Hamer people
To accommodate Pedros budget we shared my room for the second night.
It was a good compromise.
During the day yesterday, Pedro found another cheaper place. So he moved in there, leaving his bike and some gear in my spacious room.
The markets were visited to where garlic, eggs, bread and a lot of fruit was bought. A delicious scrambled egg mix was made back at the room and eatedn over a movie with a great honey sweetened coffee.
12/4/2015 Abra Minch to a campsite sth of Holte
D67, T5, Av13, Max48, 39,711, 4,709
Very warm and humid, high UV
I was up early and headed up to the tourist hotel to check my Emails. Last night a roast chicken dinner was enjoyed here.
On the road, I needed petrol for my stove. None of the gas stations on the way out of town had regular. Most vehicles here use diesel. Nearing the edge of city limits I saw a tuk tuk parked. The guy disconnected his fuel line and filled my bottle for me.
The climb out of town was met by a very abrupt descent down into a valley below.
We stopped for a chat here.
Once down on the valley floor it was easy riding for miles. There were bees nests hanging in trees and Guinea fowl, taking to the air as they were scared.
Many Acacia trees were present. It was very African. We came to one spot where some vultures and Asreas (Amharic) were perched in trees. These birds are like the Australian Jabiru, really a large stalk.
The birds were quiet but kept their distance.
The valley floor was now tilled and was planted in new crops, mainly an Alfalfa type seedling that looked like corn. Maybe it was corn.
Tukuls were everywhere across the landscape. Some were for shelter and for others were homes, they had enclosed sides.
We followed the edge of Lake Chamo for some time. It was close to the road at only one point.
At the left turn off to Konso the road became gravel. The surface was fine by some standards.
Along here we came to a few villages, a restaurant was hard to find. Most places just sold beer and more beer.
In one village, some 80 kids must have followed us along the gravel road. It was absolute mayhem, they were running, screaming and touching the bikes. Pedro was putting his camera away on the move and fell off.
All the kids just scattered, bit were soon back again. From here, the country was still open with tilled paddocks under the new crop. Trees were scattered through the paddocks that had little squares bounded by soil mounds to trap any water. The soil was a fine alluvial sandy loam. Heavy rain would just wash it away. Some erosion seen in seasonal watercourse was extreme. Deep scars were carved in the deep soils.
We stopped for a met lunch in Holte, the place took a bit to find but was good value. They had just killed a cow.
The orthodox Christians are now eating meat big time.
We did not want to get to Konso so we started looking for a campsite. Between villages one was found down a track in the open land. Here we found a little shelter Tukul just big enough for both our tents,.
Before dinner I went wandering across the paddocks to explore.
This one tree was home to dozens of these giant millipedes. They are nocturnal and were congregating on the branches.
One would get a huge scare if one of the creatures turned up in your tent.
A storm cell could be heard off in the distance. The farmers have planted tis crop because it is the beginning of the wet season, they want rain, we don’t!!
It held off. We ate and were in bed by 2030.
Tonight rain would not bother us.
13/4/2015 Campsite sth of Holte to Konso
D38, T3, Av11.83, Max41, 39,749, 4,747
Very warm and humid
The campsite had been great, no one disturbed us all night. In the morning whilst I was up early, a teenager and his donkey came to gather some hay from one of the stacks. We said Salam, he greeted us and just watched us leaning against a tree from some time. Then he got about the task of loading his donkey with the dry straw.
Once packed, it was a fair way back up the gentle track between plots to the road.
No land is wasted, the track was just wide enough for the bikes and us pushing them.
Once on the road the gravel continued. The erosion was now devastating the land in the watercourses, they are all now dry though.
This alluvium has no structure. Many kids we passed on the road are doing this traditional dance which involves crouching and opening the the knees. This done in an effort to get money.
Coming to a reasonable size stream. I rode down to wash my shorts. Down here there were dozens of people washing, collecting water and bathing in the shallow brown waters. Once my shorts had dried out on the back of the bikwe some 20 km later. I changed into them out of my longer shorts. These ones allow my legs so much more freedom.
Whilst putting them on, I smelled them. Even though soap had been used they had a smell of treated sewerage. The rivers around these villages really are heavily polluted by all the human activity in their waters.
From here the asphalt commenced again. So did the harassing kids. They were grabbing the bikes and following us.
I stopped by a dry riverbed under a great shady tree. I yelled to Pedro as he came past ten minutes later. He had pulled a large thorn from his front tyre. By the time we had eaten, his tyre was flat. He repaired it. Punctures have almost been non existent for me since being in Africa. Unlike Sth America where 1 or more can occur in a single day for weeks on end.
We passed a small ochre coloured dam by the roadside, in and around this were dozens of kids. They saw me and all come running .I stopped to take a photo. A teenage girls started kicking my front wheel;. I gave her the firm word. These are the kids that annoy us the most they have bad intentions.
Pedro came along and the same thing happened he got off his bike and chased them.
Once this was repaired we had a slow climb before Konso. An obnoxious kid followed me for 3 km or more or more, he would not leave me alone
As we were both leaving him near the top of the hill. He had a stone in his hand.
He did not through it.
Once in Konso, the first two hotels had inflated prices. We soon found a pension to the left of the big roundabout then right then left again.
The people were friendly and honest with their prices. We showered. I bought 8 good mangoes for the road ahead and stocked up on soya meat, biscuits, noodles and loo paper. We went into town for lunch., Pedro went to an Injera place. In the hotel on the roundabout, they were seving meat dishes I opted for a 500 grams of beef bbq for 100 birr.
It was great. Other people celebrating the holiday again today gave me some goat.
Most people were drinking warm beer in the crowded garden type bar. I managed to find a half cold coke
The afternoon was spent boiling some eggs and just relaxing looking at the map and planning. The skies opened about 1800, the wet season is on us.
It was nice to be in a hotel.
The town has had no power for three days.
With our head torches on we negotiated the muddy streets down to town for a meal of Injera, I had bread for a change my lunchtime meat was with Injera.
I am writing this in my room tonight, using a candle as light.
This afternoon, whilst lying on my bed, a bed bug crawled up my arm. Pedro is sleeping on his bed in his tent. I have hung my mosquito net and will sleep on top of the bed clothes. Hopefully the one I spotted was a loner.
Tomorrow or in the middle of the night will tell!!
14/4/2015 Konso to Woito Police Stn camping
D74, T5, Av15.59, Max62, 39,882, 4,821
Very warm and humid, storms about, gravel road
Well last night was one to remember. I got up out of my tent on the floor to go to the loo with my headlight on. The outside of my tent was literally covered with bed bugs, hundreds of them. This was 0300 in the morning.
There was no way I was going back to sleep in this room. Till daylight I spent getting all my gear outside and checking it for bed bugs.
Come daylight, an inspection of the tent revealed hundreds of them hiding under the seams of the tent. The only way to get these out was to use a tooth brush.
Pedro too had been killing them since midnight.
The owner of the place really didn’t care or understand our situation. I told he should burn everything in the rooms. This was an infestation of plague proportions.
I had to go into town to buy some sole glue to patch up small holes in the mesh of my tent where they had entered.
We finally got away about 1000.
It was a steady climb from town. Gasoline for our stoves was bought 3 km up the hill from the village centre.
The climbing and descending continued for 4 hours. Then we finally saw the Omo Valley below us. From here it was a descent onto the valley floor.
It was very flat in the valley with low scrubby vegetation. On arrival at Wioto we ate a basic Injera and had a couple of drinks at the lodge. Their prices were inflated even for camping. On asking at the police station they kindly let us camp there the night.
15/4/2015 Woito Police Stn camping to a bush camp
D73, T10, Av13.82, Max25, 39,882, 4,894
Very warm and humid, wet night, gravel road
It was great to have had a night free of bed bugs. Some that had taken the trip with us were found.
It had rained much of the night and our tents needed drying in the morning. Once these were dry we headed off down the back road to Turmi.
It was gravel but relatively smooth riding on the tracks at the side of the road. The hamer peole were now a common sight on the road. With their colourful beads and the woman with their finely braided hair soaked in a red ochre.
At one point on the road was a boy with a small bow and some arrows. We stopped to talk to him and fired a few arrows from the tightly strung bow. He was a very good shot. I don’t know what he used the arrows for, as they had empty rifle shells on the pointy end. They balanced the arrows well.
The road followed the range on our right side for most of the day. At one point we stopped under a tree for lunch I made the people who soon turned up a cup of hot chocolate. Not one of them liked it.
Many of the Hamer people now are wearing less clothing, it is common to see young children just naked with a few beads around their neck.
People are saying “photo photo”in an effort to get us to pay for photos.We arrived at the village of Avole and I had a meat lunch there. Pedro thpught it was to expensive and prepared his own lunch. Here we stocked up on water at the local well.
This town was very tourist orientated where photos were costing money, we took one distant shot.
From here a common sight was tribesmen on the road carrying rifles. Further on we were riding together and stopped to talk to some young guys on the road, one hd a rifle. I took a photo of Pedro talking to them. One said he wanted money, I told him I was taking a photo of Pedro. He said he wanted some money. I said I will delete the shot which I did and he checked. He did not believe me. In the end after much discussion they let us go on. It was all a bit dicey especially with a person in the group with a firearm, although he kept well out of the argument.
Nearing dark we decided to look for a camp, we waited till most people had bought their animals home. Most small herds have a few animals with bells. The bells are not as musical as the Swiss cow bells but can be heard all through the low scrubby trees.
We found a camp well off the road and just as we were setting up the rain began to fall. Once in the tent I had biscuits for dinner and promptly fell asleep to the sound of rain and thunder.
16/4/2015 bush camp to Turmi
D47, T6, Av9.65, Max40, 39,942, 4,940
Very warm and humid, wet night, gravel road
Road impassable to cars, pushed some of the way
It had rained consistently much of the night, we had decided to get up very early and get out of here before the hamer people and their animals arrived.
We arose in the dark, within 15 minutes a man and his son just appeared out of the scruband the grey overcast sky. We greeted them. He was friendly and took an interest in all the gear we had, especially my tent bag. It could be of use to him.
We said goodbye and pushed our bikes to the road. All four tyres made it back puncture free, the place was full of thorny vegetation.
I had just rolled my soaking tent up and thrown it under a cargo net. We did not have breakfast. I had just biscuits for dinner inside my tent last night, Pedro had porridge.
Consequently within one hour I needed to stop to eat. Pedro said he would keep going slowly. Stopping on a piece of road slightly elevated, that caught a breeze. I hung the tent out very cautiously on the edges if a thorny tree.
My table mat was spread out on the road. First thing to do was boil the pot. Soon a man and his daughter turned up.
They were very inquisitive and just watched me. Another guy turned up. All were hamer people but not dressed in all the gear. They had the signature beads and haircuts though. The men cut their hair well back from their forehead.
Tey were nice people, I shared some porridge and bread with them. The single guy told me had a headache I gave him some paracetamol and Ibufren.
They all started laughing when I cleaned my teeth. They were each given a small blob of toothpaste.
We had a great half hour together. Once again, they took a liking to my tent bag, due to its usefulness.
I also had a small pill bottle I gave to one of the guys.
By the time I left my tent was dry.
The road had been flat for all the way so far. We then climbed into some foothills. Here the road deterriated unbelievably. There were screes of gravel and rocks at each gully where the road intersected it.
Many of these we had to push the bikes over. Yesterday we saw one 4x4, now we know why.
The road is impassable to any vehicle.
There were tribes people wandering about in river beds and just in the bush. Some gelada monkeys were seen at one huge riverbed that was crossed. All these watercourses had been carrying water last night.
Again we had to push the bikes up many inclines out f the creeks.
We stopped for a lunch of cabbage, pasta and soya meat before one big loose rock climb.
I use alot more water than Pedro, mine was getting low, not to mention the two unreal cups of tea I enjoyed over lunch.
One this road you will need 4-5 litres of water from Woito to Arvole, top up there at the well, but six litres would be minimum, it it hard work and really humid this time of year. The sweat just pours out.
Surface water is almost non existent in the quartz rocky terrain. On the tops of this range was surface water in ponds but it was heavily polluted by stock.
We just kept going up. Pushing, riding, resting, drinking but always loving the solitude and no vehicles. Every km or so there would be tribes people from the Hamer on the road with a goat or two or just walking along.
Once on the tops it was up and down, care had to be taken in the loose sand in places. I nearly came to grief in some loose spots. There were small sandy creek crossings in every depression. Most were wet only from the movement of water last night.
Soon a rolling descent commenced. The road was sandy but solid for the most part.
At one total washout, some guys we had meet were digging a crossing. I found a spot to push my bike over rocks off the rod a bit. They were really angry we did not use their crossing and demanded money.
They were employed by the government to do this.
Nearing Turmi I caught up to Pedro. He was parked at a wild flow of rich brown water flowing through a low area. This was the river Keske. There was no way we were going to get over this.
On the Turmi side there were traditionally dressed people with goods from the market today waiting to cross. The waters were receding all the time .
Some guys without clothes crossed to say hi.
Woman and men now are wearing skins wrapped around them and many women have exposed breasts. All have the braided hair dipped in a mud like lotion.
17/4/2015 Turmi to Dimeka, Evangada Pension
D30, T2, Av11.4, Max44, 39,972, 4,970
Rain storms most of the way gravel road
It was nice, to have been sleeping in a bed with no insects company. Breakfast was enjoyed with Angela from the UN and her driver and guide. I went down the road back to well to get some photos of the Hamer girls. They wanted 10 birr, I said that I would only pay them for a smile, we ended up chatting and a couple of good impromptu pics were snapped. This is the first time I have ever payed to take a photo.
These girls were rather unique and friendly.
We left Turmi about 0900, not far down the gravel road the skies opened. Pedro stopped under a tree. I kept going. Having ridden in the tropics before. I know there is always sun just beyond the storm cell. Stopping is also a recipe to get cold. Sure enough 3 km down the road the sun was shining and it was as steamy as ever. We are now 5° from the equator down in Kenya.
The skies were a lovely tapestry of all shades of grey with little bits of blue here and there. There was always a storm cell somewhere in the vista. The landscape was now looking very African as imagined with flat topped, Acacia trees spread of to the horizon.
Arriving in Dimeka the rain was still gently falling. Here we ate a meat dish and found a hotel. Mine was 100 birr Pedro found one for 50 birr.
It was an afternoon to do some washing and relax. Some 2G net was available on ET Telecom so a few instagram pics were posted.
In the evening, my stomach felt pretty ordinary so I did not eat. Prices here are inflated but no ridiculously so.
Many Hamer women are in town asking for money. We are here because of the markets tomorrow and will have to backtrack to Turmi to get on the road to Omerate.
This to is a very touristy spot where people come to gaze at the tribes people in their traditional attire.
18/4/2015 Dimeka, Evangada Pension to a camp on the way to Omerate
D64, T4, Av14.81, Max44, 40,036, 5,034
Early shower then a great dry day
I got up early to get a few things done, like cleaning all my cutlery and pots in detergent.
I now have full on diarhea again, plenty of toilet paper has been bought.
My front panniers are taking in some water, I have large plastic bags inside them. Some holes were found these were subsequently patched with sole glue that I had bought in Konso also to patch holes in the tent.
We left our bikes in the motel rooms and visited the markets. It was fairly touristy. Angela from UNICEF was there, we had a chat and took a few pics. The short time spend with her hand her two colleagues was very enjoyable, she has a good sense of humour.
I had boiled eggs for the road to Omerate. It was such a different experience riding back without tropical downpours.
In Turmi we topped up on water at the well.
I am carrying nearly 11 litres so my bike was loaded down big time. I am now stopping for ablutions every 10km, it is a purging process. Breakfast of meat was forced down in Dimeka before leaving.
Leaving Turmi, the road was dirt for a few km then, became the sweet surface of new asphalt that the Chinese are still constructing to Omarate. This is all part of the infrastructure to do with the huge Gibe III dam, more on that later.
It was sheer pleasure riding on this road, few people and gently descending most of the way.
The Omo valley is huge, and covered in heavy low growing Acacias among other trees. Some small deer like antelope were seen prancing into the roadside bush.
We were very lucky the rain held out.
Nearing dark we pulled into a quarry site and set up camp there. It was clean, thorn free and not visible from the road.
Earlier on the road, I had been in the bushes going to the toilet as I was leaving a tribesman walked from the scrub, didn’t say hello and was carrying a rifle. As I rode off, I thought how terrible it would be to be shot in the back.
These people carry guns to protect their animals from rustlers and to maintain their grazing territory.
People not so friendly on this new road, ant hills, dam, smell of smoke with Hamer
19/4/2015 Quarry Camp to Omorate
D45, T3, Av16.12, Max33, 40,082, 5,079
Fine day
The camp had been great, nice and clean and no thorns with no disturbances. Once again I had been up all night shitting.
No rain had fallen and in the light breeze our tents were condensation free, only the footprints were slightly damp.
On the road, the riding was again a pleasure on the new asphalt. The Omo valley is truely a lovely place. Just a huge expanse of low growing Acacias. Tibes peoples were seen in many open areas.
We have been so lucky with the weather, again it was fine and quite mild.
The asphalt soon ran out as we neared the work zone. Soon we were riding on dirt again.
Nearing Omarate, a milestone of sorts was reahed for me. The distance around the world at the equator was reached, that of 40,075 km.
I marked the occasion with a pic taken by Pedro.
Some 8000km of this was on the Mississippi, 5000km here in Africa and 27k odd in South America.
We went straight to immigration in town and got stamped out of Ethiopia.
Got a few supplies. Had a meal of goat and changed our Birr the rate was 24 birr/ 100 shillings, better than in Addis.
Some touts were telling us they could take us over the river in a boat for 150birr.
There was a brand new bridge, that was part of the road construction. People were walking over this. We headed that way and the local policeman, not a very nice man would not let us pass.
We waited. In the meantime I went down to the river and had a good wash.
This cop was not going to let us over. He wanted money, we were not going to pay.
He showed us some documents that we assumed were needed.
So we headed back to the admin building but being Sunday it was closed.
We had to wait till tomorrow, We looked for a camp on the road we had come in on. This country was so flat and featureless just the slightest rain would reduce it to impassable sticky mud.
We had to find a better camp.
Some implement compounds were seen leaving town. Asking at one of these, the owner said we could stay there.
He was a great guy, who was doing well from the road works. He had a motel full of Chinese engineers and a restaurant feeding the workers. We ate a great goat soup here and set up our tents nearby.
Again, the rain held off.
I cashed in an Ethiopian Telecom scratch card to pay for my meal and a couple of $1US bills to buy drinks.
The Omo river Dam. Gibe III
The Omo River is a lifeline for 500,000 indigenous people living in eastern Africa.
If completed, Ethiopia’s Gibe III Dam will regulate and reduce the Omo River’s
flow, increasing hunger and fueling conflict throughout the basin. The dam could push
Kenya’s Lake Turkana – the world’s largest desert lake – toward ecological collapse.
Opposition to the project in Ethiopia has been muted by the government, but in Kenya,
Lake Turkana communities have been steadfast in their opposition to the project,
sparking legal action and an international debate. Given the project’s massive social and
environmental impacts, Gibe III Dam should be stopped immediately.
Fast Facts: Gibe III Dam
Location 300 km (190 miles) southwest of Addis Ababa, on the Omo River
Cost €1.55 billion (at current exchange rate, about US$2.11 billion). Project costs have
increased 11% since 2006.
Dam Design
Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) gravity dam
243 meters (787 feet) tall – the tallest dam in Africa
Reservoir
Storage capacity: 11.75 billion m3 (415 billion ft3)
Surface: 211 km2 (84 miles2) Length: 151 km (94 miles)
Transmission Line A 65-km-long (40 mile) 400 KV transmission line; a new substation will be built.
Electricity
1,870 MW (6,500 GWh/yr), more than doubling the country’s current installed
capacity.
Original Timeline 2006: Construction began 2011: First power 2012: Fully completed
peoples at great risk. At least 100,000 people depend on food
cultivated in the river’s flooded banks, a practice known as
flood-retreat cultivation. The river’s harvest helps support
an additional 100,000 people through local trading practices
between farmers and herders. This traditional food system is
crucial for these communities because they live in one of the
poorest, most remote parts of Ethiopia and have long been
politically marginalized. The flood also supports the renewal
of grazing lands for herders, and signals migratory fish species
to begin spawning.
A questionable artificial flood has been designed by the dam’s
planners as a way to restore some water to the dam-stressed
system. The artificial flood would last only 10 days, failing
to mimic the natural flood’s gradual build-up over several
months. This truncated 10-day flood would not reach all the
areas now nurtured by annual flooding, and would fall far
short of supporting current agricultural productivity. Experts
believe the artificial flood would fail to maintain the local
ecology, livelihoods and economy.
There is also concern that the artificial flood may not be
maintained. In a hydrology study on the dam commissioned
by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Kenyan hydrologist
Dr. Sean Avery notes, “What assurance is there that the
releases will be sustained given the conflict of interest with
power generation? There are concerns that there is past
experience that any ecological flow rules may be disregarded
to suit other more pressing national needs. For instance, an
environmental audit of the Gibe I project, undertaken by
Ethiopian professionals, reported that although compensation
flow releases had been stipulated for that scheme, no compensation
flows were being released.”
Draining Kenya’s Lake Turkana
Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, receives up to
90% of its water from the Omo River. For 300,000 people
living near it, Lake Turkana is their best defense against hunger
and conflict.
Gibe III Dam (which will be Africa’s tallest) will reduce the
available river flow to Lake Turkana in several important
ways. First, the lake will be particularly vulnerable during
the filling of dam’s reservoir, which is expected to take several
years.
According to the AfDB hydrology study, “The water volume
to fill Gibe III reservoir would deprive the lake of 85%
of its normal annual inflow in one year… The potential
impact on the lake is significant. The filling of the dam has
the potential to dry up the most productive fishing area of
the lake.”
After the dam is built, Lake Turkana will remain vulnerable
to reduced Omo River flows. The AfDB study notes that
the reservoir will “forever capture” sediment transported by
the river, leading to downstream erosion, changes in water
quality, and reduced water tables. Studies of the reservoir
area have been insufficient to determine seepage losses,
though one independent study by the African Resources
Working Group suggests that 50-75% of impounded water
could be lost through porous ground. Much water will
also evaporate from the reservoir. Finally, the government
of Ethiopia intends to take water for large-scale irrigation
schemes throughout the Omo Valley. “None of these
impacts have been quantified” in project documents, says
Dr. Avery. Ref: International Rivers
It was a good compromise.
During the day yesterday, Pedro found another cheaper place. So he moved in there, leaving his bike and some gear in my spacious room.
The markets were visited to where garlic, eggs, bread and a lot of fruit was bought. A delicious scrambled egg mix was made back at the room and eatedn over a movie with a great honey sweetened coffee.
12/4/2015 Abra Minch to a campsite sth of Holte
D67, T5, Av13, Max48, 39,711, 4,709
Very warm and humid, high UV
I was up early and headed up to the tourist hotel to check my Emails. Last night a roast chicken dinner was enjoyed here.
On the road, I needed petrol for my stove. None of the gas stations on the way out of town had regular. Most vehicles here use diesel. Nearing the edge of city limits I saw a tuk tuk parked. The guy disconnected his fuel line and filled my bottle for me.
The climb out of town was met by a very abrupt descent down into a valley below.
We stopped for a chat here.
Once down on the valley floor it was easy riding for miles. There were bees nests hanging in trees and Guinea fowl, taking to the air as they were scared.
Many Acacia trees were present. It was very African. We came to one spot where some vultures and Asreas (Amharic) were perched in trees. These birds are like the Australian Jabiru, really a large stalk.
The birds were quiet but kept their distance.
The valley floor was now tilled and was planted in new crops, mainly an Alfalfa type seedling that looked like corn. Maybe it was corn.
Tukuls were everywhere across the landscape. Some were for shelter and for others were homes, they had enclosed sides.
We followed the edge of Lake Chamo for some time. It was close to the road at only one point.
At the left turn off to Konso the road became gravel. The surface was fine by some standards.
Along here we came to a few villages, a restaurant was hard to find. Most places just sold beer and more beer.
In one village, some 80 kids must have followed us along the gravel road. It was absolute mayhem, they were running, screaming and touching the bikes. Pedro was putting his camera away on the move and fell off.
All the kids just scattered, bit were soon back again. From here, the country was still open with tilled paddocks under the new crop. Trees were scattered through the paddocks that had little squares bounded by soil mounds to trap any water. The soil was a fine alluvial sandy loam. Heavy rain would just wash it away. Some erosion seen in seasonal watercourse was extreme. Deep scars were carved in the deep soils.
We stopped for a met lunch in Holte, the place took a bit to find but was good value. They had just killed a cow.
The orthodox Christians are now eating meat big time.
We did not want to get to Konso so we started looking for a campsite. Between villages one was found down a track in the open land. Here we found a little shelter Tukul just big enough for both our tents,.
Before dinner I went wandering across the paddocks to explore.
This one tree was home to dozens of these giant millipedes. They are nocturnal and were congregating on the branches.
One would get a huge scare if one of the creatures turned up in your tent.
A storm cell could be heard off in the distance. The farmers have planted tis crop because it is the beginning of the wet season, they want rain, we don’t!!
It held off. We ate and were in bed by 2030.
Tonight rain would not bother us.
13/4/2015 Campsite sth of Holte to Konso
D38, T3, Av11.83, Max41, 39,749, 4,747
Very warm and humid
The campsite had been great, no one disturbed us all night. In the morning whilst I was up early, a teenager and his donkey came to gather some hay from one of the stacks. We said Salam, he greeted us and just watched us leaning against a tree from some time. Then he got about the task of loading his donkey with the dry straw.
Once packed, it was a fair way back up the gentle track between plots to the road.
No land is wasted, the track was just wide enough for the bikes and us pushing them.
Once on the road the gravel continued. The erosion was now devastating the land in the watercourses, they are all now dry though.
This alluvium has no structure. Many kids we passed on the road are doing this traditional dance which involves crouching and opening the the knees. This done in an effort to get money.
Coming to a reasonable size stream. I rode down to wash my shorts. Down here there were dozens of people washing, collecting water and bathing in the shallow brown waters. Once my shorts had dried out on the back of the bikwe some 20 km later. I changed into them out of my longer shorts. These ones allow my legs so much more freedom.
Whilst putting them on, I smelled them. Even though soap had been used they had a smell of treated sewerage. The rivers around these villages really are heavily polluted by all the human activity in their waters.
From here the asphalt commenced again. So did the harassing kids. They were grabbing the bikes and following us.
I stopped by a dry riverbed under a great shady tree. I yelled to Pedro as he came past ten minutes later. He had pulled a large thorn from his front tyre. By the time we had eaten, his tyre was flat. He repaired it. Punctures have almost been non existent for me since being in Africa. Unlike Sth America where 1 or more can occur in a single day for weeks on end.
We passed a small ochre coloured dam by the roadside, in and around this were dozens of kids. They saw me and all come running .I stopped to take a photo. A teenage girls started kicking my front wheel;. I gave her the firm word. These are the kids that annoy us the most they have bad intentions.
Pedro came along and the same thing happened he got off his bike and chased them.
Once this was repaired we had a slow climb before Konso. An obnoxious kid followed me for 3 km or more or more, he would not leave me alone
As we were both leaving him near the top of the hill. He had a stone in his hand.
He did not through it.
Once in Konso, the first two hotels had inflated prices. We soon found a pension to the left of the big roundabout then right then left again.
The people were friendly and honest with their prices. We showered. I bought 8 good mangoes for the road ahead and stocked up on soya meat, biscuits, noodles and loo paper. We went into town for lunch., Pedro went to an Injera place. In the hotel on the roundabout, they were seving meat dishes I opted for a 500 grams of beef bbq for 100 birr.
It was great. Other people celebrating the holiday again today gave me some goat.
Most people were drinking warm beer in the crowded garden type bar. I managed to find a half cold coke
The afternoon was spent boiling some eggs and just relaxing looking at the map and planning. The skies opened about 1800, the wet season is on us.
It was nice to be in a hotel.
The town has had no power for three days.
With our head torches on we negotiated the muddy streets down to town for a meal of Injera, I had bread for a change my lunchtime meat was with Injera.
I am writing this in my room tonight, using a candle as light.
This afternoon, whilst lying on my bed, a bed bug crawled up my arm. Pedro is sleeping on his bed in his tent. I have hung my mosquito net and will sleep on top of the bed clothes. Hopefully the one I spotted was a loner.
Tomorrow or in the middle of the night will tell!!
14/4/2015 Konso to Woito Police Stn camping
D74, T5, Av15.59, Max62, 39,882, 4,821
Very warm and humid, storms about, gravel road
Well last night was one to remember. I got up out of my tent on the floor to go to the loo with my headlight on. The outside of my tent was literally covered with bed bugs, hundreds of them. This was 0300 in the morning.
There was no way I was going back to sleep in this room. Till daylight I spent getting all my gear outside and checking it for bed bugs.
Come daylight, an inspection of the tent revealed hundreds of them hiding under the seams of the tent. The only way to get these out was to use a tooth brush.
Pedro too had been killing them since midnight.
The owner of the place really didn’t care or understand our situation. I told he should burn everything in the rooms. This was an infestation of plague proportions.
I had to go into town to buy some sole glue to patch up small holes in the mesh of my tent where they had entered.
We finally got away about 1000.
It was a steady climb from town. Gasoline for our stoves was bought 3 km up the hill from the village centre.
The climbing and descending continued for 4 hours. Then we finally saw the Omo Valley below us. From here it was a descent onto the valley floor.
It was very flat in the valley with low scrubby vegetation. On arrival at Wioto we ate a basic Injera and had a couple of drinks at the lodge. Their prices were inflated even for camping. On asking at the police station they kindly let us camp there the night.
15/4/2015 Woito Police Stn camping to a bush camp
D73, T10, Av13.82, Max25, 39,882, 4,894
Very warm and humid, wet night, gravel road
It was great to have had a night free of bed bugs. Some that had taken the trip with us were found.
It had rained much of the night and our tents needed drying in the morning. Once these were dry we headed off down the back road to Turmi.
It was gravel but relatively smooth riding on the tracks at the side of the road. The hamer peole were now a common sight on the road. With their colourful beads and the woman with their finely braided hair soaked in a red ochre.
At one point on the road was a boy with a small bow and some arrows. We stopped to talk to him and fired a few arrows from the tightly strung bow. He was a very good shot. I don’t know what he used the arrows for, as they had empty rifle shells on the pointy end. They balanced the arrows well.
The road followed the range on our right side for most of the day. At one point we stopped under a tree for lunch I made the people who soon turned up a cup of hot chocolate. Not one of them liked it.
Many of the Hamer people now are wearing less clothing, it is common to see young children just naked with a few beads around their neck.
People are saying “photo photo”in an effort to get us to pay for photos.We arrived at the village of Avole and I had a meat lunch there. Pedro thpught it was to expensive and prepared his own lunch. Here we stocked up on water at the local well.
This town was very tourist orientated where photos were costing money, we took one distant shot.
From here a common sight was tribesmen on the road carrying rifles. Further on we were riding together and stopped to talk to some young guys on the road, one hd a rifle. I took a photo of Pedro talking to them. One said he wanted money, I told him I was taking a photo of Pedro. He said he wanted some money. I said I will delete the shot which I did and he checked. He did not believe me. In the end after much discussion they let us go on. It was all a bit dicey especially with a person in the group with a firearm, although he kept well out of the argument.
Nearing dark we decided to look for a camp, we waited till most people had bought their animals home. Most small herds have a few animals with bells. The bells are not as musical as the Swiss cow bells but can be heard all through the low scrubby trees.
We found a camp well off the road and just as we were setting up the rain began to fall. Once in the tent I had biscuits for dinner and promptly fell asleep to the sound of rain and thunder.
16/4/2015 bush camp to Turmi
D47, T6, Av9.65, Max40, 39,942, 4,940
Very warm and humid, wet night, gravel road
Road impassable to cars, pushed some of the way
It had rained consistently much of the night, we had decided to get up very early and get out of here before the hamer people and their animals arrived.
We arose in the dark, within 15 minutes a man and his son just appeared out of the scruband the grey overcast sky. We greeted them. He was friendly and took an interest in all the gear we had, especially my tent bag. It could be of use to him.
We said goodbye and pushed our bikes to the road. All four tyres made it back puncture free, the place was full of thorny vegetation.
I had just rolled my soaking tent up and thrown it under a cargo net. We did not have breakfast. I had just biscuits for dinner inside my tent last night, Pedro had porridge.
Consequently within one hour I needed to stop to eat. Pedro said he would keep going slowly. Stopping on a piece of road slightly elevated, that caught a breeze. I hung the tent out very cautiously on the edges if a thorny tree.
My table mat was spread out on the road. First thing to do was boil the pot. Soon a man and his daughter turned up.
They were very inquisitive and just watched me. Another guy turned up. All were hamer people but not dressed in all the gear. They had the signature beads and haircuts though. The men cut their hair well back from their forehead.
Tey were nice people, I shared some porridge and bread with them. The single guy told me had a headache I gave him some paracetamol and Ibufren.
They all started laughing when I cleaned my teeth. They were each given a small blob of toothpaste.
We had a great half hour together. Once again, they took a liking to my tent bag, due to its usefulness.
I also had a small pill bottle I gave to one of the guys.
By the time I left my tent was dry.
The road had been flat for all the way so far. We then climbed into some foothills. Here the road deterriated unbelievably. There were screes of gravel and rocks at each gully where the road intersected it.
Many of these we had to push the bikes over. Yesterday we saw one 4x4, now we know why.
The road is impassable to any vehicle.
There were tribes people wandering about in river beds and just in the bush. Some gelada monkeys were seen at one huge riverbed that was crossed. All these watercourses had been carrying water last night.
Again we had to push the bikes up many inclines out f the creeks.
We stopped for a lunch of cabbage, pasta and soya meat before one big loose rock climb.
I use alot more water than Pedro, mine was getting low, not to mention the two unreal cups of tea I enjoyed over lunch.
One this road you will need 4-5 litres of water from Woito to Arvole, top up there at the well, but six litres would be minimum, it it hard work and really humid this time of year. The sweat just pours out.
Surface water is almost non existent in the quartz rocky terrain. On the tops of this range was surface water in ponds but it was heavily polluted by stock.
We just kept going up. Pushing, riding, resting, drinking but always loving the solitude and no vehicles. Every km or so there would be tribes people from the Hamer on the road with a goat or two or just walking along.
Once on the tops it was up and down, care had to be taken in the loose sand in places. I nearly came to grief in some loose spots. There were small sandy creek crossings in every depression. Most were wet only from the movement of water last night.
Soon a rolling descent commenced. The road was sandy but solid for the most part.
At one total washout, some guys we had meet were digging a crossing. I found a spot to push my bike over rocks off the rod a bit. They were really angry we did not use their crossing and demanded money.
They were employed by the government to do this.
Nearing Turmi I caught up to Pedro. He was parked at a wild flow of rich brown water flowing through a low area. This was the river Keske. There was no way we were going to get over this.
On the Turmi side there were traditionally dressed people with goods from the market today waiting to cross. The waters were receding all the time .
Some guys without clothes crossed to say hi.
Woman and men now are wearing skins wrapped around them and many women have exposed breasts. All have the braided hair dipped in a mud like lotion.
17/4/2015 Turmi to Dimeka, Evangada Pension
D30, T2, Av11.4, Max44, 39,972, 4,970
Rain storms most of the way gravel road
It was nice, to have been sleeping in a bed with no insects company. Breakfast was enjoyed with Angela from the UN and her driver and guide. I went down the road back to well to get some photos of the Hamer girls. They wanted 10 birr, I said that I would only pay them for a smile, we ended up chatting and a couple of good impromptu pics were snapped. This is the first time I have ever payed to take a photo.
These girls were rather unique and friendly.
We left Turmi about 0900, not far down the gravel road the skies opened. Pedro stopped under a tree. I kept going. Having ridden in the tropics before. I know there is always sun just beyond the storm cell. Stopping is also a recipe to get cold. Sure enough 3 km down the road the sun was shining and it was as steamy as ever. We are now 5° from the equator down in Kenya.
The skies were a lovely tapestry of all shades of grey with little bits of blue here and there. There was always a storm cell somewhere in the vista. The landscape was now looking very African as imagined with flat topped, Acacia trees spread of to the horizon.
Arriving in Dimeka the rain was still gently falling. Here we ate a meat dish and found a hotel. Mine was 100 birr Pedro found one for 50 birr.
It was an afternoon to do some washing and relax. Some 2G net was available on ET Telecom so a few instagram pics were posted.
In the evening, my stomach felt pretty ordinary so I did not eat. Prices here are inflated but no ridiculously so.
Many Hamer women are in town asking for money. We are here because of the markets tomorrow and will have to backtrack to Turmi to get on the road to Omerate.
This to is a very touristy spot where people come to gaze at the tribes people in their traditional attire.
18/4/2015 Dimeka, Evangada Pension to a camp on the way to Omerate
D64, T4, Av14.81, Max44, 40,036, 5,034
Early shower then a great dry day
I got up early to get a few things done, like cleaning all my cutlery and pots in detergent.
I now have full on diarhea again, plenty of toilet paper has been bought.
My front panniers are taking in some water, I have large plastic bags inside them. Some holes were found these were subsequently patched with sole glue that I had bought in Konso also to patch holes in the tent.
We left our bikes in the motel rooms and visited the markets. It was fairly touristy. Angela from UNICEF was there, we had a chat and took a few pics. The short time spend with her hand her two colleagues was very enjoyable, she has a good sense of humour.
I had boiled eggs for the road to Omerate. It was such a different experience riding back without tropical downpours.
In Turmi we topped up on water at the well.
I am carrying nearly 11 litres so my bike was loaded down big time. I am now stopping for ablutions every 10km, it is a purging process. Breakfast of meat was forced down in Dimeka before leaving.
Leaving Turmi, the road was dirt for a few km then, became the sweet surface of new asphalt that the Chinese are still constructing to Omarate. This is all part of the infrastructure to do with the huge Gibe III dam, more on that later.
It was sheer pleasure riding on this road, few people and gently descending most of the way.
The Omo valley is huge, and covered in heavy low growing Acacias among other trees. Some small deer like antelope were seen prancing into the roadside bush.
We were very lucky the rain held out.
Nearing dark we pulled into a quarry site and set up camp there. It was clean, thorn free and not visible from the road.
Earlier on the road, I had been in the bushes going to the toilet as I was leaving a tribesman walked from the scrub, didn’t say hello and was carrying a rifle. As I rode off, I thought how terrible it would be to be shot in the back.
These people carry guns to protect their animals from rustlers and to maintain their grazing territory.
People not so friendly on this new road, ant hills, dam, smell of smoke with Hamer
19/4/2015 Quarry Camp to Omorate
D45, T3, Av16.12, Max33, 40,082, 5,079
Fine day
The camp had been great, nice and clean and no thorns with no disturbances. Once again I had been up all night shitting.
No rain had fallen and in the light breeze our tents were condensation free, only the footprints were slightly damp.
On the road, the riding was again a pleasure on the new asphalt. The Omo valley is truely a lovely place. Just a huge expanse of low growing Acacias. Tibes peoples were seen in many open areas.
We have been so lucky with the weather, again it was fine and quite mild.
The asphalt soon ran out as we neared the work zone. Soon we were riding on dirt again.
Nearing Omarate, a milestone of sorts was reahed for me. The distance around the world at the equator was reached, that of 40,075 km.
I marked the occasion with a pic taken by Pedro.
Some 8000km of this was on the Mississippi, 5000km here in Africa and 27k odd in South America.
We went straight to immigration in town and got stamped out of Ethiopia.
Got a few supplies. Had a meal of goat and changed our Birr the rate was 24 birr/ 100 shillings, better than in Addis.
Some touts were telling us they could take us over the river in a boat for 150birr.
There was a brand new bridge, that was part of the road construction. People were walking over this. We headed that way and the local policeman, not a very nice man would not let us pass.
We waited. In the meantime I went down to the river and had a good wash.
This cop was not going to let us over. He wanted money, we were not going to pay.
He showed us some documents that we assumed were needed.
So we headed back to the admin building but being Sunday it was closed.
We had to wait till tomorrow, We looked for a camp on the road we had come in on. This country was so flat and featureless just the slightest rain would reduce it to impassable sticky mud.
We had to find a better camp.
Some implement compounds were seen leaving town. Asking at one of these, the owner said we could stay there.
He was a great guy, who was doing well from the road works. He had a motel full of Chinese engineers and a restaurant feeding the workers. We ate a great goat soup here and set up our tents nearby.
Again, the rain held off.
I cashed in an Ethiopian Telecom scratch card to pay for my meal and a couple of $1US bills to buy drinks.
The Omo river Dam. Gibe III
The Omo River is a lifeline for 500,000 indigenous people living in eastern Africa.
If completed, Ethiopia’s Gibe III Dam will regulate and reduce the Omo River’s
flow, increasing hunger and fueling conflict throughout the basin. The dam could push
Kenya’s Lake Turkana – the world’s largest desert lake – toward ecological collapse.
Opposition to the project in Ethiopia has been muted by the government, but in Kenya,
Lake Turkana communities have been steadfast in their opposition to the project,
sparking legal action and an international debate. Given the project’s massive social and
environmental impacts, Gibe III Dam should be stopped immediately.
Fast Facts: Gibe III Dam
Location 300 km (190 miles) southwest of Addis Ababa, on the Omo River
Cost €1.55 billion (at current exchange rate, about US$2.11 billion). Project costs have
increased 11% since 2006.
Dam Design
Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) gravity dam
243 meters (787 feet) tall – the tallest dam in Africa
Reservoir
Storage capacity: 11.75 billion m3 (415 billion ft3)
Surface: 211 km2 (84 miles2) Length: 151 km (94 miles)
Transmission Line A 65-km-long (40 mile) 400 KV transmission line; a new substation will be built.
Electricity
1,870 MW (6,500 GWh/yr), more than doubling the country’s current installed
capacity.
Original Timeline 2006: Construction began 2011: First power 2012: Fully completed
peoples at great risk. At least 100,000 people depend on food
cultivated in the river’s flooded banks, a practice known as
flood-retreat cultivation. The river’s harvest helps support
an additional 100,000 people through local trading practices
between farmers and herders. This traditional food system is
crucial for these communities because they live in one of the
poorest, most remote parts of Ethiopia and have long been
politically marginalized. The flood also supports the renewal
of grazing lands for herders, and signals migratory fish species
to begin spawning.
A questionable artificial flood has been designed by the dam’s
planners as a way to restore some water to the dam-stressed
system. The artificial flood would last only 10 days, failing
to mimic the natural flood’s gradual build-up over several
months. This truncated 10-day flood would not reach all the
areas now nurtured by annual flooding, and would fall far
short of supporting current agricultural productivity. Experts
believe the artificial flood would fail to maintain the local
ecology, livelihoods and economy.
There is also concern that the artificial flood may not be
maintained. In a hydrology study on the dam commissioned
by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Kenyan hydrologist
Dr. Sean Avery notes, “What assurance is there that the
releases will be sustained given the conflict of interest with
power generation? There are concerns that there is past
experience that any ecological flow rules may be disregarded
to suit other more pressing national needs. For instance, an
environmental audit of the Gibe I project, undertaken by
Ethiopian professionals, reported that although compensation
flow releases had been stipulated for that scheme, no compensation
flows were being released.”
Draining Kenya’s Lake Turkana
Lake Turkana, the world’s largest desert lake, receives up to
90% of its water from the Omo River. For 300,000 people
living near it, Lake Turkana is their best defense against hunger
and conflict.
Gibe III Dam (which will be Africa’s tallest) will reduce the
available river flow to Lake Turkana in several important
ways. First, the lake will be particularly vulnerable during
the filling of dam’s reservoir, which is expected to take several
years.
According to the AfDB hydrology study, “The water volume
to fill Gibe III reservoir would deprive the lake of 85%
of its normal annual inflow in one year… The potential
impact on the lake is significant. The filling of the dam has
the potential to dry up the most productive fishing area of
the lake.”
After the dam is built, Lake Turkana will remain vulnerable
to reduced Omo River flows. The AfDB study notes that
the reservoir will “forever capture” sediment transported by
the river, leading to downstream erosion, changes in water
quality, and reduced water tables. Studies of the reservoir
area have been insufficient to determine seepage losses,
though one independent study by the African Resources
Working Group suggests that 50-75% of impounded water
could be lost through porous ground. Much water will
also evaporate from the reservoir. Finally, the government
of Ethiopia intends to take water for large-scale irrigation
schemes throughout the Omo Valley. “None of these
impacts have been quantified” in project documents, says
Dr. Avery. Ref: International Rivers
|
|
