Summary

Sorry - couldn't help it : it's back to Africa.  However, in self-defence, it isn't proper Sub-Sarahan Africa but it is a country that has always held a facination for me - its religious history, the geography and, of course, the wildlife.

Again I'm making use of Explore for this trip - its "Blue Nile & Lalibela" trip.

It's a comprehensive tour of what it describes as "one of Africa’s most beautiful areas which has a rich history reading like an ancient tome".

Ethiopia is the oldest independent nation in Africa with a great diversity of geography, culture and stunning natural beauty. The son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, Menelik, is thought to have founded the original kingdom after settling in Axum in Ethiopia. As early as 500BC, before the Kingdom of Abyssinia had been established, the Kingdom of Saba (Sheba) in North Yemen once belonged to the Ethiopians. The last Ethiopian descendent of the Solomonic line was His Imperial Highness, Emperor Haile Selassie who was overthrown in 1974.

Beset by famine and poverty, Ethiopia is now on the road to recovery and its historical sights and natural wonders are unique to Africa.  I'm particularly looking forward to the rock churches and the walking the Simien Mountains.

However, I'm having slight reservations given the famine situation in other parts of the region.