Arriving in Mekele, I was exhausted again after my 13 hour mini bus marathon, but pleased it was behind me. Asfaw met me at the bus station and drove me to his Bamn Pensione at the southern end of Mekele in a new housing development (which was still being built).


I was feeling a little unsure of Bamn, not having seen it on any websites like trip advisor or thorn tree . But it was recommended by Yeshi’s guests Randy & Rita and it turned out to be as good as Yeshi’s. Asfaw was a friendly host and his staff were excellent again. The bedrooms were as big as tennis courts, mattresses were as good as European ones and everything worked. Marble floors etc etc. Luxury!


That night I met Mikele, the guide who introduced me to Bihran in Gonder, and who was a friend of Emanuel in Omo. He was also unaware of Bamn so I introduced him to Asfaw and he soon decided to place all his clients there. Unfortunately Mikele had been unable to find other people to share costs on a trip to Danakill with me, so as we agreed, he placed me with an ETT tour.


The next day he took me to meet the managers of ETT, who informed me there were 12 people going the next day and it was a 9.30 start. That afternoon I went to a local restaurant for an “A Rosto” which was just a beautifully roasted leg of lamb with spinach and rice - but wow how delicious . The waiter did not endear himself to me by wiping the food and bones left on the table by the previous clients straight into my lap. He then feigned surprise when I complained and then got angry when I refused to tip. Nevertheless the lamb was so good that I went out to dinner with Mikele in a restaurant called Geza Gerlase, which turned out to be the local peoples favourite. Here the “Tibs” was the best yet. Tibs is grilled meat (usually beef) with onions and chilli in a light spicy gravy served on an “Injera”. Injera is an Ethiopian Institution. It is like a huge pancake, with telltale holes of fermentation. It is made from a unique Ethiopian cereal called “tef” which is fermented over five or six days and then cut into huge circular flat sort of pancakes. It looked like a dishcloth when I first saw one, but is the basis of all Ethiopian food and is what all the dishes are poured onto, like the Tibs. You then eat with your right hand tearing off pieces of the injera and picking up the Tibs with it . Delicious. Geza was fabulous with a butchery just inside the door and traditional low seating chairs and tables. Full of locals it was a delight and at $7 for two a bargain.


Then next morning I arrived at the ETT offices to be met by five 4x4’s, five drivers, one guide, one cook and 22 tourists, rather more than I had expected. This was not a good start, but we soon assembled despite one car being delayed enroute from Addis Ababa. My fellow travellers were a diverse group from UK, Australia, Canada, Belgium, France, French Algerians, USA, Norway, Sweden, a Chinese family backpacking around the world, Austria and Japan. We all grabbed a vehicle, and I sat in one with a driver called Guito, plus the two Canadians and a teacher from Durham. Andy had just flown out for the trip and was in Ethiopia for one week. A nice guy he taught geography and was looking forward to telling his students about his trip. Rita and Cathy were from Ontario and were seasoned travellers . They were in Ethiopia for some six weeks and also had included a side trip to Somaliland - which Cathy had not enjoyed too much. As a group for the journey I could not have asked for better companions.


Unfortunately we encountered our biggest problem as we were reversing out of the car park. With one car still late arriving the other cars decided to leave and wait for the late one at a look out overlooking the city. However one of the French Algerians stood in front of the car and refused to let us leave. Guito went to speak with him and was then threatened (which we did not know). I then got out and asked him to step aside so we could leave. He suddenly got incredibly aggressive and stepped up to me like he was going to hit me. The other drivers stepped in and asked me to get back in the car. I was dumbfounded but did as they requested and told Andy, Rick and Cathy. Rick (who was an ex-construction worker and built like a WWF wrestler), said “I am not having this” and stepped out of the car to confront the Algerian and his two companions. It got very angry and they both squared up to each other but were separated by the drivers again, and Rick eventually returned to the car seething. Eventually the Algerian stepped aside and we drove out. Guito then told us he was threatened as had been several other drivers, plus the hotel staff where the Algerian had stayed the night before. What a piece of work. I thought “great five days with this idiot!” 


Danakill is allegedly the hottest place on earth (hotter than Death Valley - although I am sure this is subjective). It is 100m below sea level and contains many active bubbling volcanos and huge sulphurous lakes. One volcano is somewhat easily accessible and this is the star attraction. One can stand some 10m from the crater and watch the lava bubble and spit (with great care). Irta’ale Volcano is gaining a worldwide reputation since its filming by BBC and Nat Graphic and is now visited by more tourists than many people assume, about 40 a day in the high season. Still its a dangerous and risky area as two Finns found the week before us, when they lost their lives in a car accident along with their driver (who was a friend of Guito).


The volcano is not the only destination as the sulphurous lakes and salt flats are equally fascinating and look like something from another planet. The salt flats are owned by the local people, the Afars. The Afars are a nomadic, muslim population who also sell mining rights to the Tigray people to mine the salt from the flats. Slabs of salt are then transported in huge camel trains the 180 km to the Mekele markets by camels and donkeys. These trains (reputedly the longest in the world) draw camera professionals from all over the world and this was trip was no exception with five professionals with us. The air conditioning on their land cruiser failed on the first day so they were most unhappy and looked like they had done the salt mining themselves after four days. Meanwhile the Algerian continued to upset everyone and was still trying to pick fights with most people, except Rick.


After the final car with the Algerians joined us at the look out we all grouped together in a convoy and headed off across the mountains of Tigray into the Afar region. Our destination was Hamedela, the last Afar settlement before the salt flats and some 170m Km away. To get there we drove over narrow mountain tracks pasts hundreds of huge camel trains carrying their slabs of salt and past small temporary Afar villages. We stopped at a market town where the Algerian upset more people but spoke to the locals in Arabic.


Most of the day was in the car plus the occasional stop for photos and when we (most unusually) got caught in another torrential downpour. The hottest place on earth suddenly became wet, cold and muddy. The faces on the camel herders was extraordinary as they got soaked and coated in mud. The camels seemed to enjoy it.


In the late afternoon when we reached Hamedela the rain had cleared leaving an overcast, but mild day. Hardly the plus 45C temps we had been told to expect, yet none of us were complaining. We were to sleep outside on reed cots in sleeping bags. The food turned out by the resident cook was excellent and miraculous considering the dry conditions, zero facilities etc etc. Sleeping under the stars was something I was looking forward too, but again we got rained on at about 3.00am. Very odd.


The next morning we were up at 6.00am, but ended up leaving late as the Algerian had disappeared. Eventually we arrived at a salt area on the flats but what the guide had promised (salt mining activity) did not exist - so this angered the photographers. However the scenery was stunning, then after a short visit in this featureless expanse it was off to the volcano. Due to the hot environment, (and it was still only 35C when we left the salt area) we were informed we would have to climb the volcano at night.


The convoy sped across the salt flats, eventually entering the desert and the dust proved enveloping. Without air conditioning this must have been hell and luckily we only ever experienced a hot 39C here. We passed nomadic Afars on foot, sometimes wild camels and small brush land, before leading back onto the sands again. In some areas the going was tough on the backside and for the cars, several getting stuck and requiring tows.


Eventually we got in sight of Irta’ale, which was somewhat dwarfed by its neighbouring volcanos. A mere 690m above sea level it appeared to be an easy climb to the campsite on the caldron. It was Guito who told us a brisk 9 kms march was awaiting us which we should try and complete in 3 hours (which was rather quick). To reach our base camp the convoy had to traverse the last solid lava flow, which proved slow and very difficult for the Toyota. It was tough on the backside as well and took a good 90 mins to go the final three kilometres across the solid lava flow. We reached base camp as the temperature slide back to a bearable 29C and had an early supper.


At 7.30 we started out. The Chinese family with their 7 year old girl Rose who was incredible took all this in their stride. I was less impressive suffering a shocking hypo half way after not eating enough before or having any sweets (more duff NHS advise). I was rescued by the American nurse who managed to find a sweet drink with another group of Japanese tourists. I was quickly sorted and very grateful.


From the start of the climb, everything was not so straightforward as most of us thought. Certainly there was a sizeable group at the rear and although we exceeded the three hour deadline it was not by much. The glow of the crater was visible from the campsite as soon as darkness descended, and it got more and more impressive the nearer we got.


Eventually we reached the caldron to see the crater in the centre illuminated by a magical full moon. Us stragglers then descended into the caldron to the crater’s rim gingerly across (what felt like in the dark) a huge pile of charcoal with nasty sunken holes. The line of travellers with their head torches looked like a scene from “Alien”. The crater was breathtaking. The bubbling lava was fascinating and thrilling whilst being so hot it felt like my face was burning. Every ten minutes or so a lava eruption sent lava sparked meters in the air and sometimes on to the crater rim. We kept asking the guides if this was safe - “yes” was always the reply. After a while the spectacle was so great and heat so much that I wanted to sit down but small needle sharp shards of glass got stuck in my bottom and hands. There appeared to be quite a few of us at the rim, our tour and one other for some 90 mins just gazing in awe at the spectacle.


We then left to sleep at the caldron rim in our sleeping bags for just four hours only. This was so we could return to the crater in time for dawn. It was still quite warm went I finally went asleep, but at 4.30am it was quite chilly. The black sky was illuminated at this time by this unworldly orange glow. After a quick pack I was right back at the crater and as the sun rose on this cloudy morning an even more impressive scene was illuminated. It was by now apparent that there was some green algae living next to the crater amongst the charcoal like grey lava and other weird rock formations. The scene was spellbinding. We were not able to stay for long this time and soon the guide was asking us to return to base camp. The weather was cool and the walk back was much easier than the walk up, especially as I was fortified by some fruit juice.


At base camp in surprisingly cool weather we tucked into a sumptuous breakfast before boarding the 4x4 for the long drive back to Hamedela. Guito this time took a short cut through the lava field and we broke the journey with a picnic in the sandy area before the salt lakes. We approached Hamedela in the late afternoon and set up camp in the village at the same place where we spent the first night, where it had rained. After a quick cup of tea we set off to the most scenic part of the salt lake which happened to be flooded with just a few cms of water.


The scene as the sun dropped was again magical. The clear water reflecting brilliantly off the white salt and highlighting the turquoise sky. Silhouettes of the army guards (who were accompanying us now as we approached the boarder with Eritrea) looked elegant against this background. The salt’s boarders and hexagonal shapes lent the place an almost spiritual feel and everyone kicked off their shoes and went for a paddle. The sun gradually set shining through the clouds spectacularly.


Back at camp a large supper was followed by huge gusts of wind that prompted me to call it an early night and head for my reed cot. It was a good night sleep despite the wind and I was up (as usual at 5.00am) keen to get to Dallol, the other star attraction of this tour.


After we had packed again the convoy assembled and sped across the dry salt flats. This being Friday, the Muslim camel trains were not active, so there was nothing to see as far as the horizon as we moved across the plains. We did though pass the crash site that one week earlier caused the death of two Finnish tourists and Guito’s fellow driver. It was hard to envisage how this had happened unless the driver had been speeding excessively.


At the entrance to Dallol, we stopped and were met by several military guards, all heavily armed. Its eleven kilometres to the tense boarder from here, and since the last armed incursion in 2012, the Ethiopians take plenty of precautions.


It was a short hike up to Dallol, where the mysterious sulphurous lakes were. We were all warned not to stray to far from the group and follow each other as the lakes were boiling and one misstep “could end everything”. At the base of the lake we were 125m below sea level and with an average temperature of 34.5C this is what the Ethiopians claim is hottest place on earth.


At the top of the climb, the weird landscape of Dallol came into view. The only description I can think of is underwater coral. Unusual coral like structures in white, cream, yellow and bright yellow dominated the landscape. One traveller said it looked like scrambled eggs, and smelt like it. Some of these odd formations had water, hot water spitting from the coral like mouths, in others green mucus like ponds gurgled and bubbled. Steam was everywhere, and the smell was at times overwhelming. Oranges, reds, greens and bright yellow colours bounced off the blue sky creating a myriad of images that has been difficult to shake from my mind. It had a real WOW factor. In the corner were some rusty tanks and (what looked like) an old traction engine. We walked around for a good couple of hours, as the temperature steadily rose.


Back at the cars I felt exhilarated after that visit, and soon we were off again, to the “Salt Mountains” which happened to be just around the corner. This is where the camels are loaded, but as today was the Muslim Sabbath, there was no one in sight. As one traveller’s temperature gauge reached in excess of 43C (which seemed a little high) we ventured into these salt mountains following the military. The Algerian by now had annoyed everyone, and I was interested to see if he would take on the men with the AK47s.


The mountains were about 20-30m high, and were salt features that had been eroded and carved into weird shapes by the winds. Tunnels had been formed during the rainy season and the guide lead us through these narrow gaps to see more wondrous salt sculptures. What was equally surprising was the “Burgundy coloured earth or dust that covered some of these structures. It was hot now so I was pleased to return to the 4x4 and we now headed off across the salt flats for our final destination, the bubbling pools.


These were an odd ruby colour and bubbled up to the surface in an equally odd luminous yellow. Methane was free flowing as evidenced by the number of dead birds and animals around the bubbling lakes. Boy it was hot.


After we had finished here, we stopped briefly back at camp for lunch and then started the journey back to Mekele. It had been a memorable trip and on my return I parted company with Guito, Andy, Rick and Cathy and headed back to see Asfaw.