Day 11: Awash NP to Hawassa
Wednesday 18th February 2015
Awash National Park - Ziway and Langano Lakes – Hawassa After breakfast, we drove slowly through the park and stopped at the main entrance for a final short walk. We found two new birds for the tour in the shape of Blue-naped Mousebird and Brubru. We also saw half a dozen Harar Dik-diks and had good views of a Lesser Kudu (in addition to more Warthogs and Beisa Oryx). We enjoyed a break from the long drive back west towards Addis when we stopped to admire a big group of Hamadryas Baboons. These normally shy animals were preoccupied with licking something (possibly salt) from the road surface, thus providing a rare photographic opportunity. Soon after this, we stopped again to admire our first Abyssinian Ground Hornbills. After another tasty lunch at the Bethlehem Hotel, we visited the shores of Lake Ziway where the local children feed birds with scraps from the fish market. Literally hundreds of Marabou Storks and Great White Pelicans were joined by a selection of waders. We enjoyed the opportunity to photograph several species at close quarters including Wood Sandpiper and African Jacana. Wildfowl on the open water included Garganey, Hottentot Teal and Pygmy Goose. Abiy took us on a short walk near the market to show us a very relaxed Tree Hyrax, a new mammal for most of us. In the late afternoon, we visited the grounds of the Waba Shebelle Hotel where we saw another Greyish Eagle Owl and had close views of roosting Slender-tailed Nightjars. Dusk fell as we arrived at the Hotel Hawassa; it had been a long day of travel but there had been some great wildlife along the way!
Awash National Park - Ziway and Langano Lakes – Hawassa After breakfast, we drove slowly through the park and stopped at the main entrance for a final short walk. We found two new birds for the tour in the shape of Blue-naped Mousebird and Brubru. We also saw half a dozen Harar Dik-diks and had good views of a Lesser Kudu (in addition to more Warthogs and Beisa Oryx). We enjoyed a break from the long drive back west towards Addis when we stopped to admire a big group of Hamadryas Baboons. These normally shy animals were preoccupied with licking something (possibly salt) from the road surface, thus providing a rare photographic opportunity. Soon after this, we stopped again to admire our first Abyssinian Ground Hornbills. After another tasty lunch at the Bethlehem Hotel, we visited the shores of Lake Ziway where the local children feed birds with scraps from the fish market. Literally hundreds of Marabou Storks and Great White Pelicans were joined by a selection of waders. We enjoyed the opportunity to photograph several species at close quarters including Wood Sandpiper and African Jacana. Wildfowl on the open water included Garganey, Hottentot Teal and Pygmy Goose. Abiy took us on a short walk near the market to show us a very relaxed Tree Hyrax, a new mammal for most of us. In the late afternoon, we visited the grounds of the Waba Shebelle Hotel where we saw another Greyish Eagle Owl and had close views of roosting Slender-tailed Nightjars. Dusk fell as we arrived at the Hotel Hawassa; it had been a long day of travel but there had been some great wildlife along the way!