again

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and despite setting off pretty early, by 7.00am it was getting hot.

Praying mantis - a female about to devour an ant, with a blood-thirsty look in her eye.
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They're quite interesting insects, with the females being notorious for sexual cannibalism - biting off the heads of the unlucky males during mating.

Once more things were pretty quiet just me, the wildlife and John, a local guy acting as a guide for me

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Up in the hills, the dry climate means that there's little greenery
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And then we went back down to the coolness of the trees in the valley, where a strange looking bird was watching me and following through the woods

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One of the most amazing dragonflies I have seen anywhere - a reddish pink one

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At midday, it was sweltering and I was pleased to find we'd reached a shaded pool where I jumped in under the waterfall

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G'day Tiffany ,great stuff as always ,some lessons learned for me,i live on the tropic of capricorn here in Emerald ,we also have sapphire mines ,Just west of us here.we also have a very similar hawk .Enjoying your travels as always ,Regards Noel:D

Paying attention...
 

Thanks Noel, as one of my "regular" audience, it's always good to know that you're paying attention.:smartass:
and it's also interesting to hear about the parallels between these two big island nations on either side of the Indian Ocean.

Moving On
 

The neighbours are drying their corn
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while I have a gorgeous view of this beautiful tree from my front door

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It's time to move on, the north and west are calling out to me and the wet season is approaching fast (or maybe it has already arrived there and I'm just being a bit head in the sand about it), I find it hard to tear myself away from these beautiful hills
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the kids watch me leaving

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They've managed to introduce me these delicacies
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Animal Antics
 

I have a day and a half of riding on RN 7, although it's a major route by Madagascan standards, it's still not great tarmac and life around me continues how it has been for a very long time
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I stop for a break and get the funny feeling that I'm being watched

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they come out from the bushes
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I finally get to see some ring-tailed lemurs, probably the most famous of all the lemurs but somehow I hadn't managed to see any until now
They scampered around me on some rocks
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I was keen to follow them, but it got quite steep and I had bike gear on, then I saw this bloke...in his bare feet!
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even the lizards were encouraging me
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I made it to the top
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Animal Antics 2
 

My surroundings have been getting greener - this was the view from the top of the rocks
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I watched the bloke descend, looking relaxed as he went, this is when the reminder of going down is harder than going up is forcefully brought to life though he again made it look easy
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Down amongst the trees again, I spot these pink fluttery things

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not butterflies (or at least I don't think they are)
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little chameleons hiding amongst the dead leaves
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he's a sweet-looking thing
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Time for a Tea Break
 

Cloudy, damp weather - reminds me of home
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and then I see this magical sight
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For the ignorant amongst you - these are tea plants http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/icon10.gif

I manage to get a look around the tea processing plant starting with the racks of leaves being dried out
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The leaves go through a whole series of heath-robinson type machines
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the machines bear this proud plaque- they've come all the way from Gainsborough

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the sacks of tea leaves
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for a tea lover like me, travelling in a coffee-dominated culture, this was a real treat (call me sad if you want!) I could smell the tea in the air
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and they sell them in cute little lemur bags - I bought a few and then the ultimate moment - the tasting...
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A proper teacup and saucer
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I enjoyed it so much, I had two cups and promptly had a caffeine rush!

One of the most touching monents was when I spotted the proper English kettle- complete with English plug AND wall socket
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One more thing to do before I left - my Mum had been commenting that she thought I was looking a bit skinny so I weighed myself on their scales
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- "Mum, you'll be pleased to hear that I'm still heavier than a sack of tea"

Not Butterflies
 

Down amongst the trees again, I spot these pink fluttery things

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not butterflies (or at least I don't think they are)
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Tiffany they look like Leafhoppers (Family: Cicadellidae) but are usually green and quite small. It's hard to tell their size from the photo. Great spotting!!

PN

Funny i was just thinking Paul would know what they are.haha

Beautiful Wildlife shots this time Tiffany ,a magical place indeed.regards Noel:D

Leafhopper Knowhow
 

Thanks for that Paul, they are about the size of a fingernail/fingertip, depending on your hand size.