stuartelsom
Well-known member
Wonderful photography as always Dave!
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Another visit to the Smiling Coast. Gambia 2016 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Dave Williams
- Start date
Dave Williams
Well-known member
Thanks Stuart and Happy Christmas to you.
Dave Williams
Well-known member
I have been watching developments in The Gambia with great interest and today's news that Thomas Cook have decided to pull all their customers out is really bad news for the Gambian tourism industry which was still recovering from the Ebola scare a couple of years ago.
Hopefully the current crisis will be settled within days and things return to some form of normality just as quickly.
Don't discount a future birding trip there, it's a great and affordable destination.
Hopefully the current crisis will be settled within days and things return to some form of normality just as quickly.
Don't discount a future birding trip there, it's a great and affordable destination.
claretjohn
Well-known member
I agree with Dave that Gambia should be on your list, not only for the excellent birding but also for a bit of winter sun.
My wife and I have been twice staying at Farankunku lodge, a small, birding friendly establishment run by ex pat Heather and her Gambian partner Moses. Google search for their website.
The lodge is off the beaten track but they will organise guides and provide transport / trips as required. We have not been troubled by touts and have enjoyed strolling the paths nearby without concern.
Heather is involved with local children's charities and we have always taken items with us to support local schools.....again check the website.
The Gambians are lovely, friendly people and cessation of the recent Political unrest should hopely bring back the tourists which they desperately need.
Book today !! ☺����
John
My wife and I have been twice staying at Farankunku lodge, a small, birding friendly establishment run by ex pat Heather and her Gambian partner Moses. Google search for their website.
The lodge is off the beaten track but they will organise guides and provide transport / trips as required. We have not been troubled by touts and have enjoyed strolling the paths nearby without concern.
Heather is involved with local children's charities and we have always taken items with us to support local schools.....again check the website.
The Gambians are lovely, friendly people and cessation of the recent Political unrest should hopely bring back the tourists which they desperately need.
Book today !! ☺����
John
Dave Williams
Well-known member
I stayed in Farankunku in 2015 and have to say , I agree with John, you will be hard pressed to find a nicer, more luxurious spot. Good food, superb rooms of which they only have 4 individual bungalows. They offer a very good birding package which a friend and I took up. My wife Claire came to join us later.
The only negatives are that it is very quiet , there are no real alternatives for eating out and if your fellow guests ( no more than 6) are not of a sociable nature it's quieter still! There is a plunge pool but not a swimming pool but most disappointingly for me and my friend was the lack of an internet connection. The excuse that there is no land line doesn't hold up, you don't need one as I later found out staying in a more isolated spot in Thailand. I passed on what I'd found out to Heather but received no acknowledgement which rather suggests that there isn't any intention of providing one. That's her decision, but for those who want to stay in touch with the outside world it's a frustration. Not everyone does of course, some might see it as a curse when on a get away from it all holiday but the choice isn't yours to decide.
That all said I'd still highly recommend it as a great spot and excellent value birding package. They are well placed for most of the best spots including Kartong, a personal favourite.
You can get a better flavour from my blog here:-http://davewilliamsnaturephotography.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/the-gambia-ticks-all-boxes-introduction.html
The only negatives are that it is very quiet , there are no real alternatives for eating out and if your fellow guests ( no more than 6) are not of a sociable nature it's quieter still! There is a plunge pool but not a swimming pool but most disappointingly for me and my friend was the lack of an internet connection. The excuse that there is no land line doesn't hold up, you don't need one as I later found out staying in a more isolated spot in Thailand. I passed on what I'd found out to Heather but received no acknowledgement which rather suggests that there isn't any intention of providing one. That's her decision, but for those who want to stay in touch with the outside world it's a frustration. Not everyone does of course, some might see it as a curse when on a get away from it all holiday but the choice isn't yours to decide.
That all said I'd still highly recommend it as a great spot and excellent value birding package. They are well placed for most of the best spots including Kartong, a personal favourite.
You can get a better flavour from my blog here:-http://davewilliamsnaturephotography.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/the-gambia-ticks-all-boxes-introduction.html
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
I'll never forget my visit in 2003 for the fact that the Dalasi had just been devalued, cut in half. The guides soon realised that they could award themselves a 100% pay rise by doubling their fees which they all did immediately!
We were also in a car crash so forgive me if birds aren't the first memory!!!
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We were also in a car crash so forgive me if birds aren't the first memory!!!
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Dave Williams
Well-known member
For all my criticism of the guides pricing in The Gambia, it appears to be equally bad in other parts of the world too. It's us the customer who decide and the more of us that agree to the demands the more the prices go up.
You have to remember that for these people it is the main source of income and in places where the season is short they have limited time to earn their money. Recent events in TG have shown though that those days sat idle when they could have taken lesser pay days have come back to bite them as there are few punters about at all now.
Slightly off TG, what I do find even more surprising is on web sites like Birding Pal ( is it still used?) you are meant to be able to contact a "like minded birder" and to quote their website:-
"A Birding Pal does not charge a fee, however you should pay for their expenses, transportation costs, entrance fees, meals, etc. "
The one I contacted in Barbados took a day off work on the ruse of working from home, took me and a friend on a trip of no more than a few dozen miles.We paid for lunch and drinks stops as well as donating to the reserve he took us to. His "expenses" claimed $180. Nice little side line at his employer's expense!
You have to remember that for these people it is the main source of income and in places where the season is short they have limited time to earn their money. Recent events in TG have shown though that those days sat idle when they could have taken lesser pay days have come back to bite them as there are few punters about at all now.
Slightly off TG, what I do find even more surprising is on web sites like Birding Pal ( is it still used?) you are meant to be able to contact a "like minded birder" and to quote their website:-
"A Birding Pal does not charge a fee, however you should pay for their expenses, transportation costs, entrance fees, meals, etc. "
The one I contacted in Barbados took a day off work on the ruse of working from home, took me and a friend on a trip of no more than a few dozen miles.We paid for lunch and drinks stops as well as donating to the reserve he took us to. His "expenses" claimed $180. Nice little side line at his employer's expense!
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Re Birding Pal, there are few, if any, guides who will just take you out with no charge for the fun of it.
The site is full of full time guides.
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The site is full of full time guides.
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Dave Williams
Well-known member
So it seems Andy, some though are not full time guides and you do wonder what special knowledge they may or may not have. I could easily pose as a guide in my locality and a foreigner would probably be delighted with the places I could take them to. Food for thought!
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
I'd personally be embarassed to charge anyone $180 'expenses' for a days guiding. I'd be happy with lunch and a beer which was the founding principle of the site I think but it's been usurped for financial gain.
In many places, the locals have become aware of what people pay for tours and have aligned their charges to mirror this. This has the effect of hitting the less finacially well endowed when they take guides on a casual basis. After all, many (not all) only do indepenent trips because they can't afford tour prices.
For those of us of modest means, it's becoming harder and harder to afford trips and some destinations are already way out of my league sadly.
Perhaps it's time 'Birding Pal' was renamed?
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Dave Williams
Well-known member
Agreed!
Which goes back to my original comment that it's down to us, the individual, to decide what we are prepared to pay be it for local guides, guided trips and holidays or even paying for ready made photographic hides.
I guess we are all guilty to a greater or lesser extent of wanting to take short cuts to maximise opportunities when time is limited wether it be in the total organisation of a trip or the activity when you get there.
You pay your money and hopefully it's worthwhile.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Dave Williams
Well-known member
But there is always D.I.Y to fall back on so nobody looses really.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
True, I'll generally only use a guide for expert knowledge of a species that I'll really struggle to find alone e.g Herero Chat when we were in Namibia.
We spent several hours in suitable habitat with not a sniff until I paid a guy a very reasonable sum and within ten minutes we were watching a pair. We could have walked around Spitzkoppe all day and never found any.
If he'd wanted $100 I wouldn't have seen one but we paid him what he asked and he quite literally went back to bed!
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Dave Williams
Well-known member
Interesting as that's where I'm off next and so far everything is DIY !
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
If you struggle, ask for Franz, polite, cheap and on site somewhere.
We only used him for the Chat so can't speak to his greater abilities.
Here's our report, it's an amazing Country.
http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=2139
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Dave Williams
Well-known member
Interesting report Andy ( especially the scorpion experience he says to wife and self to take note), I'm not attempting huge lists, concentrating on photography and in 3 weeks or so still covering only a small proportion of your trip, all solely within Namibia. I'll post a report in due.
An interesting thing of note is that 5 years on and despite Brexit, the exchange rate is considerably better than you enjoyed. Almost touched 17R to the £1 today although a year ago it was nearer 24. National park entry fees haven't gone up either !
An interesting thing of note is that 5 years on and despite Brexit, the exchange rate is considerably better than you enjoyed. Almost touched 17R to the £1 today although a year ago it was nearer 24. National park entry fees haven't gone up either !
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Yes, we've been back to SA since and it's definitely one of the more affordable places right now.
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redeyedvideo
It's like water off a duck's back!
Late coming into this thread but a great read of your blog Dave. I've been badly let down by a company in The Gambia so I'm having to re-plan at a late stage and your reports on Tendaba etc. have been most welcome, thanks.
p.s. I thought your Wryneck deserved it!
p.s. I thought your Wryneck deserved it!
Dave Williams
Well-known member
Kind of you to say so on both counts Dave. If you want contact details of the guide who is excellent let me know, highly recommend Georgetown too although I'm not sure what is about later in the season.
