Gambia; practical help (1 Viewer)

My girlfriend and myself are lucky enough to be headed off to the Gambia for 2 weeks next month :king:

In the past a few BF members have recommended individual guides to hook up with but I would be interested to know people's opinions on what is the best way of arranging a guide??

Should I arrange EVERYTHING before i go out there (prices, upriver trips etc.)? I am guessing this is probably the least stressful but most expensive way of doing things, and i'm not really rich enough to be able to erase stress from my holidays....

Or arrange say the first day of birding before i get there then see how things go (i.e. if i get on with the guide) and playing it by ear?

Or should i just take the plunge and head out of the hotel complex and employ the first guide to spot my binocs??

Also, what are reasonable ballpark figures for guiding fees for two people for e.g. half a day very local to the hotels, or a full day round western gambia??

Finally, with regards to money, given that we hope to do a 2-3 night trip upriver and will therefore be spending a fair amount when we're there, what is the best way of taking money. All cash?? In which case would the guides accept ££ or only dalasi? Or are there cash machines in the hotel areas? how about traveller's cheques, are they much use??

Anyway, I'll be happy if i get decent answers to even half all those questions!!



cheers,
James

Hi James,
We always only take sterling cash as it's easy to change in the tourist areas. The coastal hotels all tend to have safes making it easy to store the cash. Most, if not all guides will take sterling & seem to get it exchanged to dalasi at better rates than offered to tourists.
With respect to guides I would avoid the pot-luck option of adopting the first guy with bins. There are a few websites which might help you in choosing a guide:

www.gambiabirds.org/Gambian Bird Guides.htm -lists most of the best guides & gives a rough idea of pricing (though most bird guides will try to push you to higher rates).

www.gambiabirding.org/guides.html

I should mention that until recently all reputable Gambian bird guides were members of WABSA -an organisation that ensured good levels of competence through self-governance. Unfortunately there was alleged misappropriation of donated funds to WABSA involving certain members of its hierachy & the organisation split with a new splinter group being formed. This new group, though still in its infancy includes some of the best & most trustworthy guides in The Gambia.

Your best bet is to use a guide who has been recommended by other birders -especially if you plan to go upriver as an inland trip always has the potential of becoming a nightmare. For my own part I would thoroughly recommend my good friend Modou Colley: www.gambianbirds.com
-Modou's website is worth checking out. All the images in his gallery were taken on trips guided by him (over 19 days in the field in march & november 2005). Modou is not the cheapest guide but neither is he expensive. He is good-humoured, honest & reliable. He is also easy to contact via Email & mobile phone texting.


An upriver trip is probably best done over 4 nights:-
day 1: coast to Tendaba taking in Pirang, Kampanti, etc on-route with overnight spent at Tendaba camp.
day 2: Tendaba-> Farafenni ferry-> North bank-> Ka-ur wetlands for Egyptian Plover & lots of other goodies -> Georgetown staying overnight at Baobaolong camp (Bird Safari camp has apparently closed down).
day 3: Drive from BB camp to Bansang quarry for Red-throated Bee-eaters then onto Basse for N. Carmine Bee-eaters & other goodies at Prufu swamp.Overnight at BB. camp.
day 4: Organise a morning boat-trip on the freshwater section of The river Gambia -if possible try to get down as far as the river Gambia National park/Kai-Hai islands as this area is stunning & holds good numbers of waterbirds, African Fish-eagle, Finfoot, nesting colonies of Marabou, White-backed & Rupell's Griffon and of course hippos. Then return to Tendaba by northbank via Ka-ur & Farafenni spending the night at Tendaba.
day 5: Take a morning pirogue trip to Kissi/Tunku bolongs across the river from Tendaba for possible Finfoot, Goliath heron, Yellow-billed & Woolly-necked storks, various kingfishers & White-backed Night-heron. Then head back to the coast via a short visit to Kiang west NP looking for Abyssinian Ground-hornbill, Bateleur & other raptors.

A few points about inland travel. If possible try to avoid doing your trip as a 3 day/2 night affair since you will then be spending much of your time travelling & will miss out on some of the best birding sites. Both Tendaba & Baobolong camps are pretty basic & will not impress the girlfriend too much -so make sure you get VIP rooms booked as they are slightly better with good mosquito nets (falciparum Malaria is rife in the early dry season & often fatal to non-locals; better taking malarone as a prophylactic-it's the dearest but also the best, & avoid as many mozzy bites as possible). I've never stayed at Baobolong camp (stayed at Bird Safari camp) but I gather the food is ok -as is the food at Tendaba.
The road from the coast to Tendaba is hell -it is a rutted, pot-holed, dusty track that seems to go on forever but is bearable on the inland trip as the birding is good, the scenery new to you & the novelty hasn't worn off. The return trip is dire & seems to take forever but at least the promise of a refreshing shower & a good meal lies at the end!
All of that said an upriver trip with a good guide will give you some of the best birding in Africa. The Tendaba creek trip & a boat trip to the Kai-Hai islands is not to be missed if at all possible -the latter was especially stunning with huge Gallery forest trees overhanging the river's edge most holding monkeys or good birds such as Fish-eagles, Palm-nut vultures or perched Spur-winged geese.

Cheers Steve,
there's a lot of great info there!! I was thinking more along the lines of 3 nights for the upriver trip (so a bit of a compromise) - would guess we would have to cut out Basse. Whatever happens, i'm sure we'll have a great time.
Thanks,
James

James Lowther said:

Cheers Steve,
there's a lot of great info there!! I was thinking more along the lines of 3 nights for the upriver trip (so a bit of a compromise) - would guess we would have to cut out Basse. Whatever happens, i'm sure we'll have a great time.
Thanks,
James

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James,
Whatever the number of nights you choose on the inland trip it is definitely worthwhile planning ahead. Over 4 days/3 nights it might be best to cross from Banjul to Barra on the first ferry of the day then 'hare up' the north bank road straight to Baobolong camp spending 2 nights there before returning via Farafenni ferry for an overnight at Tendaba.
It all depends on what you most want to see.
Which birds are on your must see list?

Hi Steve,
my must see list?? Well, out of respect for my girlfriend that should include mostly charismatic species!! The boat trips from tendaba and georgetown sound great, and i'd like to do bansang quarry, cos of the bee-eaters, and also i believe paradise whydahs are a speciality? Otherwise, egyptian plover (ka-ur/basse), crowned crane (pirang - not sure if they're even possible any more?), ground hornbill (kiang west?) and carmine bee-eater (basse) would all be nice but it doesn't seem practical to aim for all of those from what i can gather? So for practical purposes i'd have to axe a couple of those... my aim would be to try not to force the pace too much so basse might just be too far.. any suggestions??
James

James,
let me consult the oracle this evening to get an idea of the current situation on the ground.
In november 2005 we had both Red-throated & Carmine bee-eaters on the north bank road just east of Kuntaur. The north bank road has been recently re-vamped & work is still proceeding. A small sand quarry dug to service the road at Wassu held a small mixed colony of Red-throated & a few Northern Carmine Bee-eaters. If they are still there then you can drop the trip to Basse & possibly also Bansang (though this is worth a visit). The freshwater boat trip from Georgetown to the Kai-Hai islands is stunningly beautiful & is your best chance of the elusive African Finfoot but you would need to try & arrange this in advance as in november various bird tour groups such as Limosa, Birdseekers, Birdfinders,etc tend to block-book the best rooms/boats.

Ok steve,
thanks for being so helpful!!
As no-one else seems to have joined in maybe we should continue this discussion via PM??
Thanks again,
James

James

I can understand that James, but I found it interesting what Steve had to say. I am planning to go to The Gambia in January. So when you do return from your trip can you let know how you got on and the guiding.

Robert

Robert,
I appreciate what you're saying, but thought as the convesation got mired further in the nitty gritty of my personal trip it would be less and less interesting to other people. All i can say is that Steve obviously knows the score extremely well and has been remarkably helpful, so I would go to him before me, but of course i would be extremely happy to answer any of your questions in the future!!
Cheers,
James

Hi Robert,
I'm no Gambia guru but I have been there a few times & would be happy to help out in any way I can. If you have any specific queries then please feel free to ask.

Steve G said:

Hi Robert,
I'm no Gambia guru but I have been there a few times & would be happy to help out in any way I can. If you have any specific queries then please feel free to ask.

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Hello, :hi:
sorry for intruding, but, although I've never been there - sigh - I think this link here may prove useful .. many great photographers in it, among them our Nigel Blake

thanks Max,
no need to apologise!!!

James

James Lowther said:

Ok steve,
thanks for being so helpful!!
As no-one else seems to have joined in maybe we should continue this discussion via PM??
Thanks again,
James

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Please keep it 'open', I've just found it.

My non-birding girlfriend and I will be staying at the Atlantic Hotel during the third week in November and I'm planning a few trips myself taking in Abuko & possibly Yundum if the melon fields have been cleared for Temmink's Courser.

On a previous trip led by [email protected] with the Northants Bird Club we managed to see Egyptian Plover & Northern Carmine Bee-eater without going as far as Basse.

Thanks for the links Steve G, when are you going James?


Dave J

Hi Dave,
I'll be there for two weeks starting the 14th Nov, staying at the senegambia, so might bump in to each other.
If Steve doesn't mind i'll post some of the great info in his PMs later.
James

James Lowther said:

Hi Dave,
I'll be there for two weeks starting the 14th Nov, staying at the senegambia, so might bump in to each other.
If Steve doesn't mind i'll post some of the great info in his PMs later.
James

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You can't miss me, I'll be carrying a video camera & tripod everywhere. I'd be interested to hear what you will have seen as long as it doesn't include Finfoot

I'm planning to visit Senegambia Hotel gardens for the tame Gonoleks, cracking birds. Blue-bellied Roller is one of my favourite Gambian birds 'tho, photos just don't do them justice.


Dave J

some of the stuff Steve's been kind enough to send by PM

"like most guides, does a 3 night trip comprising of early crossing Banjul-Barra ferry (welcome to the real Africa!), then a drive up the 'relatively' fast north bank road to Janjangbureh Island(Georgetown) for 2 nights at Baobolong camp returning west on day 3 to cross over to the south bank road at Farafenni with an overnight at Tendaba. This should allow a visit to all the important upriver sites & give time for a Tendaba creek crawl & a freshwater boat trip from Georgetown."

"stress that you want the river trip from Baobolong & try to make sure they go down to Kai-Hai islands -as the best birding is here & you might even see chimps (3rd generation wild after a reintroduction programme) as well as hippo. The river Gambia national park (Baboon/Kai-Hai islands) is stunning & packed with birds -the breeding season will be over but there will be lots of young Egrets (including Black), herons, Darters, etc about as well as raptors & hopefully Finfoot.

The northbank road drives through Ka-ur wetlands & so you will get 2 visits -on the inland trip & then again on the return west (it lies about 90 minutes east of the Farafenni ferry). There are also numerous small waterholes on this road which in november will hold the incredible 'Exclamatory Paradise Wydah' -with males in full breeding plumage.

Bansang quarry only needs a single visit (60-90 minutes is enough) as the Red-throated Bee-eaters are always there. If you manage to get Northern Carmine Bee-eaters on the road (the section just west of Georgetown) then a visit to Basse won't be necessary. At Baobolong camp one of the co-owners (Lawrence Bangura ) usually has some good knowledge of roosting owls such as Verreaux's Eagle Owl, African Scops,etc but there may be a small charge for an evening guided walk (Four-banded Sandgrouse, Long-tailed & Standard-winged Nightjars are also quite likely). Occasionall Pel's fishing Owl is seen but this is a very rare bird. The scrub & woodland around BB camp holds a lot of goodies such as Bruce's Fruit Pigeon, Grey-headed Bush-Shrike (a cracking bird) & Greater Honeyguide."

and some more

"The Gambian birding group website holds a huge amount of info on birding in the Gambia see:

www.gambiabirding.org/

Don't know what other advice to give you. Take simple toiletries with you to The Gambia as they are hard to find there & take some bog roll for the upriver journey. It's also worth taking loperamide & sachets of rehydration salts in case of diarrhoea (hopefully won't be needed but adding a rehydrate sachet to bottled water is useful for birding in the heat of the day).
Tendaba camp has a good range of alcohol & soft drinks. The food here is basic but good -though stick to cooked foods rather than salads. Tendaba is a feel good place which though fairly basic is nontheless enjoyable. I don't know anything about Baobolong camp but I gather it's comparable to Tendaba & since it's used by Limosa & other birding tour companies it must be quite reasonable.
Which hotel are you planning to stay at?
If you are taking digital camera/camcorder,etc you may also need to take a european-style socket adapter as some of the hotels use the 2 prong socket rather than the UK style. Some travellers also take plug-in anti-mosquito vaporisers which may not be a bad idea upcountry as long as the power stays on!
Restaurants in the coastal area are a bit of a revelation being surprisingly good. Try Tao in Kololi (Senegambia strip) for chinese/Thai & the Clay Oven at Cape point for a good Indian meal. Green tourist taxis are readily available & cheap by UK standards -the driver will often wait for you ( £1-£2 per hour) -but always agree the fair in advance! If possible use a taxi driver that is recommended to you by the other guests. Another good & quite cheap place to eat is Bodega Casa Fernando in the Kairaba hotel -Med. style food, steaks & fish dishes -if you get a chance try 'ladyfish'.
A brief mention should also be made of the local amber nectar (not palm wine -that's only fit for biodiesel!) Julbrew -cold Julbrew is a very palatable & welcome beverage on a hot sunny day; I quickly became very fond of the stuff complete with the Woodland Kingfisher on the label.

With regards to birding on the coast Abuko is a must -try 2 visits, the first with a guide & the 2nd via taxi. Mandina Ba-> Pirang-> Faraba Banta is also a good trip but leave this till after your upriver trip as if you get Hadada Ibis upriver (likely) then you could bypass Mandina Ba & head straight for Pirang. Brufut forest is also a must followed by a trip to Tanji beach for terns & possibly Kelp Gull & White-fronted Plover. Tell your guide that you also want to see Temminck's Courser as there is a site for this near Tanji whilst the rare & fabulous Bronze-winged Courser can be seen at nearby Tujering (few guides know of or visit this fabulous site). Kotu creek & it's environs is a must as well but there are lots of little hidden areas which the better guides will know (eg Badala park hotel ponds which hold Painted Snipe). Marrakissa is another great birding site which can be somewhat variable -at times it can be quiet but on other occasions it has rarities like Spotted Honeyguide, White-breasted & Red-shouldered Cuckoo-Shrikes. Finally if time allows the degraded savannah woodland at Yundum is worth a visit & of course the gardens of the Senegambia hotel -with a visit to the nearby Bijilo forest (you get a lot of bumster hassle when walking from Senegambia to Bijilo -everyone has a sick baby/ needs money for school fees/can guide you to see owls/ can take you to a good restaurant/will sell you peanuts for the monkeys(dearest nuts in the world -but you can't go to see the monkeys without them- don't be tempted as they'll take the fingers off you!!)). If time allows consider one of the formal tourist tours -the school visit can be a real eye-opener & then there's the roots trip -good fun, gross in its commercialism & yet you can get an idea of the true horrors of slavery & people-trafficking ( oh & we saw Pom. Skuas & White-winged Black terns whilst on the boat trip)."

"There is a brilliant place called Makasutu which holds lots of birds (we got Finfoot, White-backed Night-Heron, Mouse-brown & Green-headed Sunbird there & even saw Martial Eagle from the swimming pool). Makasutu contains very expensive lodges -you can't bird around these unless you stay, but they also have areas for day visitors & have recently built a nearby 'budget' camp -called Joyea which is not yet fully open. I believe it is now possible to do creek trips from Joyea camp -it might be worth while making enquiries (try asking at the Gambia Experience office adjacent to the Senegambia). Most of the local guides are reluctant to use Makasutu as an additional entry fee has to be paid for day visitors & this is not cheap by gambian standards but the area is great. Check out the Makasutu birdlist on the Gambian birding website."

James

James, I used 'accredited' guides for almost the whole trip(3 weeks). For most of the main bird and general info, the Guide Books are well referenced (I am not at home in UK otherwise I would site them) Karamba Touray (Dr OWL) is an excellent guide for abuko, lamin lodge etc(only species I missed was the flufftail) - I can give you his e-mail if you like. I don't reccomend hiring a car. Almost the same price for karamba and his jeep. I spent approx 14 days in senegambia, 7 days up-river (tendaba, georgetown, basse) and 7 days at Tanji. Tanji is a cheap but nice location.
the other main guide I used was Lamin sidibeh but he was fairly expensive.
I found 80% of the species in the first week within range of the senegambia.
The southern road to basse was REALLY rough when I went but there are a few specialties. A coastal area south of tanji (not well documented) was also good. Yundum area is also good for a few specialties.
there are apparently a few pairs of spotted honeyguide at marakissa. Their call is very distinctive.
there is some confusion between guides regarding the common names of cisticolas so I found it easier just to use the latin.
For the harder target species (particularly resident)you are welcome to send me a private e-mail, I might be able to help

Good luck and good birding

Cheers for that Mike!!!

James

Thanks for all the info above, I've booked for the 17th November for a week and there's some useful reading in the posts.

Just to add that I'll be taking a few small toys & maybe some smarties or raisins for the kids but I'll have to be careful how I hand them out in case I lose a few fingers in the process. I once wandered out of Tendaba camp on my own while the rest of the group were having a siesta & found the kids to be generally well behaved & stayed back while I videoed a flock of vultures. They were more concerned about me getting thorns in my bare feet than trying to extort money or sponsorship from me.

It's rather humbling to see the pleasure of the kids receiving gifts while my boys will spend £30 on an X-Box game and think nothing of it. It's been 6 years since I gave away a silk shirt to a local farmer, wonder if he's still wearing it?


Dave J