Madagascar (Orchid Review)
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MADAGASCAR ADVENTURE Photography by Johan Hermans by Photography Ten go to Madagascar Clare and Johan hermans describe some jolly adventures on an Orchid Conservation Alliance trip to the Great Red Island Above The Andringitra Massif (desert of rocks), part of the Andringitra National Park, at sunrise. Right Mass flowering of the tiny Bulbophyllum leptostachyum in Ranomafana National Park. Far left The intrepid Orchid Conservation Alliance group at the entrance of the orchid ‘garden’ at Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. Left Aerangis fastuosa was encountered in full bloom at Ranomafana National Park. ➤ 12 March 2021 March 2021 13 MADAGASCAR ADVENTURE hy do the wrong including Mary, an indefatigable people travel, when the colleague called Gary and, most of ‘We reached our destination at 2am, just 12 hours late, to Wright people stay back all, our old friends Harold and Steve. find Niry, our friend, waiting patiently for us’ home?’ So wrote Noël Coward in Sail But, ‘the best laid plans of mice Away and the same question crossed and men’ depended on KLM getting my mind during thirty or so years of us to Amsterdam, Nairobi and then tour leading, particularly in Antananarivo, Madagascar. We had Madagascar. I am not thinking of the allowed many hours for transit but irritating arguers and complainers, a much delayed flight coming into they just want there money’s worth. Heathrow from Amsterdam meant It’s the ones that can be classed as, that the whole journey suddenly well, unusual in any environment …’ vanished into mid-air. Flights to So wrote Hilary Bradt, travel writer Madagascar are not frequent and and friend, in the Sunday Telegraph in ground staff at Heathrow looked 2020. It was an amusing read but also blankly on how to re-schedule us, triggered a few memories of our until we met Dimitri who turned out September 2019 Orchid Conservation to be the only Madagascan working at Alliance (OCA) trip to Madagascar. the airport: he promptly re-arranged Unlike the sociable Hilary Bradt our flight, departing 6.30am the next we are unaccustomed to accompanying day, via Paris and Nairobi. This tour groups, preferring the company meant an unexpected night at the of ourselves or just a few friends. Heathrow Hilton where we received Following a chance encounter with Eulophia ibityensis is locally common in Madagascar the sad news that Harold had a Mary Gerritsen, stalwart of the OCA, in woodland of highland areas. serious car accident before departure in Ecuador in 2017 the idea of guiding and therefore he and Steve had to a trip to Madagascar came up. She floods. Hotels and lodges were drop out of the trip. The rest of the made it sound quite easy and we felt reserved well in advance, good local evening was spent on the phone to Left Cynorkis lowiana flowers in profusion on wet roadside banks near Ranomafana National Park. ready to share some of our experience guides were booked and eventually Madagascar altering arrangements. Above Variable Cynorkis nutans grows as a of Madagascar and its orchids. an announcement was circulated to The new route involved a stop terrestrial or semi-epiphyte in the eastern forest. Based in the United States, OCA the OCA membership. on the Comoro Islands, a place we Below Tiny Cynorkis peyrotii is made distinctive is an admirable organization; one of Much to our astonishment all always wanted to visit but perhaps by its marked leaves. their aims is to promote trips to see twelve places were snapped up within not at midnight staring at an ugly orchids in their native habitat and days with a long waiting list of other concrete airport building. The only thereby raise awareness and funding potential participants. amusement was trying to retrieve a for conservation projects. Just a few days before departure, group of Chinese tourists heading for news came from Madagascar that one the airport exit convinced that they The best laid plans of our lodges had become inaccessible had reached Madagascar. We finally The next year was spent meticulously because of a severe landslide. Back to reached our destination at 2am, just planning and costing an itinerary, the drawing board and eventually an 12 hours late. We have never been so based on almost 20 previous trips. alternative was found, not an easy pleased to find Niry, our friend, guide In partnership with Mary and our task during the peak tourist season, and driver waiting patiently for us. friends at Malagasy Tours in but more of that later. With bookings After a few hours sleep we headed Madagascar it was decided to go for confirmed, dietary requirements off for an appointment at the the ‘comfortable but flexible’ option established and sleeping arrangements Herbarium of the Botanical and with several small vehicles, taking in decided, we were finally ready to go! Zoological Gardens in Antananarivo. a good cross section of this very large and diverse country. Mid-September An inauspicious start A daytrip to Angavokely to early October were fixed as dates, On the 14th of September we set off We had built in a few days ‘us’ time to perhaps not the peak orchid for Heathrow, with some trepidation relax and do herbarium work before flowering season but less likely to but comforted by the thought that we the ‘US’ contingent arrived. However, be affected by cyclones, leeches and knew at least some of the participants, most of the group had come early and ➤ 14 March 2021 March 2021 15 MADAGASCAR ADVENTURE had the same idea of some pre-trip lesson two of group travel was Eulophia ramosa relaxation; not surprising as most learned: everything takes longer than was one of the few were travelling the very long haul anticipated but that more eyes means orchids flowering from the west coast of America. more orchids. This is offset by lesson in the Isalo Massif. Antananarivo is not one of the three that many cameras mean that world’s most exciting cities, so an photography can be a lengthy affair. impromptu daytrip was organized to Angavokely Forest Station, about Ranomafana National Park 60km from the capital. Though few After an overnight stop we reached orchids were in flower, it provided a the first orchid-rich area near pre-taste of travelling in Madagascar, Ranomafana National Park, in the with its varying road conditions and eastern rainforest where we were unforeseen obstacles, such as live, greeted by roadside banks covered in pendulous power cables and large Cynorkis lowiana. The next two days felled trees, barring the route. Cynorkis were spent on different trails in the ridleyi growing in clumps at the base area; although the park was busy and of pine trees was the star of the day. it rained every day (the only time on the trip) there was ample opportunity On the way to lose the crowd and discover Early the next day we met up with orchids. The highlights were the the rest of the expedition team: four terrestrials Cheirostylis nuda, Cynorkis drivers / guides and a matching nutans at its peak and Cynorkis peyrotii. number of sturdy four-wheel drive As usual the bulbophyllums vehicles laden with spare car parts, performed, they are one of the few a large supply of bottled water, and genera with species in flower most of ample picnic supplies. We soon learnt the year and included Bulbophyllum lesson one of group travel: that speed leptostachyum and B. francoisii. Even depends on the efficiency of the hotel some angraecoids were out, pretty Angraecum dryadum flowering check-out clerk and on the time Aerangis fastuosa and Angraecum profusely at the roadside management of the slowest participant. dryadum. However, the find of the near Ranomafana. A long journey south lay ahead, trip was a diminutive but unusual traversing spectacular scenery, with Gastrodia. Later it was matched with a chance to see the country’s unique old herbarium material, beautifully fauna and flora, and even some drawn by Deborah Lambkin, declared orchids. The programme allowed for new to science and became famous in one to two full days’ drive followed by the press as ‘the world’s ugliest orchid’ two nights in an orchid-rich area. or Gastrodia agnicellus. This was a The main stop that day was Col remarkable discovery, given that it Tapia, a well-known orchid locality has no leaves and its flowers are but now somewhat depleted by fire. hidden beneath leaf litter. It did not It was the first opportunity for group take long for the group to become bonding; comparing varying extremes totally engaged by the many strange of protective clothing, footwear, creatures of the Madagascan rain- camera gear and fitness. After a forest and especially enthralled by thorough search among the granite the tiniest of orchids. boulders and under the tapia trees (Uapaca bojeri) just one flowering Isalo and return to orchid was found: Eulophia ibityensis, a Antananarivo ‘The find of the trip was a diminutive pretty terrestrial endemic to this area. The next main stop was Isalo, two Gastrodia. New to science, it became Lemurella pallidiflora is a small twig epiphyte Aeranthes schlechteri flowers suspended from A lengthy hunt for two pairs of lost days’ drive further south. It was in Mantadia National Park. a long inflorescence at Mantadia National Park. spectacles was less successful. Here becoming warmer and drier with famous as ‘the world’s ugliest orchid’’ ➤ 16 March 2021 March 2021 MADAGASCAR ADVENTURE dramatic scenery of eroded sandstone vegetables and leave the rest’. A reserve scrambling down to a became inaccessible due to a landslide mountains and a vegetation of palms supervising teacher soon rectified the Pandanus bog to see one of the few and quick substitutions had to be and many succulents, including situation and produced an omelette, surviving Eulophiella roempleriana made.