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 Posted 17th  February 2009

Photos of the Betsiboka River by Simon:

Simon Osborne and Sylvain Lelongjust have just finished kayaking a section of the Betsiboka River, finishing at the river mouth in Mahajanga. This brought Simon full circle on his Malagasy venture started in 2007 and finishing up where it started was something he really wanted to complete. Sylvain is now the very first visitor to have paddled a local river, from head to spill.

The shuttle cart to Betsiboka:

 

Miles wide river:

Near Maevatanana where they got on the river, narrower than elsewhere:

Along Ankarafantsika National Park forests:

Camp on an isolated family dryland!!!

Muddy get in at low tide:

Grande Aigrette flight over a cuckoo paddler

Rescuing a Chameleon:

They can swim but this one was very far from land:

Somewhere on Ambato Boeni main street.

Very high water levels:

Stormy weather over Mahajanga coast:

Photos taken by Simon and Sylvain, copied off Gilles' blog on playak. http://playak.net/profiles/blogs/betsiboka-la-rouge-suite-et

Older update from Gilles here:  http://playak.net/profiles/blogs/sea-kayaking-news

14th  February 2009

Message from Simon:

After four months of kayaking in Madagascar I am now back where I started in Majunga. I didn't complete the circumnavigation but the journey I have taken has given me so much. I have experienced the variety of environments Madagascar has to offer and I have taken time to understand the culture of this unique island. The wildlife and people here are like no where else. Every village I stopped at I was welcomed with open arms and a warm smile. The highlights for me have to be setting foot in villages never visited by a white person and interacting with the fascinated locals. Using a kayak has allowed me to reach some of the remote corners of the country from isolated tropical islands to deep into the mangrove forests to high up in the mountain gorges. I feel privileged to have had this opportunity and I am looking forward to looking at the photos and video at home when I am sure what I have just completed will sink in.

Simon will now head back to the capital, Antananarivo, and fly back to the UK next week. He wanted to express his thanks to Kenya Airways for helping him with his flight home during the troubles Madagascar is facing at the moment.

 http://www.kenya-airways.com/home/

The next up date might be from Simon himself hen he gets back to Cornwall.

Friday the 13th  February 2009

Voicemail Message - click here

On the map you can see the Betsiboka river, Maevantanana where Simon and Silvan got on the river, Marovoay that Simon mentions in his voicemail message and Mahajanja where the river becomes a delta and enters the sea.

Mahajanja is where Simon and Phil started the expedition in 2007 and it will be where Simon will finish the adventure tomorrow in 2009.

Photo sent by Simon (I don't know where of?)

12th  February 2009

Ah, would you look at the wee Leprechaun... or is he the pot of gold???

Voicemail Message - click here (gap at beginning)

Simon and Silvan are now kayaking in sea kayaks down the Betsiboka River in the north of Madagascar. The river is in flood at the moment as this is the rainy season. It is very wide and fast flowing with lots of whirlpools and boils to contend with. Simon says the sea kayaks are very good for the conditions and they are making fantastic progress, maybe even 100km today. Ahead of them is a section of mangroves which they want to get through in one day as it would not be an hospitable place to camp. At they moment Si and Silvan are camping beside some huts where the locals, yet again, are showing their welcome and friendliness. Listen to the voicemail message to hear how Simon is getting on.

Betsiboka river showing the earth red colour. This photo would have been taken much further upstream than where Simon and Silvan are at the moment, but Silvan would have paddled this section in the past.:

I also Found this blog about kayaking in Madagascar. Definitely a white water kayaker's future destination Some nice photos.

 http://www.dragorossi.co.uk/?p=13

11th  February 2009

Message from Simon:

Pretty miserable 24 hours. We spent 8 hours in Antananarivo bus station. It's not the nicest of places on a good day. In the rain when the whole place is a mud bath is not the best time to pass a day wondering if your bus will leave. We arrived at the start point of my next adventure at 2am this morning only to find all of the hotels shut up. We ended up sleeping next to a building in the rain until 6am. Today was not a good day to start the paddle north so we have taken the day to work out what the river will be like and to rest. The river is massive and by that I mean it's hard to say where it is, as it is all around the village. We hope to get a man powered trailer to the waters edge and from there paddle through rice fields to the main channel early in the morn. This should be a very different trip and we are both unsure what to expect along the way.

Betsiboka river in flood imagery:

Betsiboka river estuary:

Wikipedia says:

Betsiboka River is a 525 km long river in central-north Madagascar. It flows northwestward and empties to Bombetoka Bay, forming a large delta. The river is distinct for its red-coloured water, which is caused by river sediments. The river carries an enormous amount of reddish-orange silt to the sea. Much of this silt is deposited at the mouth of the river or in the bay. It is dramatic evidence of the catastrophic erosion of northwestern Madagascar. Removal of the native forest for cultivation and pastureland during the past 50 years has led to massive annual soil losses approaching 250 metric tonnes per hectare (112 tons per acre) in some regions of the island, the largest amount recorded anywhere in the world.

Simon was up in Gilles' re-forestation retreat, a small but important project to try and combat the erosion mentioned above.

For the latest BBC news on the situation in Madagascar, click the link below. More news from Madagascar can be found on the BBC news website.

9th http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7878439.stm 

10th http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7881319.stm

10th  February 2009

Message from Simon:

So my plan is get a taxi bus tomorrow to Maevatanen and then set off on Wednesday down the Betsoboka river. It should take us 4 days but we hope to do it in 3 to give me a day to spare. If not its straight onto the plane after the river. Silvan is keen because he paddled the river from its source with the American paddlers and wants to be the first person to paddle a river from source to sea in mad. The river looks massive and it will be at its highest at this time of year. It will be very flat and red though. I have no idea what the challenges will be but we have 2 get out points if it turns out to be a nightmare. It is 240km roughly to the Majunga and the open sea. . There should be a lot of crocks so no swimming!

Si x

Betsiboka river:

Betsiboka river estuary:

Wikipedia says:

Betsiboka River is a 525 km long river in central-north Madagascar. It flows northwestward and empties to Bombetoka Bay, forming a large delta. The river is distinct for its red-coloured water, which is caused by river sediments. The river carries an enormous amount of reddish-orange silt to the sea. Much of this silt is deposited at the mouth of the river or in the bay. It is dramatic evidence of the catastrophic erosion of northwestern Madagascar. Removal of the native forest for cultivation and pastureland during the past 50 years has led to massive annual soil losses approaching 250 metric tonnes per hectare (112 tons per acre) in some regions of the island, the largest amount recorded anywhere in the world.

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