Africa

There’s nowhere like it on the planet for wildlife, wild lands and rich traditions that endure. Prepare to fall in love.

SIDAMA TRIBE

We made a little detour on our way to Hawassa to visit the Sidama people, renowned for their high-quality coffee, which is considered a hallmark of speciality coffee. As the origin of Coffea arabica, Ethiopia, and the Sidama region in particular, has deep cultural and economic ties to...

TUTITI STELAE

We made a short stop at a cluster of carved megalithic stelae (standing stones) in a graveyard near the town of Tutu Fella in southern Ethiopia. These 9th-14th century monuments are funerary markers for local aristocrats, many of which feature carved linear, anthropomorphic (human-like)...

DRIVE TO HAWASSA

After breakfast, we continued our drive from Yirgacheffe to Hawassa. It was a challenging journey due to traffic and to combining sections of new, smooth asphalt with older, unfinished, and broken asphalt, as well as some unpaved, bumpy, or muddy sections. The overall experience was a mix...

BOORANA TRIBE

After the overnight in Konso, we continued our drive towards Yirga Chefe. On the way, we stopped at the Boorana tribe (📷 50 ETB / person), a semi-nomadic, Cushitic-speaking ethnic group and a major Oromo subgroup, primarily residing in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. They are known...

THE KONSO KING

We met the 20th reigning King of Konso, King Kalla, who acts as the traditional leader of the Konso people in Ethiopia. While a council of elders governs each village, the king serves as the ultimate authority on major disputes and decisions affecting the entire tribe, which is estimated...

DRIVE TO KONSO

After the visit of the Arbore tribe, we continued our drive from Turmi to Konso through southern Ethiopia’s varied landscape with a mix of paved and unpaved sections. The journey took us through the land of the Hamer people and then towards the distinct, terraced highlands of Konso...