The journey to Ethiopia began as a discussion at the end of an incredible adventure through Madagascar of “where next”? With an extensive list of experiences accompanied by an impressive biodiversity list from Mountain Gorillas to Madame Berthe’s Mouse lemur, all of the cats of the savannahs, from tracking elephants on foot and flying over Lake Natron in an ultralight, to lying in the mud photographing flamingos, staring into Nyiragongo, and tiptoeing through the Tsingy photographing leaping lemurs, the most obvious big destination was Ethiopia. The rare and endangered Ethiopian wolf, grass eating Geladas, and the Walia ibex, became our target species and the challenge to experience Ethiopia in the same style as Tanzania, D.R.C, and Madagascar.
I am a very nature-oriented guide and place a lot of value in the wildlife experience and the value of the wilderness experience. A huge part of the adventures I put together is in the seeking, or the hunt as some would say. I emphasize being the first out, the last in at night, taking the road less travelled, going out-of-season to experience places without hordes of tourists. Ethiopia intimidated me a little with its churches, castles, 100 million people, and AK47 wielding tribes and getting beyond the beaten track even though we had four weeks was going to be a challenge.
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| Bet Giorgis, one of the impressive rock hewn churches of Lalibela. |
Our journey began with a flight to Lalibela, the famous rock-hewn churches where we opted for a whirlwind tour. Our whirlwind tour continued, on to Gondar where we explored the castles of this medieval Kingdom before stopping at our first wildlife destination, the Simien Mountains.
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| One the day of the saint, followers flock to the church. |
We sipped coffee as dawn began to break through the clouds, our tripods set up and time-lapses rolling as the sun slowly revealed the spectacular landscape. Grabbing a flask of coffee and packed breakfast we drove into the park. It was difficult to get far because over every ridge and around every corner a new vista would open up and the never ending urge to try to capture the incredible vistas. Our immediate goal was an area of the park known as Chenek, the best location to find the Walia ibex from where we would work our way back.
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| The magnificent male Walia Ibex of the Simien Mountains. |
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| Walia ibex perched on the cliffs. |
We paused for a coffee and snack, binoculars scanning the mountainsides for the glimpse of this iconic species, finally catching sight of the recurved horns silhouetted against the sky at the top of one of the mountains. Grabbing cameras and lenses we began the scramble, soon realizing that at 4,200m (13,700ft) we were going to have to take it slow despite our excitement. Our huffing and puffing was rewarded as we came around a boulder, and right in front of us the most impressive male ibex lay sleeping. We sat quietly in awe, catching our breath and playing with camera settings. Suddenly a movement off to the right and we realized that there were more. In total 8 mature ibex. Not a bad start to Ethiopian wildlife.
The next target species was the Gelada, a specialized terrestrial, grass eating primate, similar in size to a baboon. We’d already seen some on the drive, but closer to the park entrance was a group that was being researched and thus habituated to humans. We pulled up as the light softened and the Geladas began to make their way back to the cliffs, rapidly feeding on grasses and herbs all the time murmuring.
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| Geladas getting ready to retreat to the safety of the cliffs for the night. |
The next morning we found ourselves on the same verandah, coffee in hand, tripods set up and time-lapses running. After a quick breakfast we loaded the vehicle and left. A long and tight-winding road built by the colonial Italians took us to the base of the Simien Mountains, across the Tacazze river and north to Axum. We stopped for lunch and then ventured to the Stelle park. The oldest Stelle in the park date to 2 AD, glorified tombstones build by kings, and of course each king had to commission a bigger and better stelle. In the middle of the park lies a broken stelle, one that no one is sure ever stood, and if it did why or how it fell.
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