Ethiopia 2011 - The Historic North Tour

The immediate reaction of describing family vacations to Ethiopia, the immediate response would be one of “Is there Famine” “Why Ethiopia “ “Is it stable”

Following a family trip to the North of Ethiopia two years ago, the idea was to take friends to Ethiopia to meet our family and friends in Ethiopia share the experience,

Ethiopia does not mean Famine.

Ethiopia is developed, is stable, there is poverty just the same as other African states and it is as stable as other democracies in Africa plus the home of some of unknown wonders of the world.

Ethiopia is home to 9 UN World Heritage Sites.

On that trip. we experienced the lush greenness of the countryside, thundering waterfalls, Monasteries and Castles dating back to the beginning of time, The Blue Nile Gorge, Lake Tana (source of the blue Nile), The historic city of Gondar  and did not make it to many of the places we wanted to visit.

The trip was planned for the summer of 2011, the group was a mix of Architects, Graphic Designers, Photographers, Engineers and most importantly close friends.

The family departed London in late July, a week before the arrival of the rest of the party. This allowed us to finalise the travel arrangements for the group and spend time with family and friends.

The week went quickly, one highlight was visiting the Jazzamba Lounge at the Taitu Hotel to hear the music of The Nubian Arc. The Nubian Arc sound is a mix of Ethio-Jazz, Modern Jazz and Funk. For a band that has only been in existence for a year or so, I can safely say we will be hearing more from them internationally in the future.

The group were to spend two weeks in Ethiopia and the itinerary was flexible, a rough list of destinations was planned, no hotels were pre-booked and two four wheel drives plus drivers engaged for the trip.

Over the following 10 days, we would experience Blistering Sunshine, Rain, Hailstone Storms, Thunder / Lightning and Thick Fog,

The 4 Wheel Drives Parked Up - Blue Nile Gorge

Abey and Tamana Loading Luggage - Kombolcha

An Irish Tri Colour was attached to the Aerial on one of the cars, we got some strange looks and much attention as we drove through Ethiopia - Maybe it gave the impression that we were VIP's. 

It turned out to be a dead giveaway to our Nationality and as soon as we would dis-embark, the populus would declare "You are Irish" followed by "Are you from Dublin"

Flying The Flag

The original intention was to update the blog daily as a Travelogue and publish photo's on a daily basis. This was not practical for a number of reasons, so I'll publish the Travelogue over the comming day's.

Thanks must go to Kober Tour and Travel for arranging the transportation and providing the driverss Abey and Tamena.

The drivers Abey and Tamena proved to be competent, flexible and protective of the Group.

Thanks to Greville, Leo, Marianne, Mary-Jane and Owen for being good travel companions.

Special Thanks to Rebecca for organising everything.

I can't forget the two boys, Menelik and Fionn for all the fun moments and patience of been cooked as we made our way through Historic Ethiopia.


One final note, we have identified a number of charities and organisations that we feel are worthy causes to support, I will post details of these at a later date,