On a new bridge we cross over the Blue Nile and make the break after the bridge to enjoy the view of the Nile.
Blue Nile before Addis Ababa
The Blue Nile rises in the highlands of Ethiopia and during the rainy season from August to September delivers 68% of the Nile water. End of August the flood reaches Aswan and late September Cairo. During this period the White Nile, which originates in central Africa, provides very little water.
We have reached Addis Ababa, where we check in at Wim’s Holland House at the campsite. Wim is a popular meeting place for Overlanders and we also meet other long-distance travelers.
Like Michel and Laurence with their Land Rover, they are from Switzerland and started months earlier.
Wim is Dutch, and his wife Ethiopian, and together they run the restaurant and campground.
New are the two German motorcyclists Wolfgang and Sibille, who started with their motor bikes in Germany and go to Cape Town.
Blue Nile before Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is a loud city and construction sites are everywhere. Interesting is how they build it.
Addis Ababa Street seller
Lots of sellers try to find their luck and income in the streets of Addis Ababa. Also vegetables are sold in the streets in an unusual way.
Veggie Seller
Because we recognized that we will not make the trip to Cape Town in the scheduled time, my wife Alexandra reluctantly quit her job in Austria. Now we are free and no longer have the pressure, to be somewhere at a certain time. We drive to Lake Langano.
The weather gets dramatically worse, but we enjoy the ride anyway, because there are so many things to see along the road and now that we have time, we decide not to be stressed because of the weather.
weaver bird at Lake Langano
At Lake Langano we make a stop. Swimming in the lake is due to the high ash content, absolutely safe, there is no risk of schistosomiasis, and the water is really pink and feels very soapy.
Bathing in pink Lake Langano
Here we stay for a few days and relax. Alexandra uses the soapy water for washing clothes.
We organize a boat trip to the Lake Tana island monasteries. In the morning we leave. In a nutshell, with a very nice boat man and three other participants, we start to the first island.
Lake Tana Tour boats
Our first monastery is Entos Eyesu. It is a circular building with simple construction on a hill overlooking the lake. It is an active monastery, two monks live in the compound. Not at all monasteries women are allowed to enter.
Monk on the island
On the way at Lake Tana we see many Papyrus boats. The boats can be up to 10 meters long and are made of papyrus stalks, which are tied into bundles. The lines are obtained from the fig tree. After some time of usage it must be dried again. To date, a large part of all goods, such as wood are transported with such boats between the islands and the mainland. Supposedly, the boats can carry up to half a ton.
Papyrus Boat transporting fire wood
We land on the island monastery Zeghie. Actually a peninsula that is accessible only during the dry season over land. As more visitors come here, souvenir stalls have established. A simple building forms the entrance to the monastery area.
The monastery church is well attended. It is a simple wooden structure with grass roof, beams and wonderful structure which forms a covered porch.
Monastery at Lake Tana Island
The interior is rich with images. The paintings are mainly from the period before 1900. Very much alive here are the various saints and their legends from the Bible are painted, for example, the escape of the Israelites from Egypt.
Near the monastery district an ancient monk watches the monastery’s treasures. We marvel at the four silver crowns, a coronation robe and an ancient manuscript. We are surprised that these originals are not better protected.
We take some pictures, admiring the Kalashnikov and walk back to the jetty, where we wait for the others. Here we see the everyday life of Ethiopians. Fetching water from the lake despite Bilharzioses, which is carried in jars and cans for miles to their houses.
One monastery is still on our agenda. Dehre Maryam. The building can not assume that it was a famous monastery, in which even two councils were held. Despite its simplicity it pleases us.
We also marvel at one of the oldest manuscripts, the tetra Psalter with valuable illustrations, dated between 1360 and 1380.
Our day trip is over. In brisk ride we go back to Bahir Dar.
At the campsite we make ourselves more comfortable and in the morning we start to Addis Ababa, we must organize the yellow card insurance and want to get Kenya visa.
Lalibela is our next destination. The animals and humans have not yet adapted to the higher speeds on tar, therefore, extreme care is necessary while driving.
Traffic on the roads
In the mountainous hinterland beyond Adigrat Bine and Bodo want to visit a rock monastery. Picturesque it is on the edge. As we can see the wooden stairs structure, we do not want to climb up any more but Bodo and Bine give it a try.
Monastery on the rock
From here our route runs just to the south, we want to get to Lalibela, but until there it is still two days to drive.
We find a place to sleep beside the road and quite a few children are here to observe us. My wife asks them a lot of questions which the boys do not like and they are leaving, which ensured a good night.
After the obligatory cup of coffee in the morning, we travel on.
The last 30 kilometers before Lalibela, we are already tired of the corrugated road and increase our speed to 70km/h because you do not feel the pumps at that speed and sail over the pumps but you have little control over the vehicle. Conclusion: I can hear our bearings.
They belong to the last rock-hewn churches built in the 12th Century. These churches are rectangular layout, as opposed to churches built round the 16th Century. However, each of the 11 churches has its own character. King Lalibela had built the church into the red tuff, so the legend says. Angels have continued to be built them at night and accomplished so double the work performance.
Lalibela Monastery
More realistic is, that they had been built under several kings, among whom was a King Lalibela. It is still not entirely clear why there is this unique concentration of various rock buildings. Lalibela is a symbolic representation of Jerusalem. There is a place Golgotha, a grave of Adam, and a grave of Jesus.
Lalibela Monastery
Although a fee must be paid for the entrance, Lalibela is not a museum but an active faith center, there are still active services held in front of believers and they speak their prayers and religious songs.
Unfortunately, this also is the place where we separate from Bine and Bodo after two months of traveling together. Bodo and Bine go a different route, it takes us to Bahir Dar on Lake Tana.
The fallen stela was already broken at the time of its construction. Stelae are markers of tombs. Over time they have developed into high-rise buildings decorated with entrance door and floors, similar to the houses as they are found in Yemen.
Axum Stelae
The major Aksum monuments in the town are the steles, which can be seen already from the distance. These obelisks date back 1,700 years and are for sure the identity of the Ethiopians. The bigger site is the Northern Stelae Parkwith the Great Stele reaching 33 metres in the heights and it is said that it has fallen and broken already during construction. The Obelisk of Axum was robbed by the Italian army in 1937, and returned to Ethiopia in 2005 and reerected in 2008. The 2nd tallest is the King Ezana’s Stele with 24 metres in height. Three other stelae are 18.2 m, 15.8 m and 15.3 m (50 ft) high. The stelae mark graves The Gudit Stelae to the west of town, unlike the northern area, are interspersed with mostly 4th century tombs.
Axum – Kids collect water
We are more interested in the carts with the yellow and red tanks. They transport water from the river or pond, because there is no running water in the houses of Axum.
Public water transport
We leave Axum north from here there is brand new tarmac and it is a pleasure to glide through the beautiful landscape.
The Ethiopian highlands are of rugged beauty, sparsely populated, averaging over 2,000 meters above sea level. Only a few roads go from north to south, little traffic, therefore gravel roads, only maintained rarely.
Ethiopian Highlands Road
Ethiopia spends little money for infrastructure, mountain roads are expensive to maintain and build. We move forward slowly. We are heavily loaden, have spare diesel on board, and the slopes are difficult. For hours we meet no other vehicle.
We enjoy the scenery, enjoy the deep gorges and forget the effort it takes to travel here.
Ethiopian Highlands Road
We are exhausted and take a coffee break. The entire transportation of goods to the north runs through this route. Truck drivers know the route and need two days from Gondar to Axum. We will take us four days.
Coffee Break
There are only a few villages in the north. The farmers live in scattered huts and plough the barren ground. They plant corn and other crops and keep cattle, but more frequently goats.
The northern highland is divided into broad plateaus characterized by table mountains and deep valleys. While the population in Europe has settled in highland valleys, here they inhabit the high plateaus. The valleys divide the land and prevent communication in many places. The valley sections north of Gondar are the borders between the provinces Begemder, Tigray and Simien.
As soon as we stop at the roadside, out of nowhere numerous children appear. They are usually shy at first, but curiosity wins and they get closer. Bodo shares his snack. The heads of the girls and boys are shaved to prevent lice and fleas, probably. Traditionally they wear floor-length dresses.
The red earth is for us like hell, because the fine dust gets in our vehicles and covers everything with a thick layer. It is already late afternoon and we are tired. We begin to look for a place to stay. The road winds down to the river Tekezze where we want to set up our camp.
Camp above the river
Early morning we scare up a camel, which can not decide which side it prefers to escape.
In a bigger village we find ourselves in a procession. It could be a national or religious holiday. We do not know, but the colorful umbrellas are beautiful to look at.
Political or religious we do not know
A detour. Road construction is in full process across the country. Above all, China is building the roads, in return for economic impact and the hedging of future markets for Chinese goods.
After some time we reach Axum and take a look at the columns.
Soon after Gondar begins one of the most breathtaking areas of Ethiopia. The area is becoming increasingly inhospitable and rough, the villages poorer, the Ethiopian roads worse. We have heard a lot about the North, boundless poverty coupled with wonderful scenery, friendly people, but also robberies and bandits, it is controversial – the North, only a few people travel to the provinces of Gondar, Wollo and Tigray. In the media we often hear from the crisis-hidden region of Tigray. Why do we want to go there, we do not know, is it adventure, is it curiosity, anyway we are already on the road, some 400 km of rocky roads ahead of us, we will have to camp in the bush, because there is no accommodation or camping.
We leave a last outpost of civilization to the Ethiopian Highlands. From now on, we will not see any settlement for days because of the bad road we reach an average speed of 12 km per hour, daily maximum 100 km, then you fall dead into the bed of the camper. We have a squeaking noise at the vehicle. Will we get into a bigger problem? Shock absorbers, wheel bearings, or even a transmission or engine mount? We do not know. There is no return, so we go on. Maybe we can locate the sound and fix the damage in Axum.
We get a lot of dust. The dust is pulled into the car through the back door, everything is covered with a finger-thick layer of dust. Before the night the car must be properly cleaned. The road always takes its tribute. Again we see trucks on their sides. Axles or lack of concentration could be the cause.
The day is coming to an end, we will soon have to find a safe place for the night to continue further on in the morning.
The next morning we leave Tim and Kim Village and heading back on the gravel road. Roads are often washed away and you have to dodge around the area, this time we just have to pass a dry river bed.
Gondar
In the early afternoon we reach Gondar, the historic royal city. First, we visit the palace district, the so-called Gemp. The plant was started in 1630 and over the years more buildings have been added to construction. The whole district includes 7,000 square meters and is surrounded by an enclosure wall with 12 gates. No buildings are alike.
Gondar – Palace
The best preserved is the palace of Fasilides, it is the oldest on the site and is the symbol of Gondar. A legend says that an old man had advised the Emperor to build, instead of a pond, his palace here. First he had built four towers, one for himself, one for his wife, one for audiences, and the court.
The space in between was roofed over later for banquets. The Palace has almost square floor plan of 25 x 25 meters. The interiors are still used for official events occasionally. From the palace you have a good look at the archive. This two-story building with corner tower is now a ruin.
In the yellow plaster building is the library of the Emperor John. The upper floor is reached by a staircase. Today the management of the Gemp is housed here. Emperor Dawit III had built later this singer hall.
At the very end of the complex there is the Palace of Mentewab. The Empress built the palace in a trench, the upper floor is accessed via a bridge. The turret is to be construed more as an ornament than as a defensive tower. Door and window frames are divided beautiful. The palace now houses the town library of Gondar.
Ethiopia is famous for its churches and monasteries. We visit the monastery of Debre Berhan Selassie. One enters the plant, which is surrounded by a wall through a gatehouse with tower. The Monastery was built in 1700 and consecrated the same year. Into the perimeter wall towers and apartments are built for the monks. According to legend, it was not only the strong wall that saved the monastery in 1888 from the onslaught of the Mahdists. A swarm of bees attacked the assailants, who then fled from the monastery.
Gondar – Monastery
The church itself is built in an odd shape. The long rectangular building copies the form of a basilica in Axum, dealing with pillars, as the rock church Medhane Alem in Lalibela.
On the ceiling winged heads of angels are painted, with the big eyes, typical of the style of Gondar. The wall paintings are among the finest in Ethiopia. Today’s paintings have been restored during the 19th century. On the walls there are almost all aspects of Ethiopia’s religious paintings represented.
Monastery Paintings on the ceiling
We drive on to the bath of the Fasilides. The unique water tower stands in a garden overgrown with large trees. On site is a pool of 70 by 40 meters, in which the castle is built. The pool is for reasons of preservation not filled with water all year round. Just for Timkat celebration, the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, is it filled with a water pipe from the river. After people had spent the night in prayer, the Bishop of Gondar inaugurates the water by dipping his cross, which is the sign for the children to jump into the sacred waters of the basin. A wooden cross is allowed to float on the water, from the direction in which it floats, the priest read the future.
Bath of the Fasilidas.
We are tired of culture by now, we want to explore the more remote parts of Ethiopia, especially the northern parts around Axum. Early morning we leave our guest house. We could park and camp in the courtyard, a little cramped, but definitely with a flair.
Soon the paved road goes over into a gravel road. But it is in good condition and we can drive comfortably with 60 km / h.
Road to Lake Tana
After about an hour we reach Gorgora, from here it is about half an hour to Tim and Kim Village at Lake Tana. People at the roadside marvel, not often foreign vehicles come along here. We will see later in other parts of Africa that children sometimes run away in panic at the sight of white people. We later learned that here in Africa the white man is the one who steals the children, of course, not the black man like in Europe. Here the whites are the evil.
In the last village before Tim and Kim Village we come to a halt. The truck of Bodo and Bine is wide and high, and have problems with the low-hanging power lines. Because we are smaller and lighter and the road is uncertain, we drive ahead to see how the road condition is. The road is bad, but not impassable, we pass this information on by radio to our friends. And suddenly there in front of us, Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia. It is situated 1860 meters above sea level with a depth of 72 meters.
We drive to the camping area directly situated on the banks and are amazed that we again see the Dutch couple we had met months earlier in Cairo. Unfortunately, they continue on the same day. We have an idyllic spot overlooking the lake and want to relax for a few days, the last days we spent many hours in our vehicles.
Lake Tana Campsite
Kim and Tim Village is a relief project, which goes back to a Dutch donor group. The goal is to build a lodge with a campsite in a few years and pass it on upon completion to a local manager. Tim and Kim build everything themselves, they only have a few helpers and work hard from morning to night. They are also far from civilization, thus exposed to many diseases and had been some serious attacks of malaria.
Schistosomiasis is apparently not existent in this part of Lake Tana, and so we use the water from the lake for washing and cooking. We enjoy the peace and tranquility at the lake and the beautiful landscape. Lake Tana is a paradise for ornithologists. There are countless species of birds, some only exist here at the lake.
Patient and disciplined people are waiting for the start of the distribution. The tension is high, the goods are spread out, and one can even munch on what pieces you can get hold of.
distribution of donations
Tim manages the distribution, because he knows the residents of the village and tries to distribute balanced. Finally everyone should get its share and not one person all of the things. He also makes sure that everyone gets only those things he can also really need. Of course, it is difficult to prevent, that one or the other piece is finally sold on the black market, which however should not happen. On the other hand, if a shirt is exchanged or sold for something else, which is perhaps more urgently needed , the clothes donation meets its purpose, as long as no alcohol or drugs are purchased.
Of course there is juice and cake, a nice gesture of the two Dutchmen, because thus it is a meeting among friends and no relief distribution, the two really organized with sensitivity.
The distribution of Western goods is always problematic, in general the issue of development aid is controversy. We discuss on this subject many evenings and there appear some questions to be answered with great difficulty. Is it a disturbance for the culture of the people here, will they still produce their traditional clothing, does it create a dependency from the West,does it encourage begging, are people really in need or are they just in need within the meaning of Western thought, is one in need if there is no satellite dish on thatched roof? All difficult questions and we have seen, unfortunately, just a lot of abuse in Ethiopia from relief organisation, expensive land cruiser rushing down the roads, the sign of charity at the door, ultimately, everybody must decide for itself, how he deals with these things.
Kim+Tim Village
In any case, the action was much joy and we sort out our thoughts and our pictures, because we will head to Gondar, a city with much history.
Our first Ethiopia impressions are mixed. Gallabat consists only of a few mud huts, and the customs officials sitting in a mud hut as well.
We have heard a lot about Ethiopia from other travelers. Apparently a lot of people gather around a vehicle as soon as it stops. Some have also said that they were really harassed. Forewarned, we depart from the main road out of sight and find a good place for the night, it promises a peaceful night.
In such situations, Tara is a big help. Most Africans and Arabs fear dogs, especially black dogs and therefore we had always been lucky at the borders, because the officers avoid to search the car if possible, because Tara does not tolerate strangers in the car. But officers have a rather easy going way, passports stamped, carnet stamped, although none is required for Ethiopia, but here they like stamps, not a single look into the car, unimaginable.
The night was really quiet, just in the evening two shepherds guided their animals home, they greeted us and did not else take notice of us.
The road to Gondar is in good condition, but we do not drive to Gondar, but first turn off into a gravel road to Lake Tana. There, Tim and Kim, two Dutch, have started a relief project.
Ethiopia Impressions
Slowly, the road climbs up into the mountains. Time passes and again we drive through roadside villages and every time there are a lot of people on the road.
Ethiopia Impressions
Everywhere in the country highways are improved at the moment. The building of fresh tarmac of the main routes is progressing rapidly. Built by Chinese companies, of course, they want economic influence in the country.
The road villages are always created equally, simple mud huts with tin roofs, the modernized form of round huts with thatched roof, it is our first Ethiopia impressions.
Ethiopia Impressions
We enjoy the ride through this beautiful country, we imagined quite differently.
Commuter transit is carried out, as in the rest of Africa, by small mini buses for 9 to 15 people registered. The road winds uphill more steeply. Ethiopia is generally situated at very high altitude , we will cross passes, which are above 3000 meters and our vehicles will fight rather heavily due to the thin air of the mountains. At the top, we stop and enjoy the view. Here true Africa starts, savanna-like landscape in hilly areas.
It is extremely dry here, everything is dried up, apparently it has not rained for a long time. Bine is enthusiastic and shoots photo by photo. Bodo also loves photography. They are both very committed and make really good pictures. We enjoy the time with them and have loads of fun.
A heavy truck crawls up the street. At road construction in this rocky terrain no regard is taken to the steepness of a road, unlike in Europe, as in Western countries they build more tunnels and bridges, which would be far too expensive here and here you have time anyway, the only thing the Africans have plenty of.
Soon we reach the first really large city. I urgently need a Sim card for the phone, here we will try our luck. You learn from faults a proverb says. As we had a lot of problems with our car in Tunisia we had to call several times to Europe, we ended up with a phone bill of 1000 €. Since we always use SIM cards from the respective countries, our phone costs have fallen dramatically. So we hope to get an Ethiopian SIM card here. We look for the post office, there should be cards available. Found! Stopping left at the side and try our luck. Sorry, no! In Ethiopia, one needs a passport, that is not the problem, 2 photographs, no problem, submit a request and after 6 weeks you get the SIM card sent to you, then you have to buy phone credits and load to your mobile phone. Just one problem, we can not wait for six weeks, perhaps there is a different solution.
In the meantime, Tara has displaced my wife from the front passenger seat and enjoys the scenery. She likes to sit in the passenger seat, in Western countries it is strictly prohibited. Here, nobody cares, the people are more than surprised or laugh when they see a dog in the passenger seat. The best she likes, when animals cross the road, which she finds really exciting.
In Ethiopia, more than anywhere else you have the impression that the road is built for pedestrian traffic, tons of people are on the road. About 77 million people live in Ethiopia, of which 43% are under 15, the age of 65 is reached only by 3%. From 1994 to 2007 the population rose from 49 million to 77 million. The average life expectancy is 48 years, per 1000 live – there are 110 stillbirths.
In Azezo we turn towards Gorgora on Lake Tana. So far our first Ethiopia impressions.
Gedaref is the last town before the border. From Khartoum we head towards Ethiopia. Soon after Khartoum Africa is changing and there appear the first round thatched huts as they are so typical for black Africa.
Gadaref
Since there are no campsites and we do not make it up before dark to the border, we are looking for a place away from the road in the bush. Bush camping is no problem in Sudan, the people are very friendly and you can sleep undisturbed.
Early in the morning we go on, if all goes well and the roads are good, we are crossing the border into Ethiopia today.
Bine reports on the radio that their last Sudanese pounds have to be exchanged. Gedaref is the last major town before the Ethiopian border, there is also a bank. We have to look for it.
We stop in a side street and wait for Bine. Gedaref is for Sudanese conditions, a larger city. It is the center for the agricultural hinterland, Sorghum and sesame is cultivated here. Even cattle breeding is done in the region, especially by nomadic Arabs.
With the donkey cart, the grain is brought into the city to the many mills that contribute as a small craft on the urban economy.
Soon all shopping is done and we move on. A strange-looking landscape accompanied us. There is little traffic, people and domestic animals are the most common road users in this part of Sudan.
Village near the border
Although peace reigns at the moment, it there has been disturbances again and again. Reasons are lack of political representation of communities in the national government and a low investment in the development of Eastern Sudan.
Animals have right of way, as everywhere in Africa, they are after all, the livelihood of the people here, an animal run over is a worse offense than to hurt or to kill a man – common in all of Africa.
bush camp near the border
Patiently we wait until the herd is crossing the road. From a caretaker is no trace.
Suddenly we discover the boy, who should take care of the camel herd. He must have forgotten that his animals are crossing the streets. The boy is maybe 8 to 10 years and has a responsible job. Spontaneously, the term child labor comes into our mind. But this concept is one of the western world. Child labor is not a concept for the Sudanese. They have a different view of the world, other necessities, children simply grow up in the family. Slowly they are growing up with the tasks and I get the impression that they are not so unhappy. Reading and writing most of them learn in the Islamic school.
In brisk drive we approach the border. Already early in the afternoon we crossed the border and found a place to sleep on the Ethiopian side of the border.
