South to Addis from Gondar

We decided to go via Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile and Bahir Dar. Magnificent mountain scenery green fields and pine trees another world from the arid North African Landscape that we have been traveling through for the last 3 months. We bought honey and drank local beer but unfortunately we couldn’t enjoy the scenery because we were mobbed every time we stopped.


I did an experiment to see how long it took people to appear when we stopped in an apparently deserted spot and it was about 30 seconds on average! A south African couple we met who were traveling on motorbikes gave up on their modesty after a couple of abortive “pee stops”
Bahrir Dar was as the guide books describe it Ethiopias riviera …wide tree lined boulevards

the lake was beautiful and to give an idea of size it takes a day and a half by boat from Bahir Dar to Gorgora on the North coast!
We hired a boat and visited a lakeside monastery

and went to the point in the lake where the Blue Nile starts its course to the sea and saw a family of 4 hippo “Mum, Dad, Aunty Glad and a Baby” beautiful.


We saw amazing birds and a huge flock of pelicans.


The road on south to Addis was more of the same, beautiful, but huge potholes scattered liberally around to keep the concentration level high. The well recommended Wims Holland House.
Wims is a sanctuary in the middle of this busy city but we are really glad to have our own beds… their rooms are very basic but the beer is cold and the company (Ven and Anita going north and Larry and Sharon going south) a treat.

Ven and Anita