Gambia River Excursions

I booked this trip with Gambia River Excursions as we wanted to have a few days away from the beach seeing what the real Gambia is like. We certainly got to see the real Gambia, however I feel this company placed us at an unacceptable level of risk. I am writing this to ensure that anyone who is looking to do a similar trip thinks twice about the risks before booking with this company.

The start of the trip was supposed to be 08:30 on Tuesday, and we had planned to drive up to Kauntaur, where we would take a boat ride to Baboon island to see wildlife including Hippos, Crocodiles and Chimpanzees, then board a second bigger boat and cruise for 3-4 hours to Jang Jang Bureh camp at Georgetown.

Anna, the one we organized the tour with, arrived over an hour later than planned, the car she picked us up in was not in good condition, though she said she would drive us to the ferry at Banjul. From there we would cross on the ferry to the north bank. Our driver had already taken the car, that we would be doing the trip in, across to avoid any queues. When we got to Banjul we just missed a ferry and had to wait over an hour for the next one. So Anna left us at this stage and we went across with the driver, he was really good. When we got to the other side we saw the car we were traveling in, foolish me, I was expecting a 4 wheel drive, well at least it had 4 wheels, as well as a spare, as we were to find out later. The car was in a terrible state, windows that did not open, doors that nearly fell off when opened and no seat belts.

We got in the car and went anyway but we wished we hadn't.

The road to Kauntaur was OK to start with, then after about 50 miles the road turned into a dust track this lasted for 20ish miles by which time we were totally smothered in the red dust of Gambia, was this the real Gambia bit? The driver Ossman apologized continually for the dust and once we were past that bit of road he stopped the car and said that we should get out and dust ourselves off now.

When we arrived at Kauntaur around 16:00, we had missed the boat to Jang Jang Bureh by almost 2 hours, so we had to get back in the car and complete the last 20 miles along another dusty road. We called Anna to explain what had happened but she did not seem that bothered, almost as if it was a regular occurrence that her trips fail to get to the boat in time. I had a hell of a job convincing her that she needed to take the cost of the boat trip and the visit to the Hippos off the cost of the trip, in the end she agreed to take £30 off the price.

Jang Jang Bureh camp was great with loads of birds and monkeys all over the place. The accommodation was very basic but comfortable and the staff cooked a nice meal. This consisted of the chicken that had just been in the back of our car all day, dripping blood all over the bag with our clothes in it. The chicken had started the day packed in ice, so hopefully it had not gone too rancid. It actually tasted really good and we had a nice bottle of wine before retiring to our mud hut, watching some locals dancing and playing drums on the way. There is no electricity at Jang Jang Bureh camp so we all walked round with hurricane lamps, very romantic.

The next day we were up early and after a good breakfast we set off to Kauntaur again, hoping this time we could have the boat trip to see some wildlife. We got there and the top man from Jang Jang camp haggled with a boat man to get us a trip, £24 was the price. Then we saw the boat, well it was more like a rusty old tin bathtub with an outboard motor on it, we looked at each other and at the river, that looked quite calm and decided to go for it as we had endured a pretty long dusty day the previous day and did not want to go back without seeing any wildlife.

The trip was supposed to take 3 hours, 1 hour to the park, 1 hour looking at the wildlife and 1 hour back.

On the way to the park it was obvious that the river was not as calm as we first thought it was and the old rusty bath was none too stable when a wave hit the side. By the way, there were no life jackets available, not that that would have mattered as the 4.5 meter crocodile that we had just passed would have had a really nice lunch if the boat did tip over.

When we reached the park we saw a few birds and a couple of the rangers came over to our boat with a small monkey on a lead tied to the boat and asked for £4 to enter the park, we paid and off they went. We are now over 2 hours into this trip and all we have seen is a small monkey tied to a boat and a huge crock that I really wish I hadn't seen. Then some excitement, we spotted 2 Hippos in the distance, well they were in the water so all we saw was their ears nose and eyes but we did see them, the boat man checked that we had and off we went, he turned round and we were heading back, we didn't even get time to take a photo of them, they were probably too far away anyway. As the boat turned we realized just how rough the water was as we had now turned into the wind, after the 10th wave broke over the bow of the boat, or should I say the end without the taps, the boatman decided he was going to get as close as possible to the bank to keep away from the really big waves, at this point all I could think about was having to go past that crock again. So we ploughed on into the wind getting soaked for another hour or so, we were now well over three hours and we were nowhere near the end of the trip. At this point the boat man steered the tub out from the bank and started heading across the river, the waves now hitting us broadside and getting the boat rocking to such an extent that we were in real danger of capsizing. I asked why he was doing this and eventually he told me he was running out of fuel and needed to get to the other bank to stop and pour more fuel into the tank. As there was nowhere to stop on the bank we had been skimming for the last hour and he could not let go of the throttle on the outboard as it would stop and chances are he would not be able to start it again. So I volunteered to help and pour fuel into the tank while he continued to keep his hand on the throttle. You can imagine the mess, with the waves rocking the boat, me trying to pour while my wife held the funnel, half a lemonade bottle, while all the time keeping a look out for the crocodile, this was just the place where we saw him on the way up. We managed it and continued to skim the bank all the way back to our starting point. That was one boat trip that I did not want to repeat, ever again.

We got back in the car and headed off to a ferry crossing point further down the river. At this point the driver informed us that the road on the South side of the river was a lot worse than the road on the North side and that we had 100 miles to go, once we crossed, to reach Sindola camp, our next destination. By the way, the tide was out at this point in time, so we had to wait for 2 hours (16:00) for the ferry to start up again.

The ferry was another experience to behold and I suppose we wanted to see the real Gambia and this was certainly very real.

We set off on 100 miles that we had to travel and at first the road was OK, a few pot holes but nothing too serious and the driver Ossman seemed very skilled at missing them. Then the road got a bit worse and then a few miles further on the road was more pot holes than road, so Ossman steered the car off the tarmac, or what there was of it, and set off on the dirt on the side of the road. That was the pattern for a few more miles, pot holes as far as the eyes can see. So we had now gone from skimming the bank of the river to skimming the bushes on the side of the road. It kept the interest up cos you never knew what was going to fly in through the window off the next bush that we seemed to get just a little too close to.

We stopped at the next town and Ossman said he needed to get some oil because the car was leaking oil from the oil pump. He came back with 3 liters of oil, and proceeded to pour over a liter and a half into the car. At this point I thought I would take a look and I could see a huge pool of oil under the car, and we still had 60+ miles to do, to get back anywhere near civilization, oh dear. Ossman seemed confident though, so we set off again, although this time the car did not start as easily as it had done before, there were just some worrying clicks and Ossman turning the key frantically, then it started, phew!

On we went again, pot holes, dirt track, tarmac never lasted long enough, more bushes, wow that's a strange looking insect, I wonder if it bites. Then it started to get dark and Ossman seems to be driving faster than ever and swerving violently to miss pot holes. He explained we still had a long way to go and did we want to stop somewhere short of Sindola instead. We decided that it was better to push on and get to Sidola, Ossman reckoned an hour, no more. We were starting to get the idea that Gambian time is slightly out of step with the rest of the World. 1 hour is in fact one and a half or possibly 2 hours in the rest of the world time. Now it was totally dark and we were zooming along one of the better bits of road when it predictably turned into pot holes. This time, Ossman was going too fast and despite frantic breaking and swerving all over the road, we hit this pot hole, which was 4 feet across and about 18 inches deep. I thought initially that we had got away with it as the car seemed to continue OK, this time on the dirt on the side of the road. Then I heard the tell tail noise from the front wheel, yes we had a puncture. You remember the spare wheel that I mentioned so long ago, well it was time to see if there was one and if it was inflated. On both counts we had a result, Ossman got out and started trying to change the wheel, first he had no torch and there were unsurprisingly no streetlights in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately I had a torch in my bag. Then the car jack did not fit under the car, so myself and Ossman tried to lift the front of the car while my wife fumbles about trying to position the jack. That did not work, fortunately a couple of fit young Gambians came along and helped lift the car and the jack was positioned and the wheel changed in record time.

Off we set again, oops no we didn't, first we put the other 1.5 liters of oil in the car and this time when we tried to start the car it just clicked and nothing. Ossman got out and started hitting things under the bonnet while I tried to start the car, thankfully it turned over and we were off again. More pot holes, more off-roading, more violent steering, only a bit more exciting this time as we had no spare and it was dark. I don't think his headlights were that good either, or was it the dust or the smoke from the village fires that made it impossible to see very far in front of the car. By this time I am sitting there gripping the head rest of the seat in front of me with my eyes glued to the road, ready to shout at Ossman if I thought he hadn't seen a pot hole looming out of the dark. The next thing I saw as Ossman swerved violently was the arse of a donkey, we had missed this animal by inches, from that point on, all I could see was a donkey's arse crashing through the windscreen at 40 miles an hour and ending up in a bloody mess somewhere in our laps. So from now on I was no longer looking for pot holes. Ossman could do that, I was looking for the next donkey's arse, gripping the head rest even tighter.

We did finally make it to Sindola camp at about 22:00, it had taken us 6 hours to do 100 miles. We felt quite relieved to be there and we had a nice shower and settled our nerves with a bottle or two of beer before dinner. It was only then that I think we realized how lucky we were to be at Sindola and how many near misses we had had in the previous 14 hours.

Sindola camp was great and it is so cheap, just £10 each for a night and £2.40 for a really nice meal. The staff were really good. The grounds that the bungalows are set in are truly beautiful, with loads of flowers and so many colourful birds. It is owned by the brother of the President of Gambia, so I guess it should be good.

In the morning, we had a visit to a wildlife park planned, that was right next door to Sindola Camp. One of the camp staff came with us to be our guide but before we could set off we had to go through the now normal practice of Ossman hitting things under the bonnet while I tried to start the car, or at least what was left of it, I am certain we had a back bumper yesterday.

As we entered the wildlife park we saw a couple of Baboons chained to trees just inside the gates. I thought this was a bad sign and I was right, the park was pretty devoid of wildlife but we did see some donkeys. Not that I ever wanted to see another donkey after the experience of the night before. There were a few monkeys running about. Then we went to see the Crocodiles, the guide opened this gate and we walked through and I got my camera ready. There was a lazy looking Crocodile just behind a piece of fence, then I saw that there was a big hole in the fence, clearly big enough for the Crocodile to get through. I mentioned this to the guide and he just laughed. As we walked on further, I realized why he laughed, into view came a pool with over 200 crocs, also lazing about. This time there was no fence between us and the Crocodiles. The guide suggested that we have our photo taken beside one of the crocs, a particularly evil looking one with huge teeth. I said I would take the photo of the guide with my wife. The picture is good, although the expression on my wife's face gives away the fact that she was ready to run if that croc did anything more than open and close it's eyes.

So we survived another encounter with Crocodiles and Donkeys and off we set again this time heading back to our Hotel in Kotu, just an hour away, Gambian Time! First we had to stop at a town to buy some more oil, only Ossman did not have any more money. The funds that Anna had given him had run out, so I gave him £3.00 to buy some more oil. On we went, oops no the car would not start again, this time all the banging under the bonnet did not work and we had to get a crowd of people to help by pushing the car to start it and we were off leaving the people behind in a cloud of dust.

After a while Ossman said he needed to stop at a place where a man, who is part of Gambia River Excursions, worked so that he could get some more money in case we needed more oil. We drove round this town for 40 minutes looking for this place, asking people directions and every one of them pointed us in a different direction, finally we did find the place. Ossman went off to find the man, after 5 mins he was back and said that the man was praying so we would need to wait until he had finished, so we waited. The man came to our car with Ossman and apologized for the problems we had had with the car and we set off with some more oil and with Ossman's funds replenished.

We were starting to get a bit high now, as we knew we were getting close to the resort areas, then a police checkpoint came into view. We had gone through many of these in the previous 3 days, so we did not think anything of it. Ossman had a conversation with the Police man and seemed a bit agitated, then Ossman pulled the car onto the side of the road and switched off the engine. Oh no, I thought it will not start again and I don't think this, not so nice, Policeman is likely to help push. We sat in the car for a while and Ossman was talking with the Police and we could see his arms starting to wave around, pointing to the pool of oil under the car, something was obviously not right. I got out of the car and walked across to where Ossman and the Policeman were still in a debate and I asked Ossman what the problem was. It seems that one of the rear brake lights did not work and he was not going to let us pass until he paid a fine. Well considering the state of the car by now with bits falling off, doors that did not open, no seat belts, dust everywhere, it did seem ever so slightly picky to want to fine us for not having a break light working. After an hour of negotiation where the Policeman clearly wanted us to bung him some money, he let us go, this time for the first time today the car started and we went on our way leaving a huge pool of oil right beside the police checkpoint.

Finally we arrived back at the hotel, exhausted and having had a real Gambian experience.

So if you are tempted to take a trip like this I have some advice.

Thirdly, if you are tempted to take the wildlife trips don't expect too much, they are poorly organized and probably not too good on the old health and safety side.

Fourthly, agree how much each element of the trip will cost, so that when things go wrong you can put a value to the bits you are missing out on.

Fifthly, you probably need to pay a bit more than we did for this trip, it was about £300 for the both of us for the 3 days.

Finally, it all turned out OK but it could all have been very different. In hindsight, we were put in a serious amount of risk and I would not want someone else to book something like this with this company without being better prepared than we were.

I am still having nightmares about that donkey's arse looming out of the dust.

Ray Wheeler