Jour 7: on the way to Ambalavao

Early in the morning we take back the RN7 in the direction of Fianarantsoa and 34 km after our departure, we stop in the rock of Ankazomivady. My friends often stop here because with the years they have found here a lot of orchids, nearly 20 species.

In fact it is a big granitic boulder, where grow some orchids and even some carnivorous plants in the very wet place.

 

We immediatly see big white flowers, which are in fact big Aerangis ellisii. It is the high season to see these orchids in flowers

 

 

Very close to these Aerangis ellisii, we find some Angraecum sororium in flowers too.

 

 

On a very peaty and very wet sector, we discover some Drosera but also some  small terrestrial orchids, Cynorkis saxicola.

 

 

In front of this rock, behind a small swamp, we decide to go to visit a primary forest which seems to have been spared by the coalmen.

 

 

Unfortunately it is only a facade and just behind the first curtain of trees, we fall on an old coal-based oven in the center of a zone where everything was burned... here also...

 

 

We decide to continue our road, because to find orchids we should go deep in the forest to find orchids and because our drivers wait for us...the road is long till Ambalavao

Nevertheless, here are some orchids, not really healthyt, discovered near the cutted area.

 

Bulbophyllum nutans and Aerangis fastuosa, with very dark leaves, nearly red...the trees have been cut all around then the leaves receive now too much direct sun...

 

 

 

We take back)the road for Fianarantsoa where we stop to have lunch, in a restaurant on the heights of the city and where from we have a plunging view on certain districts.

 

The afternoon is dedicated to the visit of the Reserve of Anja, situated in 15km of Ambalavao. This small park is managed by the surrounding villagers with the aim of protecting this site where live a beautiful population of Lemur catta.

 

Here the landscape is formed by boulders and granitic outcrops too, with sometimes a piece of remaining forest, usually near from a little river.

  

Due to the lack of time we dedicated our visit to a secondary and easily approachable,  forest.

It is not so rich than a primary forest, But we also discover some orchids, often observed by the Lemur cata and some chameleons.

 

 

 

Disperis oppositifolia

 

Angraecum calceolus

Sobennikoffia humbertiana

 

 

On the other boulders all around we see some other little forests, which would be interesting to visit, but we don't have time because as usual a thunderstrom arrives and we have to go quickly to our hotel...