In part three of my report I thought it might help prospective visitors in their decision as to whether The Gambia might appeal. Let's face it from a birding prospective you can't go wrong with as many as 576 different species having been recorded there in the past.At the right time of year, which for those of us who are European means escaping winter, it's a perfect mix of both West African and over wintering Western Palearctic species.
So how do you decide where to go, who to go with and in what mode ?
You can spend a small fortune or you can go on a budget. You can choose an escorted tour or you can take the cheapest package and DIY everything.
On my most recent trip I paid the princely sum of £1056 for 2 weeks B&B ( Thomas Cook holidays) for two people.Wife Claire and myself. Claire isn't very interested in bird watching and why should she be. She's happy enjoying the sun and a good book. The hotel we use has long been a base for the renowned BBC presenter Chris Packham's escorted tours although he only stays there for a few nights nowadays preferring to base himself on the more isolated ( and expensive) Mandina Lodges.
Let's look first at accommodation.
The two main tourist areas are based around Kololi and Kotu on the coast. Over the last 10 years or so I have witnessed that there is more and more development between the two and eventually I expect them to be one big resort but that is a long way off at the moment. The good news is that there are more quality hotels being built for those that want them, standards are being raised but development comes at a cost. The Senegambia Hotel was once THE birding hotel and some tours still base themselves there which is in my mind a huge mistake. I stayed for a couple of nights a few years ago. It's a big noisy hotel, the once bird rich gardens are no longer so and the nearby Bijilo nature reserve has been largely destroyed to build a huge conference centre. It's not for me but others might disagree. The advantage of Kololi is the number of alternative bars and restaurants to choose compared to say Kotu, but it comes at a price in as much as I personally think the whole area is tacky. Again, my subjective view. The Kairaba hotel on the other hand is right next door and it comes with an excellent reputation though I have no first hand experience other than a wander in their garden.
Kotu on the other hand gives you access to far more undeveloped land without the need for transport even. The creek cannot be developed for obvious reasons but there is evidence that some of the adjoining land, particularly that next to the sea which is being built on, could be lost in the future as it's being fenced off and cultivated. Even the local sewerage plant has undergone an amazing change. Once a disgusting health hazard to humans but a magnet to birds it now looks more like a series of boating lakes almost inviting enough to take a swim in. ( I didn't go too close!!)
Away from the coast there are various options to stay, Mandina Lodges is just one example. I have stayed at the delightful Farakunku Lodges too... but they both have one thing in common. Isolation, which in turn means that your choices are extremely limited, non existent even when it comes to eating in different places locally. Maybe that's maybe fine, you can only judge when you have tried it. Despite the more luxurious surrounds I personally prefer the ability to choose different surrounds with ease.
If you venture further inland and take a trip up river I am afraid that as far as I'm aware you will be roughing it no matter how much you have paid for your trip. Accomodation is very basic to say the least but for an ardent birder the sacrifice is worthwhile but not one I would shell out unnecessary payment for either.
So let's get on to price and what do you get for your money! Oh, and why do people pay it too?
The standard of accommodation is the obvious one but it's not always the reason that the trip was chosen. I was sat by the restaurant area waiting for an early pick up to go out on a trip when a newly arrived guest , spotting my camera gear, came and introduced himself as a fellow wildlife photographer ( I don't elevate myself to that level, sounds too professional!) He told me he had a big lens too but had left it at home from a safety issue. Instead he'd brought a smaller more discreet lens that could be hidden from view.
His first question was "is it safe?"
My response "absolutely!"
I have never felt in any way threatened from a safety point of view.
I ascertained he had pre booked his trip before leaving the UK. His package holiday was with tour operator "Gambia Experience" and they now handle Chris Packham's tours too as an add on. You can see what they cost if you choose to investigate and they are not cheap. What do you get? In this instance the opportunity to rub shoulders with a celebrity if that's your thing. The guy I was talking to though had missed that tour instead was just using Mr Packham's recommended guide. I estimate that there is at least a 25% surcharge over the going rate for these trips but there you go. Ignorance is bliss.
You can book a specialist guided trip which again will cost you say £2500 pp for a shorter trip than the one we were taking recently at 20% of that price but without the organised daily trips. Guides are widely available, in fact there is a surplus of good guides and they are all desperate for your business too, when you arrive. I personally don't want to pay for a tour escort who in turn hires one of these guides anyway. Not only that I won't be in a large group either so I can dictate where I want to go and how long I stay for. To make things less expensive I can find someone to share a trip with, perhaps someone I have already met and spoken to and won't be surprised when they are on my trip. I estimate that if I had taken a personal guide for all 14 days of my stay I would have paid no more than £2500 plus the cost of evening meals that the tours do tend to include but that would have been for two people not one.
One of the biggest disadvantages of these specialist trips is that if you happen to have a disinterested partner you still pay the full amount to take her along ( point me in the right direction if I'm wrong) but why pay top whack for someone who doesn't join you on the trips each day? Your tour group might be quite big, I believe Chris Packam's tour had as many as 16 people on them. Not ideal bird watching in my opinion.
As I previously stated though, there is no right or wrong choice, just personal preference. We all have different circumstances to consider. All I am saying is that you shouldn't be afraid of DIY trips. Do a bit of research. Read trip reports and use the likes of Trip Advisor online to get a feel for where you are going and what to expect.
In my next post I'll get back to what I found to be the case on my most recent trip.
TBC
So how do you decide where to go, who to go with and in what mode ?
You can spend a small fortune or you can go on a budget. You can choose an escorted tour or you can take the cheapest package and DIY everything.
On my most recent trip I paid the princely sum of £1056 for 2 weeks B&B ( Thomas Cook holidays) for two people.Wife Claire and myself. Claire isn't very interested in bird watching and why should she be. She's happy enjoying the sun and a good book. The hotel we use has long been a base for the renowned BBC presenter Chris Packham's escorted tours although he only stays there for a few nights nowadays preferring to base himself on the more isolated ( and expensive) Mandina Lodges.
Let's look first at accommodation.
The two main tourist areas are based around Kololi and Kotu on the coast. Over the last 10 years or so I have witnessed that there is more and more development between the two and eventually I expect them to be one big resort but that is a long way off at the moment. The good news is that there are more quality hotels being built for those that want them, standards are being raised but development comes at a cost. The Senegambia Hotel was once THE birding hotel and some tours still base themselves there which is in my mind a huge mistake. I stayed for a couple of nights a few years ago. It's a big noisy hotel, the once bird rich gardens are no longer so and the nearby Bijilo nature reserve has been largely destroyed to build a huge conference centre. It's not for me but others might disagree. The advantage of Kololi is the number of alternative bars and restaurants to choose compared to say Kotu, but it comes at a price in as much as I personally think the whole area is tacky. Again, my subjective view. The Kairaba hotel on the other hand is right next door and it comes with an excellent reputation though I have no first hand experience other than a wander in their garden.
Kotu on the other hand gives you access to far more undeveloped land without the need for transport even. The creek cannot be developed for obvious reasons but there is evidence that some of the adjoining land, particularly that next to the sea which is being built on, could be lost in the future as it's being fenced off and cultivated. Even the local sewerage plant has undergone an amazing change. Once a disgusting health hazard to humans but a magnet to birds it now looks more like a series of boating lakes almost inviting enough to take a swim in. ( I didn't go too close!!)
Away from the coast there are various options to stay, Mandina Lodges is just one example. I have stayed at the delightful Farakunku Lodges too... but they both have one thing in common. Isolation, which in turn means that your choices are extremely limited, non existent even when it comes to eating in different places locally. Maybe that's maybe fine, you can only judge when you have tried it. Despite the more luxurious surrounds I personally prefer the ability to choose different surrounds with ease.
If you venture further inland and take a trip up river I am afraid that as far as I'm aware you will be roughing it no matter how much you have paid for your trip. Accomodation is very basic to say the least but for an ardent birder the sacrifice is worthwhile but not one I would shell out unnecessary payment for either.
So let's get on to price and what do you get for your money! Oh, and why do people pay it too?
The standard of accommodation is the obvious one but it's not always the reason that the trip was chosen. I was sat by the restaurant area waiting for an early pick up to go out on a trip when a newly arrived guest , spotting my camera gear, came and introduced himself as a fellow wildlife photographer ( I don't elevate myself to that level, sounds too professional!) He told me he had a big lens too but had left it at home from a safety issue. Instead he'd brought a smaller more discreet lens that could be hidden from view.
His first question was "is it safe?"
My response "absolutely!"
I have never felt in any way threatened from a safety point of view.
I ascertained he had pre booked his trip before leaving the UK. His package holiday was with tour operator "Gambia Experience" and they now handle Chris Packham's tours too as an add on. You can see what they cost if you choose to investigate and they are not cheap. What do you get? In this instance the opportunity to rub shoulders with a celebrity if that's your thing. The guy I was talking to though had missed that tour instead was just using Mr Packham's recommended guide. I estimate that there is at least a 25% surcharge over the going rate for these trips but there you go. Ignorance is bliss.
You can book a specialist guided trip which again will cost you say £2500 pp for a shorter trip than the one we were taking recently at 20% of that price but without the organised daily trips. Guides are widely available, in fact there is a surplus of good guides and they are all desperate for your business too, when you arrive. I personally don't want to pay for a tour escort who in turn hires one of these guides anyway. Not only that I won't be in a large group either so I can dictate where I want to go and how long I stay for. To make things less expensive I can find someone to share a trip with, perhaps someone I have already met and spoken to and won't be surprised when they are on my trip. I estimate that if I had taken a personal guide for all 14 days of my stay I would have paid no more than £2500 plus the cost of evening meals that the tours do tend to include but that would have been for two people not one.
One of the biggest disadvantages of these specialist trips is that if you happen to have a disinterested partner you still pay the full amount to take her along ( point me in the right direction if I'm wrong) but why pay top whack for someone who doesn't join you on the trips each day? Your tour group might be quite big, I believe Chris Packam's tour had as many as 16 people on them. Not ideal bird watching in my opinion.
As I previously stated though, there is no right or wrong choice, just personal preference. We all have different circumstances to consider. All I am saying is that you shouldn't be afraid of DIY trips. Do a bit of research. Read trip reports and use the likes of Trip Advisor online to get a feel for where you are going and what to expect.
In my next post I'll get back to what I found to be the case on my most recent trip.
TBC
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