Ethiopia

Have just returned from two weeks in Ethiopia traveling with Altiplano Bird Tours. It is the year 2004 there! We saw a total of 395 birds, 228 of them being new. We had excellant company, a lovely group and had a real good laugh. The accommodation was very mixed, from one extreme to the other. We can laugh about it now but at the time it all seemed pretty grim. The food was worse than I imagined, we lived on Cuppa soups, biscuits and Coca Cola, but we survived! The only down side to the trip was the birdguide, Aziz Ahmed of Birding Ethiopa, who was well out of his depth. He had no knowledge or interest of anything smaller than a chicken and the sights they inhabited. He failed to do any homework on the sights we were to visit meaning we missed out on many 'wanted' birds.  Infact, after the first week he totally gave up and hardly got out the van. Transport was arranged through Roha Tours who left vehicle engines running at all times making filming almost impossible. We would not recommend Aziz Ahmed as a bird guide. After a few days, Kev was put in the front seat as our main 'spotter' and made an excellent job. 

The country was very green as we arrived just after the rains had stopped. Aid and charity workers were still there and we got the feeling that the country was still only one step away from starvation again. Animals grazed every piece of land, where crops should have been growing. The population was huge, again making self sufficiency very difficult.

Places we visited included Addis Ababa, Awash National Park, Wondo Genet, Bale Mountains, Negele Borena, Yabello and Lake Langano. A huge distance in such a short time, but very enjoyable.

We would definately recommend a birdwatching trip to Ethiopia.