Travelled: 299km
Debbie: We were up at sunrise and thank goodness we had not gone too far off the road to camp as it had rained overnight and the ground turned into nice sticky mud. The border was pretty simple – took 1.5 hours in total to do 6 stamps. The buildings were also like little mud huts – nothing very official looking. I think the crossing could have been a lot faster had we had not arrived at 8am and got them out of bed. We totally underestimated the road to Gonder – we thought we would be there for lunch but only arrived around 17.00. It was part tar but the problem was that there were SO many people / cows / donkeys / kids and rocks on the road that it was slow going. In Gonder we pulled into Belegez pension and were so delighted to see other overlanders going our way so we managed to swap stories, routes etc and find out that currently there is a fuel shortage in Ethiopia.
Day 56 (21/07/08) Gonder (Belegez Pension)
Debbie: We spent today around Gonder. We got to taste the Ethiopian coffee which we had heard was the best ever and my golly gosh was it divine! Not sure what they do different but its the best coffee we have ever had. Sam and Peter as well as the Italian team showed up in the morning full of mud and very tired as they had driven most of the night and had had countless breakdowns on the bikes. We also got chatting to Glen and Tandi who are South Africans doing a 4 month tour round Africa and had arrived in camp last night. They live near Clarens and have 2 cool kids. The afternoon was spent in the pension courtyard having pizza and beer and swapping stories. We are having to put on long pant and fleeces as we have hit Ethiopia rainy season and temps have dropped down to the low 20’s – after 50 odd days of slops and T-Shirts it feels strange wearing socks and shoes!
Camped at:
Belegez Pension, Gonder
Day 57(22/07/08) Gonder to Simien Mountains
Travelled: 139km
Debbie: After a bit of rain overnight we awoke to clear and sunny skies so decided to drive the 100km up to the Simien Mountains with Glen, Tandi and the kids. We had to pick up a guard at the National Park office in Debark and by 2pm we were in the park and spotted our first sighting of the Gelada baboons. They were fun to watch and the guard allowed us to get out the car and walk towards them so we managed to get very close to them. Given that it was rainy season we had decided to drive to a campsite called Sankaber rather than trek in the mud and rain. It was a good decision as there was a lot of mist and about 5 min after setting up camp the heavens opened and didn’t stop all night. It was a pitty about the weather as it meant we were not able to fully appreciate the spectacular surroundings we were in as the Simien Mountains are very much about the breathtaking views. We were lucky to find fuel in Debark and we filled our tank to the limit as well as a jerry can and that should get us to Addis which apparently has no fuel problems.
Day 58 (23/07/08) Simien Mountains to Bahir Dar
Travelled: 314km
Debbie: After a cold night and seeing the huge heavy clouds in the sky when we woke up we all decided to call it a day and head out of the park this morning. We waived goodbye to Glen and Tandi as they headed off to Aksum and we headed down to Lake Tana and the town of Bahir Dar. Ethiopia is most certainly a very pretty country but its ruined by the kids who throw stones as we experience firsthand today. We camped at the Ghion Hotel which is right on the Lake but as we arrived it started to pour with rain and didn’t stop so we spent the remainder of the afternoon huddled in the tent catching up on some movies on our DVD player. We have a long drive to Addis tomorrow. We have noticed a few issues with Bwana so we want to get to Addis asap as there is a good mechanic there that we have been told about from various people.
Camped at:
Ghion Hotel, Bahir Dar
Travelled: 314km
Debbie: After a cold night and seeing the huge heavy clouds in the sky when we woke up we all decided to call it a day and head out of the park this morning. We waived goodbye to Glen and Tandi as they headed off to Aksum and we headed down to Lake Tana and the town of Bahir Dar. Ethiopia is most certainly a very pretty country but its ruined by the kids who throw stones as we experience firsthand today. We camped at the Ghion Hotel which is right on the Lake but as we arrived it started to pour with rain and didn’t stop so we spent the remainder of the afternoon huddled in the tent catching up on some movies on our DVD player. We have a long drive to Addis tomorrow. We have noticed a few issues with Bwana so we want to get to Addis asap as there is a good mechanic there that we have been told about from various people.
Camped at:
Ghion Hotel, Bahir Dar
Day 59 (24/07/08) Bahir Dar – Blue Nile Falls – Addis AbabaBaro Hotel - N9 01.841 E38 45.219
Travelled: 610km
Debbie: We were up early as it was going to be a long day. As we were in Bahir Dar Andrew wanted to see the Blue Nile Falls so we headed out that way first thing. We saw them at their best as its rainy season but they are still nothing like Vic Falls. We then hit the road to Addis and the rest of the day went something like this: “watch out for the donkey” – “watch out for the cow”- “watch out for the kids sitting in the middle of the road” – “watch out for the rocks in the road” – “watch out for the goats taking a lunchtime nap on the road” – “watch out for the lorry ahead in thick mist with no lights on” – “watch out for the chickens who are in the road” – “watch out for the donkey having a roll on the tar” – “watch out for the horses” – “watch out for the big pot holes” – “watch out for the entire village who are having a meeting in the middle of the road” ..... it was a long and frustrating drive and the passenger could not have an afternoon nap and we needed 4 eyes on all angle of the road!! As we got closer to Addis my hopes of a nice hotel were erased from my mind as Andrew put in a call to Foleys to run through Bwana’s current mechanical problems so he would know what to expect when we find a mechanic in Addis and turns out that it could be a costly few issues that need to be fixed. We found the Baro hotel easily thanks to Tracks4Africa and at first we thought it was a dive but on closer inspection it was at least clean and the staff were friendly. We had dinner in the “restaurant” which felt like we were sitting in someone’s kitchen but we were at least able to see the chef cook right in front of us and we were pleased to see everything was made from scratch. A huge plate of pasta only cost us 60p!
Day 60 (25/07/08) Addis Ababa
Travelled: 16km
Debbie: We were up early cause we wanted to get to the garage (Ethio Lakes garage) by 8am. We chose “fried egg on toast” from the hotel menu and got 4 fried eggs on 4 pieces of toast – again for dirt cheap – and some more fantastic coffee. I was told of an Ethiopian folk tale today which made us laugh:Ethiopian folk tale – Once there was a dog, a goat and a donkey. They wanted to go on a journey together, and decided to take a taxi. The donkey paid and got out, the dog paid, got out but never got his change, and the goat got out but never paid. To this day, and whenever a vehicle passes, the dog still chases his change, the goat still scatters at the first approach, and the donkey just plods tranquilly on.
We got to Ethio Lakes and they started on our repairs right away. It was a frustrating day as the mechanics can’t speak proper English and the manager who can speak English knows nothing about cars. We had to put in a few calls to Foleys (thanks Paul again for being so patient!) and we ended up not fixing 2 of the problems but Andrew feels that we can make it to Nairobi and have them fixed there. We then went to try get our COMESA yellow card insurance which was done in African time and was very expensive but we know we will be asked to show it if we don’t get it and then we will have a problem. Ethio Lakes was a decent garage in terms of their layout and they can do a service but I wouldn’t call them Land Rover experts when it comes to technical problems. At 17.30 Bwana was washed and ready to leave so we went in search of diesel as its still very short and managed to get them to fill a second jerry can so we know we have 40L on us at least which will get us somewhere.
Andrew: Since entering Ethiopia we’ve noticed that we’ve been chugging out large amounts of white smoke (and black but all cars chug out the black smoke because the diesel is really poor quality here). Then after getting back to gonder from the Simien Mountains we noticed that there was a cloncking sound every time I changed gear. This started to make us a bit concerned to the health of Bwana, so we crawled down to Addis where we had heard there was a fairly good Land Rover Service center. They couldn’t give me an exact answer for either of the problems so I made a few calls to Foleys (who have been very helpful again). He told me how to check for where the clonck is coming from, the Ethio Lakes mechanic said it was a “backlash” from the propshaft but is ok and would leave it. I didn’t believe that clonk was ok so I did some checking myself and it turned out to be the Mantec wheel carrier on the back door had a loose nut whichgave it some movement every time I changed gear. So an afternoon in Jana’s back yards dismantling it to get to the loose nut and the clonck has disappeared. As for the white smoke still not too sure but Paul didn’t think it was the turbo from describing what we were looking at and the only other option is that possibly one of the injectors is stuck open andthis is not too much of a problem as it won’t stop anything from working, it only annoys the car behind because he suddenly can’t see.
Mechanic
Ethio Lakes (previously African Lakes and marked on Tracks4Africa)
Telephone 251 11 443 1493
http://www.ethiolakes.com/
Day 61 (26/07/08) Addis Ababa - Wabe Shelebe Lodge(N7 38 57.8 E38 42 19.2) – Awasa Adenium Campsite – N07 04.627 E038 28.050
Travelled: 277km
Debbie: We woke up to heavy rain so decided to leave Addis and try to find some sun. Our first plan was to camp on Lake Lagano at the Wabe Shelebe Lodge but on arrival we were told they were having a party there and that there would be noise. It was a beautiful spot on the Lake but when we saw the size of the DJ speakers we fled as fast as we could down to Awasa. The Adenium Campsite was marvellous. It’s run by a German lady, Jana, and her Ethiopian husband. You literally camp in their back yard but she has decent ablutions and a stunning garden. Andrew was in his element as her garden was filled to the max with bird life. Sadly Jana told us that they were selling up and moving back to Germany which is such a pity as her campsite is the best we have been in so far in Africa.
Day 62 (27/07/08) Awasa – Arba Minch Bekele Molla Hotel N6 00 319 E37 32.998
Travelled: 277km
Debbie: We waved goodbye to Jana’s nice campsite and hit a bad road which took us down to Arba Minch, Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo. It was a good 7 hour drive with an average speed of 30km per hour but it was quite a pretty drive bar the noisy children who shout “you you you” or”give give give” the whole way down. We had planned to camp at the Bekele Mola Hotel but Jana told us to try the hotel next door rather as it had a better view of the Lakes – Swaynes Hotel.
Day 63 (28/07/08) Arb Minch – Konso – YabelloYabello Motel N4 53 03.6 E38 08 24.4 (camped in back yard of hotel)
Travelled: 200km
Total: 13915km
Debbie: We had to mission this morning to get fuel. The shortage seems to be worse because the only garage that would sell us fuel required a permission slip from the transport office. While I waited in the car for Andrew to get the slip I was surrounded by kids who screamed “give give you you”, banged so hard on my window I thought it was going to break, and then spat all over the windows when they got no response from me! It was time to leave Ethiopia before our experience was ruined by its people. Our first plan was to stop in Konso at the Green Hotel but on arrival we found it was right on the road and had many “observers” sitting around. It was only midday so we decided to push on to Yabello. The road was quite bad between Konso and Yabello so we took it slow but it was very pretty and was teaming with birds. The people in the Omo Valley are also great – they wear colourful clothes and run away from the vehicle when they see you as do their livestock!
Andrew: Ethiopia was very different from what I had imagined, we always tend to remember the famine and pictures of the skinny children on baron clay baked earth. Ethiopia is anything but that, 90% of the country seems to be above 2000m above sea level, this makes the days pretty cool especially after being in the dessert for over a month. The countryside has been very green and lots of agricultural activity, keeping the children’s bellies full. Unfortunately they seem to have come to expect handouts because of the foreign aid. The children actually spoil this beautiful country because it is not pleasant to drive through when you have fist sized rocks being hurled at your car and the constant hounding and begging and mock shooting and stabbing actions at your window. But aside from this Ethiopia has been great, it’s cheap the scenery is beautiful and I still can’t believe how abundant the birdlife has been. It’s a definite consideration as a next holiday for keen birders.
Travelled: 16km
Debbie: We were up early cause we wanted to get to the garage (Ethio Lakes garage) by 8am. We chose “fried egg on toast” from the hotel menu and got 4 fried eggs on 4 pieces of toast – again for dirt cheap – and some more fantastic coffee. I was told of an Ethiopian folk tale today which made us laugh:Ethiopian folk tale – Once there was a dog, a goat and a donkey. They wanted to go on a journey together, and decided to take a taxi. The donkey paid and got out, the dog paid, got out but never got his change, and the goat got out but never paid. To this day, and whenever a vehicle passes, the dog still chases his change, the goat still scatters at the first approach, and the donkey just plods tranquilly on.
We got to Ethio Lakes and they started on our repairs right away. It was a frustrating day as the mechanics can’t speak proper English and the manager who can speak English knows nothing about cars. We had to put in a few calls to Foleys (thanks Paul again for being so patient!) and we ended up not fixing 2 of the problems but Andrew feels that we can make it to Nairobi and have them fixed there. We then went to try get our COMESA yellow card insurance which was done in African time and was very expensive but we know we will be asked to show it if we don’t get it and then we will have a problem. Ethio Lakes was a decent garage in terms of their layout and they can do a service but I wouldn’t call them Land Rover experts when it comes to technical problems. At 17.30 Bwana was washed and ready to leave so we went in search of diesel as its still very short and managed to get them to fill a second jerry can so we know we have 40L on us at least which will get us somewhere.
Andrew: Since entering Ethiopia we’ve noticed that we’ve been chugging out large amounts of white smoke (and black but all cars chug out the black smoke because the diesel is really poor quality here). Then after getting back to gonder from the Simien Mountains we noticed that there was a cloncking sound every time I changed gear. This started to make us a bit concerned to the health of Bwana, so we crawled down to Addis where we had heard there was a fairly good Land Rover Service center. They couldn’t give me an exact answer for either of the problems so I made a few calls to Foleys (who have been very helpful again). He told me how to check for where the clonck is coming from, the Ethio Lakes mechanic said it was a “backlash” from the propshaft but is ok and would leave it. I didn’t believe that clonk was ok so I did some checking myself and it turned out to be the Mantec wheel carrier on the back door had a loose nut whichgave it some movement every time I changed gear. So an afternoon in Jana’s back yards dismantling it to get to the loose nut and the clonck has disappeared. As for the white smoke still not too sure but Paul didn’t think it was the turbo from describing what we were looking at and the only other option is that possibly one of the injectors is stuck open andthis is not too much of a problem as it won’t stop anything from working, it only annoys the car behind because he suddenly can’t see.
Mechanic
Ethio Lakes (previously African Lakes and marked on Tracks4Africa)
Telephone 251 11 443 1493
http://www.ethiolakes.com/
Day 61 (26/07/08) Addis Ababa - Wabe Shelebe Lodge(N7 38 57.8 E38 42 19.2) – Awasa Adenium Campsite – N07 04.627 E038 28.050
Travelled: 277km
Debbie: We woke up to heavy rain so decided to leave Addis and try to find some sun. Our first plan was to camp on Lake Lagano at the Wabe Shelebe Lodge but on arrival we were told they were having a party there and that there would be noise. It was a beautiful spot on the Lake but when we saw the size of the DJ speakers we fled as fast as we could down to Awasa. The Adenium Campsite was marvellous. It’s run by a German lady, Jana, and her Ethiopian husband. You literally camp in their back yard but she has decent ablutions and a stunning garden. Andrew was in his element as her garden was filled to the max with bird life. Sadly Jana told us that they were selling up and moving back to Germany which is such a pity as her campsite is the best we have been in so far in Africa.
Day 62 (27/07/08) Awasa – Arba Minch Bekele Molla Hotel N6 00 319 E37 32.998
Travelled: 277km
Debbie: We waved goodbye to Jana’s nice campsite and hit a bad road which took us down to Arba Minch, Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo. It was a good 7 hour drive with an average speed of 30km per hour but it was quite a pretty drive bar the noisy children who shout “you you you” or”give give give” the whole way down. We had planned to camp at the Bekele Mola Hotel but Jana told us to try the hotel next door rather as it had a better view of the Lakes – Swaynes Hotel.
Day 63 (28/07/08) Arb Minch – Konso – YabelloYabello Motel N4 53 03.6 E38 08 24.4 (camped in back yard of hotel)
Travelled: 200km
Total: 13915km
Debbie: We had to mission this morning to get fuel. The shortage seems to be worse because the only garage that would sell us fuel required a permission slip from the transport office. While I waited in the car for Andrew to get the slip I was surrounded by kids who screamed “give give you you”, banged so hard on my window I thought it was going to break, and then spat all over the windows when they got no response from me! It was time to leave Ethiopia before our experience was ruined by its people. Our first plan was to stop in Konso at the Green Hotel but on arrival we found it was right on the road and had many “observers” sitting around. It was only midday so we decided to push on to Yabello. The road was quite bad between Konso and Yabello so we took it slow but it was very pretty and was teaming with birds. The people in the Omo Valley are also great – they wear colourful clothes and run away from the vehicle when they see you as do their livestock!
Andrew: Ethiopia was very different from what I had imagined, we always tend to remember the famine and pictures of the skinny children on baron clay baked earth. Ethiopia is anything but that, 90% of the country seems to be above 2000m above sea level, this makes the days pretty cool especially after being in the dessert for over a month. The countryside has been very green and lots of agricultural activity, keeping the children’s bellies full. Unfortunately they seem to have come to expect handouts because of the foreign aid. The children actually spoil this beautiful country because it is not pleasant to drive through when you have fist sized rocks being hurled at your car and the constant hounding and begging and mock shooting and stabbing actions at your window. But aside from this Ethiopia has been great, it’s cheap the scenery is beautiful and I still can’t believe how abundant the birdlife has been. It’s a definite consideration as a next holiday for keen birders.
