Hawassa

I came here directly from the Bale Mountains. In contrast, it is very low and has a tropical feel. Because of it’s clean streets, fresh air, and friendly people, it is probably my favorite city in Ethiopia so far. There is also a large lake with an eponymous name. Great birding in this area.

The central of town is marked by a twirling spire that stands in front of the main church. I took this just after dawn. Below is the start of the annual ½ marathon in Hawassa. First place time was 62 minutes, incredibly fast.

 

Fisherman primarily catch Tilapia here. It’s usually prepared by frying it in oil and serving it whole. One of my favorite Ethiopian foods. In the background you can see Bajajis, 3-wheeled taxis that are numerous in towns outside of Addis.

Pink Backed Pelican Marabou stork (almost as ugly as my brothers)

Hippos – One of the most impressive animals I’ve seen anywhere. They spent a lot of time under water and emerged suddenly with loud snorting sounds – it can be quite startling if they come up close to your boat.

Bale Mountains Trekking

As I was hoping, I was was able to return to the Bale Mountains for an extensive trek. The weather was very cold – there were blistering winds, hail, and rain. We also got a day of very sunny weather though! Altitude was ~4000m. It’s a beautiful park with a significant amount of endemism because of the unique environment.

Finally got up close to some warthogs. They hobble around on their front knees to get their snout down on the ground in order to eat. Looks quite awkward but they can still move pretty quick while doing this.

Rock Hyrax

Very shy rodents about the size of a house cat. They live among rocky areas and small caves in cliffs.

Web River Falls – About 30m high with a small cave behind it.

Sodota Plains and Muracha Valley – thousands of mice and mole-rats are constantly scurrying around these areas. The ground under my feet caved in more than once because of the extensive tunneling going on there.

The vegetation of the park was quite different from anything I’ve seen before. With temperatures frequently dipping below freezing, there were still a bunch of miniature looking palm trees and bright Red Hot Poker flowers. Very strange to see in an alpine environment.

Ethiopian wolves (zoom in) – The rarest canine species on the planet, only ~450 left. They have beautiful red-brown coats and mostly hunt rodents. We were really lucky to see them.

Ethiopan Easter

Easter for the orthodox church was on May 5^th (sorry, just now had a chance to upload this). After 2 months of fasting, the whole country is now enjoying a “feasting period” for the next 2 months. Almost every household that could afford it slaughtered goats and chickens on Easter – it was bizarre to have the streets so crowded with livestock for the weekend.

Grass Market – the streets were lined with grass vendors from outside the city. Ethiopians tie grass around their forehead throughout Easter weekend and also spread more fragrant grass on the floors of their homes for holidays and special occasions.

Herds of goats and their owners were on every street corner. Animals reserved or already purchased are marked with paint.

Savior of the World Cathedral – crowds of pilgrims filled the area around this church for the week leading up to Easter. I went on Easter day to observe the festivities, but the place was eerily quiet and almost deserted. I was very surprised – it turns out Ethiopians spend Easter in their homes with their families and friends.

Awash National Park

This past weekend I took a trip to Awash National Park which is about a five hour drive east of Addis lying in the Great Rift Valley. It was really dry, really hot, and dominated by thick vegetation making it difficult to spot game. When I did see animals, it was tough to get a picture of them because they would dash into the bushes. I had a wonderful time though and was fortunate to see a lot of animals. My favorite from the trip was Salt's Dik-dik, a tiny little antelope about the size of a small dog. With their big brown eyes and over-sized ears, these guys win the prize for cutest animal in Ethiopia. Unfortunately they were so small and quick that I didn't get a good picture of one. Here some of pictures I took...

 The resident ostrich at Awash Lodge. This guy was unnervingly comfortable around humans, and may actually think he is a human. He would come stand next to me with an expectant look on his face. Very cool to spend time with him.
 

Beisa Oryx -- beautiful white antelopes with long horns and an intricate black pattern on their faces. My camera doesn't have a very good zoom so this was the closest shot I could get. It was really fun watching them through binoculars.

Giant tortoise -- not sure what species it is, but this guy was sure a surprise to come across! In the middle of this desicatted park it was just hanging out in the underbrush, apparently very comfortable in the absence of water.

Common warthog -- these animals are pretty impressive. They don't like people very much and are much bigger than I anticipated. Larger than the ones I saw in the Bale Mountains.

Awash River Gorge and the Awash Falls -- whenever I travel outside of Addis I am always astounded at the scenery and natural beauty of this country.
 

 

Sodore
On the way back from Awash, we stopped at the small spa town of Sodore and took a short hike. It was a really hot but pleasant hike.


Driving through Ethiopia, it’s rare if you look out the window and don’t see any cows, but I though this was a particularly attractive scene.  
 

Blue sterling -- this pretty bird was ubiquitous around Sodore. Usually, I can’t get close enough to birds to take a decent picture but this one was willing to pose for me. 

Vervet monkeys -- these guys are smart, playful, and numerous, but most importantly they are thieves. They will steal your food if you aren’t looking out. I wasn’t victimized myself but I saw them carrying out an operation from a distance on some unaware Ethiopians.  

A traditional woven house made in the style of the Sidamo people.
 

Muger River Gorge

This week I took a short 2-day trip north out of Addis to the Muger River Gorge. Taking public transport in Ethiopia isn’t incredibly pleasant; you rarely have a seat to yourself as they cram as many people into a bus as possible. However, it was well worth the trip. It was a beautiful place and I got to see some Gelada monkeys as well! While the 100m waterfall was dry, I was told it fills up after the rainy season (Sept-Oct) so hopefully I’ll take another trip back then. 

 

 

Bale Moutains

Here are some pictures I took on my trip to Bale Mountains National Park. I was only there for 24 hours, so unfortunately I only saw about 5% of the park. Hopefully, I will return in the next couple months and do some more extensive trekking. It was a beautiful place and animals were incredibly abundant.

 

Mountain Nyala – only ~2500 left on the planet. Equivalent in size to the moose and they are very graceful animals.

 

Menelik’s bushbuck – endemic to Ethiopia. About the size of a small deer, but much less skittish than deer you’d find in the US. 

 

Anubis monkey/baboon – the most common primate in Africa, still exciting for me though! They travel around in open areas in groups of generally 20+

Camels – saw these guys on the road trip back. Also saw some ostriches and warthogs but they were too quick for me to snap a photo of them.