Ambola

We wanted to visit this remote park, Tsimanampesotsa, to see a unique species of baobab so we took a taxi about an hour up a sand road to another beach area, Ambola. This turned out to be one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever visited and we were the only guests so had it all to ourselves. The hotel was very basic without any running water (we used buckets for washing and to flush the toilet), but the food was very good and mostly straight out of the sea. After asking if there was good snorkeling, one of the hotel staff drove us a few kilometers up the deserted beach and dropped us off so we could float back with the current. It worked great and we were surprised to find more variety and quantity of tropical fish than expected, though they were all small. If this reef were protected, it would certainly become a world-class diving and snorkeling area.
We spent one morning in the park doing some walks and admiring the very unique baobabs. There’s also a huge salt lake here that changes color as the sun changes position – very beautiful. During certain times of year there are huge flocks of flamingos, though there were only a few around during our visit.
It was a very good visit and much nicer than the more popular Anakao beach area, but it was again stinking hot at ~100F (nearly 40C).Read more