October 17 – October 30, 2015
14 days
This is a unique photographic expedition to experience some of the most beautiful tribes on the African continent, including the Suri Tribe.
Young Suri Girl, Ethiopia
In October, Piper will lead a very special photographic expedition to southern Ethiopia’s Omo Valley. This tour will visit tribes on both sides of the Omo river, including spending several days visiting the most ornate tribe; the Suri, also know as the Surma. Not only are the Suri the most ornate tribe, they are the most remote tribe in the Omo; making them one of the least photographed, but most desired tribe to photograph. This is one of the only photographic itineraries that goes to both sides of the Omo River and includes a visit to the Suri tribe.
Inspired by their environment of wild trees, exotic flowers and lush vegetation these tribes use the clay soil of bright yellows, startling whites and rich earth-reds to paint each other’s bodies and make bold decisions about their outfits. In essence they become a walking body of art; know as a living museum to anthropologist. For generations these tribes have been shielded from the modern world in a place that is still raw, natural, and timeless. However, change is happening drastically in this region, which is impacting their traditional clothing, body painting and way of life. This is not a trip to put off.
You will spend more time in each location, ensuring a deeper experience, which leads to more compelling images. In true expedition style, I have left the program with some flexibility to ensure we will be able to take advantage of any photographic opportunities that may arise. The precise time spent in each village will depend on what activities are taking place and the goals of the group. It is likely we will also meet several other tribes in route. This photographic expedition gives you an opportunity to photographically document their daily lives, capture stunning portraits, and experience some of their timeless ceremonies. This will truly be an experience of a lifetime!
This incredible tour is limited to only 7 participants for a more intimate experience, better group dynamics, and higher quality images. When visiting remote tribal villages, the larger the group becomes, the higher the chance that your subject will be distracted, another photographer will be shooting over you, or another photographer will show up in your background.
Click here to view Pipers 8-page article on the tribes of the Omo in the National Geographic Traveller, September 2014, Poland issue.
ITINERARY
Day 1 Oct 17, 2015
Arrive at Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. You are met by our ground operator and transferred to the Radisson Blu by private vehicle. Enjoy a relaxing evening in a modern, luxury, hotel after your long flight; tomorrow we will bid farewell to the western world and modern luxury.
Overnight at the Radisson Blu
Day 2, Oct 18, 2015
You will rise early in the morning to the smell of Ethiopia’s famous Coffee. Enjoy a wonderful breakfast before meeting in a private conference room for our briefing. During the meeting Piper will present an inspirational slide show of her work on the tribes and share ideas on how to create stunning images of extraordinary subjects. To maximize our time and avoid a very long drive, we will fly to Abra Minch; situated in the Great Rift Valley.
Our drivers will meet our flight and drive us directly to the Dorze people. Well known for their cotton woven cloths and beehive-elephant faced huts, the Dorze tribe were once warriors along side the other tribes. This is a great cultural experience; the perfect way to slowly decompress from modern life and sink into the ambiance and rhythm of this magical place. On the way to our lodge, as the sun begins to descend, we will drive through the streets of Arba Minch, hoping to see the herds of livestock being brought in from the fields.
Overnight at Paradise Lodge –BLD
Day 3-5, Oct 19-21, 2015
This morning we head to the Omo Valley. Your excitement will build as we drive through several village towns on our way to where the Kara Tribe resides along the beautiful Omo River. The Kara excel in face and body painting that is practiced daily in preparation of their dances and ceremonies. They pulverize locally found white chalk, yellow mineral rock, red iron ore and black charcoal to decorate their bodies often mimicking the spotted plumage of a guinea fowl. The men create highly decorated clay hair buns, which can take several days to complete. Their ornate body scaring, where a cut is made with a knife and ash is rubbed into the wound to produce a raised welt, is also a known characteristic of the Kara.
Over the next three days, you will spend quality time with them in their villages going about their daily activates, along the river planting their crops, watching the livestock being herded into the village, and enjoying their traditional tribal dancing in the evening. There will also be plenty of time to create stunning individual or group portraits. We will also visit Kocho village and possibly the village of Labuke.
Dus, the main village of the Kara Tribe, will be our home for the next three nights. We have set up a proper-tented camp along the banks of the Omo River, in a lush forest area, near the village. This will allow you to immerse yourself into their culture and maximize the amount of time you will be able to spend with them. *See below for a description of the tented camp.
Overnight in Dus -Proper mobil camp -BLD
Day 6-8, Oct 22-24, 2015
We will have one final morning with the Kara before biding our farewells and heading on to Turmi, home of the Hammer tribe.
The Hamar women are striking; wearing beautiful colorful beaded skins, ornate necklaces, and metal bangles around their wrist and ankles. Famous for their hairstyle — a crown of long dread-lock braids covered in ocher — the Hamer women are the most decorated of the Omo people. We will arrive in time for a late lunch, get settled in and then have an afternoon visit at a Hamar village.
Turmi will be our home base for the next three nights, which will increase our chances to be invited to a bull jumping ceremony or something else special. This allows us to be flexible and capitalize on all the photographic opportunities in the area. During our stay in Turmi, we will visit the Abore and Dassenech tribes.
Each tribe of the Omo valley has a specific way of dressing and decorating themselves as a way to visually associate themselves with their unique customs and values. Arbore women are well known for their long headdresses. The girls shave their heads to indicate virginity, and only start growing hair after marriage.
The Daasanech are a semi-nomadic tribe numbering approximately 50,000. Their clans stretch across Sudan, Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. They are known for their very unique and ornate hair buns.
Overnight at Buska Lodge- BLDs
Day 9, Oct 25, 2015
We rise early for breakfast and depart on the real adventure! We head to the Omo River, load up our boat and cross the mighty Omo River. We will have our own boat, brought down from Addis, to ensure we have a proper working boat that get us across safely.
We will have a new team of drivers and cars, meeting us on the other side of the river, who will drive us to our new location in Kibish. The west side of the river is still quite remote with no proper accommodations. This keeps most tourists away from this area, having less impact from the western world. Most of the Suri continue to wear their traditional clothing, living as they have for hundreds of year. We are staying in the heart of Suri land and many of them will come and sit in our tented mobil camp. Our camp, rustic but comfortable, is a very short walk to the river’s edge where we will spend a lot of time photographing these beautiful people. When you are able to immerse yourself with a tribe, as we will in kibish, you have fantastic opportunities to create stunning and compelling imagery. The intimate experience is one you will never forget.
Overnight, mobile tented camp in Kibish- BLD
Day 10-12, Oct 26-28, 2015
We have three full days to spend with the Suri. The suri tribe is known to be one of the most beautiful and ornate tribes in the world, thus one of the most desired to photograph. The elaborate body painting and unique flamboyant headpieces, made from nature, truly make them a walking body of art. The women still practice one of the most extreme forms of body adornment in the world- wearing large lip plates. The tribe still practices the art of body scarification created with acacia thorns and razor blades.
The Suri are pastoralist. The men still go off to live in the cattle camps, which are under constant threat as cattle raids are a relentless part of Suri life. The men live their traditional lifestyles drinking the blood and milk of the cow, covering their naked bodies with ash, and giving thanks for their good fortune, in song and dance. We will have an opportunity to visit one of these traditional cattle camps and it was the highlight of the trip for last year’s participants.
We will be shooting in a variety of locations in the area; villages, streams, town, cattle camps, and where ever we see a photographic opportunity.
Overnight, mobile tented camp in Kibish- BLD
Day 13, Oct 29, 2015
If time allows, we will have one last early morning shoot before heading off to Mizan to catch our private charter (there are no commercial flights to this area) back to Addis. This will save us from two very long days of driving over rough dirt roads and one night stay in very local accommodations. We will stay one last night in Addis to have the time to relax from an incredible journey and rest up before our long flights home.
Day 14, Oct 30, 2015
Enjoy sleeping in and have a leisurely breakfast.
Transport to the airport for your flight home.
Suri Tribe, Ethiopia
The Price
The price of this unique photographic expedition is $9,895.00. This price is based on double occupancy.
Single supplement is $950.00 ” if available”. Single accommodations are limited.
Due to the limited number of spaces available, if a solo guest is willing to share and we can match with another guest of the same gender, we will do so. If a solo guest is unwilling to share, then a single supplement will be charged. If we are unable to match a solo guest with another guest of the same gender, then the single supplement will be charged.
What’s Included
- Accommodations
- All the 3 meals of the day with mineral water (except on arrival and departure days)
- Tourist standard 4X4 utility vehicle with air-conditioning
- Entry scout fees, villages fees, and road fees
- National English speaking escort guide and local tribal guides
- Gratuities for local guides
- Water, beer, soda, coffee (wine is not included as it is usually served by the bottle only, premium alcoholic drinks are not included)
- Gratuities for Camp and Lodge staff (outside of Addis)
- Photography fee’s
- Private charter from Mizan to Addis
What’s NOT Included
- International airfare and/or between your home and Addis Abba
- Visas
- Travel Insurance (REQUIRED to participate on this trip)
- Personal purchases (including shopping, spirits, laundry, telephone calls, etc )
- Gratuities for our main guide and drivers
- Optional extra activities not included on the itinerary
- Extra photo fees
- Pre- and Post- expeditions tours
- Meals or accommodations before or after the expedition (except as noted in the detailed itinerary)
- Meals and beverages on the day of arrival, this is considered a travel day
Please Understand
Traveling in remote locations can present challenges that may require slight changes to the itinerary. I put my heart into each and every itinerary and will always try to run the tour as written in the initial itinerary. In the event of situations beyond my control, such as political unrest, natural disasters, overbookings by the lodge, where a change is required, I will do my best to keep us close to the original shooting location. It is my intention for you to have the best possible experience. I will try to notify you of any changes as soon as I am made aware of them. If, however these changes cause an increase to the price, the increase will be passed onto the participant.
Interested in joining us?
The group size for this extraordinary photo tour is limited to just 7 participants. Due to the size of this group and the popularity of the location, this trip could fill quickly.
Due to a recent cancellation there is one spot open. If you are interested in grabbing this spot, please click here to fill out the online registration form. I will then send you instructions for payment. Full payment of $9,895.00 is due at the time of registration