14 April 2011 - We Skyped!

Finally you can ask all your questions about touring in Ethiopia with a KTM motorcycle LIVE!

With the new internet service we have subscribed we are finally able to have a skype account! Our skype name is africaridingadventurestours and our email address info@africaridingadventures.com

Speak with us! We aim to serve you as best as we can!

Happy Ridings!!

Yes, you read it right! We are scouting a motorcycle tour around Lake Victoria. Isn't this the bike ride you've been looking for a long time???

Lake Victoria is the main reservoir of the Nile River and the largest of all Africa Lakes occupying an area of approximately 69,480 sq. km (26,800 square miles) a vast expanse about the size of the Republic of Ireland. It is the second-largest freshwater body in the world, the only larger one being Lake Superior in North America. It crosses the northern half to Uganda, the southern half to Tanzania, and part of the northeastern sector to Kenya occupying a wide depression near the equator, between the East and West Great Rift Valley.

Flavio, is doing this trip with Markus Isher and his son, Benjamin. Markus has been leaving and working in Ethiopia for the past 3 years and is an avid motorcycle rider, always looking for an excuse to get on a bike as his demanding job allows. Almost one year ago he bought his KTM 690 enduro from us and started planning how to put it to best use. This trip is the fruit of months of planning and preparation which included designing the route, gathering as much information as possible and getting all the necessary permits. They will finally leave tomorrow 16th of August with the tentative schedule looking roughly like this:

There is very little information available for some of the itinerary and no GPS tracks for some of the routes. Flavio, Markus and Benjamin will travel without a support car (specially needed to carry extra fuel where it does not exist). The extra weight they are taking in fuel makes this journey not as fun and quite dangerous, especially off-road in case any of them falls from the bike. If possible we will try to update this space with more information as our 3 adventurers tell us what is happening on their journey.

10 August 2009 - Historical Route: the book

Back in the day when we still did motorcycle tours on HONDAs (yes, you are right, it wasn't that long ago!) we received coming from the USA what was our biggest group to date: 8 riders and their wives. A wonderfully young, fun group of people with a common love for bikes and motorcycle riding. Between them they have probably ridden in every country in the world. Therefore anything they have to say about Ethiopia has to be taken serious!

Burt Richmond and his group visited us in November 2006 mainly looking for 2 things:
•  their next great adventure: a ride that would temporarily satiate their thirst for the adventure and the unknown and;
•  to discover the very rich and unique history of Ethiopia, the only     country in Africa which has never been colonised.

They were not disappointed! They loved the ride! They loved the country! They loved the experience! So much so, that Burt decided to make a book out of it. He chose his best pictures, added some text, sat in front of his mac and put hands, mind, sense of humour and memory to work. The result was a wonderful book of his and his group's trip through the magnificent ever changing Ethiopian landscape, the staggering rock hewn churches of Lalibela, the impressive Axum monolithic obelisks, the island monasteries of Lake Tana and so much more...

The book unfortunately is only available on order, copies of which are in our office for all of you who want to share Burt's personal take on this popular route. Accept our invitation and come to see us in our office in Addis if you can. Browse through Burt and his fellow companions tour while sipping a delicious ethiopian buna or chai ...

27 June 2009 - Scouting trip to Omorate

After a long wait we finally had the time and made it to the Omo National Park to scout one of our most anticipated new routes: the black elephant adventure tour. And believe us, it really is an adventure. A fantastic and wonderful adventure. What a ride! What a country!

Absolutely amazing scenery and wildlife as you don't see anywhere else in the country. Unlike other parts of Ethiopia here you can ride miles and miles without spotting another single soul. Probably level 4 for off-road enthusiasts who like to ride on off-the-beaten tracks.

Armed only with his faithful 950 Adventure, some tools, a tent, satellite phone and GPS Flavio left on his own to discover the new route sketched by us in the area maps. The route took Flavio and his monster to Bebbeka through Jimma on off-the-beaten track roads with the landscape getting more and more beautiful the further he went. He reached Bebbeka 4 days and many kms later with only 1 flat tire to tell the story. He visited the Abba Jiffar palace, the Gibe water falls in Jimma and the Bebbeka coffee plantation. Flavio is more of a riding rather than a visiting type but he loved this 3 visits. Therefore we know they have to be included in our new itinerary. Since the bike was not yet loaded enough Flavio bough two 10 litre jerricans before starting the most remote part of the journey: the trip to Omorate. Just in case and just as well... Here the trip started to be very technical. He crossed 2 mountains, part of the route going through the middle of a forest with mad stones along the way. Very demanding on the rider and on the bike. He arrived in Omorate on day 6, after a nasty fall and late at night (not uncommon during the whole trip but don't worry, we will not have you riding at night!), pinched the tent and fell asleep listening to the sounds of elephants playing in the river and the noise of their stomachs digesting dinner. Did I mention the lions? A unique experience in Ethiopia. The off-road goes from stony to sandy curvy roads (watch out the thorns!); lots of fun off-road full of wild animals to see (Sweynees, Orix, Grant, Ostriches, Eland, Greater and Lesser Kudu, Bushback, Dik Diks and more) but again very demanding. Tribes to visit include the Surma, Dizi, Nyangatom and Dasanetch (Galeb).

Outside the 5 (!) flat tires on the 10th and last day of the trip the return was uneventfull through very familiar routes to us. We look forward to the next leg of this scouting trip - the Gambela national park which we will be doing soon. We are also considering changing the tour dates. Although we are now positive that this area is dry during the rainy season we also know that it will be very hard and dangerous to get there during the rains due to very slippery roads and muddy tracks.

Watch this space and don't forget to pre-book your place on this trip. Places are limited!

25 November 2008 - The Afar or Danakil Depression

Nothing in this planet is quite as spectacular as the Danakil Depression. Very few have made it to this large triangular desert in north-eastern Ethiopia, close to the Red Sea which is renowned for being the place with the hottest average temperature on Earth (Yes, the Death Valley comes second!!). Daily temperatures are never bellow 34^oC reaching 55^oC during summer and reaching as high as 63^oC in the sun. It comprises Lake Asale, the lowest point in Africa and one of the lowest points on Earth not covered with water.

Two of the landmarks that will take your breath away are impossible to describe with words. The first one is “Mount” Dallol dotted with bringh yellow hot sulphur fields among sparkling white salt beds, green crystal pools and sparkling salt beds resembling coral reefs. It is the lowest volcano on land in one of the lowest elevations on Earth about 116 metres below sea level. The other one is Erta Ale volcano with its two pit craters. The larger one is now inactive. The smaller one is 140 meter diameter and 60 to 90m deep and has an active lava lake 60m wide and 100m long. It is the only active fire lake with permanent lava on Earth.

Lake Asale houses a source of salt that has been mined for hundreds of years and traders still trek to it with their camels every year from the Ethiopian highlands. At the heart of the salt harvest, lifters use rough wooden poles to lever up slabs of salt which are then cut into blocks. Like the camel men, the lifters travel up to 150 miles from the Ethiopian Highlands to work in the salt fields.

Those who made to the Afar Depression will be quite quick to classify it as hell on earth but will as quickly describe how they were surrendered by the immense beauty of the harsh barren landscape. The even fewer who've made it there by motorcycle will tell you it is an adventure never to be forgotten! Only to be attempted by very experienced off-road riders the ride is made difficult not only because of the different types of road ridden where different techniques need to be used, but also due to the different altitudes and different temperatures which one goes through: depending on the itinerary chosen and time of the year you come, temperatures can go from bellow zero in the Simien Mountains to sizzling hot in Danakil and you can ride from over 3,000 metres above sea level in the Simiens to minus 80m below sea level in Danakil.

You will need a minimum of 8-9 riding days to do this trip but if you include the Simiens (and we do advise you to do so if you want to have the maximum riding experience), a minimum of 10-12 riding days is required.

We've dedicated a section in our gallery page to Danakil. All the photos (including the ones in this page) were taken during one of our tours. We are sure that if your riding skills are up to the challenge you will one day join us on a tour to the Afar Depression for there is nothing like it on earth. Danakil IS truely the definition of a motorcycle trip of a lifetime!

2 October 2008 - OMO NATIONAL PARK TOUR/Southwestern Ethiopia

We are planning an amazing 13 to 16 day ride to the most remote areas of the Omo Park, to take place in August 2009. Most trips to the Omo will take you to the most accessible areas such as Turmi, Dimeka, Jinka, Murule, Kangate, etc.,. Not this one... With this trip we want to take our clients to the most remote areas, accross a world that few vehicles have ever travelled and even fewer foreign eyes have ever seen.

The Omo National Park is found near the end of the Rift Valley. Access is very difficult making it one of the most isolated parks in Ethiopia. It borders the Omo River and the Mago National Park in the East; Sudan in the West and Kenya in the South. It is one of the richest in spectacle and game and yet one of the least visited areas in East and Central Africa, far from the beaten track and virtually unexplored. This is one of the few places in which game can be seen in Ethiopia, although poaching by local people is increasingly starting to threaten their habitat. The Omo is also home to a remarkable mix of small ethnic groups such as the Bume and the Karo, the Geleb, the Bodi, The Mursi, the Surma, the Harbore and the Hamer to name but a few.

This is a trip we plan to add to our calendar tours in the future maybe twice a year, during the dry and wet seasons. We have never done it and are still researching it. We still don’t have an itinerary, but plan to put it together in the next couple of weeks. The next step after that will be for us to actually test the proposed itinerary, adjust it and finally do the trip with clients.

We want to invite fellow motorcycle adventurers to be one of the first to do this ride. Although the rainy season only ends in September, in the Omo Valley the weather is still dry at this time of the year with rains falling between March - April and September - October. If you want to come on this trip we should warn you that it will be a very wet ride until we reach the Omo - August is the peak of the rainy season in Ethiopia - and we make no assurances that it will be dry once there. Roads and tracks along the way will be slippery and muddy. For some this can add to the pleasure of the ride but it will also make it for a more dangerous and difficult trip. Therefore participants need to come prepared for a fairly rough ride. For this first trip we will only accept bookings from experienced off-road riders, skill level 3+ (see skill level description).

Now… how much will it cost? The full price for the tour will be €3,445 all-inclusive (see what’s included in one of our calendar tours or in our terms and conditions). As for all our other tours bookings are made through the payment of 30% of the tour price. We are pricing it to the maximum number of days: 15; if the number of days is reduced, price will be adjusted when full tour payment is made. As we will be testing the waters so to speak for any riders who make a booking with us before the end of the year (31st December 2008) we will price it at only €2,500. For those who make a booking with us for this tour between the 1st of January and the 31st of March 2009 we give a discount of 15%. After that full price will apply. Remember there are only 6 places available for riders. If you would like to bring family or friends they are welcome as passengers in the support car(s). However we still do not know how much of the motorcyle route the support car(s) will be able to follow. Therefore any passengers on the support car must be aware that they will probably follow different routes to reach the same destination or may even not be able to do some of the same overnight stops. This is something we will probably know once we test the proposed itinerary. Price for passengers will be €1,470.

We are now starting to accept bookings for this trip. If you would like to take part in it or want more information use our contact us form to get in touch. We will post any updates in this space as we have them. If you make a booking for it you will be the first one to have the updates and we will maintain contact with you directly.

This will truly be a unique personalised ride and your feedback will be very important. Join us and share this amazing ride with us!

18 September 2008 - Motorcycle rental

1 September 2008 - Africa Riding Adventures updated website

After a long wait we have finally updated our website with new pages and more information about the services we provide. Pls let us know what you think or of any problems you may encountre whilst browsing.

This space will be used by us to update you on news, events and special offers about tours and rental in Ethiopia with Africa Riding Adventures Tours. Check us out regularly for updates!

To start with we would like to thank all our clients and friends who have sent us the photos of their trips with us and gave us permission to use them in our website, namely Joe Pichler, Arno Gorissen, Astrid Neudecker, Jason Roberts, Torben Fenske, Markus Franz and Jürgen Veit. Thank you all!!

One of the new features of our services are the of Calendar Tours for all of those who like to plan ahead. We have decided to schedule 7 calendar tours throughout the year covering the most well known tourist destinations in Ethiopia. Despite of this don't think that we are offering you an easy ride on these tours. There are tours for all skill levels with the ones with the lower skill level being a good start for those who do not have any or have little experience on off-road or would like to have a first taste of Ethiopia in a more relaxed way. For those who want a challenge why not incorporate Danakil in the historical route or have a taste of the Ethiopian culture in the South. All of this outgoings are also great trips to bring family or friends. Share your passion!

On this first issue of our news we are going to feature two motorcycle journalists which are also two great friends, Joe Pichler and Arno Gorissen. Some of their photos give life to our website and are a great testament to the beautiful country Ethiopia is and how much fun you can have riding a motorbike here.

Joe Pichler is a world traveller and an Austrian freelance journalist. He's a regular writer for MOTORRAD, and KTM's news bulletins 'Ready to Race'. He has published two books of his trips on a KTM 950 ADV in Africa - Motorradtraum Afrika, and South America - Motorradtraum South America. He's visited Ethiopia several times and has done two tours with Africa Riding Adventures Tours in 2005 and 2007 to the North and South of the country. You can access articles on his trips in Ethiopia through the links bellow. For more details of his trips including Ethiopia visit his website.

Joe Pichler's Motorrad Articles on Ethiopia (german only):

• MOTORRAD, 9 September 2006, ÄTHIOPIEN, Staub, Steine, steile Pisten

• MOTORRAD, Nov/Dec 2006, Auf Dem Dach Afrikas