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In another story, we carried a feature entitled "Touring Historical Ethiopia," which was a travelogue on our trip through the historic towns of northern Ethiopia. Linda and I recently had the opportunity to visit southern Ethiopia and were again impressed - this time by and entirely different array of attractions - the Great Rift Valley, the Bale Mountains, the wildlife and people.

The Great Rift Valley

Visible from outer space at a distance of 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles), the Great Rift Valley is a scar in the earth's crust. It commences at the Dead Sea in Asia and extends down the Red Sea and the eastern part of Africa, entering the Indian Ocean at Mozambique, ending as a deep-water trench in the Antarctic. It has been a region of great instability in the earth's crust since its formation over twenty million years ago. Even today active volcanoes, steam vents and boiling springs are evidence of the constant movement and activity below its surface. A journey southward from Addis Ababa - the Ethiopian Capital - into the Rift Valley is as much a 'pilgrimage' to naturalists as the northern regions of the country is to historians.

We commenced our southward journey from Addis Ababa in a four-wheel drive vehicle, accompanied by a driver and a guide who himself was an avid nature-photographer. This made things very simple, because he was always on the lookout for photo opportunities.

Along the way, we soon discovered that the Ethiopian portion of this natural phenomenon - the Rift Valley - is funnelled between two dramatic escarpments and is home to a marvellous string of lakes, each of which has its own character. Even lakes that are separated by only a few kilometres seem distinctly different.

We stopped for lunch at a resort called Abule Bassuma Lodge on the shore of Lake Langano - one of the most beautiful lakes in the Ethiopian Rift Valley - and were given a guided tour of the complex by its proprietor. Abule Bassuma is built for the most part with local economic and social fabric. The bedrooms, bars and restaurants are all constructed of local materials such as tree bark, stem grass and the like. Situated on an area of 800 square kilometres, the lodge is apparently the first of its kind in Ethiopia that combines eco-agro tourism.

With time on our hands, we hired one of the boats of the lodge, which are also used for paragliding and water skiing, and took a ride across the lake to an island with a hot spring. Later, from a lakeside mountain on the property, we gazed across the lake as our guide pointed to the general location of another lodge on a far shore that would be our first night's resting spot. Located on a point of land, the 270-degree view from our vantage point was splendid.

After lunch we resumed our journey and within an hour turned into Abijatta-Shalla National Park - named after the two lakes that the park encompasses. Both lakes are only a short drive from the main road, and at the fork, we chose to view the water birds on the shore of Lake Abijatta. As we approached the lake the road tapered out, and rather soggy marshland appeared in front of the vehicle. Not wanting to damage the fragile environment with tire marks, we left the vehicle and walked towards the shore and the hundreds of white birds that we could see at a distance. Along the way we were joined by a number of curious tribal people, who indicated by their actions that they were quite willing to play the role of supplementary guides.

The birds seen from a distance turned out to be pink flamingos and white pelicans feeding on small fish. There were also a few storks and cormorants in their midst and an African fish eagle occasionally soared across the scene. We silently observed them with binoculars and then slowly crept closer for photos. The supplementary guides led us to a stretch of hard packed mud that got us to within fifty metres of a large group of flamingos. Soft mud was on either side, and after a few shots one young fellow asked our guide if we wanted to see them in flight. After an exchange of words in the local language, the young man started yelling and running towards the birds. We didn't get many good photos because the man running through mud up to his knees, and then falling flat on his face was more interesting. He received a substantial five-bir tip for his ill-fated effort.

There weren't many wild animals on the marshland, but we did manage to see a golden jackal and a few warthogs. Our accommodation for the night was on the opposite side of the main highway on the shore of Lake Langano, only a ten-minute drive from the National Park entrance.

The individual cabins of the lodge (government-owned Wabe Shebelle) were comfortable enough and the main restaurant building had a patio that overlooked Lake Langano's soft brown waters set against the blue backdrop of the Arsi Mountains, which rise to 4,000 metres. Being April, it was still a little cool to partake in some of the activities on offer, which included water skiing, windsurfing, sailing and swimming on the beach. We did however enjoy the tranquillity of the place and the marvellous scene of the sun rising over the lake in the morning.

Government hotels in Ethiopia are comparable to the same type in India. Those in Ethiopia however, excel in the 'cost of food' aspect. To use an example of a full meal for two, with salad, meat and vegetables, coffee and desert, the bill only amounted to a little over two dollars, and the meat in each serving was more than either of us could comfortably consume. The same applies to all government hotels - north and south - in which we have had the pleasure of staying in Ethiopia. I really don't know how they make a profit, but who's complaining.

On the road to our next destination - the town of Awasa - we stopped at an ostrich farm, where we were particularly entranced by a male conducting the mating dance in front of a female. A written description is difficult and a still photo is useless to provide an explanation of the dance, but I'll give it my best: The male ostrich crouches on bended knees and moves his head from side to side in a wide figure of eight. At the same time, each wing is moved up and down, one after the other to the timing of the head movement. While these antics are being performed, the female stands watching at a distance of about ten metres in front of the gyrating male. We didn't have time to see the end result, but I silently hoped that the efforts paid off.

Later on, we left the main highway, as our guide indicated that it was lunchtime. The road winded for fifteen kilometres through increasingly beautiful country until we reached a lovely wooded valley, where an avenue of cypress trees welcomed us to Wendo Genet Resort Hotel. Set on higher ground, the hotel with its gardens of palm, citrus and pine trees provides a magnificent view of the Rift Valley.

After a nice meal, we donned our bathing costumes, bypassed the rooftop swimming pool and headed for a small hot spring-fed bath, which is next to a cool, clear rushing mountain stream. It presented an invigorating few minutes before we started out again on our Awasa leg of the excursion.

The town of Awasa is situated on a beautiful lake by the same name. It is set in an interesting countryside featuring coffee plantations, fruit groves and the Bale Mountains (our next destination) rising in the east. The lake with a circumference of sixty-two kilometres provides excellent boating and fishing opportunities. After a pleasant night in one of the two government-owned Wabe Shebelle Hotel's on the lake, we visited the interesting Awasa fish market - a recommended stop for a tourist interested in viewing people in everyday activities.

A beehive of activity, the fish market located on the shore of the lake, consists of colourful local fishermen cleaning and selling their catch to enthusiastic buyers. After cleaning of the fish, parts not fit for human consumption are tossed into the lake, where pelicans, storks and other water birds compete for their fair share.

The Bale Mountains

After Awasa we commenced a staged climb out of the Great Rift Valley and into the Bale Mountains, which rises from farmland and dominates the south east of Ethiopia. Our destination was Bale Mountain National Park, an area of high mountain plateau, broken by numerous dramatic volcanic plugs and peaks, and beautiful alpine lakes and rushing mountain streams that descend into deep, rocky gorges.

Along the way, we passed through great eucalyptus forests and climbed an escarpment dominated by an irregularly shaped rock formation where legend states that an Ethiopian version of Robin Hood used to hide. Our route then levelled out onto a high plateau, with streams, rivers and the odd waterfall. The vegetation consisted of sage, grassland, acacia trees and flowers, but the most interesting aspect to us was the people that inhabit the area. Being market day when we passed through, many were seen along the roadway and on parallel paths riding on horses and donkeys - the mode of transportation for the majority.

We soon entered the northern extreme of the national park and stopped in an area called Gaysay - the best place to see the mountain nyala, which is endemic to Ethiopia. Our guide reminded us that 'endemism' is not to be confused with 'endangered'.

We parked at a camp where we had a pleasant chat with other foreign tourists - a husband and wife who were white-farmers from Zimbabwe. They spoke highly of their experiences with the friendly Ethiopian people and of tourism aspects of the country.

Access to the grazing area is by footpath into the alpine forest and it wasn't long before we encountered our first nyala - a male who quickly showed us his tail. We carried on quietly and soon found ourselves encircled by a whole herd. We just sat down and pretended we were invisible - the only sounds being the constant click of the camera. After a half hour encounter, with sunset pending we made our way back to the vehicle and commenced the remainder of our day's journey in darkness, ending at another Wabe Shebelle Hotel in a town called Goba.

The next morning our destination was another area of Bale Mountains National Park in search of the endemic Simien fox - named after the Simien Mountains in the north, but more plentiful in the Bale Mountains. Travelling out of Goba, we re-entered the park, and drove up to the Senetti Plateau across the highest all-weather road on the African continent. The plateau itself stands at 4,000 metres above sea level and there are several surrounding peaks that are even higher.

The plateau has strange and fascinating Afro-alpine vegetation and a string of tiny lakes. It wasn't long before we spotted our first Simien fox. At first sighting, she was sniffing her way across the terrain. She suddenly stopped and started pounding the ground with her front paws. She was trying to scare a mole out of the safety of its hole. In all we observed five separate foxes going about their everyday business. Our guide happily told us that this was an exceptional number to be seen in one outting.

Besides the fox sightings there were many different types of birds, especially around the tarns. We drove to the southern end of the plateau where it abruptly ends at the Harenna Escarpment. From our vantage point, the view in front of us was indescribable. It extended across the Harenna Forest immediately below and to the Rift Valley far (maybe 100 kilometres) off to the southeast.

We stayed in Goba again that night, and in the morning set out on a journey northward through a low valley filled with thorn trees and weird funnels of termite hills. Our destination was the most spectacular and extensive underground caverns in the world - Sof Omar.

After about 120 kilometres a downward path led us to the Web River, where it vanishes into a giant underground world with its arched portals, high eroded ceilings and deep vaulted echo chambers. These caves now an important Islamic shrine (named after the saintly Sheikh Sof Omar who took refuge here many centuries ago,) have a religious history that predates the arrival of Islam to Bale - a history stretching over thousands, not hundreds of years.

We approached the cave through a tiny village perched on the side of the hill overlooking the point where the Web enters the caves. After interacting with the local people, we sought permission (as a courtesy) to enter the caves from the village elder - a very photogenic man with bushy grey hair beneath a Muslim scull cap - who assigned a younger man to be our guide.

We were led by torchlight into this realm of dry, cool caves where nature has worked a marvel of architecture - soaring pillars of stone 20 metres high, flying buttresses, fluted archways, and tall airy vaults. Finally we reached a balcony, where a spectacular view of the river gushing along its course below was presented. Another amazing highlight of the caves is the 'Chamber of Pillars,' so named after the colossal limestone pillars that are its dominant feature. We also encountered a small 2.5 metre gap in the rocks, where the river passes through with rage. The full walk to the point where the river re-surfaces to daylight apparently takes an hour and a half at a good walking pace, but we doubled back to our initial entry point due to lack of time.

From Sof Omar, we commenced a long journey back to Addis Ababa stopping for the night at an extensive resort called Sodere - with its fine restaurant, conference centres, swimming pools and hot springs - along the way. The next morning before our final short leg to Addis, our guide and driver wanted to stop in the nearby town to purchase fruit for which it is famous. While we were drinking fresh orange juice by the roadside a large caravan of over fifty camels approached. The people driving the camels were Afars who normally hail from a harsh desert region farther to the east. It seems that they were driving their camels to market. They were apprehensive of photography so the scene only remains in our memory.

And that's where Ethiopia will remain - in our fond memory. It is a marvellous country that has gone through some hard times in the recent past. But the bad times are over. Ethiopia is a kaleidoscope of unspoiled beauty, of fascinating heritage sites and most of all of a diverse spectrum of cultures living in harmony under sunny blue skies.