Sarah Mitchell
United States
On Day 2 of the Simien trek, a troop of 400 gelada baboons descended from the escarpment and moved through our camp as if we weren't there. Our guide Dawit had seen it a hundred times. For us, it was the moment travel becomes something else entirely.
“I was in tears. Not from sadness — from the sheer privilege of being that close to something so wild.”
We had been walking since 6:30am, climbing out of the Jinbar valley in the cold grey half-light of the Ethiopian highlands. The trail was empty. The escarpment, still and silent. I remember thinking how strange it all felt — 4,000 metres up, on the roof of Africa, with nothing moving except us.
Then the sound started. It was like rain first, growing into a low rumble that vibrated through my boots. I stopped and looked at Dawit. He just smiled. "They're coming," he said, as if that explained everything.
The troop crests the ridge
The geladas came over the ridge in a river of gold and charcoal. Four hundred of them — mothers with babies on their backs, huge silver-backed males walking alongside juveniles, all of them moving through our group as if the 30-metre gap between us were an ocean. A juvenile walked within an arm's length of my pack. It glanced at me, yawned, and carried on.
The gelada is the world's only grass-grazing primate, and the Simien Mountains are the only place on Earth where they live. There are roughly 800,000 of them — and you can stand within metres of a troop on any given day.
What made it unforgettable
- The babies climbing their mothers' backs while the troop was on the move
- The males sitting on cliff edges, staring out at the escarpment like kings
- Dawit pointing out individuals he'd named over the years
- The silence afterward — a whole troop gone as quickly as it appeared
I had booked the Simien trek expecting scenery. I had no idea I would spend two hours standing still, crying behind sunglasses, watching what biologists call one of the most spectacular primate gatherings on Earth. When I got home, I didn't talk about the views. I talked about the morning the geladas walked right past us.
Before, During & After
Before
I almost didn't come to Ethiopia. I had the flights booked for New Zealand.
During
When the troop crested the hill, we froze. Dawit put his hand on my arm and said softly: "Just breathe."
After
I cancelled my flight to New Zealand. Booked a return to Ethiopia instead.
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