Leaving Adama around 9:30 am Sunday, we saw the usual heavy transport truck traffic - so many huge trucks carrying a variety of items - from other trucks to camels! Yes, we saw camels... first in a field but weren't able to stop for photos, then peeking out of the back of a truck in front of us. Luckily on the way home we had a great photo opportunity when we saw a whole herd following the road in the late afternoon. We also saw a dead hyena along the side of the road at one point.
It was interesting to see how the landscape changed along the way - there were the usual agricultural fields and grazing sites with cattle, goats, donkeys and their herders; but we also saw irrigated sugar cane fields, dry scrub, dark volcanic rock and to the north, evidence that we were in the great Rift Valley based on the cliff-like areas to our north in some spots. There were lots of little settlements where it looked like several families lived and farmed together.
At one high point, we looked out and saw what seemed to be a very large body of water. Turns out this was Lake Beseka, 5 minutes outside the small town of Metahara. The road crosses one edge of the lake and it must flood easily since it was already partially under water and it hadn't even been raining. According to the guide book, this is a shallow lake that is expanding and it attracts a lot of birdlife and houses crocodiles. Unfortunately we missed out on a potential night light show - the volcano in the park, Fantelle Volcano, apparently spews fireworks from the crater on a regular basis.
Only 5 km further on after Metahara was the park entrance. The rules of the park are posted in English, and the fee schedule is in both Amharic and English. We paid 90 birr per person - less than $6. A guide was assigned to us (70 birr) and since he was armed with a rifle, maybe he was also part guard? We drove into the park and the guide led us out into a savanna area dotted with acacia so we could find some big mammals. Not too far in, he spotted a Soemmerings gazelle. Then the guide spotted oryx, but I couldn't see them. He suggested we hop out of the van and walk towards the game - we were more than happy to stretch our legs. In fact, Deman had just said that the grasslands were so beautiful she wanted to run through them, arms outstretched like in a Bollywood movie! We walked several hundred yards off the dirt road in search of the oryx and from quite a distance, could see at least the outline of these large animals. With my zoom, I could even get a decent close-up look. After lots of photos out there, we trudged back to the van and almost immediately the guide spotted a huge number of oryx on the other side of the road. We went off-roading and Amir guided the van towards the herd. We got magically close and although some of the animals were skittish, they didn't bolt away. We weren't able to get out of the van, but we took probably a hundred photos or more, between us. It was quite exciting! We also saw some more gazelle at that point, too. There are supposed to be about 80 species of mammals in the park - mostly bats and small rodents, but also the gazelle, beisa oryx and baboon we saw, plus kudu, waterbuck and warthog which we did not. Predators have been reported but not frequently seen - lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena and jackal. Zebra have not been seen for years. There are tons of birds and we saw a few colorful ones while touring around.
After that, we made our way back out to one of the main park roadways and drove about 10-11 km to the Awash falls. Wow - they are amazing! The river widens up at the top so there are probably 5 to 6 separate falls areas, at least. The water is brown, but it's such a beautiful spot. Supposedly Awash translates from Oromifa as 'the beast that consumes everything in it's path' - based on the falls, maybe I can see why. There was a little stairway down to the river at the bottom of the falls and we had a great time posing for photos, skipping rocks into the river, and just enjoying the lovely spot. It was great to be out of the dusty, exhaust-fume filled city and into a bit of wilderness. It really felt like we were definitely in Africa! Especially after we saw the big croc sunning itself on a rock across the river. I also spied a baboon doing a little fishing and resting just a few yards away. It didn't stay long, but long enough to get a few photos.
We hiked back up to the top and had lunch at the Kereyou Lodge overlooking the falls, the only accommodation in the park. After lunch, we headed back to the main gate, saw a dik-dik (looks like a miniature deer), dropped off our guide/guard, and started the 2 hour journey back to Adama. More of the same as on the way in, and once we made it back to our hotel, we were all exhausted - especially Amir, who had to drive the entire way. Because of all the trucks (and livestock!) on the road, it's no easy, relaxing Sunday drive here.
A few words about the Great Rift Valley before I end this post. Most of this is paraphrased from the Bradt Ethiopia guidebook, 5th edition. It is the largest geographical feature in Africa - visible from space - and in Ethiopia runs from the Red Sea to lake Turkana on the Kenyan boarder. The rifting process began about 20 million years ago along a 4000 km faultline. Where were at the Kereyou Lodge, they said the continent is breaking apart in 3 directions. The expansion of the Valley has been accompanied by lots of volcanic activity and will eventually lead to part of Africa 'breaking off' as the Valley fills with ocean water. In northern Ehtiopia, the Rift Valley forms the Danakil Depression - at some points up to 110+ km below sea level, one of the lowest spots on earth. It is barely accessible and definitely inhospitable. In the south, many parts are covered in acacia woodland and dotted with lakes, making it one part of Ethiopia that definitely looks 'African'.
I just found out that if you click on one of the photos in a post, a fuller-screen version comes up that you can click through to view each image in a larger format.
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