Andy Oakley

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Pokey

With Sam deposed, Charley took over the role of leader for our final day on Madagascar’s shores. We had breakfast in a cafe across the road from the Hotel Anjary and then split into 2 groups. One group’s task was to retrieve the luggage, which had been left in the Hotel Cappucino for us. The other group set abot getting transport to the airport and buying souvenirs. With my rucksack being one of those left on the runway, I went with the first group, but I was sceptical as to how many rucksacks we’d fnd. Thankfully, a full completement of rucksacks were found, along with a note from Nanah. He’d been earlier to collect his belongings and would see us later. The joy well-done, we also set about buying souvenirs. Bottles of Three Horses, T-shirts from Le Champion supermarket and an excellent tin Air Madagascar plane would perhaps remind me more of the grountry and my sparsely-clad wrestlers.

We had lunch in the Hotel Colbert where the steak and crisps for main course and strawberry juice came highly recommended. Here, Nanah reappeared and gave Martin a boat whilst we thanked him with some bicycle lights.

We left “the vibrant city with some crazy characters” behind and travelled to the airport for 3.00 pm with out flight at about 9.00 pm. We queued for ages and there was a moment of panic when this very journal was lost, but thankfully retrieved shortly from a member of the airport security staff.

Once airbourne, and being a Sunday, we completed the final round of the Sunday night Pub Quiz.

To cut the long, long journey short, we landed in Nairobi where we all stayed on the plane and agin in Charles de Gaulle, Paris where we didn’t. We reached Heathrow at about 1.00 pm (Monday 11th) where we all bid fond farewells to Suzanne. Relieved to find the trusty Bassetts’ bus ON TIME we embarked and soon found ourselves sipping ice cold milk and chewing rather nice (blue!) Allsorts at a service station amidst the metropolis that is Birmingham. It being 5.00 pm and we being ahead of schedule, we telephoned our loved ones to be picked up at 6.00 pom. All were pleased to speak to their parents, except Mike, who, much to his disgust found that steak and chips awaited him at home. All eagerly awaited a hot bath and a comfortable bed.

We were finally there. Home.

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Sam

Next day’s target was to get back to Tana and involved getting to the airport in the morning. Everything went smoothly until it was time to get onthe plane when it became clear that through poor design, there was not enough luggage spce for all the passenger’s luggage when the plane seats were full. Although I would have been happy to sit on my rucksack as we had had to do with every other transport we had been on, this was not allowed and we had to leave our luggage sitting on the runway, safe in the knowledge there would be another plane for it ‘in a few hours’.

On landing in Tana we had to now retrieve our luggage. We did not have time to wait at the airport and we felt it was the airlines responsibility to have our luggage sent to our hotel, free of charge. However, the representative we spoke to was having none of this and it took some forceful persuasion from Suzanne to get them to agree.

We took a minibus from the airport, ‘sans’ most of our rucksacks, to the hotel in which we stayed in at the beginning of our expedition, Hotel Cappucine. However, on arriving it surfaced that no rooms had been booked and we would have to look for somewhere else. However, the owner offered the use of her phone to do this and we soon found somewhere in the other end of town. Next transport was taxis as we all trundled off o the Hotel Anjary.

Now settled in this hotel we still ad the problem of luggage. Half the group’s luggage had actually fit on the plane but the rest of us were not able to change and had to go out in what we had been wearing for the past few days. As people were generally feeling better we decided to do the awards in the restaurant we ate in that night which, coincidentally, we shared with the other group. The awards and speeches were all performed and received with aplomb and all those involved should be praised.

Once again it was a depleted group that hit the clubs (Amnesia) with some ill, notably Suzanne who had been feeling off colour the past few days, but most tired.

The next day’s jobs were to retrieve the luggage, which had arrived at the Cappucine late the previous evening, find Nanah who we had not seen in 24 hours and organise transport to the airport to go home. Thankfully all were done successfully and my unlucky reign as leader was finally over. I passed the crown on to Charley, safe in the knowledge I could chill all the way home.

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Sam

I took over leadership from Katie after an excellent lunch of octopus curry at ‘Les Mangroves’. The first job was to get us back to Tulear where we were hoping to be able to book a room at the Dera. Transport was to be two pick-up trucks. Although still extremely cramped they were a comfortable alternative to pirogues. On reaching Dera we had our first problem. It was fine to eat there in the evening but they had no spare rooms. However, they let us store our kit there while we searched for somewhere else. Nanah, Katie, Oli and myself left the others at the hotel to try another. We took a 2 minute pousse-pousse ride to the Hotel Sud that had plenty of rooms, all of which were very spacious. On the way back to the Dera to tell the others Oli and myself were unfortunate enough to hail the town’s slowest pousse-pousse and the driver/puller walked the whole way bac, making a two minute journey last 10.

Once settled at the hotel the next couple of hours were taken up with souvenir shopping in the town with things ranging from wood carvings of semi-naked wrestlers to Lacoste shirts (fake).

That night was to be our awards night and so once returned from shopping we dressed up in our chic evening wear – sarongs for the girls, bow ties and cummerbunds for the boys. We then made our way to the restaurant, our fantastic attire unfortunately hidden under the black of night. Once settled down to our meal unfortunately things once again were no so rosy as various people were feeling ill. Therefore the awards were abandoned and the group was split into two; those who wished to dance the night away in the haven that was Za Za, and those preferring the tranquility of their hotel beds.

After a strenuous night on the dance floor (Us: when do we go Nanah? Nanah: We go when we stop having fun!) we left the Za Za Club in the early hours. Outside the building was a giant congregation of pousse-pousses, each eager for you to be their client. We splt into twos, a boy and girl for safety reasons, and chose a strapping bloke to pull us. Half way through the joyney, most of the boys swapped places with their drivers and we all raced back to the hotel. Dave and I were engaged in a tight battle until he took a completely wrong turn, completely oblivious to his driver shouting from the back. Needless to say, we all got back knackered.

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Katie

We woke up, albeit a little bleary-eyed after an evening of high activity, much boogying (to the Spice Girls amongst others) and even heated passion in a couple of cases (yes, Sally and Pokey finally got together) at the infamous Zaza, to a breakfast of honey, break and hot chocolate at the Dera. After which we were greeted by a veritable cavalry of pousse-pousse to take us to the docks where our road to paradise awaited us.

Three suspicious-looking boats bobbed around on the murky water in which did not dare look too closely as I and several other dare-devils ‘volunteered’ to test out the vehicle. Martin was looking sceptical and somewhat anxious, as our boat, without leader, drifted out to sea (leaving seven of the team stranded). Yet it was decided after an excruiciating half-hour of “will we ever get back” that they were sufficiently road-worthy to take us the two-hour journey across the idyllic, turquoise water under the perfectly blue clouless sky to the paradise beach at Anakao. Hmm, well that was the initial expectation. The journey did, much to everyone’s surprise, pass without incident (a couple of members were sea-sick) and one boat had to have water bailed out, but hey that’s nothing for this country), until, that is, after landing up on the short, the sky begins to turn a worry dark grey and the wind beings to pick up. Great fun — a tropical storm.

As Oli and I walked along the beach (which incidentally had a couple of six-toed foot prints – had Sam already been here?) to get to what we initially thought to be our resting place for the night, the rest of the group sat on the beach and watched the storm loom ominously closer. As it came to pass, the hotel actually had no rooms available for us, nor could we camp on the beach, so after a little persuasion of the villagers, Nanah found us huts for the night.

Sitting on the veranda, we became somewhat battered as the breeze grew to a gale and the showers grew to downpours. After a discussion of our plan of action, acompanied of course by THB, an extorsionately expensive lunch was munched.

Thankfully, the storm did not last long, merely an hour or so, by which time it was late afternoon. After my initial hysteria of “what the hell are we going to do?” I became somewhat calmed and pensive as to just what was the meaning of life, as I wandered along the beach dropping amazing sea-shells into my now, somewhat disfigured basket.

With the evening approaching most ofthegroup gatheed on the beach to watch the sun sink softly behind the horizon, turning the sky from blue to pink to black.

Now, almost completely soothed and somewhat romantised by the view before us, there was just time for a game of 7′s outside on the long picnic benches before a tea of fish, fish and more fish.

Nice Dave, once again, lived up to his name and reputation when upon Kay’s sickness, wondered if we were both alright.

The huts themselves were hot, stuff but a great thankyou must be delivered to the villagers themselves for letting a bunch of frightful loud westerners inhabit their homes for the evening, and in some cases – Kay, even break their ornaments.

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Sally

The last day of trekking came quickly and it was an extremely sad occasion because although I was looking forward to the R and R, this signified the beginning of the end. We walked in a long meandering line from the Piscine Naturelle into Ranohira laden with our packs for the last time. As Hannah and Katie proceeded to perorm the Hokey Kokey, I couldn’t believe that this was the end of our trekking. In a way it was a relief that we had made our final objectives but it also meant that in about a week’s time we would be going home. Ranohira came into view as the Gravy Diggers sang their last medley together. It was the end of an era.

We all smelt really bad, not that we particularly noticed, and so some of us bought T-shirts and changed into them. What a refreshing change! Our first mission was to eat lunch – not rice, and have a good cold drink. We stored our packs and at lunch. It was then time for a swift wander around Ranohira before departing for our second football match of the expedition.

There were lots of strange men in little bits of leather playing football which was a bit scary really. Unfortuantely we lost the football and were also cursed by a paricularly nasty boy in the annoying group of children which surrounded us on the goal line. These children were a cause of much distress to some as they kept poking and prodding us and would not leave us alone.

After the football we walked back into Ranohira to find the hotel. There were very few women around but lots of men holding hands! Ranohira was the first place that we had met hostility and that we found the people quite strang. It was a very uncomfortable place here you were never 100% sure about being there. Perhaps it was because it is subjected to more tourists being next to the national park and so they resent it and feel bitter than their lives are continuously invade by foreigners.

I was extremely relieved when I found out that we were not staying at the Hotel Joyeux Lemeiurs which had been the worst “hotel” that we had stayed in. Instead we were staying at the Hotel Chez Thomas which was much cleaner with nicer toilets. They did not have a restaurant and so we cooked on our tangias outside the rooms.

That night was a particularly restless night for many. In our room (Charley, Han, Katie, Nat and me) the night started off by Nat almost setting fire to our room by burning the Mosquito repeller which Han and I had to put out in a mad rush of stamping as Nat, Katie and Charley went into hysterics. In the middle of the night we awoke to find that Katie was feeling very sick and so Han, Charley, Nat and I decided to have our midnight feast of chocolate and biscuits. Katie at this point rushed outside to be sick and came back in a few minutes later feeling much better so we offered her some chocolate. This was followed by a mass trek to the toilet before going back to sleep. No one slept in as we were all rudely awoken by a very loud inconsiderate turkey. Other strange happenings in the night had occurred including Werthers being attacked by a load of scorpions which were stopped by him closing his sleeping back tightly around him!

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Dave

It was that time of day usually reserved for breakfast television presenters and smugglers; indeed, it was half-past-four in the morning that the intrepid squadron arose to take on the challenege of crossing the baron and hostile desert that was the Isalo National Park. And at the end of our quest? — the post of gold at the end of the rainbow, the greatest accolade, the tomb of Tuten Kahmon, a large deep pool: the Piscine Naturelle, into whose tranquil waters we could plunge, breaking the aqueous serenity like ducks to water.

But sadly some failed to realise the importance of our mission, despite the thorough and comprehensive briefing that I, Q, had administered to my aspiring Bonds only the night before. It still grieves me to report that there were some members of the team severely lacking in moral fibre and unable to shake a leg at the appropriate hour. Despite the small minority of cads and their tardy reveille, the piscine marsh was not hindered.

With cat-like tread, we began our stealthy trek – pausing to watch the sunrise on its rebellious subjects, we began the ascent of the formidable Isalo massifs which proved the blockade between us and freedom. Those imposing hills, the searing sun and the heavy storm of pervasive locusts proved little challenge for strong-minded expeditioners and we lunched by a stream, eating the pestilent creatures that had conspired to block our path in a glorious gesture of poetic justice.

And it was proved to the treacherous doubters, who cast aspirtions on the wisdom of a 4.30 am start, that Q knows best. The lions share of the afternoon was spent reaping the benefits of our physical challenege in the ice torrents of the Piscine Naturelle. So, having demonstrated the capabilities of a fully operation fighting unit, we were only left the task of proving our superior intellect. The combined forces of Sam, Oli, Kay and Katie met this challenge admirably, scoring a full ten out of ten on their joker round of the Sunday-night Pub Quiz. Today proved as stiff a test as any rebel alliance will ever meet and a glimmer of hope for the continuation of the Human race.

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Sally

After an uneasy night’s sleep, when wild dogs roamed around the campsite we awoke to breakfast of soup and bread. The guides then led us into the Canyon des Singes where we came close up to the first ring-tailed lemurs that we had seen on the expedition. The canyon was a lush green paradise in the midst of the hot, baron landscape of Isalo. We sepnt the morning trekking deep into the canyon, clambering over rocks which, had we had our big rucksacks on – would have been near impossible. A group photo was taken by the guides, of us all on a huge rock. Unfortuantely, some photos were ruined by an extremely rude foreign man walking straight in front of us.

We returned to the campsite for lunch which conssted of Tuc biscuits (Which we soon became very sick of), sardines, tuna and good old Laughing Cow cheese. The guides did not want to set off again too early so Martin took the opportunity to remove min and Graeme’s jiggers. There was no pain (it’s all in the mind) while Martin was digging around with a pin in my little toe, but he successfully removed my jigger to leave a slight crater in my toe which I have to admit did sting slightly when iodine was put into it.

In the afternoon, we set off on a shorter trek in the Canyon du Rats. At one point an adventurous group set off to clamber over the rocks, to explore the nearby area. About a quarter of an hour later they returned with Graeme looking like a drowned rat because he’d falled into a sacred pool thus he was now blessed with eternal life. We then returned to the campsite, sighting several tobs on the way.

Dinner consisted of dried food and pasta. I must say that I feel sory for Suzanne and Catherine because both the vegetable chilli and curry (which are exactly the same) are exceptionally grim. At least the meat ones are edible. We all got an early night’s sleep as we had to get up at 4.30 am the next morning. I had the job, as leader, of getting everyone up and ready to leave by six. Everyone was ready by this time except Suzanne and Martin who must be the two most disorganised people on our expedition!

Taken from the Madagascar Team 1 Journal, originally by Oli

After a fairly leisurely get-up, I took over the leader’s whistle from Catherine, at about 10.00 am. As we left the Hotel Lemurien (seemingly the local haunt of the towns cockroach population) and headed for Isalo National Park, I was expecting this to be the highlight of the expedition.

We stopped for lunch at midday, when we arrived at a beautiful spot by a river and took ample time to consume and digest our french loaves with various fillings. After an extended dinner break, we set off at about 2.00 pm. It proved to be a comparatively easy day, as we covered 12 km in roughly 5 hours, including lunch. This meant we arrived at the campsite just about 3.00 pm. It was superbly situated under a cluster of Mangrove trees and was like a gateway into the canyons.

After the customary task of tent-erection, Graeme, Sam and myself decided to venture into the Canyon des Singes (pronounced sinj!). It proved worthwile, as we were suddenly encapsulated in a hidden paradise. Following a good half-hour’s exploration, we were swiftly persuaded to return o base camp, by what sounded like the deranged warblings of a drowning beast!

Although we were impressed with our adventure, on returning, the rest of Madagascar Team One seemed more concerned with removing jiggers from their feet! Mike amassed a formidable total of 3 jiggers (one of which was apparently a beast) while Martin and Nanah proved themselves worthy jigger surgeons. A career in medicine surely beckons for them both.

And so dusk fell, with great discretion. With the night came a chill and with the chill out cam ethe recently purchased Malagasy rugs. As we polished off another fine meal (disturbed only by a hairy caterpillar, trying to crush our high spirits by stinging Werthers; who coped valiantly) a storm brewed in the distance. We were able to watch the lightning, miles away, piercing the grey skies, safe in the knowledge that our rugs would protect us!