Ethiopia September - October 2012 - Bale Mountains National Park

Netxt to the Simien Mountains in the North, the Bale Mountains encompromise the only highland plateaux of the country. This plateaux is very high for Africa (4000 m.a.s.). The Sanetti plateaux in the Bale Mountains is a reliable site for several highland species which are endemic for Ethiopia such as Spot-breasted Plover, Blue-winged Goose, Rouget's Rail and Ethiopian Siskin. It is also a good site for the rare Wattled Crane. For mammal enthousiasts it is a must as it is the easiest place in the world to see the critically endangered Ethiopian Wolf. The plateaux can be reached by two means of transport: hiring a 4WD in Addis Ababa and driving up there with a driver or by foot. Due to a lack of money we opted for the latter. We walked in a four day loop through the higher regions, starting in Dinsho at the National Park office (see previous entry) and ending at the road running through the Sanetti Plateaux where we hitched a ride back to Goba on a sand truck.

A trek like this needs proper preparations, for you need a guide, at least two horses and thus two horse keepers, food and a tent (which we brought ourselves, but can be hired). For food we had bought 1/2 kg pasta, 1 kg rice and some tomato sauce at Dinsho to make some really basic meals, however our guide, Edris (+251912255403) who knows some birds, and the horse keepers brought their own food (make sure they do!) and mixed theirs together with ours to make some lovely meals. For water we just drank from the streams in the mountains without filtering, for our UV-filter had a low battery, however we did not get sick.

One of our two baggage-carrying horses

The entire trek we did was 80 or 90 km long and on some parts very hard, but it is totally worth it for you walk through stunning scenery and it gives you an opportunity to explore this part of Ethiopia a bit more. It is also possible to extend the trek into the remnant Herenna Forest which is seldom visited and should provide some good bird watching and probably even better mammal watching.

Afro-alpine plateaux (picture taken by Anna van der Kaaden)

On the first day we walked from Dinsho (circa 3000 m.a.s.) to the first campsite, which is also the base for the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program (EWCP) at 3500 m.a.s. This part of the trek is 15 to 20 km long an not as demanding as the next two days as the altitude is not too high and the road fairly good and not too long. During this part of the trek the following birds were noted: Wattled Ibis (numerous), Yellow-billed Duck, Mountain Wagtail, Lanner, Chestnut-naped Francolin (only near the headquarters of the National Park), Spot-breasted Plover (a flock of 20 at higher altitude), White-collared Pigeon (numerous), Red-breasted Wheatear, Lesser Grey Shrike (a juvenile. A funny place for this migrant to turn up!), Yellow Bishop (veru numerous in breeding plumage at lower altitude), Ethiopian Cisticola (very numerous and often together with the previous species), Ethiopian Siskin (numerous, especially around streams) and Rouget's Rail (surprisingly only one was seen this day)

Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae)

Moorland Chat (Pinarochroa sordida)

Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis)

Besides the birds, the Bale Mountains offer some good mammal watching with the very rare (around 250 individuals) Ethiopian Wolf being the star. We saw one today digging out a Giant Root Rat (also endemic). Starke's hares (endemic) were also noted. The plateaux which has to be crossed to reach the first campsite used to be a good site for Wattled Crane but we could not find them.

The First Campsite

On the second day we walked around 20 km from 3500 m.a.s. to 4000 m.a.s. and this day is more demanding than the previous one, but also more rewarding as the highland marshes tend to get better and the human population of this part is very close to zero. This leaves you in a nearly undisturbed place. Birds noted on this day included: Blue-winged Goose (still quite scarce), Wattled Ibis (less common than on the previous day), Lammergeier, Lanner, Steppe Eagle (early migrant) Chestnut-naped Francolin (sporadic), Rouget's Rail (four were noted, often between the few cows in the beginning of the day), African Snipe, White-collared Pigeon (still numerous), Ethiopian Cisticola (much less common than yesterday) and Ethiopian Siskin (very common).

Ethiopian Siskin (Serinus nigriceps)

Ethiopian Cisticola (juvenile) (Cisticola lugubris)

Augur Buzzard (Buteo augur)

Today also interesting mammals were noted: three seperate sightings of Ethiopian Wolves, many Giant Root Rats and even more Ethiopian Meadow Rats (more often heard than seen) and also a few nice Ethiopian Rock Hyraxes were seen.

Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis)

The third day was the most strenious day as we walked 25 to 30 km from 4000 m.a.s. to 4200 m.a.s.  We took a different route than initially planned, because our guide knew a very nice lake somewhere, but in the end he just wanted to go there so he could sleep in a hut... However the walk was very interesting as we finallly reached the Sanetti Plateaux on this day, yielding the following species:  Wattled Ibis, Blue-winged Goose (more numerous now), Ruddy Shelduck (numerous), Golden Eagle, Lanner (up to ten individuals!), Steppe Eagle, Lammergeier, Wattled Crane (we found a pair close to the lake were we stayed for the night), White-collared Pigeon, Cinnamon-bracken Warbler, Slender-billed Starling and Abyssinian Owl (one heard during the night at the campsite, but I was to tired to make a sound recording).

Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) at very close range

Blue-winged Goose (Cyanochen cyanoptera)

A pair of Wattled Cranes (Grus carunculata)

This day proved also to be the most interesting day for the mammals as five Ethiopian Wolves, six Klipspringers, some Starke's Hares and many Ethiopian Rock Hyraxes were noted.

Ethiopian Rock Hyrax (Procavia habessinica)

The last day of the trek was ridiculously short and I think we walked part of the fourth day on the third day to reach the lake. We stayed at the same altitude and walked for three hours before we reached the road and returned to civilization. During this short walk large numbers of Spot-breasted Plovers (150 or more) were noted as well as small numbers of Blue-winged Geese, Ruddy Shellducks, Rouget's Rails and Ethiopian Siskins.

Spot-breasted Plover (Vanellus melanocephalus)

For me the entire trek was a terrific but exhausting experience and the area around the road through the Sanetti Plateaux proved best for birding, therefore I don't recommend the trek to birding crews. However I do recommend the trek to people with a little more time and a slim budget for it have been four wonderful days. For those planning a trek like this make sure to pack good rain clothing and warm clothes and sleepings bags besides the other stuff, for once wet (and we had rain every day) you will freeze your ass off!