We leave Sabana Lodge (regretfully) early the next day to head for Arba Minch. On the way, we have a lunch stop at Soddo while our driver fills up with fuel. We have one of the best macciatos so far in Ethopia, and then press on. It is market day, so the streets are quite chaotic.

On the way, we do a short diversion to the Dorzey village and the Chencha village. Dorzey is probably one to miss, but was vaguely interesting to take a walk through. We leave there and stop for a while in Chencha village. A little girl - about six or seven, introduced herself as "Hanna" and attached herself to us. The deal is that you pay to take photos - but she wasn't the least bit pushy. She just followed us around, and towards the end, reached up an took hold of my little finger. Of course, everybody goes "ahhhh... how sweet" so of course we had to take a photo (for the princely sum of 50 cents).

We drive back down the hill to continue to Arba Minch, and stop half way down for some spectacular views of the Rift Valley lakes. From there we head to our night's stop at Paradise Lodge, from where you can see two separate Rift Valley lakes.

When we arrive, there is considerable congestion in the car park - a number of brand new white Toyota Land Cruisers are disgorging their cargo, and we have to wait to get to reception. We check in to our hut, which is large and comfortable. On the way to the hut, we notice a large and well-appointed restaurant, so get flashed up for dinner.

Heading back to the restaurant, we notice several plastic bins filled with ice-water and bottles of white wine and champagne. "This should be good," I comment. However, when we get to the front desk, we get the news. The restaurant is fully booked for an International Aid Agencies conference - the wine and everything else is for them. But they have set up tables in the paddock for the fare-paying passengers, and we sit out there and listen to the large group of NGOs partying away into the night.

We marvel at how easily they are able to spend all the donation money that is collected in first-world countries on entertaining themselves so lavishly at very well-appointed facilites in exotic locations.

I'd hate to think that these aid agencies were wasting the money on things like feeding starving children or building schools or improving public health or anything useless like that.