   Tribes & Wildlife of the Rift23 Nights - from $1625Africa's Rift Valley is home to some remarkable tribal groups, and on this adventurous trip we'll seek them out, heading deep into southern Ethiopia's Omo Valley. It's a challenging region to travel in, and overlanding provides the only real access to these isolated communities. We'll meet the Hamer, who practice bull jumping as an initiation rite, the Banna and the Arbore, whose lifestyles have changed little for centuries, and visit a fascinating Rastafarian project. Crossing southern Ethiopia we reach the Kenyan border, through semi-desert to Samburu National Park for some game viewing. The Samburu people live here, and we'll spend time learning about their culture before going on safari in Lake Nakuru, ending our trip in Nairobi. This is a thoroughly tribal adventure travel trip. In Southern Ethiopia, we travel overland into the depths of the Rift Valley, visiting the amazing lakes, witnessing the wildlife and meeting the local tribal people. A word of warning is necessary here. This is definitely an adventure holiday and you must be aware that we will take you through regions with very poor infrastructure and very few western facilities. Roads can be absolutely appalling and you should be prepared to forgo your home comforts. However the rewards of this kind of overland travel are immense. We will travel into one of the most unchanged tribal regions in Africa and meet peoples who lifestyles have changed very little in the last two hundred years. At Konzo we will explore the Konzo tribal culture and villages before heading deep into tribal southern Ethiopia towards the Omo Valley. This is a very remote, seldom visited region, which is home to the Hamer, Banna and Arbore people. The bull jumping of the Hama people have become renown in the outside world due to the great BBC series, Tribes featuring Bruce Parry. Unfortunately, unlike Parry, who spent months living with many of these tribes we can only spend four nights in the region, but this is what adventure travel tours should be all about. Travelling Overland allows us to explore regions like this. Responsible travel is one of our four business principles and on this trip we will take you to an excellent community tourism project in nothern Kenya. The Samburu region is usually associated with an African safari, and of course we will do our Kenya safari in Samburu National Park, which has very prolific African wildlife, including lion, elephant, leopard, the amazingly lovely reticulated giraffe, the lithesome gerenuk and the grevvy Zebra. However, while we are here, we will also stay at the Samburu tribal community project to learn about their culture and way of life. In terms of wildlife we will also explore the mountainous Bale Nat. Park in search of the Simien Fox and further south in Kenya we will find rhino, buffalo and flamingo in Lake Nakuru National Park. So the trip may not have the big names of the Serengeti or Masai Mara but for wildlife its as good as it gets; hey you have a good chance of seeing the big five! Itinerary:Nights 1 - 5: Ethiopian Rift Valley & Mountains Visit to Lake Abiyata, and see the flamingos near Shashemene 3 nights in the wilds of Bale Mountains National Park for hiking or mule/horse trekking Addis Ababa, the northern Rift Valley and Lake Langano Visit the Rastafarian community and educational project at Shashemene Nights 6 - 9 Ethiopian Rift Valley Overland through Ethiopia's Rift Valley along the shores of Lake Abaya 2 night stay at Arba Minch to explore the market or nearby Lake Chamo and its crocodiles Nights 10 - 14 Southern Ethiopia Overnight in Konzo, centre of the Konso people 3 night jeep visit to tribal region near Omo River, seeing Hamer, Banna and Dascench tribes Nights 15 - 19 Southern Ethiopia & Northern Kenya Remote overland journey through the wilds and deserts of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya Visit to Samburu tribal community and cultural project with local Samburu tribespeople Wildlife safari in Samburu National Park: elephants, lions, Grevy's zebra and numerous other animals Nights 20 - 23 Kenyan Rift Valley Safari in Lake Nakuru National Park, excellent for rhino Visit to Elsamere Born Free foundation at Lake Naivasha Relax and explore Nairobi, Kenya's capital city Optional Extras
Accommodation: Campsites, some wildcamps, small hostel/hotel.(75% camping, 25% hotels) |
