06 February, 2014
With an interest in anthropology and an insatiable love of Africa, I travelled to the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia. A place National Geographic have called 'Africa's Last Frontier'. Home to eight different vanishing tribes, whose population is about 200,000, this part of Africa is truly sensational. We tackled the 'roads' in a beaten 4X4, a vehicle that stubbornly broke down every other day, resulting in us beeping our horn until the nearest tribe emerged from the bushes to save us from the thirst quenching heat. Over 12 days we covered approximately 2500km, observing a multitude of landscapes; the great rift valley lakes, savannahs, mountains and fields bursting with yellow maskal flowers. Yet the captivating scenery, in my opinion, is cast into the shadows by the intoxicating tribal rituals to be witnessed.