Not much. Most of today was spent driving the
5-6hours to Ranohira, a small town in the middle of nowhere. Turns out the gem
mines are ~80km from here so we’ll visit them later on. We’re now staying at
the Hotel Orchidee (single double 36,000Ar). Decent rooms, plus the toilets
have seats! I also met a couple of English tourists who’ve been shadowing the
exact same route as us (we’d met their driver several times before). Turns out they
paid 600Euro (!!) for their car! So I guess we didn’t do too badly after all...
Sleep time. Both Arno and I are still a bit
sick.
Tips for travellers: If you’re planning on
visiting Ranohira and the Isalo park by car, make sure it’s high enough to drive
on the park roads. You save 30,000 – 35,000Ar by providing your own car and
driver. Also be prepared for high entrance and guide fees. According to Lonely
Planet they are non-negotiable. 25,000Ar entry per person plus another 24,000
to >68,000Ar for the guided tours depending on how many people and where you
want to go.
