Horn of Africa January 2027
Dear Mammalwatchers,
After reading Jon Hall’s reports from the Horn of Africa and listening to his and Charles Foley’s podcast, we started dreaming of following in their, Alex Mayer and Ian Thompson footsteps.
We have space available for someone who is seriously interested in joining a similar expedition. We are humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to use this great platform to connect with like-minded people.
The main idea is to search for and photograph some of Africa’s most iconic and elusive antelopes — Dibatag, Beira, Mountain Nyala, Silver Dik-dik, and others. There is also a long list of additional mammals that could be included in this expedition and good possibility for birds endemics as well.
With Jon Hall’s help, we managed to contact Håkan Pohlstrand and began inquiries about a potential trip in 2027.
He responded quickly and already suggested dates and a potential itinerary. We asked about alternative dates, but unfortunately he does not have other availability in late 2026 or early 2027. The best period for Dibatag is from December to mid-January.
Håkan can personally arrange a two-week tour starting on January 5th, 2027, and ending on January 19th, for four people in Ethiopia across several locations.
Crossing the border into Somaliland to search for Beira is not recommended, as it could potentially affect future travel to the USA. Instead, he suggested an alternative location near the Djibouti border, where he observed eight Beira on his last trip.
Itinerary draft
Day 1. 05th of January.Early flight to Jijiga. Meet the three Land Cruisers and drive to Gurdume (7–8 hours). Camp overnight.
Day 2. Begin searching for Dibatag. Pectinator and Elephant Shrew occur within 7 km of camp.
Day 3. Search for Dibatag, Silver Dik-dik, Günther’s Dik-dik, Harar Dik-dik, and Desert Warthog within 10 km of camp.
Day 4.Continue searching for Dibatag — the most challenging species.
Day 5. Continue searching for Dibatag — the most challenging species.
Day 6 Early morning search for Dibatag, then depart toward Jijiga. Camp approximately 100 km before Jijiga.
Day 7. Drive to Dire Dawa (240 km, approximately 6 hours). Overnight at a hotel. Evening visit to the Hyena Man.
Day 8. Drive from Dire Dawa to the Beira area (about 4 hours). Camp overnight. Soemmerring’s Gazelle, Pelzeln’s Gazelle, and Salt’s Dik-dik are possible en route.
Day 9.Search for Beira.
Day 10. Search for Beira.
Day 11. Return to Dire Dawa and fly back to Addis Ababa.
Day 12. Drive from Addis Ababa to Goba, just outside Bale Mountains National Park. Overnight at a hotel.
Day 13.Drive over the Sanetti Plateau and down into Harenna Forest. Search for Ethiopian Wolf, Mole Rat, and Bale Monkey.
Day 14.If conditions on the Sanetti Plateau are very dry, the wolves may be at Sodota. We will drive there and then continue to Geza Moorland.
Sodota is excellent for Ethiopian Wolf, while Geza Moorland is good for Mountain Nyala, Bohor Reedbuck, and Warthog. Menelik’s Bushbuck can be found either in Harenna or around the Dinsho area.
We could also potentially spend a day in Senkelle for Swayne’s Hartebeest and Oribi, if time allows.
I personaly met Håkan in Oslo, and he will visit again this summer, when we will finalise the itinerary.
Please send me an email, if you are intrested.
konst.yordanov@gmail.com
Post author
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.