Awash National Park

Awash National Park is northeast of Addis, about three hours, and the closest we would get to the town where our daughter was born, Dire Dawa. It was a beautiful drive and we enjoyed seeing the volcanic landscape. We even saw a few camels! We passed the beautiful Lake Basaka before eating lunch.

Since the nearby tribes are still experiencing conflict we were also provided a guide in the park, who was also fabulous is helping to spot the animals. This park is the most visited park, despite some of the animals no longer inhabiting the park such as the giraffe. However, the park still has lions, cheetahs, monkeys, baboons, and oynx just to name a few. Since it was a hot day, most of the animals come out at night and therefore our animal "viewing" was limited. However, we still enjoyed the this beautiful park and spotted some amazing birds. They have over 450 different types of birds at this park!

Although it was a cloudy day, and usually most hotter, it was still very hot. The Rift Valley was beautiful to see, it was so green and lush. We couldn't help but think that Dire Dawa was just over those mountains.

We stopped at the lodge within the park, built by Selassie. It was a nice place to get a cold drink and the people of course where so inviting and kind.

At the end of our tour of the park we stopped to see the Awash Falls, which is a stunning waterfall fed by the Awash River. There are hippos and Crocodiles in the nearby river although we didn't see any. It was a wonderful way to end our day trip. Again, there are so many beautiful places to see in Ethiopia!

“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.”

 ~ Albert Einstein