Friday 16 March 2012

Baboons, Chimps, Hippos...and an update on bumsters (of course)

Mum's been visiting for a couple of weeks which has been fantastic - getting to know some local restaurants and bars, including my 'local' beach bar just next door - great for watching the sun sink down into the evening haze above the sea.

Last weekend we decided to head upcountry to a place called Baboon Island, just near Kuntaur - a village about 210km (130 miles) inland. We were told that the easiest option would be to take the ferry crossing from Banjul on the South bank to Barra on the North bank, and to take a taxi from there, rather than brave the road to the South of the river.

The distance between Banjul and Barra is 3 miles (5km). Now you would be forgiven for thinking that such a journey would be fairly straightforward, but you would be very much mistaken. We arrived at the port at 6.30am in optimistic anticipation of the 7am ferry - and waited for 2.5 hours as the sun rose over the crowds waiting to cross. A spacious and modern ferry sitting just outside the port was periodically obscured by the black smoke billowing from a decrepit-looking boat, whose engine was being repeatedly revved into life by its crew. Apparently the new one was inaugurated last year but since then the port has fallen into disrepair (literally, has fallen into the sea) and can no longer be used...so it's back to the old ferries.

The gleaming new ferry, bobbing in the harbour
Our ferry and a landing dock in need of some repair...
As the ferry finally came to dock, the jostling crowds positioned themselves: daring travellers pushed closer to the front, thereby increasing their chance of securing a a seat but running the simultaneous risk of being squashed by the cars, lorries and hoards of people spilling out of the ferry. Tempers flared, heated words were exchanged - a man with an enormous bag of ice cream cones was almost crushed, along with his precious cargo, by a rather large woman's bottom. Another scuffle broke out, a cow wandered through, oblivious. And the persistent smell of fish wafted by on the breeze...

As the final passengers disembarked chaos reined - it was every man for himself in the race to top deck - it may only be 3 miles but you could swim it more quickly than the ferry.... We chugged along for 2 hours before finally arriving.

Arrival in Barra...spot the unusual passenger
The journey inland was interesting, villages here are much less developed than the coastal area and the meaning of the 'dry' season becomes much clearer - the land was completely baked dry in the 40 degree heat and everything was coated by a fine orangey-red dust. In a few months time the view will completely change as the rains arrive.

Three hours later we arrived at our destination - the River Gambia National Park, or Baboon Island, home to a Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Camp, a project responsible for reintroducing indigenous chimps to the country after their extinction in the early 1900s. There are now over 50 chimpanzees living on the islands in different family groups.

The boat trip around the islands was fantastic - we saw lots of chimps, baboons, monkeys, some pink-backed pelicans, a sleepy crocodile and some enormous hippos (apparently the animal responsible for most deaths in Africa), which we promptly asked our guide to give a wide berth as they stared at us with beady eyes.


Chimp munching on a juicy orange




Enormous hippos with baby!
Safari tent overlooking the river
My guide told me that as a result of the project, the local communities are more aware of the importance of protecting the chimps and their habitat, and in turn they reap the benefits of eco-tourism in the area. Baboons are still seen as common pests though - he explained that they munch on leaves in the morning before heading into the villages for lunch - their favourite dish being farmers' groundnuts. The farmers use horses to drive them away, which baboons are apparently terrified of. He said it was not unusual to see 10 baboons crammed into a tiny trembling bush, heads bowed, trying to hide from the horses...

I feel that no post would be complete without some reference to our bumster friends...Sadly I couldn't capture the tearful goodbyes of 50-something European women and 20-something Gambian men at the airport today as I saw Mum off, nor the subsequent brisk trot across the terminal by said men to the arrivals lounge to await the incoming flights filled with eager new arrivals. I have to admit to frequently training my binoculars on the happy couples strolling along the beach in front of my apartment...hopefully JT will be able to wean me off the unhealthy habit when he arrives on Tuesday!

A typical example
I'll leave you on that note...