Above the Clouds. Exploring Ethiopia´s Extraordinary Endemics.

[michael-ibk]

On ‎27‎.‎07‎.‎2017 at 7:40 AM, pault said:

Where is @Atravelynn in that video though? I don;t see her.

 

Good one, @pault, you almost had me there, I almost wanted to give explanations. To my defense, it´s still early morning here. Glad to have you aboard.

 

22 hours ago, optig said:

I can only say that I may skip Awash National Park entirely in favor of Lake Lagano. It truly has everything to offer.

 

I agree that Lake Langano is a great place. But while Awash (and Ali Deghe) might have their problems, it´s still a must destination if one is keen on seeing some of the special Northern animals only to be found here. If that´s not a priority I agree that Awash is certainly more skippable than other places in Ethiopia. But I do not regret going there at all (despite my health problems), and as I mentioned before I would be even keen to try especially Ali Deghe again, when (hopefully not if) that terrible drought finally stops.

 

10 hours ago, SafariChick said:

I am just up to post #90 now - those photos of the Abyssinian Rollers catching their prey are amazing!  

 

Thank you very much, @SafariChick , and btw, I do hope you enjoyed your non-wildlife-based holiday!

[michael-ibk]

On ‎21‎.‎07‎.‎2017 at 5:01 PM, TonyQ said:

sorry to hear about your illness - but you appeared to have recovered.

 

On ‎25‎.‎07‎.‎2017 at 5:12 AM, Alexander33 said:

Very sorry to to hear that you got sick, Michael. That's the last thing anyone wants while traveling, but it sounds as if you recuperated heroically in no time at all. 

 

 

Thank you, @TonyQ and @Alexander33 and everybody else who commented on this. It really was quite awful, and I actually felt my body fight against whatever had been in the Injera and had very high fever. As a matter of fact I really thought we would have to go to a doctor if I would not be better the next day but fortunately I was pretty much back to fighting form for our next day leading us to Ali Deghe.

 

On ‎25‎.‎07‎.‎2017 at 6:22 AM, Atravelynn said:

Is that when the Paradise Flycatcher flew by?

 

No, the male Paradise Flycatcher was during lunch break, very close to my room.

 

On ‎25‎.‎07‎.‎2017 at 6:22 AM, Atravelynn said:

Abiy and Michael standing still and  finding the birds in Lake Langano. 

 

Really cannot take credit for being the model in that one - that´s Andreas, not me.

 

On ‎26‎.‎07‎.‎2017 at 3:12 PM, IamFisheye said:

wow didn't you have a great trip (so far).  Your fantastic report has reminded me that I am still 6 days away from the end of my own Ethiopian TR and the 2 year anniversary from the start of that is not too far away either.  I should really get my head down and get it finished.  It will include the 2 nights we had at Bishangari Lodge.

 

Thank you, @IamFisheye, I´ve really been enjoying your fantastic report and am hoping very much to see it continue. Very interested to hear about Bishangari, especially if you were aware of any problems with the local community then.

 

On ‎25‎.‎07‎.‎2017 at 5:12 AM, Alexander33 said:

I've always found the idea of Ethiopia to be a fascinating travel destination, though, as a history buff, Lalibela and Gondar have also been at the top of the Ethiopia must-do list, as well.   That being the case, the logistics for fitting everything in have been challenging, so I've put it off thus far, but your delightful report certainly brings things to the

forefront. 

 

I agree that logistics in Ethiopia do require some careful planning. Two weeks are probably the minimum if you like to do culture and wildlife, you find a very good instruction on how to incorporate both in the splendid report by @IamFisheye but I think this was a longer trip. Better to do three weeks and see it "all".

 

On ‎26‎.‎07‎.‎2017 at 7:30 PM, screentraveller said:

(Am I a heartless mother?)

 

Yes you are, absolutely. But there´s always birthday and Christmas, and you can make up for your cruelty with big and very expensive presents.

 

Edited July 28, 2017 by michael-ibk

[optig]

@Miche-Ibk obviously I'm so happy you recovered from your illness. I would need to spend three weeks there because I want to visit Simien Mountain National Park and Lalibela. I have to tell you that you are a brave man because you never gave up despite your illness. I admire and respect you like I do @Atravelynn and @Kitsafari.

[Atravelynn]

ischial callosities

On 7/27/2017 at 0:40 AM, pault said:

. Where is @Atravelynn in that video though? I don;t see her.

After this insulting comment that had me in tears, I am just going to turn the other ischial callosities (thickened skin found on the buttocks of animals, especially the baboon) cheek and take this opportunity to make a complimentary observation.  I saw in your most recent report you are from Scotland!  That is not surprising, as everyone I have ever met from Scotland (I have not visited yet but @Tony's report of birds and squirrels, etc. in Scotland is inviting) is so friendly, personable, and good-humored.  You fit right in. Really. There, now don't you feel guilty?   But I am serious about the very amiable character of every Scot I have ever met, ages early 20s-70s, male and female.  Next, you'll probably be insulting the waterbucks!

Ischial callosities close up

 

On 7/27/2017 at 2:16 AM, optig said:

I can only say that I may skip Awash National Park entirely in favor of Lake Lagano. It truly has everything to offer.

I think the stars did not align for us in Awash and Ali Deghe for optimal viewing conditions.  My best Abyssinian Roller and Abyssinian Ground Hornbills were in Awash/Ali Deghe, plus the best nursing oryx of any safari ever.   I would think the guys would agree also.  So it had its moments.  You might be luckier, too.

22 hours ago, SafariChick said:

@michael-ibk just getting a chance to catch up where I left off on your report as I've been away - so sorry you were so sick! I am just up to post #90 now - those photos of the Abyssinian Rollers catching their prey are amazing!  

Traveling to Europe is an acceptable excuse for falling behind!

@Atravelynn I love your black-chested snake eagle photos from post #82!

Retraction and correction!  Thank you @michael-ibk for the correction

on the incorrect identification of my travel partner.  I overlooked the key markings

of the "Red Backed @AndMic."  This faux pas gets  me off the hook for identifying

the birds if I can't even ID with whom I'm traveling.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Atravelynn

[Atravelynn]

10 hours ago, optig said:

@Miche-Ibk obviously I'm so happy you recovered from your illness. I would need to spend three weeks there because I want to visit Simien Mountain National Park and Lalibela. I have to tell you that you are a brave man because you never gave up despite your illness. I admire and respect you like I do @Atravelynn and @Kitsafari.

Thank you.  Michael's bravery in dealing with discomfort will surface again.

 

 

Bale's hauntingly beautiful habitat

 

Bale (pronounced BAH lay)

 

The most endangered canine in the world, the Ethiopian Wolf, drew us to Ethiopia, then the rest of the itinerary followed.  While Ethiopian Wolves live in six areas of the country, Bale is the most popular park for wolves because of both the numbers of wolves and wolf sightings.

 

 

There is a more detailed map on page 13 of this study from several years ago, pre-2015 distemper outbreak and pre-2014 rabies outbreak.

https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/2011-090.pdf

 

Ethiopian wolf stalking in Sanetti Plateau, Bale Mountain National Park

 

Tragically, between July 2015 and March 2016 about half of the wolf population in Bale was wiped out due to distemper transmitted by domestic dogs.  That brought the wolf population down to around 100 in Bale and 350 total wolves throughout Ethiopia, according to Abiy’s estimations. That is similar to numbers from the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme; they put the Bale population at around 130. A Sept 5, 2016 National Geographic article gave the total number of Ethiopian wolves as about 500. Other sources note 400-450.  But when any of those #s were established is important because they may omit the loss from distemper.

   

Ethiopian wolf stalking in Sanetti Plateau, Bale Mountain National Park

There are many dogs in the villages that have been erected inside the park. We even saw a domestic dog that had made it all the way to the Senetti Plateau. Very unsettling.  A population of 20,000 people has permanent residence in the park but that doubles in the wet season when up to 160,000 head of livestock roam the park.  People, cattle, and especially the dogs (rabies, distemper, risk of possible inbreeding in the future) take a toll on the wolves.  Rira was the largest town within the park boundaries and we passed through it each day when we traveled between Bale Mountain Lodge and the Sanetti Plateau.  There were homes, a school, a mosque, shops, businesses, restaurants, even billboards advertising the restaurants. 

 

 

Water on the plateau, Bale Mountain National Park  - Ruddy shelducks and Blue-winged goose

 

Rabies is also a threat that has swept through the wolf populations in 1991, 2003, 2008, and 2014.  An oral vaccine was developed and administered in 2016 that had an 86% success rate in providing wolves that ate the bait with immunity from rabies according to Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme.  Injecting the wolves was also done but that’s more time consuming and costly.  Thousands of domestic dogs have also been vaccinated against rabies, but there too many dogs for the vaccine to ever remove the rabies risk for wolves.

 

Unlike the rabies vaccine, there has not been a vaccine developed for distemper.

 

        

Sanetti Plateau, Bale Mountain National Park

 

The future of the wolves may depend on the implementation of Bale’s 10-year General Management Plan (the previous 10-year plan spanned 2007-2017) that was in progress during our visit.  I’ve tried to get the results since returning home, without success.  Maybe it is still in progress.

 

There was speculation that Bale Mountains (on the “tentative list” for World Heritage status) may propose a policy like the Simien Mountains (a World Heritage Site since 1978), which has translocated some villages and is continuing the efforts.

 

   

Bale Monkeys in Harenna Forest and Ethiopian Wolf drinking at a distance in Sanetti Plateau, Bale Mountain National Park

 

       

 Near Bale Mountains National Park entrance and Gaysay Grasslands (roadkill is civet)

 

    

 Approaching the Bale Mountains National Park entrance and Gaysay Grasslands

 

 

Edited July 28, 2017 by Atravelynn

[pault]

@Atravelynn My ischial callosities burn at the sight of yours so nobly turning. 

 

Incidentally, Scotland is An excellent place to observe ape-like displays of the ischial callosities by the less dominant males - especially after a few drinks at weddings. 

[Kitsafari]

@michael-ibk it sounded like a very serious illness and I'm relieved you are better for it. so like me (and @Atravelynn in India if I recollect correctly and I think @safarichick also suffered from it), you've passed the safari runs exams with flying colours!

 

those pictures of land cleared for farming in Bale mountain park look really dismaying. and the thought of all the villagers pouring into the park is also dreadful. I really wonder how long the park and the survival of the wolves can hold out against the expanding human population. I do hope they will succeed in getting heritage status for the park. 

 

ahh those cheeky exchanges between lynn and @pault made me laugh. Ischial callosities is such a polite insulting word to learn if you want to avoid directly calling someone an a**. 

[pault]

Well done! This is a great report and you are complementary trip report writers as well as travelers. I have really learned quite a lot and enjoyed the trip with you very much,

 

And what a weird, weird country Ethiopia is. 

[Atravelynn]

14 hours ago, pault said:

@Atravelynn My ischial callosities burn at the sight of yours so nobly turning. 

 

Incidentally, Scotland is An excellent place to observe ape-like displays of the ischial callosities by the less dominant males - especially after a few drinks at weddings.   All that and puffins too!  I'm sold!

 

3 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

@michael-ibk it sounded like a very serious illness and I'm relieved you are better for it. so like me (and @Atravelynn in India if I recollect correctly and I think @safarichick also suffered from it), you've passed the safari runs exams with flying colours!

 

those pictures of land cleared for farming in Bale mountain park look really dismaying. and the thought of all the villagers pouring into the park is also dreadful. I really wonder how long the park and the survival of the wolves can hold out against the expanding human population. I do hope they will succeed in getting heritage status for the park. 

 

ahh those cheeky! exchanges between lynn and @pault made me laugh. Ischial callosities is such a polite insulting word to learn if you want to avoid directly calling someone an a**.   Right, I'll have to work on the pronunciation so that insult can just roll off my tongue the next time it is needed.

 

2 hours ago, pault said:

Well done! This is a great report and you are complementary trip report writers as well as travelers. I have really learned quite a lot and enjoyed the trip with you very much,

 

And what a weird, weird country Ethiopia is.   I often find "the weirder the better" to a point, of course.

 

 

At 2,150 sq sm or 830 sq miles, Bale is almost 1.5 times the size of Kenya’s Maasai Mara, and contains a variety of habitats.

 

Map of Bale Mountains National Park

 

 

 

Visitors first encounter the Gaysay Grasslands in the north, that make up a tiny part of the park.  This is good habitat for the endemic Mountain Nyala and our first sightings of it were here.  A paved road cuts through the grassland, leaving about 5 km on either side.

 

           

 

   

Young male, female in the herd, youngster with a fluffy snow white white tail.  Endemic Mountain Nyala in Gaysay Grassland region of Bale Mountains National Park.

 

 

Endemic Rouget's Rail, with an equally fluffy snow white tail in Gaysay Grassland retiong of Bale Mountains National Park

 

Dinsho, the park headquarters, is located at this northern end of the park in Grassland and Juniper Woodland.  Abiy arranged a very enjoyable couple of hours walk for us, escorted by one of the Dinsho rangers, to look for mammals and owls.

 

Female Mountain Nyala (endemic) enjoy yellow wild tomato-like fruits, which are poisonous to humans.  Seen on foot near Dinsho, park headquarters, of Bale Mountains National Park.

 

    

Abyssinian long eared owl (2) and Verreaux's eagle owl - on foot near Dinsho, park headquarters, of Bale Mountains National Park.

 

Michael got more photos of an Africa wood owl as well.  The ranger very obligingly climbed some of the trees--before we knew what was even happening--to better point out the owls to us.

  

 

Endemic Mountain Nyala, viewed on foot near Dinsho, park headquarters, of Bale Mountains National Park. The boys.

 

Endemic Mountain Nyala, viewed on foot near Dinsho, park headquarters, of Bale Mountains National Park.  The whole family.

 

Endemic Mountain Nyala, viewed on foot near Dinsho, park headquarters, of Bale Mountains National Park.

 

2 endemics--Mountain Nyala in background and Melenik's Bushbuck in foreground--viewed on foot near Dinsho, park headquarters, of Bale Mountains National Park.

 

There was a moving tribute and memorial at Dinsho to Biniyam Admasu, a young conservationist, just 33, who had died two years earlier fighting a fire in Bale.

At Dinsho, Park Headquarters

 

Dinsho and the nearby Gaysay Grasslands and Juniper Forest were about 2.5 hours driving from Bale Mountain Lodge.  We discussed an itinerary change that would allow exploration of this area with less driving.  Our 5 days in Bale could have rearranged to

 

2 nts Dinsho Lodge

3 nts Bale  (this would flow from lower to higher grade accommodation)

 

Or

 

3 nts Bale 

2 nts Dinsho Lodge (this would flow down hill from higher grade to low grade accommodation)

 

Or even

 

1 nt Dinsho Lodge

3 nts Bale 

1 nt Dinsho Lodge

 

For the drive between Dinsho and Bale, the timing could maximize hours spent in the Sanetti Plateau, which is between Dinsho and Bale.  The wolves come out about 10:00 am and are active throughout the day until around sunset.  But early morning is not a good time to look for wolves.

 

I have looked up the drive times from Addis to Dinsho (about 6.5 hours) vs. Addis to Bale Mountain Lodge (about 9 hours).  Driving Addis to Dinsho or vice-versa in a day is more doable than Addis-Bale Mountain Lodge.  @Safarichick can weigh in on that trip!

 

Now, Dinsho Lodge cannot even compare to the level of comfort at Bale Mountain Lodge, the food, the view, the atmosphere, etc. which is something to consider as well.  Here are a few quick snaps of the lodge taken after we ate lunch outside in the “courtyard.”

   

 

 

Dining room, 2 types of bdms, the shared toilet down the hall.  Not sure where the shower was.  Dinsho Lodge in the north of the park.

We did not stay here, just took some pics.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2017 by Atravelynn

[SafariChick]

Ah good to see the beginning of the Bale section! Some great photos already!  You know @Atravelynn I know it's the common wisdom that it's not so great to look for wolves early in the morning, but we asked our guide if that was true and whether we might see them more in their family groups if we got there early enough, before they separated to start hunting and he said it could be. So on our second day, we left at 6:30 a.m. with a packed breakfast, and we did see wolves and also some different behavior than we'd seen the day before. See post 9 in my report here:

I think it's good to try both earlier and later on different days.  I look forward to reading what you guys did. 

[Atravelynn]

5 hours ago, SafariChick said:

Ah good to see the beginning of the Bale section! Some great photos already!  You know @Atravelynn I know it's the common wisdom that it's not so great to look for wolves early in the morning, but we asked our guide if that was true and whether we might see them more in their family groups if we got there early enough, before they separated to start hunting and he said it could be. So on our second day, we left at 6:30 a.m. with a packed breakfast, and we did see wolves and also some different behavior than we'd seen the day before. See post 9 in my report here:

I think it's good to try both earlier and later on different days.  I look forward to reading what you guys did. 

So early is when you saw the greeting.  That's right you also saw klipspringers!  I don't recall seeing any in Bale.  Maybe the guys saw some.  In fact a couple of times Abiy noted that the fire that had killed Biniyam Adamsu had wiped out some of the better  klipspringer habitat.  

And my memory was refreshed on  why the Ethiopian Wolf crossed the road.

 

The Harenna Forest at the southern end of the park is where Bale Mountain Lodge sits.  We did a 6 km 3 hour and 45-minute forest walk, leaving right from the lodge, with Abiy and a local guide. 7:45 am to 11:15 am.  We were hoping for the Bale Monkey, but no sign of them.

 

Our luck with the wolves seemed not to extend to the Bale Monkeys.  At the lodge we’d hear others talk about how 20 Bale Monkeys suddenly emerged from the forest and romped animatedly near their vehicle before crossing the road in front of them.  People were toasting their monkey sightings!

 

Endemic Bale Monkey (part of a trip we eventually found) near Harrena Forest in Bale Mountains National Park

 

We tried several locations with bamboo stands (their preferred food and over 3/4 of their diet) and managed to glimpse one Bale Monkey near the ground briefly as the light was fading.  Then we got a quick snap of another lone Bale monkey on a fence in Rira on a walk.  In addition to a lone monkey we enjoyed Menelik's Bushbuck, Colobus, waterfalls, and birds all on foot.

 

   

Bale Monkey, 1st one..........................................Menelik's Bushbuck...................................Emerald Cuckoo, all seen on walk near Rira, a town within Bale Mountain National Park

Emerald Cuckoo on walk near Rira, a town within Bale Mountain National Park

 

 

@AndMic photographing a mini-waterfall and then 2 proper waterfalls on walk near Rira, a town within Bale Mountain National Park

 

 

White-cheeked turacao and Menelik's Bushbuck on walk near Rira, a town within Bale Mountain National Park

 

During our Bale Monkey searches the Colobus monkeys were fairly abundant, though not as easily viewed as in Lake Langano.  I started feeling guilty when movement in the trees was determined to be Colobus, not Bale Monkeys, and our sentiment was a disappointed, “Darn, more Colobus.”  To think how many of us make a special effort to try to see Colobus and here we were, disappointed at yet another Colobus, not a Bale Monkey.

 

Colobus Monkey on walk near Rira, a town within Bale Mountain National Park

 

As we drove along near Rira, Abiy decided to start asking the “man on the street” if any Bale Monkeys had been spotted.  One guy responded that there were some in the trees near an overturned truck in the direction we were headed.  The guy then handed us a water bottle to take to the truck driver who was fortunately only thirsty and not injured.  Abiy’s and Bege’s reaction at this promising news was endearing.  They did a drum roll karate chop on the dashboard in excitement.

The monkeys had moved but we found them and spent about an hour with these shy creatures. There are 500-1000 of these endemic Bale monkeys and fortunately no known diseases and few predators threaten them.  People in the area know these monkeys are endemic and don’t harass them and leave the bamboo for them.

The monkeys had moved but we found them and spent about an hour with these shy creatures. There are 500-1000 of endemic Bale Monkeys and fortunately no known diseases and few predators threaten them.  People in the area are aware these monkeys are endemic and don’t harass them and leave the bamboo for them.

 

 

                            

 

 Endemic Bale Monkeys, all viewed on foot, about 20 minutes by car from Bale Mountain Lodge in Herrena Forest

 

Bale Mountain Lodge was comfortable with friendly staff, some of whom were new at this kind of work, and great food.  We found the less private and secluded rooms near the lounge to be very convenient.

 

View from Bale Mountain Lodge

 

         

In front of lodge -- viewing platform at lodge.  I did not bounce around on the platform or even stay more than a couple of minutes.

 

       

Bale Mountain Lodge - our rooms were closest to the main circular lodge, about where the cows are.

 

  

My room in left photo.  View from the room about a 5-10 minute walk into the forest.  We all visited this empty room and a couple of us enjoyed the balcony.  No bugs. @michael-ibk spent little time on the balcony and was romping up and  down the slopes like a Menelik's Bushbuck and I think he may even have seen one.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Atravelynn

[Atravelynn]

Abiy and Michael on Sanetti Plateau

 

Ethiopian wolf on Sanetti Plateau

 

The Sanetti Plateau is home to the wolves, but that’s in large part because it is home to the endemic Giant Mole Rat, which makes up over 95% of the wolves' diet.  We definitely found the morning hours before 10 am to be best for the GMRs.

 

  

 

 

     

 

The popularity of these Giant Mole Rats with the wolves made them very shy and therefore hard to photograph.  Sanetti Plains, Bale Mountain National Park

 

Michael stalking the wily Giant Mole Rat

 

Blick's rats live in Sanetti Plateu too

 

Sanetti Plateau.  Vegetation:Hillycrisum in clumps on the ground Lobelia (small plams)

 

Sanetti Plateau

 

It took about 1.5-2 hours to reach the Sanetti Plateau from Bale Mountain Lodge.  While we did view some of the wolves on foot, the best sightings and photos were from the car.  The wolves are more comfortable with vehicles than people.

 

Our first evening we saw 2 wolves together, the most we would see in close proximity throughout our visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          Note the blue ear tag on the left, indicating the wolf had been vaccinated for rabies.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we saw cows, we became watchful for wolves.  The wolves follow the cows because they scare up the rodents as they graze.

 

Our Bale wolf sightings were 2 on our eve of arrival, 12, 2, and 6.  The earliest we found wolves was about 10:10 am and the latest about 5:10 pm.  Abiy said our number of sightings is about what would be expected.  For us, about average added up to "Happy Satisfaction!"

I made a special request of Abiy to try to find an endemic Stark’s Hare on our last pass through the Sanetti Plateau as we departed Bale.  The greater challenge was not for him to find the rabbits, but to have me see these camouflaged creatures.

2 Stark's Hares on the Sanetti Plateau.  Also pictured is one of many "wolf rocks."  The red color looks just like the wolves.

 

Endemic Stark's Hare on Sanetti Plateau.  There it is, Abiy, I see it! 

The blowing fur shows how windy it was on the plateau.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Atravelynn

[jeremie]

I have just received the 2016 Annual report from EWCP. There are some very positive news concerning Bale wolf population, with an estimated 30% increase. There were around 80 pups in and around the park, which is good news for the population recovery.

Bad news come from Delata sub-population in Wollo region, that dropped to only 2 animals.

 

http://ethiopianwolf.org/resources/EWCP Annual Report April 2017.pdf

Edited July 30, 2017 by jeremie

[SafariChick]

Great photos of the Bale monkeys and the wolves @Atravelynn  We were not lucky enough to see any Bale monkeys.  I wonder if the wolves were generally closer to your vehicles than they were to ours or if your zoom is just better than mine (which I know it is, actually!) Do you know about how far they were? Someone (I think @pault) asked me about how far the wolves were in my report and I have no clue about distances but I asked Mr. Safarichick and he made some estimates which I now can't recall but which are in my trip report!

[michael-ibk]

Thank you, @jeremie, that report is encouraging!

 

A bit more about

 

 

Accomodations in and around Bale Mountains NP were always a problem, the hotels in the neighbouring cities and villages had an infamous reputation, and I´ve yet to see anybody report how much they enjoyed Dinsho Lodge. And any of these options are pretty far from the Sanetti Plateau where all the Wolf action happens, so certainly not ideal.

 

Bale Mountain Lodge was the perfect solution to these problems. It´s only been in operations since 2013. Obviously they are trying to be a bit more high-end than many other lodges in Ethiopia but their prices are not unreasonable, especially considering the logistics running a place like that in such a remote area. (See here about the rates: http://wetu.com/iBrochure/en/Information/29665/Bale_Mountain_Lodge/Rates)

 

 

I loved this Elephant-with-rider-shaped rock, one of the main views from the lodge. It´s a beautiful place, the rooms are very spacious and beautiful (Lynn already showed photos), and food was good to very good (not excellent). Power is a bit of a problem, we often couldn´t switch on the lights in the bathroom for example, but not a big deal. They are partly dependent on hydrodynamic power and obviously the lack of rain has created problems. Service-wise staff are friendly and helpful, but they still have some way to go to reach the level of established safari camps. But all bagatelles - I liked the place a lot, especially the wonderful scenery around, and it´s definitely the best option (by far) for anybody wanting to see the Wolves on the Plateau.

 

 

The clearing in front of the lodge can be interesting, some guests had been lucky enough to see even lions there. For us, it was only Warthogs and Baboons - and the inevitable dogs which are (as pointed out by Lynn) a huge problem for the park.

 

 

About the lions: They are definitely around, two weeks prior to our stay they had killed a horse less than a km from the lodge. And I´m very sure I heard one very early in the morning when I was walking around on the road. And yes, I returned to the lodge a bit faster after that than originally intended. :-)

 

Generally, though, this time of the year (March) is not very suitable to find Harenna Forest´s larger mammals. An incredible number of locals is busy in the woods, and most animals retreat far back into the most remote areas. The best time to look for stuff like Lion, Leopard or Giant Forest Hog is apparently after the rainy season, October being ideal I was told, Nov/Dec still reasonable. Wild Dogs haven´t been seen in the park for more than four years now. We did two night drives in Harenna Forest which really were a waste of our time - we found nothing, not even a Bushbuck crossing the road.

 

I enjoyed walking around the lodge grounds, some nice birdies to be found.

 

Quote

I did not bounce around on the platform or even stay more than a couple of minutes.

 

Well, I did to get a better view of this Long-Crested Eagle but afterwards I told the manager they should really have a look at the platform, it was not in a very stable state, and I did not dare stepping on some of the planks.

 

 

 

The lobby

 

 

Dining room

 

 

African Dusky Flycatcher - a very common highlands bird.

 

 

This Yellow-Billed Kite was often sitting on the lodge´s roof.

 

BML has eight forest cottages with a nice view into the forest.

 

 

 

Around here I had my best view of a White-Cheeked Turaco. Also saw some Hyrax on the stone path.

 

 

A staff member also showed me a Chameleon at night.

 

 

Nice as the forest cottages are, it´s really quite a walk from there to the main building, which is why we preferred to stay in the rooms right next to the main building.

 

There´s also the "Jackal House" available for guests, with three separate bedrooms.

 

Edited August 2, 2017 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

 

Two happy Bale visitors.

 

So how did we spend our time in the park? As Lynn already pointed out, it´s far more than just the Wolves, and there are a lot of different habitats.

 

We only devoted one full day to the Wolves. That might sound surprising but we were happy with our sightings for that day, and also saw Wolves when we were driving (from BML) to Dinsho, and also on the way out. Additionally the Bale Monkeys were giving us a real hard time, and stubborn as we were, we invested basically two full days in the Harenna Forest to finally get them. (Also for Menelik´s Bushbuck.) I´m sure we would have done a full second day on the plateau if we had found the monkeys earlier - and generally they are much easier.

 

 

Augur Buzzard taking off.

 

 

We did not really spend much time in the Gaysay grasslands, we just passed through on our way in and out. This was partly owed to the fact that we already had seen Serval in Guassa, otherwise I´m sure we would have made different decisions - Gaysay is a good place for them, and there´s also a (remote) chance for Caracal.

 

 

Spot-Breasted Lapwing - another of Ethiopia´s many endemic birds.

 

 

The grasslands are only a tiny fraction of the park. I guess because it´s such a small area the Mountain Nyalas here, who love this habitat, have decided there´s just no way to avoid people, so have become extremely habituated and it´s possible to get very close to them here.  (Even more so in the area around Dinsho).

 

 

Anywhere you stop in Ethiopia kids will appear out of nowhere.

 

 

Groundscraper Thrush.

 

There´s also an incredible amount of Warthogs and Baboons in the grasslands - all well-fed animals.

 

 

 

The Baboons are quite used to getting goodies from truck drivers, so they approach cars very closely, and are kind of demanding. Especially with the big males it´s not a bad idea to close windows when they come too close - they can be feisty.

 

 

 

Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eater

 

There are no "safari tracks" or anything like that here, game viewing can just be done from the main road.

 

[michael-ibk]

If there´s one thing I would change about the itinerary it´s Dinsho. We only had a few hours there, and it was quite a long drive from the Lodge to get there. It would have made a lot more sense to stay at Dinsho Lodge on the first night, and from what we saw from it, it would have been absolutely acceptable for one night - definitely better than Guassa, the place had electricity and running water, and was reasonably clean. I do not think that the itinerary would have been much improved by also spending the last night there - actually the drive from Bale Mountain Lodge to Lake Awasa is quite ok.

 

 

Mountain Nyala are tame as cattle around Dinsho. I did not quite understand why, the area is not fenced off from the rest of the park, and generally Nyala are supposed to be very shy animals. Again, I can only assume they have learned there´s just no point to running with the number of people around. Maybe one can also take it as a good sign, an indicator that there´s not much poaching going on, otherwise they surely would have to be more afraid. Majestic animals, and they are huge - the males are larger than Greater Kudus.

 

 

Like "regular" Nyalas this is a pronouncedly sexually dimorphic species - the males can be nearly twice as heavy.

 

They are classified as endangered, with not more than 3,000 or 4,000 mature animals left in the wild. As montane specialists, they have been eliminated from most of their former range. Bale is now their major stronghold, at least half the population is found here. Smaller relict populations apparently occur in Chercher (Amhar) Mountains (Asba Tafari, Arba Guggu, Din Din), Arsi Mountains (Chilalo, Galama, Mt Kaka, Munessa), and West Bale (Somkaro-Korduro ridge). Cattle encroachment must be a huge problem, they are outnumbered by far by livestock in the grasslands.

 

To my surprise it´s still legal to hunt them. "Trophy hunting blocks in Arsi have been hunted out and hunting concessions have moved to Bale (legal hunting is restricted to adult males); with continued pressure by the industry for additional hunting blocks and larger quotas. Effects of current trophy-hunting programs are not well understood and current trophy hunting quotas may be unsustainable in the long-term (Sillero-Zubiri 2013). On the other hand, sustainable trophy hunting has very high potential for generating the revenue needed to fund effective conservation of this species."  (From the IUCN website.)

 

Mounain Nyala are not kept in zoos, so their survival as a species is highly dependent on how effectively BMNP will be managed in the future.

 

 

We really enjoyed walking around in Dinsho, it somehow has an golden autumn feel to it, and being in such close proximity to majestic animals like the Nyalas is a wonderful experience.

 

 

Abyssinian Slaty Flycatcher - another Horn endemic. Chocolate lovers should like this bird - its Latin name is melaernornis chocolatinus.

 

 

Reedbucks are also very common around Dinsho.

 

 

Menelik´s Bushbucks less so - I think we only saw this female. Warthogs were also around in good numbers, and we glimpsed another Golden Wolf here.

 

I feel a bit guilty about our "Owl guy" climbing the tree, it´s not something we would have asked, but it did give me an OIF.

 

[michael-ibk]

 

The Harenna Forest - a huge part of the park in its South, along with the adjacent State- and community-managed forest outside the park, it constitutes an area of over 4,000km2. It is also the largest cloud forest in the country. The lodge is in this area, and from here we first tried to find the Bale Monkey.

 

There are some clearings with good visibility ...

 

 

... but overall the forest is very, very dense, and it´s not easy to make progress here. Even harder to spot anything - it´s far too easy for all animals to hide very effectively, and since they will hear you coming long before you are even close it´s a rare occurrence to find any of the forest´s shier inhabitants (like Giant Forest Hog or Bushpig, not to speak of predators like Lion or Leopard - but I would not have been too hot on finding some of these on foot anyway.)

 

 

 

 

Impenetrable as the forest may seem, it´s still used heavily from the locals - we saw a lot of these bee baskets for example. Which is harmless usage of the resources - the amount of wood collected in the forest is definitely not.

 

Birding is very difficult here, the only worthwhile sightings were in clearings, and mostly up in the sky.

 

 

Ayre´s Hawk Eagle

 

 

Sharpe´s Starling

 

 

Northern Fiscal

 

 

And the omnipresent Augur Buzzard. We also saw Crowned Eagle on two occassions - and I suspect their presence was a big reason why the monkeys decided to go into hiding, they are the Eagle´s preferred prey after all.

 

A very peaceful, soothing setting in the forest, and even though we did not see all that much I greatly enjoyed this.

 

 

 

Unfortunately also a place under huge pressure - a lot of illegal burning going on, which is slowly but surely eating away from this irreplacable habitat.

 

Edited August 2, 2017 by michael-ibk

[jeremie]

Very good to know that wildlife is still abundant around Dinsho and Bale Lodges, also that lions seems to be still there. Quite a miracle considering the huge population of livestock inside the park (both resident and migrant). Good and close sightings around Dinsho demonstrates poaching rate is quite low and that trophy hunting is not important, otherwise I presume the mountain nyalas would be much less confident as they do.

 

Do you feel human pressure is less around Rira - Harenna Forest compared to the Northern fringes of the Park (Gaysay and DInsho areas)?

[michael-ibk]

 

Our search for the elusive Bale Monkey continued.

 

A bit higher up is a thin bamboo belt, their favourite habitat.

 

 

The town (or village) of Rira is also up here, so a lot of this area is no longer "wild" by any means. The locals have fenced off big parts of the park here for their needs.

 

 

 

Abyssinian Catbird - another endemic.

 

 

Here we finally had a decent sighting of a male Menelik´s Bushbuck. This montane race is generally thought of as only a subspecies though exact Bushbuck taxonomy is highly complex and controversial - would be a good one for @Safaridude. Over fourty races have been identified in Africa varying in coloration, size and habitat type. Menelik´s is a pretty distinct phenotype,

no estimates about their population exist (at least I haven´t found any), and their general shy nature does certainly not help establishing their numbers. They are extremely beautiful animals, with a coat longer than that of other bushbucks, perhaps because of living in the lower temperatures of high altitudes. I also thought the males are slightly larger than other Bushbucks I´ve seen so far.

 

It did not like to stay for further "studies".

 

 

 

Our time in Harenna and Rira was also when our weather luck was fading a bit, we had some rain, though nothing too bad.

 

 

This Cinnammon´s Bracken Warbler did not mind - their song is beautiful.

 

 

African Emerald Cuckoo had been high on my list for quite some time, so I was very happy when Abiy located one. When you see them in the birdbook you´d think they must be incredibly easy to find with those colours. It´s the opposite, they blend in amazingly well between the green and yellow leaves, it´s really effective camouflage.

 

 

One of the many Colobus monkeys we did not want to see - sorry for having become Colobus snobs after Langano.

 

 

 

African Mountain Wagtail

 

 

And another endemic - the Abyssinian Woodpecker

 

 

 

The falls are quite lovely - nothing spectacular but a beautiful little place.

 

It was late afternoon on our very last full day in Bale when we finally, finally found our Monkeys. At first they were shy and ran, but after a while they grew accustomed to us and continued feeding in the bamboo. We spent almost an hour with them, this was one of my favourite experiences of the trip. There´s something magical about animals starting to accept you, losing their fear and then going on with their lives.

 

 

 

 

Again, it´s really worth pointing out that our experience was very atypical. Abiy was almost desparing, because he had said the Monkeys were no problem at all, and he had expected to find them very early on. And most people do, you can have amazing sightings of them just by the road. So we just were a bit unlucky with them - but OTOH our ultimate success was so much more rewarding because of the efforts we had made.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

20 minutes ago, jeremie said:

Do you feel human pressure is less around Rira - Harenna Forest compared to the Northern fringes of the Park (Gaysay and DInsho areas)?

 

I´m afraid not, @jeremie, the main road is heavily used, we saw burnings going on and areas which had been burnt, livestock (and dogs) are abundant, and people were everywhere.

[michael-ibk]

 

Almost above the clouds now ... slowly working my way up to the top. Located immediately above the tree line, from 3,400m to 3,800m, is a belt of heather. This used to be good terrain for Klippspringers, they were regularly seen here. But the area was burnt this year, and the animals have fled. Some of them were seen even down in the forest later, in a habitat totally unsuited for them.

 

 

 

Some remaining fairytale forest of tree heath.

 

Here we often saw Chestnut-Naped Francolin - one more endemic.

 

 

 

On the Goba side there are also some houses, though nothing like the huge settlement in Rira.

 

 

 

Wattled Ibis was common here.

 

 

 

And we had one of my favourite bird sightings - Bearded Vulture!

 

 

We saw this immensely cool bird a couple of times, but mostly high up in the sky and out of photo reach. This one was much more accommodating.

 

 

They do occur in Austria also, and I have even seen one this year, but of course this sighting was something different - such a magnificent bird.

 

[michael-ibk]

 

So, the Sanetti Plateau. Lynn already described this wonderful place and the number of our Wolves sightings in great detail, so I won´t be very verbose here.

 

A completely otherworldly realm - I have never been to someting similar. Not beautiful in a classic sense, probably not as majestic as the rugged mountains of the Simiens but totally unique and enthralling - I loved it up there.

 

 

 

 

I really was surprised how difficult the Giant Mole Rat was. Somehow I had expected to see lots of them, but actually we only had two in a place Abiy knew, and had to be quite patient for it to stick its head out. I was trying lying down close to its burrow to get some closer shots but to no avail, it stayed put. This endemic is assessed as endangered because its extent of occurrence is approximately 5,140 km², all individuals are in fewer than five locations, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat by overgrazing by domestic livestock - we saw plenty of cows even up here. They are declining fast apparently, in 1996 they were still classified "Least Concern". They are still common in Bale, though - apparently 2,000 to 4,000 animals per km². 

 

Other Rodents were far more visible - probably Blick´s Grass Rats, but there are several rat and mouse species in the park, and IDing them is way over my head.

 

 

 

 

This one was very interested in our picnic basket. I was tempted to reward it with some snippets but stayed strong.

 

 

 

The main road crossing the plateau. It´s not exactly heavy traffic, but a few trucks are going through by hour certainly.

 

With the number of rodents I had expected to see lots and lots of raptors here, but not really. Quite a lot of Augur Buzzards, one distant Lanner Falcon, and a few Beardeds. Unfortunately no Golden Eagles, a small population is here in Bale. This one is probably a Tawny although I´m not 100 % sure.

 

 

 

 

 

Starck´s Hare is abundant but you would never know from the car. We never ever spotted one from the road, but once you get out and start walking (which is ok everywhere in Ethiopia) a lot of "rocks" suddenly start running. We also saw Hyrax but pretty far away.

 

 

 

 

A record shot of some very distant Mountain Nyala. A few of them are living up here on the Plateau but unlike the ones in Dinsho they are extremely wary and shy and stay far from the road.

 

 

But now - Wolf Time!

 

 

Edited August 2, 2017 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

On 30.7.2017 at 8:18 PM, SafariChick said:

I wonder if the wolves were generally closer to your vehicles than they were to ours or if your zoom is just better than mine (which I know it is, actually!) Do you know about how far they were?

 

Well, most of them were pretty far away, hundreds of metres. But we had three sightings very close to the road (maybe 10-20 m or something like that?), and we were often out walking and approached them that way, which worked quite well - maybe within 50 m or similar (difficult to estimate) though it was not so easy taking photos out of breath as we were - the altitude of more than 4,000 m is quite taxing.

 

 

I remember this was the very first Wolf we saw on our way in, far off the road, and only when looking at my pictures did I realize there had been a second one.

 

 

This was our first "good" sighting on our full day - it had just crossed the road.

 

 

I ran after it afterwards but (obviously) could not keep up with it - but I did see it devour some rodent.

 

 

 

 

This one was also on foot. There were three Wolves in total close by (but never actually interacting), they used the Cows to find prey.

 

 

Both having lunch.

 

 

 

This one was kind of our farewell present when we left the park - spotted by Eagle-eyed Abiy of course. Quite close to the road.

 

 

He was busy which is probably why he did not run.

 

 

 

Most other Wolves were pretty or very far away, sometimes only visible with binocs or scope.

 

 

But our closest sighting was a pair of them, one having dinner, the other apparently standing guard. This was at the end of our "full Wolf" day.

 

 

 

 

 

It was really fascinating hearing them like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that concludes the Bale part of the report.

 

Did we like it there?

 

 

Hell yeah!

Edited August 2, 2017 by michael-ibk

[SafariChick]

Just fabulous photos, guys! I am a bit jealous that you were permitted to walk and approach the wolves. We were told that it was no longer allowed due to the pressure on the wolf population (this was by our guide who worked for Bale Mountain Lodge). He did let us get out and walk very short distances from the road but not very far. Of course, having a great camera and being a good photog would help too! Love the videos as well!