Ethiopia

27 November 1999 - 17 January 2000

Journal (weeks 7&8) Bale - Johannesburg

Saturday 8^th January 2000

I was woken up sometime during the night by a scuffling sound, but I couldn't work out what it was. However, once woken, I could not get back to sleep since it was seriously cold. At dawn, I tried to get up - but the tent was frozen solid!

After some effort, I manager to unzip the tent and carefully fold the flap up so I could get out. The temperature at this point was approximately -12°C - not a very African temperature! Even though I was wearing 3 pairs of trousers, 2 shirts, 2 jerseys & a jacket, I was still very cold, so decided to go for a walk to warm up. First, I checked around the vehicle, and found what I was later to identify as Simien Fox tracks - but no sign of them now. On this walk I visited all the nearby lakes, and saw a pair of Wattled Cranes and some European Wigeon - but no sign of Ruddy Shelducks. Somehow, the latter did not surprise me, since the last time I had seen them was in the Guadaquivir area of Spain, whose climate is much warmer.

By 09h00, the sun was up and had melted the ice on the tent to allow me to fold it away, and leave. I had no intention of staying for another night of this type of torture. After a few minutes I came across 2 pairs of Simien Fox right next to the road, and Red-billed Chough and Abyssinian Longclaw were seen in the same area.

Continuing on across the plateau, I reached the southern side very quickly - the plateau was much smaller than I had expected. From here the road started to drop down through the different vegetational zones (which were not clearly demarcated on the Goba side of the plateau). The number of species increased quite quickly as one went down, and Rouget's Rails were very common on the upper slopes. Even before I reached the larger trees, I had already come across several parties of White-backed Black Tits, and several Rüppell's Robin-Chats, as well as a single Mountain Nyala. Even at this point there was still over 1 cm of ice on some of the puddles in the road.

The drive to Mesio was relatively uneventful, and then I continued towards the Genale River. Soon I reached a bridge over quite a large river that looked somewhat dubious - and when I looked carefully I noticed there were no tyre tracks over it - and the locals were pointing upstream - presumably indicating a crossing-point. On reaching it, I had grave reservations, since the river was approximately 50 metres wide, and the bottom was quite rocky - although no more than about 30 to 40 cm deep. Having walked across and back, a local asked if I would give him a lift to Bitata. After some discussion, he convinced me it was fordable, although there were no tracks visible.

In reality, I shouldn’t have tried to cross it, but to turn back would have meant crossing back to Goba, Shashemene, etc - and I would not have had enough petrol to drive round. So I tried it. Although my feet got a bit wet, the crossing was feasible, but if the water level had been just a bit higher, I would have flooded the engine. As always, it was only having reached the next town that I discovered the road was closed and no through traffic is now allowed. I would not advise using this route in future, as the crossing could easily be impassable due to the water levels.

On reaching the Genale River, I found the wadi referred to in Julian Francis's trip report, and wandered downstream looking for the Ruspoli's Turaco. Within minutes, Adem Dube ran up to me waving the trip report, showing me his name in it, and offered to show me the bird. Since he was pointing in the opposite direction to where I thought the right habitat was, I was not sure, but he convinced me that he could find the bird, so I acquiesced. We walked up the valley for nearly 30 minutes, and then spent a further 30 minutes searching before finding one - except it turned round and became a Narina Trogon. Normally I love these birds, but this one wasn't too popular at that time. However, a few minutes later, Adem said he heard the Turaco calling, and tracked it down. I have no doubt I would never have seen it without Adem's help.

Since it was still only around 16h00, I continued to Negele, in order to find out if there were any problems getting to Bogol Manyo. A few kilometres before Negele I came across a small party of Scaly Babblers. I had done all my calculations and had worked out that I had sufficient petrol to get there and back, and could then make Moyale via Yavello. However, on arrival at Negele I discovered that, the road south from Negele was completed cordoned off by the army. It wasn't just that they were searching vehicles, etc - they were allowing no-one through - including locals. The reason turned out to be that a local election was being held in the Bogol Manyo area, and they were expecting major problems. Also, to complicate things further, the road beyond Bogol Manyo was mined, and there was much armed banditry, as this route was being (or rather had been) the main route for delivering aid to the SE of Somalia. They didn’t even want to let me through so that I could turn east to Yavello, but in the end I was able to get past.

However, by now it was nearly dark, so I looked for a place to camp. Just before the turnoff to the west, I saw some farm-workers returning home to their houses, and asked where I could camp. They allowed me to camp outside their homestead, and we spent several hours talking.

Sunday 9^th January 2000

Having camped at the T-junction, it was only a matter of a few hundred metres to reach the "site" for the Sidamo Lark. It only took a few minutes to start finding them - and I must have seen about 10 within as many minutes. In the same area were Tiny Cisticola and Rufous Sparrow.

As I travelled on towards Wachile I stopped regularly, finding a variety of different species, the most notable being Black-faced Sandgrouse, Bare-eyed Thrush, Somali Long-billed Crombec and Pygmy Batis. This stretch of road was in relatively poor condition, but on reaching Melka Ghuba, I met a grader, which meant that the remainder of the road to Yavello was in excellent condition, and I was able to travel far further than I expected when I set out.

Walking upstream along the river at Melka Ghuba there were few species to be seen, but those that were found were all well worth the effort. The first bird seen was a Pringles' Puffback, followed immediately by the dodsoni race of the Common Bulbul. After only about 250 metres I had seen several African White-winged Doves, and then settled down to search for the Jubaland Weaver. After about 1 km I found a colony of weavers, but all were in transition between breeding & non-breeding plumage. This made identification very problematic, as the Jubaland Weaver in full breeding plumage looks exactly like other weavers in this transitional phase. After about 10 minutes at this colony, I found one male that was in full-breeding plumage, and so I was finally certain of my identification. On the way back, I found a Smaller Black-bellied Sunbird.

Continuing on towards Yavello, I kept my eye out for the White-tailed Swallow, this being the optimal area. On the way I came across several White-crowned Starlings, Long-tailed Shrike, Crested Lark and Golden-breasted Starling. It was only when I was within 10 km of Yavello that I found a single swallow in the distance, and then a moment later came across 6 Swallows circling a tree right next to the road.

On reaching Yavello, it was still early afternoon, so I decided to head straight south to the border, so I could cross over first thing the next morning. However, there was still time for bird-watching on the trip, and Chestnut-naped Francolin, Yellow-necked Francolin and Vulturine Guineafowl were all found just south of Mega.

I arrived in Moyale at around 17h00, by which time the border post had closed, so I stayed at the local government hotel - which was prepared to accept Kenya Shillings.

Monday 10^th January 2000

The border post only opened at 08h30, so there was no rush in the morning. Passing through Immigration and Customs took about 20 minutes for both sides, and I should still have time to make the convoy. First, though, I needed to use my credit card to get some cash. But it was a new unpublished holiday - I couldn't even find out what it was celebrating. Hence I was going to have to stay an additional day in Moyale.

While the banks might have been closed for the day, mechanics were still prepared to work, so I decided to carry out a thorough check of the Landrover. This resulted in me getting rid of the front springs which had now been re-welded 4 times, and probably wouldn't survive the next couple of days. The difference between Ethiopia and Kenya was again highlighted: In Ethiopia 95% of all 4x4's are Toyota Landcruisers while 95% are Landrovers in Kenya.

I stayed the night in the best hotel available in Moyale - which was worse than any I had found in Ethiopia. Another sad reflection on Kenya.

Tuesday 11^th January 2000

I could only leave after visiting the bank to get cash to pay for the Landrover repairs and to fill up with petrol. I then joined the "convoy". Since I had previously arranged to start a bit late (the convoy leaves at 09h00), I was allowed through to catch up with the other vehicles. When I asked how many were in the convoy, the response was "none"! So I set off by myself, without any guard, to travel to Marsabit at my leisure.

This allowed me to stop whenever I saw bird activity - which on this road is not often. Nevertheless, I found D'Arnaud's Barbet (in exactly the same spot I saw it on the way north), Yellow-vented Eremomela, Masked Lark and Magpie Starling.

On arriving at Marsabit, I had to replace the front U-bolts, since the old ones we used in Moyale had cracked when a stone had hit them. I camped that night at the Marsabit NP, and the water worked again.

Wednesday 12^th January 2000

Leaving Marsabit early, I was allowed through the police check-point without a guard, and so continued back to Isiolo. Amazingly, the new U-bolts snapped after just 50 kilometres, and so I had to continue with a chain holding the springs to the axle - but it actually worked fine, and got me back to South Africa.

I continued through Isiolo, and reached Mt Kenya by evening, camping in a very pleasant campsite at the Timau River Lodge.

Thursday 13^th January 2000

I continued through to Arusha without incident, or seeing any new notable species. However, I was still struggling to drive on the correct side of the road - curiously, it was much harder to revert to driving on the left than to start driving on the right.

Friday 14^th January 2000

In Arusha, I tried to obtain more money using a credit card, but failed here, so again realized I had a cash shortage. Since I had enough money to fill up the tanks, I just hoped I could get to Iringa, and fall on the mercy of Dave Moyer - if he was there.

En route I finally found Grasshopper Buzzard, a species which I had expected to see easily in Ethiopia. By dusk I had reached Iringa, and reckoned I was totally out of fuel. My luck was in, and Dave very kindly lent me a considerable sum of money, which was enough to cover my petrol costs right down to Lusaka, where I knew I could buy petrol with a credit card.

Saturday 15^th January 2000

I fill up with fuel in Iringa, and drive on the Zambian border, and then head south. I camped beside the road just before reaching Mpika, because there are no campsites in the area.

Sunday 16^th January 2000

Continuing on, I filled up with petrol to discover that I have been tricked again. Zambian petrol has increased by approximately 50% in the two months since I drove north. Yet again, I am short of cash. So I drive as far as I know I can reach, and stay the night in a hotel in Kabwe.

Monday 17^th January 2000

As soon as the bank opens, I get cash with my credit card, pay the hotel and fill up with fuel. I then drive on through Lusaka, and on to the Zimbabwean border. I reach Chinhoyi by late afternoon, and decide to spoil myself on my last day of holiday, and stay in the Orange Grove Motel rather than camping there.

Tuesday 18^th January 2000

Setting off early in the morning, I pass through Harare by 08h00, and then the engine starts misfiring- a spark plug lead has failed. Get a local mechanic to make me up a temporary one, and I am on my way again. By now it is into the fourth day of heavy rains (it has hardly stopped since reaching northern Zambia) and the rivers are all very full - I am used to seeing them dry. I can imagine how bad it must have been after the February 2000 floods.

I reached the South African border at about 16h00, and am amazed to find an elephant quietly roaming around the truck parking area just next to the border post. After crossing through the South African side, I think I have finally made it back - except that I suffer the indignity of having my fourth flat tyre just as I pull out of the border post. I finally reach home at 01h00 the next morning.

Aftermath

Of course, given my luck, that wasn't the end of it. The next day the Landrover refused to move - the gearbox selector had jammed, and I had to remove the floor to fix it.

More seriously (as far as I was concerned) was that the ankle I had twisted on my second day in Ethiopia started to swell up once I was back at work and sitting "inactively" at my desk. Taking it to the doctor caused some amusement from him, but none from me after the X-rays - I had broken one of the bones, and although it had repaired OK, I now had to have it bandaged up, and rest it for 3 months. Thank God I didn't realize that when I thought I had just twisted it!