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From the roof of Africa
Clive Nicol was hired by the Imperial Ethiopian Government and sent into the remote, breathtakingly beautiful, primitively feudal Simien highlands of Ethiopia to found a national park and while he was about it, to save from extinction a rare and endangered beast, the Walia ibex. For two incredible years he tried to cope with his monumental assignment amongst the proud and fierce hill tribesmen whose society was as ancient as the Old Testament, and for whom the 'conservation' desired by Addis Ababa meant only an abridgement of time-honoured freedom to hunt what they chose, to farm anywhere and everywhere. This is how Nicol persevered, fascinated by the challenge. Each day brought new threats to the creation of the park - violence, bribery, the involved politics of the high hills and the rising anger of the tribesmen, who resented their land being taken by the government to make a place for the animals.
16 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
About the author
C.W. Nicol
21 books9 followersC.W. Nicol was born in Neath, Wales, and from a young age expressed an interest in wildlife and the environment.
In 1958 he visited the Arctic Circle to research Eider Duck for McGill University, taking up Canadian citizenship. By the early 1960s he was studying karate at JKA, and soon thereafter began to study Japanese at Nihon University.
He then spent two years (1967 to 1969) as a game warden in Ethiopia, setting up the new Semien Mountains National Park for the Ethiopian Government. He returned to Japan, writing a book about his Ethiopian experiences: From the Roof of Africa (1971, ISBN 0-340-14755-5).
Since taking up residence in Japan he has written many books and other literary works. In 1980 he won the Japan Broadcasting Writer's Award for a television drama written in Japanese. He continued to be an active environmentalist, and to this day he travels in Japan and elsewhere giving talks and lectures about the environment, addressing issues such as deforestation and the preservation of natural environments. He is particularly interested in restoring Japan's vast woodlands, and due to these and other endeavours he is well known in Japan.
He now holds Japanese citizenship, which he wrote about in the book Boku ga Nihonjin ni natta riyū ("Why I became Japanese") and he owns a plot of forest land in Japan where he lives.
He has written both fiction and non-fiction books. His books are written in English and translated into Japanese by others. His books include books about whaling (for which he went on a trip on a whaling vessel), books about the environment, and also children's fiction. His book are all published in Japanese but several are also published in English.
In 2005, he was awarded an MBE.
In 1958 he visited the Arctic Circle to research Eider Duck for McGill University, taking up Canadian citizenship. By the early 1960s he was studying karate at JKA, and soon thereafter began to study Japanese at Nihon University.
He then spent two years (1967 to 1969) as a game warden in Ethiopia, setting up the new Semien Mountains National Park for the Ethiopian Government. He returned to Japan, writing a book about his Ethiopian experiences: From the Roof of Africa (1971, ISBN 0-340-14755-5).
Since taking up residence in Japan he has written many books and other literary works. In 1980 he won the Japan Broadcasting Writer's Award for a television drama written in Japanese. He continued to be an active environmentalist, and to this day he travels in Japan and elsewhere giving talks and lectures about the environment, addressing issues such as deforestation and the preservation of natural environments. He is particularly interested in restoring Japan's vast woodlands, and due to these and other endeavours he is well known in Japan.
He now holds Japanese citizenship, which he wrote about in the book Boku ga Nihonjin ni natta riyū ("Why I became Japanese") and he owns a plot of forest land in Japan where he lives.
He has written both fiction and non-fiction books. His books are written in English and translated into Japanese by others. His books include books about whaling (for which he went on a trip on a whaling vessel), books about the environment, and also children's fiction. His book are all published in Japanese but several are also published in English.
In 2005, he was awarded an MBE.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
February 20, 2026
In 1967 Welshman Clive Nichol was employed by the Imperial Ethiopian Government as a Game Warden, to establish the newly planned Simien National Park. The phrase 'newly planned' is important in the context of his two years from October 1967 to October 1969. The planned National Park passed into law only after Nichol had resigned and left, but that is the end of the book, and I have jumped ahead.
Ethiopia was late to the National Park party - the last country below the Sahara to establish them. The primary reason the Semien National Park was formed was to protect the Walia ibex (Capra walie)and its habitat. Walia exist only in the Semien area, and at the time Nichol arrived were under significant threat from habitat loss due to the farmers in the area cutting down and burning trees to attempt to gain arable land. Added to this is the poaching of Walia, and also the Simien Fox (also called Ethiopian wolf, Canis simensis), as well as the general corruption in Ethiopia, Nichol had plenty to deal with.
Nichol writes an honest account of his time and dealings with people, his joys and challenges. He shares a lot of his troubles, his thoughts, his frustrations. He seems an interesting character, and before his appointment in Ethiopia, Nichol was working in Canada above the Arctic Circle researching ducks. His wife is Japanese - he and their two children join Nichol in Ethiopia, but only once he has built a house for them to live in - they also leave when one of their children falls sick and the reality of the isolation in which they live becomes apparent. Nichol is also trained in karate and maintains a high level of fitness. On occasion Nichol did come across as lacking a bit of the self control that is supposed to be a part of being highly trained in Karate.
There was plenty to like about this book, although it stopped a little short of 5 stars for me due to some repetition (although to be fair many of the problems he was dealing with were repetitive and frustrating, so it isn't such a surprise this came through in the book).
4.5 stars, rounded up.
post script - I was initially pleased to see when I looked at Wikipedia to see images of the Walia ibex that it had not gone extinct since the book was written, but had in fact stablised (status vulnerable). Nichol considered there could have been as few as 150 Walia left when he was in the park. I see that Wikipedia has a figure of 200 to 250 at its lowest point (1990s), but is non-committal about current numbers. Another source suggests they reached 800 in 2015, but has since declined to 300. I suppose I celebrate the fact the Walia is not yet extinct, but I have limited faith in humans in these situations.
Ethiopia was late to the National Park party - the last country below the Sahara to establish them. The primary reason the Semien National Park was formed was to protect the Walia ibex (Capra walie)and its habitat. Walia exist only in the Semien area, and at the time Nichol arrived were under significant threat from habitat loss due to the farmers in the area cutting down and burning trees to attempt to gain arable land. Added to this is the poaching of Walia, and also the Simien Fox (also called Ethiopian wolf, Canis simensis), as well as the general corruption in Ethiopia, Nichol had plenty to deal with.
Nichol writes an honest account of his time and dealings with people, his joys and challenges. He shares a lot of his troubles, his thoughts, his frustrations. He seems an interesting character, and before his appointment in Ethiopia, Nichol was working in Canada above the Arctic Circle researching ducks. His wife is Japanese - he and their two children join Nichol in Ethiopia, but only once he has built a house for them to live in - they also leave when one of their children falls sick and the reality of the isolation in which they live becomes apparent. Nichol is also trained in karate and maintains a high level of fitness. On occasion Nichol did come across as lacking a bit of the self control that is supposed to be a part of being highly trained in Karate.
There was plenty to like about this book, although it stopped a little short of 5 stars for me due to some repetition (although to be fair many of the problems he was dealing with were repetitive and frustrating, so it isn't such a surprise this came through in the book).
4.5 stars, rounded up.
post script - I was initially pleased to see when I looked at Wikipedia to see images of the Walia ibex that it had not gone extinct since the book was written, but had in fact stablised (status vulnerable). Nichol considered there could have been as few as 150 Walia left when he was in the park. I see that Wikipedia has a figure of 200 to 250 at its lowest point (1990s), but is non-committal about current numbers. Another source suggests they reached 800 in 2015, but has since declined to 300. I suppose I celebrate the fact the Walia is not yet extinct, but I have limited faith in humans in these situations.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review