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Site Report: Addis Ababa

Tacazze Sunbird (Nectarinia tacazze) - Male
Tacazze Sunbird (Nectarinia tacazze) - Male

Addis Ababa is a quickly growing and sprawling city in the highlands of Ethiopia. It is said to be the third highest elevation capital city in the world. There are several more or less natural areas within a couple hours drive from the city although I would temper expectations by noting that most of the land in Ethiopia has been plowed or overgrazed by legions of goats.

Visits

  • 2011-01-03: We arrived from Cairo on an overnight flight, and the 7:00AM arrival time of the flight pretty much killed any ambition for the day. Our greeting to the airport was a broken ATM machine, so without any money, we were forced to check in to one of the fancy international hotels that have a booth in the arrivals area. After a long nap in the hotel, we went about trying to arrange the next few days. I had always been ready to dismiss the value of traveler's checks, but this was one place where they came in handy as many of the ATM machines in town dispensed limited cash. To add to our troubles, the 4x4 that we wanted to rent was not going to be available until two days in the future. The long story short, the rest of our first day was wasted in order to make future arrangements. The following morning, we made a morning trip to the Ghion Hotel which is known for having a garden. Most of the rest of Addis is either a construction zone or else fenced off with security guards. The hotel grounds was worth an hour or so visit, and it might have been better had we visited the geothermal swimming pool on the complex. Eager to escape the city, we hired a minivan to take us to a lakefront lodge several hours south of the city. We made some arrangements to have the 4x4 come to pick us up at a later date.

Species Seen

Kingdom: Animals (17 records)
Phylum: Chordates (17 records)

Lifelists

Trips