Friday 28th
After breakfast, we drove the short distance to Awassa, where we
checked in to the No.2 Hotel, right by the lakeshore. While the
electrics, water supply and Simon's health were all a bit erratic,
the setting was superb - loads of egrets, ibises (of
four species!), cormorants, pelicans and passerines
just a few yards from our rooms, plus Hamerkop nests
in the trees, with Egyptian Geese nesting on top of them.
Julia found a Spotted Creeper right by the car-park, and
there were Banded and Double-toothed Barbets
to enjoy as well.
After lunch in town (Simon dipped out, still feeling very unwell),
we all went for a walk along the bustling embankment of the lake.
Despite there being lots of people about, there were birds in profusion
- Grey-headed, Woodland, Pied and Malachite
Kingfishers, Common Waxbill, African Black
Crake, Temminck's Stint, African Pygmy-goose,
Whiskered Tern, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Blue-headed
Coucal, and for the real aficionados, a Lesser Black-backed
Gull of the form fuscus, aka Baltic Gull.
We enjoyed the sunset by the hotel bar, and then headed off back
into town to the bustling Pinna restaurant once more, for a thoroughly
excellent evening meal. We were home by just after 2100 - and there
was electricity!
Saturday 29th
Simon had a thoroughly miserable night - feverish, viral and pretty
grim all round. But he dragged himself to breakfast, and felt beter
for something to eat.
At 0800, we drove the short distance to Awassa fish market, where
dozens of Marabous, kites, cormorants, pelicans
and other scavengers darted about amongst the crowds of people.
Amazing to see! Although the site was very foetid and smelly, we
had a good hour's birding around the hill on the lakeshore - new
birds were Spotted Redshank and Senegal Thick-knee,
plus Banded Barbet, Village Indigobird, Bruce's Green
Pigeon and a ridiculously tame troupe of Colobus Monkeys,
one of which placidly sat eating biscuits from our hands!
But it was now time to start off back towards Addis, and we hit
the road at about 1030. We stopped for lunch at Ziway once again,
and had a brief return visit to the fish dock here - where Temminck's
Stint, Black Crowned Crane and African Pygmy-goose
were the highlights.
The rest of the journey back to Addis was quite quick and easy,
with just a few birds along the roadside, such as Common Crane,
Long-crested Eagle, Crowned Plover and Black-shouldered
Kite.
We arrived back in time for a hour's rest at the Lalibela Hotel,
ate our evening meal, and then transferred to the airport at about
2115, saying fond farewells to the excellent Yilma and Andreas.
The flight, we found, was unfortunately routed via Rome making it
a ten hour flight - but the good news for Julia and me was that
after a seating allocation cock-up, we got bumped up to business
class! Result!
We arrived back in a cold and grey London on schedule at about
0730, and we were home by 1000. Ethiopia and 2007 complete!
Return to Ethiopia main page
|
|