Cyber Ethiopia

The first time I visited Bale park, I went across the highland Saneti Plateau, but stopped short of descending the other side into the Harena Forest. Why bother going to see a forest? The road looked bad - windy and muddy. I didn’t go.

Fortunately I didn’t repeat the mistake a second time. I went. The Harena Forest is actually a jungle. It is wild and rich in foliage and wildlife. The road winds through the encroaching jungle like an advertisement for four-wheel drive vehicles. It is wonderful.

It is a bit of a long haul to the forest. If you stay as I did at the Dinsho lodge, then you drive 35km to Robe, a further 20 to Goba, then up and up on to the Saneti Plateau. On the plateau you must stop to see the Simien wolves and to climb the tallest peak in the Bale Mountains, Tullu Deemtu, at over 4200 meters. It is cold up there - really cold. It is a windy alpine plateau. I’ve been fortunate to site 4 Simien wolves in the wide open spaces of the plateau each time I visited.

Even with a couple of stops, it is only about an hour from Goba across the plateau to the other side. At the top you have a beautiful view over the cloud-shrouded peaks and down to the Harena Forest. From there you descend rapidly down a series of sharp hairpin turns. The landscape changes from alpine meadow to gnarled alpine forest to jungle.

About 15 minutes down the road is a picturesque little village, Rira. There you can stop for the local speciality, natural honey from the many hives in the area, served with local bread. You can also have some of the typical Oromo foods, like a wheat dish called chechebsa and a dry barley powder called mechira.

Travelling further down the valley I was impressed by the stunted trees which began to appear, clinging onto the steep slopes. The piles of firewood by the side of the road began to appear shortly after. I thought this was the Harena Forest, but my local informants said no. This was only the appetiser.

The forest is a jungle. Some of the trees are huge. The undergrowth looks impenetrably thick. Flowers of purple, yellow and red poke out unexpectedly among the trees. Odd shaped ivy-shrouded trees rise above the forest. The road cuts through the overhanging foliage, providing a narrow view of thick trees ahead.

It is not a good road. Trucks had dug deep holes in various places during the rains, although it was passable with a good four-wheel drive. Local officials were promising maintenance . Read the rest of this entry »

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