Wildlife Of Ethiopia - Truly an Outstanding Wildlife Expedition

[Nature Traveler]

What an amazing wildlife destination Ethiopia is. For endemics and interesting fauna, there are few places on earth that can top Ethiopia. Take a look at this trip report and I am sure you will agree. Cheers,

 

Coke

 

Here is the trip report:

http://www.cokesmith...d_Ethiopia.html

Edited September 15, 2012 by Nature Traveler

[Game Warden]

Coke, have you seen this topic? (Re Ethiopian Wolf)

[Rainbirder]

I really enjoyed this report ....thanks Coke!!!

 

Ethiopia seems very attractive but it looks like the accommodation in some areas is pretty dire which puts me off a bit!

That strange "dog" looked very intriguing!

[kittykat23uk]

Wow! Ethiopia has suddenly shot up my list of potential destinations. That free business class upgrade will definitely come in handy!

Edited September 15, 2012 by kittykat23uk

[Sangeeta]

Oh wow! What a trip that was. I had already been planning a wolf trip before reading this report, but it has become crystal clear to me how utterly short sighted it would be for me to limit Ethiopia's wildlife to just the wolves! A full expedition is clearly required

 

Tell me, Coke, did you explore fully backed-up camping options for the mountains at all? Or did you not consider that because this was a rainy season trip and thus too unpredictable?

 

Wondering if that may not be one way to beat the bed- buggy lodges/ hotels, at least in the dry season.

 

Rainbirder, our guide in Matusadona NP, Peter Tetlow, lives in Ethiopia these days. He told us that an Ethiopian- American investor is planning on building a lodge in Bale quite soon because of the lack of other options.

Edited September 15, 2012 by Sangeeta

[Game Warden]

Let's hope he'll be offering special Safaritalk member deals...

[Rainbirder]

.........................

 

Rainbirder, our guide in Matusadona NP, Peter Tetlow, lives in Ethiopia these days. He told us that an Ethiopian- American investor is planning on building a lodge in Bale quite soon because of the lack of other options.

 

Perhaps I might wait a year or two!

[Nature Traveler]

Howdy gang! The lodging in Dinsho was the only questionable spot. The rest of the trip the lodging was either good to excellent, so you can work with it. Bishangari, Awash Falls, Simien Lodge, Arbaminch and Goba are all quite nice and more than sufficient. Dinsho can even be skipped if you get everything on the Gaysay plains when you first arrive. So no need to wait! Although interestingly our night in the bed-bud-ridden Dinsho HQ was one of the more precious nights for us... I think the Vodka helped! I can definitely recommend going with our guide Abiy though - he is amazing! His email is in the report and he really made the trip amazing. Another guide would not get you the same experience, that is for sure.

[Nature Traveler]

The proposed lodge in the Bale Mountains sounds very interesting. The area does get a lot of tourists in the high season so I suspect it will fill a niche and perhaps do well.

 

We did originally plan on camping in the Simien mountains, but after some more research about the misery the rainy season can bring there, we opted for a lodge. Interestingly the price of the trip did not go up that much actually, so the camping may save some money but maybe not tons... Camping in the mountains would be amazing for sure - but in the dry season. The rainy season is simply too cold and windy and wet....no fun in a tent. I wanted to stay married so we went the lodging route...

[inyathi]

Wow, fantastic trip and great report, this brings back a few memories of my own Ethiopian safari back in 1999 but also reminds me of all the mammals I didn’t see and places I didn’t go. I think I definitely need to go back some time. I never got to see Swayne’s hartebeest as I didn’t go to Senkelle (clearly a mistake) back then there were still a few in Nechisar National Park but we never found any and I’m pretty sure there now extinct as are the parks lions which I never saw but heard roaring after dark. I think probably the most numerous animals in Nechisar were those ticks you mention, it’s definitely a good idea to stay out of the long grass when in the park, after a brief walk in search of a lark my legs looked like the Serengeti during the migration. Unfortunately the road down in to the Harenna Forest was closed so I never got to go there to look for the Bale monkeys. Certainly if I do go back I’ll have to visit the Simiens those geladas are amazing and are another species I missed due to bad luck, unfortunately I lost the one day that we were due to look for them due to fog at Heathrow Airport.

 

I’m impressed you saw Bright’s/Grant’s gazelles at Abiata Shalla the only mammals I saw were all domestic, standing watching flamingos and other birds from a grassy lake shore surrounded by horses in what’s supposed to be a national park was a bit surreal. It seems following the fall of the loathsome communist Derg regime of Colonel Mengistu many people took advantage of the state of lawlessness and invaded many of the national parks and the authorities have been either unwilling or unable to get them out. So it’s actually fairly amazing just how much wildlife there is left, but much as you say in your report if nothing’s done the future looks pretty bleak.

 

Compared to countries further south the standard of accommodation was pretty poor in Ethiopia but nowhere I stayed was in anyway unbearable. I certainly never encountered any bed bugs or the fleas. Besides the rewards in terms of endemic birds and mammals, landscapes, history and culture far outweighed any issues with shabby accommodation. In fact I think the only thing I really didn’t like was that the only bottled water available anywhere was fizzy, buying still water was almost impossible and drinking tap water inadvisable.