ETHIOPIA JANUARY 2013

ETHIOPIA TRIP REPORT

From 27 December 2012 to 8 January 2013 A friend and l travelled to Ethiopia for 13 days .

We booked the trip with A&K , who provided a private guide throughout the trip . The entire trip was 12 days duration , the last day being a return flight to Harare and Milan as we parted company .

I had heard many times from various people who had travelled to and lived in Ethiopia that it is a must see , must do experience and was intrigued to find out more . The opportunity came up in December and E and myself decided to go for it and have a completely unique experience .

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DAY 1: 27 December 2012

We arrive at 7 o clock in the morning at Ethiopia’s Bole International Airport , landing in the capital which is Addis Ababa having flown in from Milan , on Ethiopian Airlines .

Addis Ababa is the fourth highest capital city in the world and lies at around 7726 feet above mean sea level ( 2355 metres ) .

Upon arrival we were met by a representative from Kibran Tours and driven to the Sheraton Hotel . After settling in at the hotel we were taken on a tour of Addis Ababa . This included visits to :

– The Ethnographic Museum

– Trinity Cathedral

– The National Museum

Overnight : Sheraton Hotel

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DAY 2 : 28 December 2012

This morning we flew from Addis Ababa to Gondar .

From Gonder we took a pontoon boat across Lake Tana to Bahir Dar , stopping along the way to look at some monasteries on the islands in the lake . Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile , as well as being the largest Lake in Ethiopia covering an area of 2156 Km .

Places visited include :

Gondar :

-Gondarine castles

Lake Tana :

– Many birds

Monasteries :

– Ura Kidane Mihret

– Azua Mariam

Source of the Blue Nile River

Overnight : Town of Bahir Dar , at Kuriftu Resort , which is on the shore of Lake Tana

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DAY 3: 29 December 2012

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DAY 4 : 30 December 2012

Drive from Gondar to Simien Mountains National Park , which is a distance of approximately 125 Km and can take up to 4 hours .

The Simien Mountains National Park is 190 km square and achieved world heritage status in 1978

Some of the species we saw here are :

MAMMALS :

Gelada baboon

Walia Ibex

BIRDS :

PLANTS :

Overnight : Siemien Lodge (3260 metres , highest lodge in Africa )

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DAY 5 : 31 December 2012

Great day in Simien Mountains National Park .

The scenery is stunning , the air a bit thin and the experience quite unique .

Today we were driven from Simien Lodge to a campsite further inside the park , called Chenek . This is a place where there are regular sightings of Walia Ibex . We saw them first across a valley at about 500 metres , but then were rewarded with a much closer look later on at another location , there was one below us moving in the open.

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DAY 6 : 1 January 2013

Today we were driven from the Simien Mountains National Park returning to Gondar .

Overnight : Goha Hotel ( Gondar )

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DAY 7 : 2 January 2013

We flew Ethiopian Airlines from Gondar to Lalibela

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Tags: Addis Ababa, Adwa, Blue Nile Falls, Ethiopia, Gondar, Haile Selassie . Menelik, Lake Tana, Lalibela, Paul Grobler, Queen of Sheba