Ethiopia Pictures Posted
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Ethiopia Pictures Posted
I am happy to say that I have finished going through our Ethiopia pictures, and now all five galleries are up -- one each for Bahir Dar, Gondar, Axum, Lalibela and Addis Ababa.
There are a few bird pictures, especially in the Gondar gallery, of some birds that I would appreciate any assistance identifying.
Now I am turning my attention to our pictures from Ngamba Island, so those should go up in a few days.
All the pictures are at www.pbase.com/cwillis. I hope you enjoy them!
Chris
There are a few bird pictures, especially in the Gondar gallery, of some birds that I would appreciate any assistance identifying.
Now I am turning my attention to our pictures from Ngamba Island, so those should go up in a few days.
All the pictures are at www.pbase.com/cwillis. I hope you enjoy them!
Chris
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Thanks, Linda, it won't have quite the excitement and color that yours did, but I will try to be comprehensive -- I have already written about 8 pages on it, but then I got sidetracked trying to deal with all of the pictures.
Chris
Chris
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Chris, thanks, those are excellent and really comprehensive. I'm currently putting together a trip for 2008, which will take me to Asmara (Eritrea), Djibouti, fly to Dire Dawa to visit Harar (if Djibuout Airlines is still operating this route then), then to Lalibela, one other stop on the northern circuit and Addis (so I'm only considering two stops on the traditional northern circuit). I need to spend a lot more time reviewing your photos to help plan my itinerary, but how would you rank the stops in the northern circuit?
Thanks, Michael
Thanks, Michael
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Michael, that is a really easy question. Here is how I would rank them in order of how much we enjoyed them:
1) Lalibela
2) Gondar
3) Axum
4) Bahir Dar
I say it is an easy question because we thought Lalibela and Gondar were head and shoulders more enjoyable than the other two we visited. Axum was worth visiting, but has only a very limited number of things to do/see, although it has the allure of being the site with the most ancient ruins. Bahir Dar was definitely our least favorite.
If you have any designs to go trekking, you might consider Gondar for that as well, as Gondar is the jumping-off point for the Simien Mountains.
My wife just mentioned to me yesterday that she wants to plan our next trip to Africa for July 2008 so that we can be in Cape Town for the peak of great white shark season. That is a big piece of unfinished business for us, so I am excited to be planning that.
Feel free to ask any other questions that might help you in planning your Ethiopia visit.
Chris
1) Lalibela
2) Gondar
3) Axum
4) Bahir Dar
I say it is an easy question because we thought Lalibela and Gondar were head and shoulders more enjoyable than the other two we visited. Axum was worth visiting, but has only a very limited number of things to do/see, although it has the allure of being the site with the most ancient ruins. Bahir Dar was definitely our least favorite.
If you have any designs to go trekking, you might consider Gondar for that as well, as Gondar is the jumping-off point for the Simien Mountains.
My wife just mentioned to me yesterday that she wants to plan our next trip to Africa for July 2008 so that we can be in Cape Town for the peak of great white shark season. That is a big piece of unfinished business for us, so I am excited to be planning that.
Feel free to ask any other questions that might help you in planning your Ethiopia visit.
Chris
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Thanks, very interesting. While I had Lalibela in the No. 1 position, I would have thought Bahir Dar to be No. 2 (as the jumping off point for the lake monasteries). But, in the end, it may depend on how the flights work in conjection with getting to or from Lalibela (which is a "must". Anyway, I have plenty of time to plan.
The great white trip is a "must do" -- I have visited Cape Town twice, and the shark dive was the primary reason for both trips.
The great white trip is a "must do" -- I have visited Cape Town twice, and the shark dive was the primary reason for both trips.
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At the present time, getting to any of the other cities from Lalibela is quite easy. Ethiopian airlines runs a daily "northern historical loop" service that flies from Addis to Bahir Dar, then Gondar, then Lalibela, then Axum. Then in the afternoon they do the exact same route in reverse. So you just hop on the plane when it arrives and stay on until you arrive at wherever you want to go. The flight times are short, as the cities are all relatively close to one another.
We visited Cape Town in September 2003 and went out to Seal Island, but that is not the peak season for white sharks, so we saw a couple, but we couldn't get any interested enough in hanging around the boat to put the cage in the water. So next time, we will hit the peak season and devote more than one day to it. We are also considering splitting our shark time between Seal Island and Dyer Island if we go back.
Chris
We visited Cape Town in September 2003 and went out to Seal Island, but that is not the peak season for white sharks, so we saw a couple, but we couldn't get any interested enough in hanging around the boat to put the cage in the water. So next time, we will hit the peak season and devote more than one day to it. We are also considering splitting our shark time between Seal Island and Dyer Island if we go back.
Chris
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Michael, did you use White Shark Ecoventures? That seems to be the most popular/respected cage diving operator that goes to Dyer Island. We went to Seal Island with Rob Lawrence from African Shark Eco-Charters, having seem Rob and his partner Chris Fallows on a bunch of National Geo and Discovery Channel specials, including "Air Jaws," which was filmed from the same boat they take tourists out on. We saw three seals attacked by sharks, including one unsuccessful but prolonged attack, but then we anchored and chummed for about 5 hours with no luck at all.
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Yes, I went with White Shark Ecoventures (it was four+ years ago, but as best as I can remember, my guide was named Robert Cope, and he was great -- I'm 100% sure about his first name, but much less certain about his surname).