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Atravelynn

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@michael-ibk, the scenery of Sanetti Plateau is breathtakingly beautiful ... and so are your photos!

 

Curious to learn why are the low season prices higher (220 USD) then mid season ones (170 USD) ??!!

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michael-ibk

Glitch

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Those are amazing videos of the vocalizing & chomping wolves, @michael-ibk - and those vocalizing/chomping stills are equally astonishing! Well done, you :)

 

Ali Deghe looks like it's well worth spending the extra time there.

 

hmmm, you've all given me some lovely ideas for Feb! Yay & double yay for your wonderful TRs @Atravelynn, @AndMic and @michael-ibk

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A wonderful feel for the environment and the wildlife that live there - and of course the people. Beautiful pictures of the elusive monkeys and the wolves. Stunning.

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michael-ibk

Thanks@SafariChick, @xelas, @Sangeeta and @TonyQ!

 

Alex, sorry, that link I used is obviously not correct as you pointed out, of course the rates are higher in high season. From BML´s own homepage:

 

http://www.balemountainlodge.com/rate.html

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On 7/30/2017 at 1:18 PM, SafariChick said:

Great photos of the Bale monkeys and the wolves @Atravelynn  We were not lucky enough to see any Bale monkeys. While it is possible to have the Bale monkeys appear from the forest right in front of the vehicle, we spent the better part of 2 days seeking them out.  On a 5-night trip, devoting that much time to monkeys (or any non-wolf species) is possible. With the more typical 3-night stay, as you had, I think luck becomes much more of a factor in monkey viewing.   I wonder if the wolves were generally closer to your vehicles than they were to ours or if your zoom is just better than mine (which I know it is, actually!) Do you know about how far they were? Someone (I think @pault) asked me about how far the wolves were in my report and I have no clue about distances but I asked Mr. Safarichick and he made some estimates which I now can't recall but which are in my trip report!

 

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On 8/2/2017 at 2:59 PM, SafariChick said:

Just fabulous photos, guys! I am a bit jealous that you were permitted to walk and approach the wolves. We were told that it was no longer allowed due to the pressure on the wolf population (this was by our guide who worked for Bale Mountain Lodge). He did let us get out and walk very short distances from the road but not very far. Of course, having a great camera and being a good photog would help too! Love the videos as well!

None of our close photos were on foot.  Our views on foot were distant for the most part, except for a few running wolves that passed by within photo range.  Like all predators, the wolves avoided us.  I recall saying several times when the wolves were just outside on the opposite side of the vehicle from where I was sitting, "Let's get out."  Each time Guide Abiy cautioned that we'd just chase them away.  Following the wolves, at a distance on foot, gave us longer views of them as they trotted across the plateau, but not better views than when they were next to the car.  The ideal setup was wolves next to the road where they pretty much ignored us.  The best way to allow that ideal wolf-viewing setup to happen IMO is maximizing time on the plateau and checking out the actions of the other couple of vehicles that shared the plateau with us. At least once we saw wolves because we first saw another car.  I think 2 cars per sighting was the max though.  Nothing like a Mara crossing.

 

We did traverse the plateau and stray from the road for longer periods of time  to look for giant mole rats and Stark's hare.  So our actions were similar to yours when it came to wolf hunting on foot!

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On 8/2/2017 at 1:56 PM, michael-ibk said:

 

 though it was not so easy taking photos out of breath as we were - the altitude of more than 4,000 m is quite taxing.

I remember the evening after I went "jogging" down the road trying to catch up with wolves in the distance.  I was too sick for dinner and slept off my nausea for about 5 hours.  Lesson learned!

 

I remember this was the very first Wolf we saw on our way in, far off the road, and only when looking at my pictures did I realize there had been a second one.

Funny, I did the exact same thing.  I knew we had seen 2 not far apart, but did not know the camera had caught them.

 

I ran after it afterwards but (obviously) could not keep up with it - but I did see it devour some rodent.

I found that I was running for nothing (actually running to induce nausea) because I was not fast enough to see anything.

 

This one was also on foot. There were three Wolves in total close by (but never actually interacting), they used the Cows to find prey.  Smart wolves--they know the cows flush out the rats.

 

 

And that concludes the Bale part of the report.

Did we like it there?

Hell yeah!

Sums it up perfectly!


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

Weather in Bale compliments of Bale Mountain Lodge, which may be accessible from their home page.  I couldn't find weather on the home page and had better luck searching directly for bale mountain lodge weather.  I like how the site describes the wildlife viewing along with weather.

http://www.balemountainlodge.com/weather.html

 

 

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Dave Williams

Wow, what an epic report. It's taken me a few hours to read and digest, must have taken days in the preparation. Thanks for sharing so much detailed information. I don't see myself being able to persuade my other half that this is the trip for her so it's all the better that at least I have had the opportunity to live the experience through your report. The birding opportunities are amazing and the mammals pretty damn good too.

 

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On 8/12/2017 at 8:35 AM, Atravelynn said:

Great photos of the Bale monkeys and the wolves @Atravelynn  We were not lucky enough to see any Bale monkeys. While it is possible to have the Bale monkeys appear from the forest right in front of the vehicle, we spent the better part of 2 days seeking them out.  On a 5-night trip, devoting that much time to monkeys (or any non-wolf species) is possible. With the more typical 3-night stay, as you had, I think luck becomes much more of a factor in monkey viewing.


Actually we stayed at Bale 4 nights but I was sick one day so that day I really did nothing.  So three full days minus one being sick meant really two full days for wildlife-viewing, plus the afternoon we drove through the Sanetti Plateau on the way to the lodge and then the morning we left, we did devote a bit of time looking for wildlife.  But we didn't do that kind of searching for the monkeys that you did, so that is good advice for those going to Bale: devote that time if they want to see them.

 

And it makes me feel better to understand that none of your closer sightings were on foot.  We really didn't see other vehicles out there that I recall, not ones looking for wolves, just the buses zooming through with locals going from town to town.  

Edited by SafariChick
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On 8/13/2017 at 2:12 PM, SafariChick said:


Actually we stayed at Bale 4 nights but I was sick one day so that day I really did nothing.  So three full days minus one being sick  I knew I came up with 3 through some kind of math.  meant really two full days for wildlife-viewing, plus the afternoon we drove through the Sanetti Plateau on the way to the lodge and then the morning we left, we did devote a bit of time looking for wildlife.  But we didn't do that kind of searching for the monkeys that you did, so that is good advice for those going to Bale: devote that time if they want to see them.  The monkeys are likely an added bonus for many Bale visitors.

 

And it makes me feel better to understand that none of your closer sightings were on foot.  We really didn't see other vehicles out there that I recall, not ones looking for wolves, just the buses zooming through with locals going from town to town.  And some big trucks too!

 

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On 8/2/2017 at 1:01 PM, michael-ibk said:

 

And we had one of my favourite bird sightings - Bearded Vulture!

 

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We saw this immensely cool bird a couple of times, but mostly high up in the sky and out of photo reach. This one was much more accommodating. 

 

The quest for a bearded vulture (or lammergeier) photo was rife with drama, if I recall correctly.  If my recollections are all wrong, then I’ll blame it on deliriousness caused by the altitude. 

 

The first bearded vulture was flying overhead in Guassa while Michael was in the loo.  Abiy spotted it and excitedly pointed it out so Michael could get a shot,  but it was not to be.  The second bearded vulture was indeed high overhead and by the time we stopped and exited the vehicle, it seemed the bird had left Earth’s atmosphere. Defeat again. There may even have been more incidents of the bearded vulture that got away.  So near the end of our stay in Bale when this bearded vulture (and I believe it was a pair) suddenly came into view, Michael spotted them and was jubilant.  Victory at last.

 

 

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One of the bearded vulture photo attempts that ended in defeat.

 

@Dave Williams thanks for your kind comments!  My other half feels like your other half.  Would your other half mind if you ventured off to Ethiopia without her?

 

 

 

 

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Dave Williams
3 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

 

@Dave Williams thanks for your kind comments!  My other half feels like your other half.  Would your other half mind if you ventured off to Ethiopia without her?

@Atravelynn I have the best, most understanding wife a man could ask for... and I'm not exaggerating!! In the last 12 months I have had 10 days in The Gambia, 8 days in Scotland and 14 days in Spain, all without her and travelling instead with birding pals. 14 days is pushing the limit and my next trip without her planned for May next year has been set by me, and my friend was of the same mind, at 10 days.  

I don't think Ethiopia, certainly not covering anything like the distances you did ,is viable in 10 days.

As an aside, I wouldn't set a foot outside without her if it did anything to damage our relationship either!

Consequently I'm always looking for the best places to suit both our needs and lap up trip reports in the hope I find them!! 

I would rule out Ethiopia despite it's superb wildlife because of 1) the driving distances and 2) the standard and type of accommodation which is grand enough but lacks swimming pools and sunbeds where I can abandon her to a good book when she gets fed up of watching me take photos.

 

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screentraveller

In p144 the Long Creasted Eagle seems to be in control of a vast field of inferiors. great! the Gaysay grasslands under spring clouds are enchanting like all the wonderful landscapes I didnˋt expect in DRY Ethiopia. Above all I loved the two self-assured beautiful kids. Simply adorable.

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On 7/27/2017 at 2:16 AM, optig said:

I can only say that I may skip Awash National Park entirely in favor of Lake Lagano. It truly has everything to offer.

Perhaps the list of 12 activities on a business card for Awash Lodge and Doho Lodge might change your mind.  How about that #11 for some exercise?

 

 

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10 hours ago, screentraveller said:

In p144 the Long Creasted Eagle seems to be in control of a vast field of inferiors. great! the Gaysay grasslands under spring clouds are enchanting like all the wonderful landscapes I didnˋt expect in DRY Ethiopia. Above all I loved the two self-assured beautiful kids. Simply adorable.  Were you referring to the always young-at-heart Michael and Andreas?  :P  Thanks for the comments!

 

 

 

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We´ve almost reached the end of the road of this report - so time to finally talk about roads a little bit. As mentioned before one needs to cover long distances in Ethiopia to get from A to B, and probably should always expect to need a little more time than anticipated. The state of the roads is by no means too bad - as a matter of facts some parts of the traffic network are very new, very modern. From Addis eastwards to Awash and also a bit to the South in the Rift Valley new fenced off multi-lane motorwayshave been built, allowing travellers to really go fast for quite a while, and I expect more and more of the main routes will ultimately be that way - the Chinese are very, very busy indeed, and Ethiopia seems hellbent on modernising in a breakneck pace. Certainly good for the economy, but obviously this will bring more problems to the remaining ecosystems on the way, fragile as they already are. We already talked about Awash which is the prime example for a victim to the country´s development.

 

Most roads, however, are simply unfit to accomodate the amount of traffic. This is especially true in the Rift Valley where we had quite a few traffic jams and were stuck between trucks. Cities, of course, are always busy in Africa.

 

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The exception - a lonesome road with no car in sight.  This was more normal the farther away we got from Addis and the Valley in general.

 

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Some roads leading to the parks (like here to Senkelle) are pretty basic but servicable - in the dry season at least.

 

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Ethiopia is probably not a fun country for self-drivers, I certainly would not have enjoyed being there on my own. When driving faster you have to be super-attentive because you never know when the next pothole will suddenly be there, and most of all something will always, always be in the way.

 

People on their way to business ...

 

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large.59417c976b6a4_TREthiopia598.JPG.dd

 

.... Cows ...

 

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... Horses ...

 

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... Camels ...

 

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... and especially Donkeys. I´ve never seen so many Donkeys in my life like in Ethiopia.

 

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Our driver Bege really was very, very good, very skilled and careful. And way faster than I ever could have been - he slithered through between the trucks, went left, went right, left the road for a while, drove back on, but always in a manner that I felt totally safe with him. A real professional.

 

Lots of traffic unfortunately also means many roadkills. I remember Jackals, Bat-Eared Fox, Hyena and probably more. This here is an unfortunate Civet.

 

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And a very fortunate Somali Crow.

 

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One thing true for almost all of Africa - no matter where you stop, in a couple of minutes people will turn up, especially kids.

 

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Not much of big game in this area of Ethiopia - so some well-known birds apparently have just switched to cattle - Red-Billed Oxpeckers.

 

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Vultures seem to be doing still quite well in Ethiopia, we saw many of them, and apparently poison which has had so catastrophic effects on their populations elsewhere in the world is fortunately not so much in use here.

 

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Rueppel´s is by far the most common species.

 

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But we also saw a new one for me - the Griffon Vulture.

 

large.5946b29d75533_TREthiopia670.JPG.08

 

 

Edited by michael-ibk
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For our last night we stayed at the Haile Resort at Lake Awasa, a big hotel mainly catering to Ethiopia´s upper class looking for a leisurely weekend getaway. Ok for what it is. For our very last dinner in the country I tried to be brave again and went local for my food.

 

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A mistake. The memory of my miserable time in Awash was still too fresh, my stomach revolted just from the smell of it, and I really could not eat more than a few bites. I´m afraid Ethiopian food and me will never hug it out again.

 

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Early next morning we visited the local fish market. Not the most pretty of places ...

 

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... but quite interesting to spend some time with the locals - and the Marabous.

 

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Soon the sun came out, and everything looks much nicer when the light arrives.

 

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But sorry guys, even in good light you will never win any beauty contests. :P

 

The market is a a very good place for birds, we saw dozens of different species.

 

Black-Winged Stilt

 

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Little Stint

 

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Hammerkop, surprisingly our only sighting of this familiar bird in Ethiopia.

 

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When we walked a bit away from the fishingmen the surroundings became very lush and beauitful, and again, tons of good birds to see.

 

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Great Egret

 

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And also some Grivets in the trees.

 

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Marsh Sandpiper

 

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Our only Ethiopian Malachite.

 

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My favourite moment, however, was something I´ve longed to see for quite some time - a Black Egret.

 

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Maybe not the most striking bird, but they have one of the coolest hunting techniques in the animal kingdom - they go umbrella!

 

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This is called "canopy feeding", the Egret uses the shade it creates to attract fish. I have often read about this but never seen it - so I somehow imagined they would stand motionless for extended time periods with the umbrella on, but it´s actually a far more hectic affair.

 

 

 

Edited by michael-ibk
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On 8/3/2017 at 1:43 AM, michael-ibk said:

 

I´m afraid not, @jeremie, the main road is heavily used, we saw burnings going on and areas which had been burnt, livestock (and dogs) are abundant, and people were everywhere.

 

:(

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A great overview of the roads, and a wonderful sequence of the Black Egret - the video really helps - I did not know it was such a quick process.

A shame the report is coming to an end!

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screentraveller

The Cinnamon Bracken Warbler's song (p148) to the world is enchanting, pure joy of life!

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@michael-ibk's favorite moment moved me to make a whole collage of Black Egrets!

 

large.5998e5f669f67_blackegretpanels.jpg

Hawassa Fish Market Black Egret

 

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This black egret shared the limelight with a Black-winged Stilt.  Hawassa Fish Market

 

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Nicely reflected Spotted Redshanks, away from the hbubu of the fish market in Hawassa.

 

Abiy was pleased to see this guy taking such good care of his horse.

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Hawassa Fish Market

 

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Kids tossed morsels to the Marabou Storks at the fish market in Hawassa.

 

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Hawassa Fish Market

 

Our original itinerary had the fish market as the sole activity our last day.  The plan was to leave Halile Resort in the morning, visit the market and head to Addis for our flights around midnight.  That would have allowed a little more leisurely visit.  But we had lingered in Bale the day before meaning the scheduled visit to Senkelle Swayne’s Harebeest Sanctuary would take place not the day we left Bale (per our itinerary), but after the fish market.

 

So our last day was:  leave Halile Resort in Hawassa at 7 am, arrive fish market at 7:15 am and spend one hour. Depart the fish market at 8:15 am and arrive Sellenky at 9:50 and stay for about 90 minutes.

Here’s one more roadside sight:

 

medium.5998e62858cb3_IMG_0623roadsidebab

The baby camel is under a week old

 

 

Edited by Atravelynn
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Senkelle Swayne’s Hartebeest Sanctuary

 

After exiting the vehicle at Senkelle Swayne’s Hartebeest Sanctuary, a Village Weaver and Red-billed Buffalo Weaver greeted us, just 2 of the 194 bird species in the park.

medium.5998e62af2afa_IMG_0653senkellevil    medium.5998e63413256_IMG_0662buffaloweav

 Village Weaver & Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Senkelle Sanctuary

 

Initially we walked in the sanctuary to view some of the 950 endemic Swayne’s Hartebeest in the sanctuary, plus 65 calves this year.  The rangers there felt the park could hold 2000 hartebeest. Hyena and leopard are the predators.

 

There are only two places to see these Ethiopian endemics, Senkelle and Maze National Park in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region of Ethiopia – SNNPR.  Senkelle is by far the more convenient.

 

One of our first sightings was not hartebeest, but oribi. Park info states there are 36 species of mammals in the sanctuary.

 medium.5998e63864d1e_IMG_0670oribi.jpg.a

Oribi at Sankelle Sanctuary

 

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A curious hartebeest - Senkelle Sanctuary

 

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Sankelle Sanctuary

 

To see more of the sanctuary, we got back into our vehicle and drove a ways, accompanied by a ranger.  With the vehicle fully packed, there was no room for the ranger inside, so he hung on outside. We again got out of the vehicle to view the hartebeest on foot.

 

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Ranger hanging on to the back of our vehicle to accompany us to the hartebeest.

 

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Northern Carmine Bee-eater joined the Swayne’s Hartebeest at Senkelle Sanctuary

 

We saw a nice range of hartebeest activity during our visit, a quite a few of those 65 calves.

 

The Senkelle Sanctuary’s hours are 7:00 am to 6:00 pm.  Our original itinerary would have had us there later in the afternoon for nicer light, but we chose to linger longer with the wolves.  No offense, hartebeest.

 

I am certain there will be, among last comments and final pics, some closing credits.  Until then, 2 bird collages--not quite credits, but they're colorful.

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Reading left to right:  White-backed Vulture, Firefinch, Village Weaver, Hadada Ibis, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Spot-breasted Lapwing/Plover, another Firefinch, Double-toothed Barbet, another Village Weaver, another Spot-breasted Lapwing/Plover, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Red-headed Weaver

 

large.5998e5f539c27_birdsallbutwoodpecke

Reading left to right, Row 1:  Hammerkop, Great Egret, Marabou Stork   Row 2:  Eastern Grey Woodpecker, Black Crake, Hadada Ibis, Red-knobbed Coot, Malachite Kingfisher.  All except the woodpecker were from the fishing village.

 

Edited by Atravelynn
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  • 3 weeks later...

I have certainly learnt a lot about Ethiopia after reading your interesting report.  

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