Magical Madagascar Day 6 – June 20th – Antsirabe to Ranomafana

Magical Madagascar Day 6 we finally left the busy traffic behind driving directly south through many busy bustling markets – Thursday seems to be a popular market day here.

The agriculture in this area is more basic with hundreds of acres of paddy fields providing the bulk of the staple diet of the Malagasy people – rice. Artisan workshops began to diminish as we drove south, along with a drop off in the traffic. It became clear that there are very few private cars outside the main cities and most people made their way on foot to and from the main towns where they shopped. Potholes where still a hazard and we hade to pick our way carefully in our Ford Everest 4x4s.

The last 60kms of the day took us into Ranomafana National Park were the easiest of the journey and provide a good respite for the drivers. A spectacular waterfall on the way provided the best viewing of the day. 

Our lodging for two nights was the Thermal Hotel in the heart of the National Park.