Ethiopia Feb 2020 independent budget (1 Viewer)

Obviously the situation may have changed, but when we visited in 2012, the agency we used to hire the vehicle told us that the area in which Heuglin's Bustard and Somali Wheatear are found was not safe, and they would not allow their vehicle to be taken there. I would be surprised if the situation had improved here - I believe it wasn't a local tribal conflict, but related to Somali insurgency.

DMW said:

Obviously the situation may have changed, but when we visited in 2012, the agency we used to hire the vehicle told us that the area in which Heuglin's Bustard and Somali Wheatear are found was not safe, and they would not allow their vehicle to be taken there. I would be surprised if the situation had improved here - I believe it wasn't a local tribal conflict, but related to Somali insurgency.

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Thanks, so that's the Bustard and Wheatear out, probably.

T.O. said:

Last September the forest rest house in Dinsho was closed, I have no idea whether it might have re-opened since, but it seemed as if the lease of the last owner ended... The guy who did the Owl tracking stopped working at the lodge a few years ago already, but he was still tracking owls, the National Park guides know him .

This would mean there is no proper accomodation anymore in Dinsho, which means staying in Robe or Goba is the only option....

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Re Dinsho: the Forest Rest house was still closed in February - there was a rumour that the lease had been purchased and it would reopen - no idea when. A group was camping by the main entrance.

There is some 'local' style accommodation in Dinsho - no idea on the quality (I suspect very basic) and plenty of choice in Robe.

Abdullah was doing the owl roosts - I had been there 11 years previously and followed the same routine.

halftwo said:

Hi, Carol,

Beseka, Awassa, Langano & Ziway.

Richard

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Thank you, Richard, for the clarification.

How would everyone feel about including a flamingo spectacle in the group itinerary, please, or is this something I should look to pursue in an extension ?

Kind regards, Carol

halftwo said:

Well, I go out for the evening and all this happens!

Carol: I've pmed two people who had previously expressed interest: Mark (MSA) & Robert Scanlon (who doesn't appear to be on BF much) but no response so far - but less than 2 days yet.

Sacha: thanks for the offer.

Kelvin & Yvonne : welcome.

OK: Itinerary/route, etc.

Addis - via Sululta - Debra Libranos & Portuguese Bridge
Jemma Valley
Ankober, Melkha Ghebdu
Awash/Bilen/Aleghedi
Awash - Lake Beseka
Wondo Genet
Dinsho area Bale
Sanetti area Bale
Harenna - Negele
Liben Plains, Melka Guba
Mega/Soda
Awassa
Lake Langano & Ziway

Now, that covers the main birding hotspots and almost all the endems.

If both Jo & Andy are happy with that we have some little leeway for tweaking.

Assuming we are now six (2× 4x4).

Unless 3 others say they want to join us...

As I've already mooted, this itinerary is essentially 14 nights (not including anyone staying overnight in Addis) and 15 full days' birding. So have a good look at flight times so that we can get both Saturdays as full days.

Also, looks like the last 2 weeks of Feb are the choice.

Let me know your thoughts and comments.

Richard

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Good morning. Richard.

Have you received any response from Mark ( MSA) and Robert Scanlon, yet ?

I am not entirely clear how many people we are now for this trip ?

I believe it is currently 5 from reading the thread, again, today - ie you, Kelvin, Yvonne , Jo and myself , with Andy as a possible, is that correct ?

Does 5 work for you from a cost's perspective, Richard or do we need to find / confirm a sixth person, for it to be viable economically for you ? If you can update please ? I can put some feelers out with my contacts, if that helps and you would like there to be a sixth person ( ie 3 people in each 4x4 Landcruiser) ?

Have you decided who is your preferred ground agent yet, Richard , or are you still awaiting quotes to come back ?

Kind regards, Carol

Apologies everyone, but circumstances now mean that Yvonne and I will have to pull out. Very sorry to have messed anyone about, and good luck for the trip. Kelvin

Sorry to hear that Kelvin and Yvonne.

Welsh Peregrine said:

Apologies everyone, but circumstances now mean that Yvonne and I will have to pull out. Very sorry to have messed anyone about, and good luck for the trip. Kelvin

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I've pm'ed you Kelvin, but your inbox is full.

R

Try again. K

Hi, all.

I've been rather busy lately. Anyway...

We are now down to four potential participants.

Time is getting on, and we need to start booking.

Before I start booking ground agents and flights, etc I need to know how many we are. So please let me know if you are in or out, as soon as possible.

Itinerary is as stated - with the possibility of the extra 2 or 3 days as I stated earlier. This will give us the flexibility we need to get all the birds (& mammals) we have talked about, and discussed. There remains the possible uncertainty of the southern loop - this might change between now and February.

So: 15, 16 or even 17 ground days: state your preference (flight availability might restrict this).

Would you prefer two vehicles for comfort, and the extra cost; or one? (Divide $160 per day by two or four: a big difference.)

Is everyone happy to go for maximum flexibility rather than booking ahead? Anyone have any preference re accommodation type/minimum requirements?

Once I have all this info I can go back to the ground agents and get back with a more accurate costing.

Thanks,

Richard

Hi Richard

I think if we are a group of three we could get away with a single vehicle. Four would be too uncomfortable so we'd need two cars.

As for the length of the trip, I'm reasonably open minded. I'm happy to retain flexibility over much of the tour. The only thing I would ask is to please allow me that second night in Goba as a certainty since the wolves are my main reason for going on this trip.

I'm open to getting advice from operators as to where to stay and how to travel, be it camping or lodges. There was mention of a lodge closure at Dinsho. The advice I have had from bale mountains ecotours is that for Dinsho you can drive to Sodota campsite which is currently also very good area for wolves, even better than sanetti (allegedly). It's a 25km drive in a 4x4 from Dinsho hq. If there's no accommodation at Dinsho and we decide to do a camping option then this could potentially be a great option for the night we have there.

Also, I have a friend who currently works in Ethiopia and who has kindly offered to give me details of some wolf den sites. So hopefully we can get some really nice views of them.


I'm happy for us to decide as we go along where else we want to add time. My hope would be to extend time in areas that are productive for both birds and mammals, so Awash/Alideghe, possibly Harenna forest (if spotlighting is still feasible) and maybe around the lakes so we can cover Senkelle and the soda lakes Abijata shalla to see the flamingo spectacle.

This shouldn't take us any further out of the way than we currently have planned and would give us the potential to mop up targets (birds & mammals) that we might otherwise miss with a more challenging schedule. Plus it will allow us to have more dawn/dusk time at each site rather than constantly having to move on, increasing the chance to see nocturnal wildlife and be in the right place for dawn birding. I do really think that, where feasible, a couple of nights in each location is a sensible idea, especially where mist and fog can be an issues as it can be on the plateau.

I wouldn't want to commit to an extra 2-3 nights if it means cramming more remote sites in as I feel we are doing enough travel as it is (and from reading comments above it seems those ideas for the bustard & wheatear etc are a non-starter in any case).


Alternatively, if the rest of the group decide that 15 nights is preferable, you suggested previously that we might be able to finish up at Bale and my alternative plan was that I could add in a 2 -3 night hike in the area and so take the pressure off the rest of the group to accommodate my wishes. Extending the core trip would mean I would not have sufficient leave left to do this. So this would only be feasible with the 15 night option.

All the best

Jo

Hi Richard,

Thank you for all of your continued help and efforts in putting this trip together.

Re amount of days my preference is for the maximum numbers of days- which I think that you are saying is 17 ?

With regard to the number of people in a vehicle, I am conscious of our previous comments re 3 being the ideal from a comfort point of view, but am also appreciative of the cost implications of this. At the time we were looking at a group of 6, ie 2 x 4 by 4. However, as it stands we are now 4 possibles, assuming you have received no response from Richard or MSA ? Are you able to ask the ground agent to give an idea of the size dimensions of the inside of the vehicle/ send pictures of the internal space please ? Hopefully your request for air -con will be adhered to.

I am happy to be flexible re booking accommodation versus not booking. Perhaps it might be sensible to have the first night booked, as we will have been travelling overnight the night before, if taking the overnight flight from Heathrow to Addis.

Best regards,Carol

Hi everyone,

I was doing some research , last night, on accommodation options and came across this budget hotel in Debra Birhan, The Getva Hotel.

The most recent trip advisor review , from June this year, said as follows :

" Well-Working internet and shower makes this hotel likely the best option in town
Getva hotel was previously called Eva hotel, and is owned by one of the great Ethiopian runners, Gete Wami. It is located along the main road in Debre Birhan, a bit noisy from the traffic but with a nice view form the top floors and close to the city centre. Debre Birhan is a medium-size Ethiopian town with plenty of small restaurants and coffee shops but little entertainment or shopping aimed at tourists. The Ankober is rather close so it would be an option for visitors to that historic site.
The hotel is big, rooms were 600-800 ETB a night and it is clean. No bugs. There is an elevator between floors 1 and 3 but it would be difficult to reach from the bottom floor for disabled people, I think. There are large rooms for conferences with projector and there is a large divided dining room. A typical rather sparse breakfast is included, eggs available for omelette on our first day but not the second, and for paying guests your can eat a la carte lunch and dinner at good standard and resonable price (200-300 ETB). A separate traditional building in the parking place hosts a small more traditional type circular restaurant (a bit smoky) where they seem to bring all foods from the main kitchen of the hotel, but it is nice place to eat or have coffee.
There is a small gym in the hotel that I did not test but apparently classes working. There is a small playground in the garden next to the parking place and plenty of beautiful perennial flowers in small garden with places to sit and talk or work.
The lobby is large and the enormous sofas can host small groups working.
The rooms are large enough with separate bathroom with toilet. The shower was a very positive surprise with plenty of hot water and good pressure, without water leaking all over which is so common even in more expensive hotels. Beds are nice, there was a small safe, and plenty of sockets for electricity of whom about every 2nd seemed to work. Lack of working bedside-lamp and lamp by the nice chair for reading brought impression down a bit.
First day there I had surprisingly good wifi and internet, both in the lobby and in my room om third floor, better than I have experienced in other hotels and with a smarter access system than elsewhere based on your phone nr. I could work with down-loading documents etc. Front-desk service is a bit weak, missing towels took two calls to get, and internet was closed down by central administration on the second day when I visited but front desk insisted it worked, and hence did not differ between the working wifi and the lack of internet.
So for the "big basic 5" that I look for in hotels (bed, working internet, hot shower, water and electricity) this hotel actually scored 5/5. For the "small 5" (writing desk, armchair, bedside lamp, safe, hotpot) it scored 3/5. This makes it good value for money and likely the best option around.
Read less
Date of stay: June 2019
Trip type: Travelled on business
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
1 Helpful vote
"

This sounds like a good option if we require accommodation there.

With regard to Debra Libanos, the Ethio German Hotel seems to have a persistent thread running through all it's Trip Advisor reviews that it has no running, bucket or standing water, whatsoever- so no ability at all to have a shower; flush the toilet or even throw a bucket of water down the loo !!

Does anyone have any suggestions for other places to stay for that part of the trip, please ?

Best regards, Carol

Thanks for the further information, Jo & Carol.

I'll have a look into accommodation in more detail soon.
But, the Ethio-German Hotel does seem rather dire, so it might be wise to carry on to the one on the other side of the Jemma Gorge & stay there - assuming there is enough time.

I read about an alternative "Debre Libanos
The Ethio-German Hotel is already closed, we therefore stayed in another hotel (called
“Top View” in the past and now it has a different name with “View” in the end). It was
basic but good, the food was good as well and the view is phenomenal. You can
contact the administrator ([email protected]) for bookings of further
information.
Anyway, the Gelada Baboon appear to be coming up to the hotel grazing around it
every day at about 10am. If they wouldn’t be there they would be a bit further away
down the road. The administrator is very helpful and would help you find them."


This trip report refers: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAOegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw2fgA5xEMT7LELpwSSDFOP5

OK,

I've been in touch again with the ground agents.

I've asked about the Ethio-German Hotel and alternatives, and will ask about the one you have mentioned, too, Jo.

I've asked about the situation in the Negele - Yabello road/region & driver's knowledge of the same.

I've asked about accommodation in the Dinsho area.

I've said we must have aircon in the vehicle(s).

Looking again at flights: my best bet is a flight that gets me to Addis at 00:55 on friday 14th.
It leaves at 01:50 on Sun 1st of March.

This is currently £457. It gives 16 full days on the ground, and I can't find a better bet.

So: are you all happy with those dates? Any flight getting you to Addis early am on the 14th and leaving evening of the 28th or after would work. Any alternatives for me are either problematic date-wise, or more costly.

I really feel we should be booking flights this month - last year they were booked up or expensive later in the year.

Andy: are you definitely coming along?

I'll read up some more on accommodation today, hopefully get a reply from the agents re today's questions soon. If you have other specific questions for the agents let me know for my next communication with them.

If anyone's thinking of Migfest at Spurn this weekend I'll be going either Sat or Sun.

Cheers

Richard

Hi Richard,

Thank you.

As per my earlier postings : " Are you able to ask the ground agent to give an idea of the size dimensions of the inside of the vehicle/ send pictures of the internal space please ? " and did you ask the ground agent about the Getva hotel ?

Best, Carol

Please can people let me know their views on my post 164, too, thank you ie the inclusion of a flamingo spectacle. From my research Lake Chelekleka also seems worth inclusion too, so please could you let me have your views on this too.

Thank you

Best regards, Carol

Carol Rushton said:

Please can people let me know their views on my post 164, too, thank you ie the inclusion of a flamingo spectacle. From my research Lake Chelekleka also seems worth inclusion too, so please could you let me have your views on this too.

Thank you

Best regards, Carol

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I'll do some research into Chelekleka - if the lake has similar species to others & isn't out of the way, & there is time...!

I'll ask re vehicles' size.

Looking into Detva Hotel

R

halftwo said:

I'll do some research into Chelekleka - if the lake has similar species to others & isn't out of the way, & there is time...!

I'll ask re vehicles' size.

Looking into Detva Hotel

R

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Thank you, Richard.

It is the internal space inside the vehicle that is of concern to me - ie how many can sit in the front, ( which I am assuming is only 1 plus driver ) and how many can comfortably sit in the back, with access to a window . For me, as I have said before, I do not want to be squashed into the back seat and have 3 people squeezed onto that seat, with someone in the middle.....If there are 3 rows of seats that is different, but I suspect that is not the case ..... the roads in the southern loop are the reason I believe, from my research, why a minivan is not an option.......

The Getva ( not Detva ) hotel looks great, at a great price, but it may already be booked up......

Are you happy for the inclusion of the flamingo spectacle, Richard ?

Thank you, Carol