Awash National Park
Awash National Park is located 225 km east of Addis Ababa, the Park stretches 30km east to west and a little less from north to south. The terrain is mainly acacia woodland and grassland. At all places and all times it is possible to see game: Oryx, Soemmerring’s gazelle and wild pig are common. Slightly less frequent are the furry waterbuck which tend to appear near the river in the late afternoon. The tiny dik-dik, not easy to spot in the speckled shade of the acacia thorn, zebra grazing the plains to the west of Fantale, cheetah, serval and leopard are also there but it is not easy to spot them; baboons, both anubis and hamadryas, kudus, lesser and greater, the giant tortoise, hippo, reedbuck, aardvark and caracal are also represented. Klipspringer inhabit the higher slopes of the mountain and curious hyrax peer at you curiously from behind their rocks. In the bottom of the gorge you can spot the black and white colobus monkey.
The birds are numerous, more than 300 species on record. The campsites are an excellent place to sight birds. There, above the quiet murmur of the river, one can hear the exuberant chatter of greenwood-hoopoes, the rollicking duel of red-and-ycllowbarbets, or the soft lament of the emerald-spotted wood dove — to name only a few. Carmine bee-eaters manoeuvre over the water, homing in on their airborne prey.
There are several species in the park and secretary birds in the grass plains. The raptors are represented by Fish eagles, tawny eagles, lanner, pygmy falcons and black-shouldered kites. Ree-eaters and kingfishers provide splashca of colour, as do rollers. Ostriches roam the plains and the- immense lammergeyer soars above Fantale searching for bones to smash.Bordering the park, a twenty-eight-kilometer (17-mile) stretch Of the Awash River offers a superb one- or two-day rafting trip — if the water level allows it — featuring lots of spirited rapids, wildlife, and impressive rugged cliffs and side canyons.