Omo River, near Omorate, Lower Omo Valley, South Ethiopia
The hour long drive from Turmi to Omerate offers a bit of Safari feeling. Savannah with low growing shrubs is intercepted by the occasional termite mound pointing towards the sky like a chimney. Matthew stopped a few times to show us endemic birds, like the big Secretary bird, or Guinea fowls. Some shy Tik Tiks and mighty baboons turned this trip into a minor game drive.
Although we spent almost an entire week in the Omo Valley, we got our first and only glimpse of the very river when we crossed it to visit the Dasanech people in their village on the other side.
Due to the dry season, the Omo River was very shallow and we had to climb down the steep bank to scramble into a hollowed, very narrow tree trunk. A fierce looking guy paddled us across using a large wooden stick. It looked strange, but he moved us pretty fast.
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