DURBAN DELIGHTS

After MacGregor and our visit to Barbara and Martin we flew to Durban. The flight from Cape Town was uneventful and we arrived at Durban airport in the early evening. Davine had arranged for us to be met and brought to the house and soon we were being welcomed by Bridie, and Francie and Davine. Francie had acquired an enthusiastic puppy, Bridie who was enormously excited to meet us and took a particular affection to Ursula.

 It was great to meet up with Francie again. We had not seen each other for several years, and then only briefly, and evening was spent catching up, lubricated by wine and whisky. The house is lovely and opens up on a large swimming pool at the back where I was happy sitting there, watching the birds and other wildlife.

 We had arranged with Francie to take an overnight trip to Cape Vidal where Francie had booked a cabin for the night.

 We left Durban early Thursday morning, so avoiding the rush-hour traffic, and were in Cape Vidal by midday.  Cape Vidal is in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and is part of the Lake St. Lucia complex. We were greeted by a family of bushbuck, and also vervet monkeys, one of which tried to attack Ursula to get at the food-box she was carrying. It gave Ursula quite a scare.

1. A bushbuck family quite unperturbed by our prescence

A short walk from the cabin and we were on the beach which seems to stretch for miles with hardly a soul on it. We had hoped to do a bit of snorkelling but the sea was a bit rough with a strong onshore wind, so we gave it a miss. Ursula did manage a dip in the shallow water behind the reef.

2. Francie and Ursula on the beach, deciding whether to swim or not.

Lions were introduced into the park a few years back, and walking without a ranger is not recommended. Unfortunately, we did not see any lion or elephant. However, driving about we saw a number of different mammal species, but on the whole, we were all birding people.

3. Behind the coastal dunes lies the plain, dotted with many pools and small lakes.

Buffalo, waterbuck, zebra and kudu were especially common particularly on those areas which had been burnt earlier in the year, encouraging the growth of new grass. Being a wetland park, there was lots of water and many hippos, as well we are told, many crocodiles. We did not attempt to verify this last, although we saw several, at a distance.

4. A waterbuck with a great set of horns. Waterbuck we probably the most common of the antelope we saw.

As soon as we saw zebra we were reminded of Dasha’s infatuation with them on the family visit to Zambia.

5. Zebra enjoying the fresh grass regenerating after a controlled burn.

But the mammal highlight of the trip was a family of striped mongoose foraging along the side of the road in the early morning.

6. Two of the striped mongoose family

We also saw some lovely birds, including a secretarybird, a korhaan and a bustard, but because of the restrictions in Ethiopia I did not take a long lens with me, so no photos there.

 And then back to Durban and a renewed welcome from Bridie. The house has a large swimming pool and we both had swims, Bridie being particularly excited at the sight of Ursula swimming up and down the pool.

7. Bridie demonstrating her undying affection to Ursula.

And then there are the Vervet monkeys mentioned earlier. Although this is central Durban, a troop of monkeys live in a nearby park. Naturally they do what monkeys do – search for fruit wherever they find it, and in towns, that means gardens and kitchens.

8. A vervet monkey making off with an orange stolen from the house next door.

Returning to Durban, we went on a guided tour of the Warwick Street Market on Saturday morning. This was a fascinating tour, guided by 2 members of an NGO, Isiye, Richard and Patrick.

 In the past the informal traders, well, trade informally on the pavements around Warwick Street. It was an area with many problems, poor design, crime, poor hygiene, waste removal and congestion amongst others. Starting in the 1990s traders began forming organisations to protect their interests, the Self Employed Women’s Union – SEWU, and the Informal Traders Management Board – ITMB. Working with the traders and the various city departments involved, a development plan was instituted that met the needs of all parties involved.

9. A 2 metre high mosaic mural near the Isiye office.

Murals were painted indicating the importance of street trading to Durban

10. Murals onthe flyover over the market.

The traders organised themselves into something, I suppose, resembling guilds, people selling fresh produce, traditional medicine, cooked food, clothing, bead work makers, shoe repairers, barrow men moving goods for the traders, and many more.

11. The herbal market. On the left are the white clay balls sold for traditional ceremonies, and on the right different herbs for herbal remedies.

One of the more interesting, sociologically, activities is the cooking of bovine heads. Traditionally cows’ heads were cooked by and eaten by men. These were cooked on the pavement, but now a covered area for the cooking has been built, giving protection from the weather and improving the food hygiene. The cooks now are women, a break with tradition, but only men sit down to eat there. Women can buy takeaways, but not eat there.

12. The cowshead cooks at work.

Crime has dropped substantially and the market is largely self-policing; child-care facilities have been provided, toilet facilities have been built and in general the whole area has been developed. There is far too much for me to cover in this blog, this is only a taster, so to speak.

13. The covered morning vegetable market where the street traders buy the produce they sell from their stalls.

It was a really fascinating tour of the market and we must thank Francie for suggesting it and to Richard and Patrick for the enthusiastic tour they gave us. We wish them every success in the future.

 Sunday was to be our last day in Durban and Francie and Davin took us to an organic farm where the farmer has, on the first Sunday in the month, a lunch for about 25 guests. But that description doesn’t do justice to the magnificent menu. I did not take any photos of the meal, but I give you one of the menu, and leave the rest to your imagination.

14.     The menu, eat your jealous heart out. You get the lot, no need for decision making!

It is a proud claim that 95% of the food comes from within 100 metres of the house, both meat and vegetables.

15. A future Lunch-in-waiting

A wonderful end to a wonderful holiday. Thank you, Francie, for suggesting it and making the booking. I can still taste some of those dishes, but it would be invidious to pick out any one of them. And the visiting guest chef had previously been the chef at the Temenos in MacGregor!

On the Monday morning we flew out of Durban on the first leg of our return to Addis Ababa. We arrived in Addis to find out from our taxi driver, that the airport had been closed for the whole day and had only reopened 20 minutes before our ‘plane landed. The cause of the disruption was the official inauguration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed after winning the election in June.

Best wishes to all and thanks once again to all who made our short holiday so memorable.

A Visit to MacGregor

The Ethiopian year is determined by the Coptic calendar and the Ethiopian New Year, known as Enkutatash, falls on the 11th September. It also celebrates the beheading of John the Baptist. There is a seven-year difference between the Gregorian calendar which we use and the Coptic calendar. So, this year New Year ushered in the year 2014 in the Coptic calendar.

And two weeks after New Year is Meskal day, which celebrates the finding of the True Cross, celebrated by lighting bonfires dancing and general partying. One of the traditions, is that groups of young girls and young woman go around dressed in white dresses and sing traditional Ethiopian songs, and are recompensed by donations from the public. As it was explained to me when I asked what it was about; “We sing a song for you and you give us money”. I obliged and was treated to a song accompanied by erratic drumming and hand-clapping..

1.     Meskal girls. Note the basket in the hands of the girl in front. It is packed to overflowing with bank notes

Ursula had a few days holiday and by combining this with the public holidays we decided we could take 10 days leave from Addis. At first we thought of going to Serengeti, but in the end, we decided we had seen most of the animals we were likely to see there, and we decided to visit my sister, Barbara, and her husband Martin in the Cape. Barbara and Martin had just moved from Cape Town to the village of MacGregor, about 200kms north of Cape Town, and in the Cape winelands.  

From there we decided to fly to Durban to see long-time friends, Francie, and Davine whom we hadn’t seen for many years.

2.     Saying goodbye, temporarily, to Addis, we flew to Johannesburg, and on to Cape Town.

Barbara and Martin collected us from the airport and we drove the 180km north to their new home. The area around MacGregor lies on the boundary between the Karoo and the Fynbos biomes. This makes it extremely interesting ecologically. The nearest big town is Robertson 20 km away and the whole area is in the heart of the wine growing country. An added attraction.

3.     Barbara and Martin inspecting their front gate for any defects. They have already extended the garage, the grey cement on the left, soon to be painted.

Barbara and Martin’s house is really gorgeous and we were immediately taken with it. It has a thatch roof and two bedrooms and a large lounge/dining room. There is also a “Granny flat” under development. They have a largish garden, with a deck, and a small pond in front of the deck that attracts the birds now that it is the dry summer season. Weavers, Red Bishop birds and many others visit the feeder and the pond. Guineafowl arrive most early mornings to look for food on the grass. With a bird-feeder hanging in the trees near the deck, and the pond, it is good place to relax with a glass of something.

4.     Happy sundowners, and breakfasts and lunches, and any other excuse for being outside, were spent on the deck.

The garden itself is “in development.” There is a low-walled section that is ideal for growing vegetables, and plenty of room for fruit trees. The shed at the end of the garden offers immediate possibilities for “chicken ranching”. The previous owner had an extensive irrigation system but unfortunately al the pipes are buried, and no-one knows where they are. The pipes are only found when Martin or Barbara cut through one with a spade when planting. .

5.      The garden from the deck, the white Granny flat on the left. The wooden shed at the back on the left is the ideal place for chickens.

Saturday morning was market morning in MacGregor. A small market, at most about 15 tables, but the produce was good. Not so much in the way of fresh food but lots of things like jams, home-made fruit cordials (lemon at this time of the year) and handicrafts. One of the things about MacGregor is that there are a number of retired people with skills and time, and this looks to be one of the strengths of the town. 

The MacGregor festival was taking place on the that Saturday. One of the activities was a dance concert put on in the church hall. The dancers were all young children around the age of 10 and part of a community dance group. We watched from the doorway, the inside was packed, and it was certainly an enthusiastic performance.

6.     The market and a few of the stalls. The white building behind is the church hall where the dance concert took place.

A restaurant, Temenos, was holding an exhibition in their garden of work by local artists. The restaurant itself sells local produce, wider than MacGregor only, but mostly from the district. The restaurant, more of a bistro really, serves breakfasts and light meals and seems to be an informal gathering place to meet up with friends and discuss the events of the day.

7.     The art garden, a lovely cool and green garden in the heat of the day.

A bit of background. In the past the “coloured” and black population of MacGregor lived on the outskirts of town in an informal settlement of corrugated iron and wooden shacks. A few years ago it was decided that this was unacceptable and a suburb known (somewhat ironically perhaps) as White City was built and the population of the informal settlement were given apartments there. This suburb adjoins the MacGregor and it is easy to believe that as MacGregor develops and expands, the boundary between the two will disappear. The houses are a mixture of double-storied town houses and single-story houses.

8. A typical street in White City. All houses in MacGregor, not only in White City, have to be painted white, part of the building regulations.

As part of the MacGregor festival a garden competition was organised for the gardens of White City, and the four of us walked through White City to see the gardens entered. On the small plots available for planting, some impressive gardens have been developed. There was also a category for developing gardens. We talked with several of the owners and we were struck by their pride in their gardens, and the hard work they had put into them. 

 It has always seemed to me, back from the old days of apartheid, that when people start to put effort into making gardens it is an indication that they feel secure, that they are not going to be uprooted and displaced.

9. One of the White City gardens in the competition.

10. And another

One of the advantages of life in Macgregor is the ease of getting out into the countryside. From the house it is a walk of only a few minutes, and you are at the dam which supplies irrigation water to the town, and an easy walk around it. The dam is used by fishermen, by swimmers in summer, and is a favourite spot for dog walking. (Almost everyone in MacGregor seems to have a dog! (Except Barbara and Martin)).

11. Looking toward MacGregor, but which is out of site below the dam wall.

And then there is the wine. The wines of the area around Robertson have always been my favourite So, we took advantage of this and went wine-tasting at Lord’s winery. The owner is a fanatical cricket fan, hence the name (Lord’s cricket ground) and the entrance is full of cricketing memorabilia. And the wine lived up to expectations. Light lunches are also served and we settled on pizza to have with our tastings.  Naturally we bought several bottles to drink later. A most pleasant experience.

12. Wine tasting at Lord’s with our very helpful and knowledgable assistant. As you can see from the glasses, it took a extensive tasting before we coud make up our minds.

The winery hosts a pair of Blue Cranes which appeared to be surveying the nesting potential of a small island in the middle of an irrigation dam. Blue Cranes are found only in the South Africa, and mostly in the Cape, and it was a joy to see these rare birds up so close. These are tall birds and it is rumoured that if angry they can take your eye out with their bills.

13. Later in the day the ccranes flew across and landedon the lawns in front of where we were wine tasting.

Lord’s winery is slightly higher up the valley from MacGregor, in the foothills of the mountains, and this means that it is in the fynbos ecosystem, and another agricultural pursuit on the estate is protea growing. Which means Sugarbirds in abundance. Another Cape endemic.

14. The Cape Sugarbird

Besides wine tasting at Lord’s, or indeed on the deck watching the sun set, much of our time was spent walking in the glorious countryside. Macgregor lies on a plain between the mountains and there are beautiful, wild valleys to be explored in the mountains, and easier walks around the plains and small hills.

15. In the mountains on a cold day. It was still late winter and could still be quite cold out of the sun.

Koffiekop hill, 15 minutes’ walk from the house, overlooks MacGregor and this was another lovely walk and the added height allows a perspective over the town. Very different from the valleys, it is knee-high karoo scrub; as we were there shortly after the winter rains, the karoo flowers were still in bloom. The karoo is a dry system with succulents being common and take pride-of-place in many gardens.

16.     Barbara leading us homeward. The view over MacGregor from Koffiekop, with the dam on the left of the picture.

On our last night there we went to a restaurant in Robertson, The Four Cousins. As the name suggests, it is run by four cousins, who own Robertson’s winery and also make their own beer. The restaurant was excellent, as was the wine, and I had possibly the best steak of my life. Melt-in-the-mouth tender and perfectly cooked, bleu. 

And Ursula enjoyed a boutique gin with floating strawberries. It was a marvellous place for a farewell dinner.

17.     Ursula and the pink gin.

The next morning Martin and Barbara drove us back to Cape Town airport and we flew to Durban with fond memories of MacGregor. It really is lovely without being at all “twee”, and I am sure that Barbara and Martin will be very happy there. 

Many thanks from both of us to Martin and Barbara for giving us such a memorable time there.

18. Looking to the future from Koffiekop.

The next part of our trip, to Durban, will come next week.

A EUROPEAN SUMMER

This summer we indulged ourselves with a short visit to Europe. The Ethiopian elections were due to take place and we felt we did not need to be in Addis for that. So, we flew to Switzerland in late May where Ursula spent the first week working at the Swiss Red Cross. After that we travelled to Germany to visit Ursula’s family.

Ursula on a covered bridge over the river Aare in Bern.

 We managed a couple of walks in the countryside around Bern, preparing ourselves for the walks we expected to do in Germany.

Rest stop at the Berg Hotel.

Once Ursula had finished her business in Switzerland, we took the train to Berlin to stay with Barbara and her family for a few days. By the way, we loved the train journey, 9 hours, but so relaxing. Comfortable seats, wifi, a beer or two and you arrive fully relaxed in Berlin. So much less stressful than 8 hours driving.

What many people who are not German do not realise is how much water there is in Berlin. It is almost a city of lakes and Barbara and her family live on the shores of the Schlachtensee, one of the many lakes.

Ursula being instructed on the finer points of paddle boarding by Barbara.

First instruction, then solo

Solo in the Schlachtensee

And then as a passenger.

Barbara taking Ursula on a tour of the lake.

Some of these lakes, scoured out by glaciers during the ice age, are really quite big, and boating, especially yachting, is a popular pastime/sport on these lakes.

A glorious summer day on the Wannsee.

While in Berlin, we took the opportunity of visiting Ursula’s cousin whom we had not seen for some years. They live alongside another expanse of Berlin water, the Rummelsburger See in former East Berlin.

Rummelsburger See.

It was a beautiful summer in Berlin, almost cloudless, and we had lovely relaxing time, just what we needed to recharge our batteries, and culminating in a night out at a Greek restaurant.

From Berlin we travelled west to Ursula’s home town of Lingen where we visited Ursula’s older brother, Martin. He lives in a bungalow in a small woodland, a lovely place, full of birds, and he has a chicken with two chicks.

Martin’s Westphalian chicken with her two white chicks foraging in the garden.

The chicken is a breed known as the Westphalian, but judging by the white chicks, the father is not of the same breed.

 We paid our respects at the grave of Ursula’s father and mother before travelling onto Ursula’s other brother, Christian, and his wife Kiri.

With Christian and Kiri we planned to go walking in the hills and mountains of the Pfalz, where Christian had booked an apartment (the old Catholic primary school) in the village of Gräfenhausen. On the way there we stopped to stretch our legs with a short walk through the vineyards around the town of Grünstadt.

A rest stop in the vineyards of Grünstadt.

The vineyards are impressive, stretching to the horizon, a vast plain on which the only things grown are grapes, and the only serious industry is wine making.

Not sure what these ‘pill boxes’ were for, defensively, to keep the French out of Germany or the Germans out of France? There were several in the vineyards.

Our destination, Gräfenhausen lies just outside the wine growing area, where the dominant agriculture turns from grapes to other fruits. The hills are heavily wooded so that, in spite of the heat – yes, very hot and humid at this time of the year – walking was very pleasant.

Gathering our strength before starting on a walk.

Most of the forest walks are part of the pilgrim trails that criss-cross Europe and eventually end up in Spain at Santiago de Compostela. These trails run for hundreds of kilometres, winding their way up and down hill passing, through villages along the way where the pilgrims could rest and find sustenance.

And off we go through the glorious early summer green.

The older buildings in the area were built using a warm red sandstone quarried locally. It gives a lovely rich colour to the villages and towns in this part of Germany. That is one of the things that we find so lovely in Europe, the use of local stone. In France a few years ago we went through an area where all the buildings were built of a black stone; and the yellow sandstone of much of France and Spain makes it look as though the buildings have organically grown out of the hillsides.

A little church built of the red sandstone. It used to be part of a complex of an abbey and other buildings. Most of these were destroyed in religious wars, and many of the monks killed or starved to death.

One of the trails we walked on was to the Three Castles. These are the remains of three castles (naturally) positioned on the top of the hills overlooking the town of Annweiler. This walk took us up the hillside where the red sandstone was quarried well into the 20th century.

An abandoned quarry where the red sandstone was mined. The stone blocks had to be laboriously taken down to Annweiler in the valley.

Two of the three castles are little more than ruins with one tower still standing.

The one standing tower.

The red sandstone erodes into steep cliff faces and fantastically shaped free-standing pillars, some of them very tall, making for a great rock-climbing. We saw several climbers negotiating what looked like impossible overhangs.

Almost all that remains of the second castle, with the third in the background.

The third castle is still in use as an hotel and we planned to stop for a meal or at least a cup of tea there. Unfortunately. When we got there, hot, sweaty and in need of sustenance, we found that it was only open to those who had made an online booking!  The impact of Covid everywhere.

The old town in Annweiler, with ducks.

On one of the trails part of it was designated as an “art trail,” most of the “art” seemed to be bucolic, rural doll’s houses, placed on top of tree stumps.

Rather twee, but perhaps it could inspire something for the children to emulate around 33 Bell Road.

Except for one, a salamander carved out of a dead tree trunk.

Technically a Fire Salamander, found in deciduous forests and on mossy tree trunks. Poisonous.

The European football competition was taking place while we were in Gräfenhausen, and of course we had to watch the German team whenever they played. After a hard day’s walking, football and beer seemed the obvious recipe for relaxation.

Chris and Chris watching Germany on a computer, not a beer in sight. I don’t know how that happened.

The Pfalz where we were staying borders on France and the food in the area benefits from both the German and French cuisines. As a result we had a couple of delicious meals in the time we were there. That is something else about Europe; wherever you go you find unpretentious little family-run restaurants tucked away so that you hardly give them a second glance, but invariably the food is delicious, usually cooked by the husband and served by the wife.

The tiny winery just round the corner from where we were staying. Smaller than most people’s bedrooms, but the outlet for the farmer who lived above and from whom we bought both wine and schnaps.

And so back to Switzerland by train. On these high speed trains a map is displayed to tell you where you are and your speed. In this case 194 km/h. (121 mph). So much faster and more relaxing than driving.

And finally back to Ethiopia and the grey, cold and wet, rainy season. At least it keeps the dust down. The elections appear to have passed off peacefully, but who knows what will happen in Tigray now. A situation best described as fragile.

Season of mists and woollen blankets.

GONDAR & THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS - Part 2. Hiking in the Simiens.

After our exploration of the palaces of Gondar, we left the next morning heading north toward the Simien Mountain. It was a Saturday morning and much of village life and trading was taking place on the streets of the towns we passed through. Much of business seemed to be carried on the curbside.

1. Sewing machines. This was only a small part of 10 – 15 machinists, all hard at work.

And of course, there was a lot of roadside trading in sheep, to be slaughtered for the Easter feasting.

2. Sheep being inspected. The way to judge a sheep is to feel the flesh on the hind leg, which, regardless of appearences, is what the man in the centre of this picture is doing.

The life of a sheep is governed by the many religious, and other, festivals in Ethiopia.  Any sheep lucky enough to survive Easter still have the the feast of Eid to come, when the Muslims celebrate. The breaking of the fast for both cultures involves the eating of lots of meat, particularly sheep.

3: Bargaining the price of a sheep.

The country side we were passing through was still comparatively flat and heavily farmed. Almost everywhere you looked the land was being prepared for the rainy season planting. The soils are rich, volcanic soils that seem to be very fertile.

14. The rolling foothills of the Simiens. Almost the entire landscape is divided into fields, most of them already ploughed in preparation for the rainy season.

We stopped in the town of Debark to pay for and collect our permits to enter the park, and to pickup our “armed escort” who would protect us from wild animals and anything else that might trouble us.

 Oops, I should have mentioned by now, but we had invited a friend of ours, Ian, along for the trip as he will soon be leaving Ethiopia. His wife and daughter had already left for the US.

15. Ian and Chris at the Simien Park headquarters in Debark

From here the landscape began to change quite dramatically as we entered the mountains.  Most of the Simien is basalt, volcanic lava, which covered the area about 30 million years ago to a depth of more than 2000 metres.  It is now heavily eroded into steep valleys leaving a fractured landscape of small plateaus and mountain peaks.

6. The Simiens stretching away to the north.

We made it to the Park and our vehicle dropped us off near the Simien Park Lodge. We were to walk the 11 or 12 kilometres to the overnight camp, while the vehicle went ahead with our belongings and to set up camp for us.

7. The group with our guard (on the left) and his trusty rifle. Ursula was taking the photo.. Our guide, Sahale is second on the left.

If you look closely, you will make out the details of our guard’s rifle. It is a 303, vintage World War II, and probably not very effective in the modern era. The guard told us that he occasionally fires in the air it at weddings and funerals.

8. Ursula standing nervously on the edge of a fairly precipitous drop off.

Of course, the area is high and where we started our hike, near the Simien Lodge (more on the lodge later), we were at an altitude of 3200 metres (10500 feet for the metrically challenged).  The hike was along the edge of a steep escarpment. The path was fairly flat and was a good introduction to hiking at that altitude. Even small inclines left us short of breath.

9. A fairly typical, and breath-taking, view, the peaks and valleys stretching all the way to the horizon.

Gelada baboons are common in the Simien Park and we met up with a reasonably sized troop. Although they look fearsome, they are quite harmless. Strictly vegetarian they spend all day foraging for a particular high protein grass. Their diet consists of tiny green shoots buried amongst the taller, but low protein, grasses. In spite of the powerful looking males Geladas have a matriarchal society, and groups of related females form the troop. These females decide which male they admit to their “harem”, and decide when to replace him.

10. All busily looking for the high protein grass. A large group like this will consist of several groups which come together for security

11. Ursula getting up close. The geladas were entirely unperturbed by our presence amonst them.

A small, narcissus-like, flower was in bloom but the geladas virtually ignored the little bulbs, which I thought might have been nutritious. They did dig up an occasional bulb, but I could not see what made some bulbs attractive to the geladas, while the majority were not.

12. The narcissus-like flower

It was a lovely day, overcast and cool, which made the hiking much easier than it might have been. Had it been hot and sunny it would have been very uncomfortable, especially with the altitude.

13. Another view across the Simiens.

 It took us about 6 hours to hike the 12 km to our camp, Sankabar Camp; stops for birds and scenic viewpoints, kept our pace slow.

14. Sankabar Camp. Ursula and me were in the white and blue tent, Ian in the blue. The round, green, building half hidden in the centre of the photo was our kitchen & “dining room”..

The camp was a bit basic, no bathroom, and, I am sorry to say, the toilets were abysmal, but, as this blog is for family reading, I won’t go into details. But we slept well in our tents.

 Our guard slept outside under a blue tarpaulin. And it rained during the night. We felt very guilty when we discovered his situation. But our guide told us that this was his duty, and what he was expected to do, to guard us from whatever, and we could not persuade him that he would be more comfortable under cover, say in the kitchen where our cook slept.

 After coffee and breakfast the next morning, we set off to walk to Jimbar waterfall a few kilometres away.

15. Jimbar waterfall at the end of the dry season.

This waterfall was relatively weak when we were there, it was the end of the dry season, but nevertheless it was still spectacular. The drop is over 500 metres (1600 feet) from the plateau to the valley below. It must be a magnificent site at the end of the rainy season when it would be in full flow.

 From the waterfall we were picked up by our vehicle and taken to the next stage of our hike. We were dropped at the side of the road and set off. I checked my GPS, we started at 3700 metres (12000ft) and set off uphill. The whole way we were above the tree line and on short, moorland, grass. Still a lot of the narcissus-type plant hidden in the grass. It was a cool overcast, thank goodness, and sometimes we were enveloped in mist as well.

16. Staggering across the moorland. Horses (background) are the only domestic animal we saw on the moorland.

A species of giant lobelia is endemic to the mountains of Ethiopia, found only in Alpine conditions. As we climbed we reached the altitude where they grow; they are the only plant taller than ankle height. These lobelias flower only once in their lives, but we were not there in the flowering season, unfortunately.

17. Giant lobelia

18. Ursula give a sense of scale, but the lobelias can grow a lot taller.

On the way we were lucky to get good, but 100 metres distant, views of the Simien Wolf. I had decided not to carry heavy cameras for this part of the hike, so no pictures I am afraid. Looking like a cross between a European fox and a jackal, but with a long thin snout which it uses to dig out the mole-rat that form the bulk of its’ diet. We only saw the burrows of the mole-rat, and you need to be careful where you put your foot in places. We felt privileged to see the wolf as they are becoming increasingly rare, suffering from diseases brought in by domestic dogs, amongst other pressures.

 Eventually we reached the top, 4070 metres (13,300 ft) where we took a break for lunch. A lot of the time we were enveloped in mist.

19. Lunch break and a stop for a bit of R & R, wach finding a comfortable rock to rest on.

The walk down from the summit was more difficult than up, as we stumbled down a steep, rocky, slope to the Camp 2, Chennek Camp. We stopped to look over a vertiginous cliff, and there, far below us were the famous Wallia or Mountain Goat. We had good views of the small group, using binoculars, but too far to photograph. But I was far more impressed by the number of choughs, a crow-like bird of the Alps in Europe, and which I think are the most acrobatic of birds. To see them wheeling, diving and spiralling over the cliffs was, for me at any rate, breath-taking.   

20. Emerging from the mist negotiating the path to the valley below.

Although the overall day’s distance was not great, about 6 km, the altitude and stops meant that it had taken nearly 5 hours to reach our overnight camp. Like the first camp site, this one was also a little “primitive”, with a similar lack of facilities, but a welcome stop nonetheless. That night it rained, and rained, and in the morning, this was our tent, the white one, Ian in the blue tent was a little drier.

21.  A river runs through it.

Actually, the stream ran underneath me, so we remained mostly dry, at least. But the continuing rain meant that we had to cancel the hike to the tallest peak. Which was just as well as we could see snow on the path up!!  So, we decided to go straight to the Simien Lodge, where we were to spend our last night.

22. Simien Lodge. Unprepossessing from the outside, it was lovely inside.

23. Simien Lodge entrance foyer.

The management were quite happy to have us a few hours early and we soon made ourselves at home, warming up in front of the gorgeous fireplace. Internet, a fire and wine and beer. What more could we need to keep the weather at bay.

24. Recuperating at the magnificent fireplace.

A shower, a working toilet, a warm, large bed with a good mattress, we made the most of all the facilities and slept well and deeply that night. Of course, the next morning was bright and sunny with barely a cloud anywhere, the best day of our trip. But we had to leave for Gondar and our flight back to Addis, and in retrospect, the cool weather had made the hiking so much easier and enjoyable.

25. Horses carrying grass, whether for thatching or animal feed I am not sure, but probably the latter.

On the way we stopped at the house of our guide, Sahale, to meet his mother and have lunch and coffee.

26. A shared lunch, Ethiopian style, of njeera and goat tibs..

We were also introduced to his niece, who seemed particularly taken by Ursula. She was the the daughter of our guide’s brother.

27. Ursula with the very young neice and our guide’s mother.

And so back to Addis. It was a thoroughly worthwhile trip. COVID was good for us, if not for lodges and guides. It meant that we had the mountains almost to ourselves. We met only two others on our hike, Israeli men who were doing a similar hike to ours. Before COVID, we were told, there could have easily been 50 -70 people doing the same paths, and we would probably have had to queue at the various scenic points.

GONDAR & THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS - Part 1 - Gondar

The Ethiopian Orthodox Easter is celebrated at a different date from the western churches and this year was celebrated from 30th April (known as Sek’elet) to Easter Sunday on the 2nd May (known as Fasika). Christmas is celebrated on the 7th January.

Ethiopian calendar, and also the time of day, different form the western standard. For instance the Ethiopian day starts at 6am. Western time, so that Ethiopia traditionally is 6 hours behind wesern time.

Ursula and I decided that we would take a long weekend over the Ethiopian easter and travel to Gondar and then hike in the Simien mountains. After a bit of worry over the security situation security clearance was given and we flew to Gondar on Good Friday – April 30th.

This trip was through some of the most beautiful and spectacular scenery we have experienced in Ethiopia, and so, much of this blog will be photographic - even more so than usual.

Gondar was established as a city and as the capital of the Ethiopian Empire in 1635 by the emperor Fasilidas, and remained the capital until 1855.

After we arrived, we checked into our hotel, the Goha, before embarking on an afternoon tour of the surviving royal castles of Gondar.

1. Palace Enclosure: The palaces are set in a walled enclosure. We had a good view of the compound from our hotel on a hill overlooking the city.

We were really impressed by what we saw. We had no idea that such impressive buildings were still standing.

2. The castle of Emperor Fasiledes who ruled from 1632 to 1667 and was the founder of the city of Gondar as the capital of the empire.

The Ethiopia Empire was a powerful force in the region and Emperor Fasiledes expelled the Jesuits from Ethiopia, as a result of conflicts between the Jesuits and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Jesuits had been attempting to convert Ethiopians to Catholicism. The emperor then established diplomatic and commercial links with middle eastern states.

3. Castle of Emperor Iyassu the Great, 1682 – 1706.

During the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, the Italian army established a military base inside the Royal Enclosure.  When WW 2 broke out the British attacked the Italians in Ethiopia, the base was bombed, and considerable damage was done to some of the buildings. Some of the damage has been repaired, but not all.

4. The castle of Iyassu the Great from the inside, the vaulted roof destroyed in the fighting.

In 1630 the emperor died and his son, who was only 9 years old, came to the throne. Because of his age his mother, the Queen de facto, ruled for some years.

5: The castle of Iyassu the 2nd , 1730 – 1755, and his mother queen Itegie Miniwab, undergoing some repair work.

We had a really knowledgeable guide who led us through the Royal Enclosure. He had a detailed knowledge of the history of Gondar and the royal palaces. Without him our visit would have been much the poorer.

6: Our guide and Ursula in the what remains of Fasilidas archive where important documents of the empire were kept. The stonework is still in good condition but the wooden floors and manuscripts are long gone.

7: A castle for which I have no historical information, my fault, not the guides. My note taking seems to have expired around this time.

The first Emperor, Fasiledes built the Royal Bathing Pool several kilometres away from the palaces. Today it is an important site during Epiphany when the pool is filled from a nearby stream, and pilgrims come from all over Ethiopia on January 19th to renew their baptisms in celebration of the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan.

8: The Royal Bathing Pool. The building in the centre was where the emperors would entertain their guests.

Water from the filled pool is blessed by the priests before it is sprinkled over some of the pilgrims while others immerse themselves in the water. After epiphany the pool is emptied and kept empty for the rest of the year. If the pool was full the water would be nearly 2 metres deep, the level can be made out on the walls.

9. The walkway. Access to the pool for the Emperor and his retinue was across a narrow walkway which would have been easily defended if need be.

10: The pool is completely surrounded by fig trees, their roots forming intricate patterns over the walls. (Sorry if I look a bit gormless, I think I was watching an Oriole).1

After the Royal Bathing Pool we visited the Debire Birhan Selassie Church built by Emperor Eyasu the 2nd. It has suffered fire and destruction in the past, but has always been rebuilt. When we were there pilgrims were gathering for the Easter celebrations.

11: Debire Birhan Selassie Church, severely damaged by the Sudanese in the 19th century and restored in the 1880s.

On the top of the church you can make out the Gondar cross. Every region seems to have its own interpretation of the cross and here the cross is seven pointed, I think symbolizing the days of the week. Other areas have 12 points, traditional four points and probably various other interpretations as well.

12. The men and women congregants are separated on either side of the church. These are some of the women on “their” side of the church.

After a hard day’s sightseeing we returned to our hotel and enjoyed a cold beer while watching the sunset over Gondar.

14: Sunset over Gondar.

The next morning we were up and ready to go. The hotel, the Goha, was a lovely hotel, and even the budget rooms we had were well up to standard.

From the glass fronted dining room or the open deck there was a really good view over Gondar and being high up there was a constant stream of raptors and other birds riding the winds on the cliff face.

15: The Goha hotel: At sunrise and before breakfast.

And so, after this all too brief stop in Gondar, on to the Simien mountains, in Part 2, to follow.

The Rock Churches of Lalibela

Over the Ethiopian long weekend from February 27th to 2nd of March we flew to Lalibela to visit the famous rock churches. Airport to airport it is 325 km, too far to drive. We went with a colleague of Ursula’s, Andrea, who is in Ethiopia on a short-term contract.

Lalibela airport is about 20km from Lalibela itself and we were met by a bus from the hotel where we were staying – Sora Lodge.

Lalibela airport

The Sora lodge is positioned at the top of a cliff overlooking the valley and small river. The traditional building in the area is a round rondavel like structure called a “tukul”, built of stone with a thatch or corrugated iron roof. The lodge had several stone tukuls as well as a small apartment type block. We stayed comfortably in a thatched tukul.

Our Tukul

We flew up on the Saturday and spent the afternoon relaxing, waiting for sunset, and making arrangements for Sunday. At reception there was a board with the Ethiopian alphabet inscribed on it. Should you ever wish to read Ethiopian it may prove useful.

The Ethiopian Alphabet

The lodge boasted a cocktail bar with a lovely view of the valley spread out beneath us, and we made good use of it in the late afternoon “beer-o-clock”, watching birds coasting by on the updraughts along the cliff face.

The view to the West toward sunset. Really very lovely.

On Sunday we waited for the church services to finish before making the 20 minute walk up the hill to the site of the churches. Here I must give praise to our guide Mulie. Without him the visit would have been meaningless and he has a truly wide grasp of the history of the area in particular, and of Ethiopia in general. He was able to explain every detail of the architecture of the churches and their history.

The congregation, dressed in white, leaving the church after the morning service.

As we approached we met the congregations returning from their morning worship. In the above picture you can just make out a corner of the protective roof put over the complex.

The protective roof was put up with the best of intentions; to protect the buildings from erosion. However, with the best will in the world, they cannot be described as sympathetic to the buildings they are protecting, and we heard that there has been demands that something better to be erected. But the problem is that the protective roofing is so enormous that it will be a major undertaking to remove them.

The view of the protective roofs over the church complex from across the River Jordan (about which more later.)

The churches were built during the reign of King Lalibela in the 12-century. According to our guide, King Lalibela went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before becoming king. During the journey many of the entourage died crossing the deserts, and Lalibela determined to build a “new” Jerusalem in his kingdom so that pilgrims would not need to make the dangerous journey.

 The churches were built by first excavating out a trench around a square, leaving a standing cube of rock in the centre. The deepest trenches, or if you like, tallest churches are more than 10 metres (more than 30 feet in old currency) in depth/height.

Looking down from the surrounding ground level at the first of the churches. The roof is level with the ground.

This cube was then hollowed out with doors and windows cut through the rock, and massive, internal, stone pillars left standing to support the roof.

 There are 11 churches in all, 10 of them in two main complexes of interconnected excavations. The 11th church, St Georges, is set apart from the rest and was the last built, and is the finest.

The same church from the bottom of the excavation. and see the massive steel pillars supporting the protective roof. Not at all sympathetic.

Inside the church the spaces are fairly cramped, even for the biggest churches. The massive columns needed to support the roof take up a significant amount of the space.

These pillars are almost 2 metres, at least 5 feet, on a side, and make the inside fairly cramped.

The churches are decorated with hangings and paintings, but have rather tatty carpets on the rock floor. There is very little light in the churches, usually just one or two strip lamps, making it difficult to see (and photograph) the decorations, particularly the high ceilings, many of which were richly painted when they were built.

Water damage to a ceiling.

Being built of rock there are natural cracks and this leads to water soaking through the rock in the rainy season. This has led to damage to the interiors of some of the churches, and is the reason for the protective roofing being put in place.

However, some ceilings have survived intact.

The arches between the pillars are often carved in intricate designs, all of which have some meaning and are not simply decorative.

These were first carved and then painted. This cross is one of many different designs of cross, each design having a special meaning.

In pursuance of King Lalibela’s ambition to build the “new Jerusalem” the churches are all named after important Christian sites in Jerusalem and the seasonal stream that flows down the hill from the churches is named the Jordan to complete the tableaux.

 Of course, if the churches are below ground level, the problem of drainage arises, and so all the church trenches are connected by drainage channels that eventually flow into the Jordan

 Unfortunately, over the years there has been much erosion. The rock is fairly soft and before the covering roofs the rain eroded the rock. Much of the damage has been repaired using concrete blocks made from local stone so that the colours match.

These external pillars have been repaired with new blocks. Behind the pillars you can just make out the original, badly eroded, wall. The roof is the original, unmodified, uncarved, rock

These churches are still very much in use and every one of the 11 churches has a curtain at the end of the aisle behind which is the priest’s room, definitely off-limits to the public. However, supplicants arrive outside of services for blessing by the priest.  At one of the churches the priest offered to pose with Andrea and Ursula for a photo.

Ursula and Andrea with the priest. The priest’s private room is behind the curtain behind them.

Services can last for 1 – 2 hours or more and the tall sticks they are holding are for members of the congregation to support themselves on when they tire.  Most churches have a pile of these sticks for use by people who do not have their own.

 The external structure of the churches is impressive, but much of the glory of these buildings is what is inside them. There are the painted and carved ceilings already alluded to. On the walls there are many paintings, both ancient and more modern.

Many of these pictures are of saints and heroes slaying the non-believer or enenies of God.

A particularly popular motif is of St. George riding in to slay the dragon. (not the above, that is someone else slaying an enemy.).

St. George slaying a dragon. Its head is under the front hooves of his horse and you vcan make out the tail under the hind hooves.

The two above pictures are old pictures, possibly several hundreds of years old. However, there are also a large number of more modern renderings of devotion. These are often in rather bright colours that contrast with more muted colours of the older paintings.

From the Magi to the crucixion. A modern interpretation.

The final church we went to that day is generally considered the masterpiece. It is carved in a harder rock than the others and was the final one built / commissioned by King Lalibela. It is the one most frequently seen in articles on Lalibela. It is carved in the shape of a cross and is a truly spectacular feat of construction.

The Church of St. George

It is very difficult to give a sense of the size in a photograph, but the people in the picture give an idea of the scale. The rock is naturally sloping from left to right.

Cut into the rock surrounding the churches there are many small rooms like small caves and these are used for storage, where the church guards sleep, and other miscellaneous usages.

One of the more unexpected usages. An open grave with mummified body.

St George’s was our last visit for the day, and thereafter we repaired to the Sunset Bar.

Unwinding at the Sunset bar after the day’s exertions.

The next day we travelled to another church, about 40 km away. This amazing church has been built in a cave a few hundred metres up a hill from a village at the head of a valley. Still higher up the mountain there is a monastery, but we did not make the arduous climb up to it.

The cave church. Again, difficult to give an idea of scale but the church is about 5 metres, possibly a bit more, in height.

Mulie, our guide, explaining the finer points of the architecture to Ursula.

Mulie explained the meanings of the shape of every window. It seems nothing is just there because an arch

At the end of this visit we stopped at a coffee shop in the village where we had parked before returning to our lodge.

The men in the background are drinking an unfermented honey “tea.”.

The next day we flew back to Addis. Guide books rate Lalibela as one of the Wonders of the World, on a par with the Sphinx in Egypt. It really is an amazing place and somewhere everyone should visit if they are in this part of the world. We were certainly impressed.

Christmas in Cape Town

For those who have not seen our Christmas card this year. We are sitting on a whale vertebra

This year Covid restrictions meant we could not travel to New Zealand and we decided that we would go to Cape Town instead. And what a revelation this turned out to be. It is many years since we were last there for any length of time. This time we spend 21 days there.

 A bit of organisation, and then the covid tests required for travel to SA (both negative), and all we had to do was be at the airport at 6am! Ethiopian Airways is one of the few airlines still maintaining services, and the flight, direct to Cape Town, takes 6 hours and, voila, we were there.

We had booked an Airbnb in Scarborough bordering on Cape Point National Park, and a few minutes’ walk from the Scarborough beach. After Ethiopia we felt we just needed a few days to relax and clear our lungs and heads and enter into holiday mode. An added advantage was that our friend Claire lives in Scarborough and it would give us the chance to catch up and meet her son, Adam, (14 months old).

Basically a bach, but lovely and with a beautiful view.

The house we rented was basic but gave us everything we needed to relax, sitting on the small deck watching the sunset with nothing between us and South America. Of course, it was the time of year for the strongest of South East winds, and we were not disappointed. Almost gale force for much of the time, usually a breeze in the morning but strengthening throughout the day until the beach sand was stinging your legs in the afternoon.

 The sea was cold, almost unbelievably cold, the sort of cold that clutches at your chest as you throw yourself into the waves. The cold Benguela current lets you know it is reaching you from the deep South Atlantic. We didn’t actually swim at Scarborough, more of a quick in and out, gasping for breath. But the beach is lovely.

 We met with Claire, husband Tim and the totally wonderful Adam, just beginning to take his first steps when we returned to Ethiopia. It was marvellous to meet up with Claire and Tim again.

Tim, Chris, Ursula, the eversmiling Adam, and Claire’s left eye. Sorry Claire.

We had not seen each other for 9 years and there was much catching up to do. We had a good walk on a beach on the West coast of Cape Point. The beaches there are littered with the rusting iron of wrecked ships, and also with the bones of a whale that was washed up and decomposed on the beach.

Tim and Adam demonstrating Adam’s rock climbing enthusiasm.

Claire will be working at the Max Planck Institute in Bavaria/ Germany in future and so will be spending part of each year there, so we should be able to see more of each other once we are back in Switzerland. As Claire said, “We must not allow 9 years to pass before we see each other again”.

For those of you who are surfers, the average height of waves on this coast is approximately 2 metres

While there we took the opportunity to travel to Boulders beach to see the penguins, some of them looking a bit raggedy in moult.

A small section of the penguin colony at boulders, but in spite of the numbers we learned that the population is declining, possibly caused by human overfishing of their food.

We left Scarborough on the 24th to have Christmas dinner with Barbara and Martin, cousin Linda, and Martin’s daughter Sian. Barbara had cooked an enormous ham that lasted us well into New Year. A lovely evening. South Africa had banned the sale of alcohol between Thursdays and Sundays, but fortunately Barbara and Martin had laid in stocks. In fact they had bought us emergency supplies for us in Scarborough because we had arrived on a Saturday.

The next day, Christmas day, Barbara and Martin headed north and we drove to Vermont and Onrus to be with Mary Simons, a friend of mine from university days. A lot of catching up to do, with talking late into the night and vast quantities of fish to cook.

 I don’t think I had been back to Onrus since childhood. Vermont barely existed then, now a suburb next to Onrus. But Redaan’s, the local shop, is still there, 60 years later, but of course with a different owner; and Davies’ pool, a natural pool surrounded by rocky outcrops. I was surprised at how big the pool is.

Davis’ pool at half-tide, at full tide the water will be right up to the closest pool in the picture

Memories of childhood invariably remember things in relation to your small size at the time. But this really is big enough to swim lengths, with waves surging over the rocks keeping the water continuously refreshed.

 Only the grassy verge and a few tables (and a parking lot) have been added. The concrete walkway into the water remains the same, and at low tide small children still try to catch small fish in rocky pools using nets and handlines with bent pins as hooks. We all did the same as children.

 The sea was much warmer than Scarborough and we swam every day, usually just before or after high tide when the water was at its deepest. I remember my early experiences with goggles and snorkels in that pool, and the tradition continues today with small children splashing about trying to keep the water out of their goggles. Before the latest restrictions the pool had become a major meeting place for families and teenagers.

Along the ridge at Fernkloof, a lovely walk.

We did a long walk in the mountains of the Fernkloof Nature Reserve above Hermanus – 12km in all. Stunning panoramic views all the way to Gansbaai, and of Hermanus. And tortoises. But few birds, probably the weather, which was cloudy, cool and very windy. We did, nevertheless, see a pair of rockjumpers, which was a first for me, but unfortunately too for away for me to get a photo

I am fairly certain that this is a leopoard tortoise

We visited the old harbour where we, as children, used to fish for mullet (harders as they are known in SA) using scraps of fish gut for bait. The harbour doesn’t appear to be used much anymore, but there are still a few boats, and the slipway and wall appear almost untouched.

The heavy wooden boats would have to be carried down the slipway for launching, and up again on return with, hopefully, a decent day’s catch.

A quick dash back to Cape Town from Mary and Vermont, and we were off to the Cederberg with Barbara and Martin. They had booked a cottage on the Kromrivier Cederberg Conservation Area. This is a stunning area of fynbos, low-growing vegetation found only in the Southern Cape, and a high, very old, folded and eroded mountain chain.

Braai-master at work; through the smoke, darkly

Beer, braai, but no Chevrolet. Barbara and Martin waiting patiently for the braai-master to finish.

The camp is situated on the Kromrivier, a small river running down the valley. A small wall holds a lake where we swam after our walks in the mountains. We also swam upstream in natural rock pools.

In spite of the heat, the water was really quite cold, but very welcome after the walk upstream.

And walk we did. Martin and Barbara have been coming here for years, and they were determined that we should see as many of the iconic sites as possible in our short time there. A highlight had to be the 22km walk and climb to the Arch. A hardish climb but well worth the effort to see this rock formation with the amazing views over the mountains. Although we had left in the early morning we did not get back ‘til mid afternoon and plunged gratefully into the cool river.

The wonderfully eroded landscape of the sandstone. The arch in the background.

Barbara and Ursula attempt to give a sense of scale to the the arch

Ursula made the walk to the Maltese Cross, a natural rock in the shape of a Maltese cross.  with Barbara and Martin, while I stayed behind to take some photos.

 The Cederberg is famous for the rock paintings made by the San people several thousand years ago. We made two trips to see some of the many rock paintings. Some of these paintings are believed to be up to 28000 years old. There are sites all across the region, and although I did manage to take some photos, these do not really do justice to the paintings.

Man with bow and arrow, presumably out hunting. He hunter ….

and the hunted

After we returned from the Cederberg, we went to stay with another long-time friend from university days, Nicki Westcott, in Rondebosch. The time with Nicki was a time of relaxation, swims in her pool and shopping for the trip back to Addis.

Selfie with Nicki. Not sure what had surprised me.

We also went to the Norval Gallery to see a sculpture exhibition of the work of Jackson Hlungwani. This was a stunning exhibition with huge, almost monumental, sculptures on one hand and small figures on the other. Hlungwani worked entirely in wood and most of the works amalgamate Christian beliefs and images with Shangaan beliefs and images. He also had a wonderfully playful imagination with one sculpture entitled “Christ Playing Football”.

It was only at the end of the exhibition when reading about his work with a group of weavers that I realised he had lived and worked just down the road from where I was in the 1990s. And, of course, I had heard about a “wood carver” working there, but somehow I never went there. In retrospect a serious dereliction.

The Norval also has a sculpture garden overlooked by the Silverberg mountains above Muizenberg.

A giant sized statue in the Norval gardens, made from pieces of stone.

For my birthday we had hoped to go to a seafood restaurant for lunch. Covid restrictions were a 9pm curfew so eating out in the evening was not viable. But that restaurant had to close due to Covid, and we went to “The Gardener’s Cottage at Montebello Art Centre. Nicki, Barbara, Martin and the two of us. We had a lovely time that went on for several hours, even without alcohol!

Ursula and I took a walk down Long Street in Cape Town that was really quite depressing. It used to be a vibrant hub of all sorts of little shops, but now is mostly tatty restaurants struggling to get by without tourists or any passing trade. For a brief time I lived in an apartment in Long Street in the ‘70s, overlooking the Long Street Hotel, which functioned mostly as a brothel for visiting seamen. Frequent fights between the women and their clients kept us awake many a night.

The time at Nicki’s was marred slightly by having the backseat window on our rental car smashed one night, but the only thing taken was a beloved pair of orange trainers I had forgotten in the car. It could have been worse – the car could have been stolen. Of more concern was that Nicki had been mugged a few day’s previously while walking home. Fortunately she was unharmed physically, but had her handbag and contents, jewellery and cell phone, stolen. A very frightening experience for anybody.

Our shopping complete we had our Covid tests that Ethiopia requires and fortunately we were both negative and we flew back to Addis, fully rested and relaxed and with more luggage than we came with. Nicki had lent us a suitcase when we were last in Cape Town, to hold our overflowing luggage. We returned it this time, but then had to borrow it again!

Much as we enjoyed Cape Town, we also found much of it very depressing. Covid has exacerbated the existing poverty and it seems in many ways worse than what we see in Ethiopia. The government is of course caught in the double bind of Covid. Open up and many more people will die; clamp down and people are put out of work and struggling to survive. Combined with the rampant corruption things seem really desperate.

On the other hand, I fell in love with the fynbos all over again. For the first time since I left in 1976, I felt really at home again. South Africa has so much to offer if only it can find a way to build on what it has.

Of course, I took lots of bird photos, but I will inflict only one on you, flamingos taken at Vermont on a small vlei or lake there. This was amazing. It had been a small dirty little pond in my youth, but it has been transformed into a lovely vlei with hundreds of birds on it, including 130 flamingos, when we were there.

From both of us we have a huge thank you to give to Barbara and Martin, Claire and Tim (and Adam), Mary, and Nicki for giving us such a wonderful time. A big hug to all of you.

Love to everybody from both of us, and we hope that Covid will soon be under control and we can all start travelling again

Chris and Ursula