Tuesday 4th October 2022. Kirindy Forest to Bekopaka

As we knew we had a long day's drive ahead we were up in time for a 6.30 breakfast.  We were faced with a plate of orange segments and a bread roll so pretty basic but perfectly edible.  We waved goodbye to our room and the Ecolodge - it had been much better than expected based on the comments we had seen on line.

We were on the road by 7am for the first leg of the journey to the Tsiribihana ferry.  The road was bumpy but not too corrugated so we made good progress.  We passed through lots of villages and saw numerous paddy fields.  In general though the scenery was pretty stark with huge areas of land having been burnt to the ground.  It seemed to be on such a huge scale and there were clear signs of an intention to open up the road with new petrol stations having been built and awaiting use.

We were delighted to find that the advice we had been given about the petrol station was correct and there really was a mobile station in Tsimafana.  We were also able to buy bottles of beer which was a big bonus as far as Ian was concerned.

We set off towards the ferry and soon realised that we were heading in completely the wrong direction so had to retrace our steps and ask some lorry drivers the way.  The road they sent us down was terrible and got worse and worse.  It also seemed to be heading in totally the wrong direction according to maps.me but it was so narrow that there was no real choice but to keep going.  The only hope we had was that it was clear that lots of trucks had driven down it.  Miraculously after about 20 minutes we saw the river and down a very steep slope the ferry.  A car appeared behind us and clearly wanted to overtake but luckily Ian didn't give way and descended the steep slope - there really wasn't time to think about what was happening as we found ourselves being directed up the metal ramps onto the ferry.  There were already 5 cars on the ferry and we filled the final gap so we realised why the other vehicle had been so keen to overtake as they would now have to wait for us to cross the river and the ferry to return which could take over an hour.

The ferry crossing was very peaceful watching the village life along the shores.  It cost 50,000 Ariary and must have taken about 40 minutes - time enough to consider the fact that we had to drive back off the ferry and wouldn't be able to see the ramps!

We arrived at Med-Zebu in Belo-sur-Tsiribihana at 10:45 so only had 15 minutes to wait before it opened which meant we would be able to keep to my plan of leaving by mid-day.  The restaurant was completely surreal as it felt as though we were in the middle of nowhere yet the restaurant was serving Michelin standard food.  We opted for main (red snapper) plus pudding which would set us back 50,000 Ariary but it was definitely worth it as it was absolutely delicious and stunningly presented.

After lunch we ended up chatting to a Dutch couple, who were also self-driving but were on their way back to Morondava, who informed us that there was a military escorted convoy further up the road and they advised that we should try and go in a convoy all the way.  We managed to agree with one of the other drivers that we would follow his vehicle so in the end we left at 12:45 so a bit later than we'd hoped.  It also meant that we had to drive much faster than we normally would as we were following a local driver on a road that deteriorated significantly the further north we went.  After 2 hours we finally reached the place where the military convoy would start and then we had to wait until 4pm before the 12 vehicle convoy moved off.  As we had a spare seat in the back of our vehicle we got asked if we would go last and have the military policeman in our car which was slightly surreal as he sat there with his large gun and a face mask.  The convoy was in place for the last 20km up to the ferry across the Manambolo River although on the positive side due to the number of vehicles we were able to drive at a more reasonable if still fast pace..  

 

The river crossing was much quicker than the previous one as the ramps were on opposite sides of the river but the entry and exit onto the ramps was similarly scary.  By the time we reached the other side it was 5.15pm and with sunset at 6pm we were now pushed to find a campsite.  We had a further short delay when leaving the ferry area as there was a barrier and we were expected to pay a community tax.  We quickly decided that our original intention to camp next to the park was not going to happen, firstly there was no sign of a campsite and secondly having just spent an hour with a military policeman in the back of our car the concept of camping along the river bank didn't appeal.  So we headed to Bekopaka village and a hotel that I had found online that allowed camping.  The village was really busy with people out shopping and school children on their way home so our stress levels were soaring and the route to the hotel took us up a really narrow track that no-one looked to have gone up recently.  The location for the hotel on maps.me took us to a locked gate and a large "Ferme" sign.  Now we were worried as it was clear that we had nowhere to camp and the sun was rapidly setting.  We headed back the way we had come having seen a couple of hotels on the other side of the village.  We drove to the first one we came to, Olympe du Bemaraha, and hurried to reception.  Our relief when the receptionist told us they had a room was palpable and even better they accepted Euros as we definitely didn't have enough Ariary to cover a night at a hotel.  Over dinner and some beer we decided that we should book for all 4 nights that we had planned to camp and just get rid of the problem - we could worry about the bill later.