Not far from Andasibe, in the same region, is a reserve called Vohimana. It was set up by a group called Man and the Environment (L’Homme et L’Environnment), whose goals are consistent with this website. We stayed at the ecolodge there for two nights and it was here that we had some of the most challenging hikes of the trip. At night it was raining and the trail went next to sheer dropoffs to a raging river 20 to 30 feet below. I think it was Sean Harrington who said that without realizing it (it was dark and raining) he did some of the most dangerous hiking of his life. And if we were in the U.S. we would have had to sign many waivers. He said it better than that and with his signature grin, but that is the kid-friendly version.
In Madagascar things are different.
The day hike was hot, humid, long, up and down, up and down, and with no clear trail once you left the old mining road. I fell three times. Fortunately, I did not break my camera or any body parts. My group’s hike wound up being about seven miles total and we passed a waterfall where Devin and Scott found my favorite mantella, the Painted Mantella, Mantella baroni (pictured above). This is a mantella I still had in my collection when I gave it to The Roanoke Science Center. I hope people can see it there now, but seeing it here in Vohimana Reserve certainly made the hike worth the effort.