Back in Melbourne now

It's weird being back. It's almost like the trip never happened. Apart from the regular flash-backs that occur at random times through the day and creeping into my dreams at night.

I feel different having had this experience but cannot really explain. The children at the orphanage, the people of Addis and the countryside.

A taste of Ethiopia that has left me wanting more and of other places in the region also; Morocco, Egypt and I'm sorry I missed Dubai. Who knows what adventures lay ahead.

I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends in Melbourne and speaking with my family in Perth, this will help bring me back down to Earth.

Many thanks to Tim for being such a wonderful travel companion.
Thanks for following our journey.
x O.

Monday 2nd, Last day in Addis

Woken by canon fire, a 21 gun salute at 6am to mark the public holiday
for Ethiopian Independence day (from the Italians).
Out to buy last minute tourist items, Entoto market, Post Office, then
meet Tim & Japi in Hayahoulet (22), at the Zebra Bar and Grill. Have
Jamacan fish and rice. Indoor African village theme, elevator muzak
again.

Taxi to Mercato, wander aimlessly through kilometers of shanty
markets. Smells both strange and sweet. Find the metal working area,
where among the various micro industrial entrepreneurs, a whole
section where concrete re-enforcing is being hammered straight for re-
use. This place goes on forever, I could imagine disappearing in here
to never emerge.

I suprise a pick pocket who I notice has been following behind at
close range. I stop and turn around quickly to see a ten year old boy
with a hood pulled up, staring straight at me, looking dumbfounded.
I'm not really sure what to do at this point, so I just sternly stare
him out. He walks on as a guy walking past sees and suggests with a
hand motion, that I should punch his lights out. He sulks onwards.

Last minute purchase of an Ethiopian coffee pot, sooo touristy. taxi
home then pack . say goodbye and Iyob with red car to airport.

Walk into bureaucratic hell, Ethiopian style. No computers, so it's
long cues, hand written lists, carbon paper and ultimately, check in
to only the first leg of the journey, Addis to Dubai, we dont get
checked on to the Dubai - Melbourne flight. We do however get into
Business class. Sigh. It's good.

At Dubai, we struggle to get on to the flight as the flight is closed
by the time we arrive. After some time at the counter, all is okay but
no upgrade..

I can't wait to get home.

Sunday 1st

Rise at 5:30. out the door and walk / minibus to Marketo via bus
station. Boys playing A-grade soccer on asphalt which I watch for some time. Marketo closed Sunday, bummer. Walk back via piazza then water and cake, no coffee as power still out.

Meet Japi & Tim then flying visit to Royal Compound for 16th century castles, then taxi via hotel and airport. Gonder airport is great, very Canarvon (WA) 1970's. Coffee upstairs and load plane. Fokker 50. Bumpy ride home via Bahir Dar.

Back into Addis surrealness. Ice cream in Bole then Kbana to drop stuff then straight to Sheraton for 100% western mod-cons, Massage, pool, food.

Home then out to Piazza for drinks at Big Tree. Get hassled a zillion times by guys trying to get money, any way possible - hellishly annoying.

Big tree may just turn out to be a kind of cat house, have suspicions.

This place is weird.

Late night farewells.

Saturday 28th

Rise to misty mountain air. Manage to collect a handful of wood chips to re-kindle the fire. Then suddenly more wood appears. 15 birr (about 2 aud). Porridge is made and eaten, coffee, sweet and milky (powder).

Ollie snoops around camp to see what plans the others have, most are waiting for car to arrive to pick up. very few actually get picked up. There are a lot of dodgy operators out there.

I follow a troupe of baboons who have settled in our camp. Video camera out. Tim on distant hill, stalking an Ibex. I then stalk Tim with the camera and we get a last look at the view before our car arrives.

The drive back is longer than I expected, about five hours. Along the way, Jimal, our guide, gets a little stressed at my video camera. Says there's rules about professional photography and he could go to jail - a little extreme maybe? Despite this and not realising the exact circumstances, hanging out the window, I get some great shots while driving through Debark. We stop at hotel to unload cook, scout and other guy and their gear, I wander over to market. Spices and simple foods - very poor. I return to hotel to no car. I get a little stressed as I left my camera on the front seat - not to mention ALL our stuff. I find Tim and Japi inside who have no idea where he has gone. After 20 minutes, I decide to call Jimal which involves first finding a phone. Eventually the car returns and there are words spoken by Ollie to Jimal. We continue the journey, a little tense now.

Get to Gonder, Lammergeyer hotel - kitsch touristy but hot water! First shower for a few days, then walk into town. Power goes off and there's an eerie stillness. I almost disappear down a hole in the footpath, of which there are many so decide to get back to hotel safety. Find Tim and Japi in the candle light then 'special burger' with chips - Bed at 10pm.

Friday 27th

This morning much colder. Fleas or something making home on me last night.

Eggs scrambled & gallons of sweet, milky coffee. A young Ethiopian woman haunts us from a safe distance. Pops up from behind a bush, just staring. Next minute, she's behind a rock. What is she thinking?

Quick pack again and we're off. Up hill walking to 4200 meters, stunning view, first of many today. Back-track around gorge then downhill (unfortunately), means more up hill!

Absolutely shagged, arrive Chenek camp which is the most scenic of all, especially in the afternoon light.

Walk into our little camp hut to "G'day mate!". A German / South African / Australian guy (Melbourne) and his mate, another German, who are riding motor bikes from Germany to South Africa.

Camp cook prepares scrumptious meal, fresh tomato soup, pasta salad, beetroot salad, lentil salad, potato salad and pineapple again.

Light the fire in out little tukol camp hut and welcome other hikers, polish girls. Lively discussion involving everyone, including our guide and staff. Beze the scout looks like he may have a gastro like
illness. Our guide thinks may be malaria!?

Bed to gentle rain.

Thursday 26th

Up at 5:30, still get nine hours sleep - brilliant stars, surprisingly it's not totally freezing.

Watch sun rise, chefs are up so manage to get early cup of tea. 

Traveling with us are two chefs (these guys double as porters to carry our camera gear when we walk), a guide, a scout (who carries a 1940's italian bolt action rifle, god help us [and him] if he ever has to fire it!), several horse wranglers and a bunch of other people, though i'm not sure what they do.

Tim rises for tea also and we walk back to escarpment for more photos before breakfast, porridge, banana and honey.

Quick pack then we're off. Lungs immediately feel the altitude, heaving up every step. Our little caravan moving through the alpine scrub. Horses with most of our gear has gone via the vehicle track. We see them at a distance, only once.

Come across dusty depression with several mounds of stones finely balanced into columns. Tim takes a bunch of photos and Ollie tries to find out who created, why. Then proceeds to repair and in fact improve the columns. A little controversial ...but fun. Walk away very proud.

Many little encounters today as the path rises and falls. A baboon sunning himself on a little rock throne. A collection of locals come out to stare ...and sell something to the tourists; cane baskets, woven hats, trinkets, slingshots. Ollie becomes the proud owner of a walking stick. It will become my secret weapon in my uphill struggles.

Stop for lunch on a narrow precipice. the river more than a kilometer below. A noisy black scavenger bird heckles us from a safe distance; lamergeyer vultures soar on the thermals for a stunning display.

We continue on uphill, lungs screaming, towards the road and meet a collection of boys, one playing the flute. Ollie spends some time filming this, especially for sound. Give each a little folding surprise, ten times this for the musician who had to endure quite a lot.

Meet Jimal on road and walk down to river, our official lunch spot. Ollie Washes feet - sublime. Slogging hard for the next two hours as Ollie runs out of water. Then out of the blue, a man with a canvas bag, selling icy cool soft drinks (at highly inflated prices). I treat Tim and we take in a surreal moment. Continue the uphill slog, everyone tired.

Hundreds of baboons on path, stampede, racing to cross. Tim and Ollie dive for cameras. Fighting at close range, many good close-up moments. 

Arrive camp and collapse. Tea & cookie refresher, then cold shower at 3600 meters.

Out for an evening walk with Tim for photos. Sparse alpine scrub dotted with many stands of Giant Lobelia, a kind of clustered palm to 3 meters with an occasional flower stalk to five meters, beautiful. Home to two servings of minestrone, rice, mushroom sauce, beetroot salad & chips. Followed by pineapple in juice. Yummy!

Bed 8pm.

Wednesday 25th

Rise and collect washing from line - thankfully all there. Breakfast in hotel, rundown late 60's place, elevator music from the period as usual. Coffee machine, also from period, almost explodes with it's hissing but
manages to produce a great cup.

Load car, only slightly newer Land Cruiser than from Addis. Drive through
town, past compound which is the main tourist attraction. Pitty not to have seen more of this, looks quite interesting. I find it hard to remember much of this drive.

Dusty towns, not so traditional. Square houses, tin roofs, electricity
wires running between all. In the car a conversation starts about basic economics, public infrastructure, postage, mailing bills, collecting account fees, debt. Would make an interesting excursion for a first year economics class.

Tim hops out of the car a few times for photo opportunities. Stop in Debark, staging town for Simians, sign ranger log-book, pay fee, (of course) get map, from boy off street - somehow he heard we were after a map so he went and got one!? We lunch at dodgy place, pasta with tuna, then leave town. Find out that little hack with tin roof on a small allotment, costs $10,000. No idea how they would afford this??

Wind our way up to park entrance then arrive first camp site at 3pm, (3100m) a small collection of round tukol style, open huts surrounding camp site.
Tents are erected and Tim & Ollie go for walk, exploring area. Amazing birds, Lammergeyer vultures with their two meter wingspans soaring on the thermals, eagles, hawks, these scary black birds with stumpy beaks who scavenge and make lots of noise, many others.

Get back to camp for tea then we all go out for longer walk to escarpment where Tim takes many photos. a few goodies of Tim working also. The escarpment drops literally a kilometer to the valley floor below, heady stuff!

Rush back for yummy, three course dinner. Then pretty much straight to bed, 8:30.