Kath's Frontier Expedition to Madagascar

Ring-tailed Lemurs - unique to Madagascar and endangered, as are all species of Lemur

From 7th January to 7th February 2005 I'm in Madagascar undertaking a 4-week remote expedition to the summit of Analavelona Mountain in the South-West (See map below). It's a remote and rarely visited location (see Rough Itinerary below for more info). I originally signed up as a volunteer to undertake Wilderness Research, spending the whole time surveying the flora and fauna. But then I was persuaded to change and, as well as carrying out some research, I'll undertake training in how to manage an expedition, from planning and preparation and including camp skills, navigation, communications, health and safety, risk assessment and leadership. In the process I'll be studying and will be assessed and I hope to gain the BTEC qualification in Expedition Management (biodiversity research)!


WHY I hear you ask! Well, my degree is in Zoology (Glasgow University) and from my days studying Madagascar's wildlife I've always wanted to go there but never had the opportunity. I want to do my bit towards conservation efforts, I'm up for the (big!) change of scene and challenge and I'm lucky that my work is allowing me the time off! For all the latest news and loads more links see my BLOG! Frontier is part of the Society for Environmental Exploration, a conservation agency which aims to promote and advance field research and implement practical programmes contributing to	Survival training!
the conservation of natural resources. Conservation expeditions for volunteers are run to Cambodia, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Tanzania and the Andaman Islands. They conduct essential research to inform strategies for the protection of endangered tropical wildlife and habitats and the management of threatened natural resources. The Society for Environmental Exploration (SEE), which was established in 1989, is an international environmental research and conservation non-governmental organisation (NGO). SEE have a successful track record of wildlife conservation, forest and coastal zone conservation and management, artisanal fishery research, and community based development. The Society is a registered not-for-profit company, number 02374609.

Madagascar is located off the coast of Mozambique on the African Continent and is the 4th largest island in the World. Famed for its beautiful forests and spectacular coastline, from the extensive coral reefs in the north to the wild coasts of the south, it is home to some of the most fascinating wildlife on the planet. The island's flora and fauna has been in isolation for 165 million years, creating a biodiversity resource of global significance with over 80% of animal species endemic to this island paradise. Madagascar is a very challenging expedition destination, having been largely ignored by travellers and tourists in the past. It is a land of great geographical diversity, from mountains and high grasslands to tropical rainforests and areas of arid wilderness.

*ROUGH ITINERARY* (~ = guestimate!): Thu 6th January - I fly from Aberdeen to London Heathrow Fri 7th January, 3.45am - meet up with fellow volunteers and Frontier personnel at Heathrow. There'll be over 50 Frontier personnel travelling out to Madagascar on the same flight, with most others on their way to marine expeditions and other destinations. There's just 5 of us volunteers on the Expedition Management Adventure and heading for Analavelona Mountain. Fri 7th January, 6.45am - we all depart Heathrow, UK and head for Antananarivo, Madagascar (following a change at Paris). Fri 7th January, 10.55pm (local time) - arrive in Antananarivo (Madagascar's Capital - also referred to as Tana) and stay locally in a hostel that night. I guess we'll meet our in-country leaders at this time. Madagascar is GMT+3hrs. Sat 8th January - myself, 4 other fellow volunteers plus our 2 or 3 in-country leaders begin our journey south to Tuléar (marked Toleara on the map right). It'll be a bumpy 2-day trip by taxi-brousse (bush taxi) along the N7. We'll stop over night at Fianarantsoa along the way. ~Sun 9th January - we arrive in Tuléar late. Frontier's Headquarters are here and we'll be based here for 2 days of training and preparation for the trek up Analavelona mountain. Here's also where we'll purchase most of our food supplies for the ensuing up-hill trip (er, basically rice and beans and veg for brekkie, lunch and dinner! We'll all be taking some spices and herbs to add some variation! And I've got some cup-a-soups for treats!).
~Wed 13th January - we'll travel from Tuléar, back up the N7 by taxi-brousse, as far as the town of Mahaboboka. From Mahaboboka we leave the 'main road' and the treking begins towards the summit of Analavelona! We'll first head to the village of Andranoheza, which is 17km from Mahaboboka, and we'll camp there overnight.

The closest we'll get to a power shower!

~Thu 14th January - onwards and upwards, hiring porters or zebu (cattle) carts as necessary to help with loads or give us a break from walking! Our Expedition Leader estimates that the journey from Mahaboboka to the summit (total disctance approx. 35km) will probably take a minimum of 3-4 days depending on the pace and fitness of the group (here's hoping I'm not the weakest link!!)

~Sun 17th January - we should have arrived at our destination by now - the summit of Analavelona mountain, 1348m above sea level! We will spend the next 10 or so days in this area training and researching.

Analavelona mountain lies approx 90km north-west of Tuléar (see map above). There is a small area of rainforest on the plateau at the top of the mountain, which is extremely unusual and it is the only patch of rainforest to be found in the whole of western Madagascar. The mountain is rarely visited due to its remote location and special permissions are required.

The area is of special importance to the region and is home to several newly described and as yet poorly understood taxa. An expedition team visited the area in August 2004 and our revisit in January 2005 will allow greater exploration and a comparative study of dry and wet season fauna. Guess which team is visiting in the wet season!!


While at the summit possible expedition activities include: Identifying the quality and extent of the rainforest GPS mapping of the area Rapid Biodiversity Assessment within suitable areas of the rainforest Population estimate using point sampling for the Appert’s Tetraka (Phyllastrephus appert) This is in addition to on-going training (and assessment for us BTEC candidates) in a variety of expedition skills. ~Thu 27th January - I estimate that we'd leave the Analavelona summit around now to begin our descent back down to Mahaboboka and then back to Tulear, basically back the way we came. This will probably take several days. ~Tue 1st February - leave Tulear to make the 2-day trip back to Tana Thu 3rd February - is indended to be our official "End of Expedition", when we arrive back in Tana. This is assuming there have been no delays, such as	Baobab trees & Sunset
transport breakdowns, which are pretty likely! If not back today it will probably be tomorrow or the next day!! I've been checking out the local hotels in Tana and once we get back there I hope to book into somewhere comfortable for a day or so before travelling home, prehaps the Hilton, but we'll see! Mon 7th February, 1.20am (local time) - leave Tana on an Air France flight and head home to Aberdeen! Mon 7th February, 12.15pm (UK time) - arrive London Heathrow - almost home! I will then fly back to Aberdeen later that day.

Chameleon

Expected weather conditions:

Madagascar has two seasons: a hot, rainy season from November to April; and a cooler, dry season from May to October. There is, however, great variation in climate owing to elevation and position relative to dominant winds. We're well warned it's going to be wet, but finger's crossed there's no cyclones when we're there, but if so then we're in a part of the country not likely to be hit badly by them in any case.

In south-west Madagascar - where we'll be - as it's the rainy season, this means sporadic but unpredictable rainfall and being based on a mountain we'll likely recieve more rainfall than the surrounding lowlands, so it could be particularly wet. I'll be able to tell you if that's the case once I get back near my blog, or back home!! Everyhing I've got is packed in waterproof bags in my rucksack which has a waterproof lining and a waterproof cover!!

Daytime temperatures may reach 35ºC, which will make walking on exposed paths very hard work. However temperatures may fall to less than 10ºC at night so we've lots of conditions to prepare for!