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30th august - 3rd october

Overlanding across Afica in our Land Rover Defender: Ethiopia

Andy Lees
2006-05-14 18:15:24

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/>after half an hour of this we were ready to go but where was our guide? the three vehicles lined up next to each other and hooted to alert the guide that we were off. on his return he clambered onto the roof whilst informing us that we had to pay the 30 birr per vehicle. at this point the mursi had positioned themselves in front of the vehicles. we paid for all three vehicles as we guessed the mursi wouldn't be providing any change and no sooner had we handed a 100 birr note over then we were accussed of not paying up. the mursi were getting excited at this stage and so were we. the mursi were shaking their spears, andy was pointing his finger whilst trying to get out through the window and our armed guard was sat on the roof, presumably daydreaming about being somewhere else. the escalating tension was broken suddenly as the dutch blasted their horn and sped off through the startled mob, the french and the english (us) following in quick succession. had the mursi ever been fortunate enough to have seen the dukes of hazard, i'm sure they would have been reminded of it that morning.

mago national park - 2nd october

we woke once again to the cries and whoops of baboons in the surrounding trees. being up in the rooftop tent, it feels like we're in the canopy with them. in ethiopia we've become accustomed to raising at dawn, usually as a result of the monkeys, roosters, donkeys, dogs or someone's radio. it's good to be up at that time, though the hassle too begins at dawn. often we climb down from the tent to find six or seven people standing, staring, waiting for our emergence. they will continue staring, mesmerised as we potter round the land rover, clean our teeth, whatever; it's all fasinating. this usually sets the tone for the day and can become a little draining, harmless though it is.

on this particular morning, one of the armed guards from another group was hanging around, sidling up as soon as i was down from the tent. he began by asking where we were going that day, saying we wouldn't make it, then that arie and ester wouldn't make it. the road was too bad, he said, but he'd be willing to help us, show us the way, etc. i could guess where all this was going, becoming increasly annoyed as he repeatedly lied and changed tack to try and manipulate a lift. we don't have the space, so i told him no but he persisted, hanging around, following claire about, peering into the land rover here and there. it wasn't even half six in the morning yet, and as had become a weekly event in ethiopia, i lost my temper. i was actually quite surprised to find myself leaping towards him from the roof of the land rover, where i'd been fastening the spare tyre. fortunately though, i didn't catch him. it was really an unpleasant incident, but all in all just the start of another crazy day in the omo valley.

jinka, arba minch, moyale - 3rd october

we made it back first to jinka, then arba minch. we crossed the rivers and slid through the mud, with a little less drama and ceremony than before. we smiled at the overexited mobs and (barely) avoided the donkeys. it was sad to be at the end of our little tour, and we were sad to be saying goodbye to arie and ester too. for them it was up to sudan and for us down to kenya.

after a day's rest, drinking beer, eating pepper steak and enjoying the view of the lakes at arba minch, we headed south to moyale and the kenyan border. shortly before reaching the isolated border a whirling whine became audible over the engine's usual rumble. we were about to traverse the most notoriously rough, bandit infested road in east africa, and that wasn't a good start.