The weather such a contrast to what I had just left in Southern Ethiopia, blue skies with patchy cloud. Lake Turkana larger and more spectacular than I had ever imagined.
Mountainous terrain and deteriorating weather
Just under 3 hrs into the flight I was over southern Ethiopia, the weather was deteriorating and the terrain although amazing was not the sort of place you would want to attempt a forced landing ! I knew I was not far from the Kenyan border where the weather was forecasted to be better, fingers crossed.
Avoiding Storms as I headed south
With high ground and storms this was always going to be a flight where I had pick my way through. As I made my way south the weather was ok but not as good as the forecast had suggested. With so many hours to fly I had butterflies in my stomach that at some point I could hit a sky of black with high ground either side and insufficient fuel to turn back.
Heading south over the Ethiopian Highlands
So far so good the weather looked reasonable. The cloud base was relatively low which meant I was restricted on how high I could climb. My original flight plan was for FL095 (9500 feet) which was not going to be possible so I requested a new level of FL080.
Departing Addis Ababa (HAAB) Destination Lokichogio (HKLK) Kenya
The next leg was going to be a 3 1/2 - 4hr flight so I was keen to depart before the thunderstorms started to build in the heat of the day. Formalities and clearance to depart a busy airport like Addis meant several 4.30am wake up calls to get to the airport early to catch a weather window. Unfortunately there were several false alarms as updated forecasts at the airport indicated poor weather. Eventually a weather window arrived and I departed for Lokichogio (Kenya).
I sat at the hold for 30 minutes burning my precious fuel reserve waiting for clearance in between the airliners to depart. As I lined up on the 3.7km runway, I had leaned the mixture on the engine but it was still a tentative departure after the engine stopped on my previous flight. It was really noticable the effect of the altitude on the aircraft performance and took several hundred meters of runway before I left the ground.
Help from the team at Addis Ababa
A big thank you to Gelawdewos and Getahun for all your help and relentless trips with me to the met centre to check the weather !!
Thunderstorms & Heavy Rain Delaying progress
Ethiopia, Kenya & Tanzania have been experiencing large storms and heavy rains over the last few weeks that have created landslides and flooding in some areas which has delayed me leaving Addis.
When I do finally leave Addis I have a 444nm journey south to the border, into Kenya by lake Turkana (also known as lake Rudolf) and onward to Lokichogio (a remote airfield in North Kenya on the border with South Sudan). I have to be realatively certain I will make Lokichogio as there are few diversion airfields and if I do need to divert in Ethiopia due to bad weather I will have to truck fuel from Addis to the airfield I have landed at, refuel, fly back to Addis and start again as Addis Adaba is the only entry/exit airport in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia the original home of the Coffee (arabica) plant
Having a coffee addiction and Ethiopia being the original home of coffee meant a great place to sample the different beans from around the country. Formal cultivation dating back to the 9th century !
Sunrise over Lake Langano, Rift Valley (Ethiopia)
Harvest in the Rift Valley (Ethiopia)
Whilst travelling through the Rift Valley we came across families gathering harvest. The crop below is Teff an annual grass which is a multi purpose crop with high importance for the Ethiopian diet and culture. The grains are a daily food staple for about 50 million people (60% of the country’s population). Ethiopia produces 90% of the worlds Teff which is growing in popularity around the world due to it’s perception of being a superfood, as well as being Gluten free.
