Lalibela and Bahir Dar

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The scenery on the drive to Lalibela was spectacular, impressive mountain ranges soared up around us as we climbed slowly (less than 20km/hr) then upon reaching the top, a plateau at about 2800m that went as far as the eye could see, a patchwork of fields of different colours.

Lalibela is not what we expected. It really is in the middle of nowhere and is just a big village. Despite being a big tourist town there are few amenities. Most of the roads are unsealed and the guy at our hotel told us that they only got running water here 6 months ago and electricity only ran 3 days a week up until 12 months ago. Tourism accounts for 80% in this town and being the low season you can imagine how much unwanted attention we are generating.

The reason to visit Lalibela is to explore and marvel at its famous rock-hewn churches. The churches date from around the 12th or 13th century during King Lalibela's reign. Legend has it that the King was poisoned by his half brother and while in a coma he went on a journey towards heaven where God instructed him to return to Ethiopia and re-create the holy city of Jerusalem. The result is 11 magnificent rock-hewn churches carved out of a single piece of rock and connected by a series of tunnels. Historians believe that a workforce of 40,000 was used to construct the churches while legend has it that the King and his workforce built the churches by day but the angels built the churches at night.

The churches are absolutely spectacular and the fact that they have been carved out of the rock makes them even more amazing. The biggest church, Bet Medhane Alem or Saviour of the World is 33.5m by 23.5m and over 11.5m high. The most visually spectacular was the Bet Giyorgis, a 15m high three-tiered plinth in the shape of a Greek cross.

By chance we looked at our guide's watch, which had a picture of a bee on it (we thought that the bee pictures that we had seen everywhere were to warn people about hornets or something but it turns out the bee is a symbol used by the government) and these watches were given out free to the people, as well as t-shirts, hats, food etc. - propaganda at its best and an interesting use of tax payers' money in a country that does not have fresh water or a stable electricity supply .

We decided to head to the Meket Escarpment for a four night trek through a local charity called TESFA (Tourism in Ethiopia for Sustainable Future Alternatives). TESFA assist local communities to operate trekking accommodation in the north of Ethiopia as a means to generate income for themselves and their local community as well as contributing to the protection of the physical and cultural environment. It is a great way for tourists to see rural Ethiopian life and interact with the children who rarely see tourists in these areas. The trek took place on top of the escarpment at about 2800 - 3100m. The walks are long but not particularly challenging, but its the interaction with the Ethiopians and to see their traditional way of life that really appealed to us. Each camp is set near a local village and consists of a traditional tukul or round mud hut. Each camp is run by a local camp manager and the food is purchased from the village and prepared by the local women. The views are amazing and most of the camps teeter on the edge of the escarpment, the views from the toilets are particularly spectacular.

Each day we walked for about 5-6 hours across farmland and old river beds, with tea and lunch stops along the way. Breakfast and dinner were served at the camp overlooking the spectacular scenery. Young children spend the day tending to their animals and ran across paddocks to say hello to us and shake our hands. They are particularly eager to have their photo taken. We were lucky one day to sit in on a school class. While we were waiting for our lunch, a group of school children arrived. They were there to study environmental science and tourism. Zelalem, our guide spoke to them about what TESFA does and explained that tourists do not like being shouted at with “you, you, you”, and asked for money and food. We were asked a few questions. It is times like this that I wish we had some postcards from NZ to show them and a map and no-one knows where NZ is.

We were extremely well fed. At each stop we had numerous cups of tea or coffee followed by a snack of some kind. There is no running water and no electricity, yet these women produce some delicious food; vegetable and ginger soup, fresh bread, pastas and stews, all by candlelight. For lunch each day we had injera and contrary to our first opinion, it is actually quite nice. We enjoy it more served with shiro (fasting dish of chickpea and bean paste), lentils spiced with green chilli and spinach laced with garlic. Having said that, we are looking forward to arriving at Addis Ababa and sampling some more foreign food!

After Lalibela, we headed to Bahir Dar and the waters of Lake Tana. Bahir Dar is described as their Riveria and this was a great place to spend a couple of days. It is much more tropical here, with heavy rain falling for about an hour most afternoons, followed by swarms of malarial ridden mosquitoes - time to spray the deet.

Our hotel was right on the edge of the lake and at breakfast each morning we could sit and watch the pelicans floating on the lake while the fishermen set their nets.

Lake Tana is Ethiopia's largest lake and its waters are the source of the Blue Nile. There are a number of monasteries on Lake Tana and we took an obligatory trip on the lake to visit a couple of them, passing a pod of hippos on the way. Some of the monasteries are men only. On one such visit, Matt paid the fee only to find that the monastery was closed. After a heated debate, the priest (ironically), would not give the money back. After this, we decided that we would only visit two more, the first was the Entos Eyesu and the next was the Ura Kidane Meret which is one of Zege Peninsula's most famous monasteries and beautifully painted. We were also able to look at the church's collection of crosses and crowns from the 16-18th century.

Back on the lake again we then went to the outlet of the Blue Nile, as it travels over 5000km to the Mediterranean.

We spent the rest of the day with Rod and Chrissie who live in San Francisco. They are nearing the end of their one year trip and it was great to swap stories and hear about some other places that we would like to visit. Feeling refreshed, tomorrow we catch the bus (another 4am start) and make our way to Addis Ababa following the Blue Nile Gorge.

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