Ever since I saw the lammergeiers on David Attenborough's Life of Birds in 1998 I've had a hankering to go to the Ethiopian Highlands to see the bird in the wild. And in Easter 2015 that supposed unrequited hankering of mine was actually resolved - thanks to Rashida's instigation. So, Rashida, Leyla and I (Sal was in Spain on a school trip) visited our friends Joanna and David (thanks, both, for your generous hospitality and organisation skills) , who are living in Addis Ababa, and spent a few days in Lalibela, for the cultural fix, before going on a trek in the Simien mountains, the home of the lammergeyers.

While the weather wasn't great for photography, and I didn't manage to take any pictures of the lammergeiers we did see, the trip didn't disappoint, even after all those years...

Here are some links to some of the places we saw, with the top spot going to the lammergeiers.

• Lammergeiers
• Lalibela
• Church of Saint George, Lalibela
• Monolithic churches
• Gondar
• James Bruce
• Semien Mountains
• Gelada baboons
• Giant lobelia
• Walia Ibex