TOUR CODE: WA – GAM06
Twelve Days Birding Gambia
Day One: Arrival
Upon your arrival at the airport, the guide from Afrikan Wildlife Safaris will pick up and then transfer you to the hotel for dinner and overnight. Dinner and overnight at Djembe Beach Resort.
Day Two: Kotu and Fajara Golf Coast
After breakfast, you will proceed to a bird tour in Kotu Bridge, Rice Field. Have lunch at Sailors Restaurant and have a rest for a while. Later take a one-hour boat ride to the Fajara Gold course for more bird experience. The main species that you will come across include Giant Kingfisher, Blue Breasted Kingfisher, Yellow Crown Gonolek, and many more. Overnight will be at Badala Hotel.
Day Three: Tendaba Hotel
This morning you will head to Tendaba. Stop at Mandinaba for your first bird viewing and photography. Proceed to Farasutu Forest And Cashew Orchard to see the Owls and Night Jars. Continue to Bulock Rice Field before heading to Raptor Bridge in Bajagar to enjoy the local cuisine. After Lunch Drive to King West National Park for an evening bird watching. You will encounter species like African Green Pigeon, Blue Bellied Roller, Wahlberg Eagle, Greyish Eagle Owl, African Wood Owl, White Face-Off, Yellow-Bellied Hyliota, Marshal Eagle, Bateleaux Eagle, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Temminck’s Courser, etc. Dinner and overnight at Tendaba Hotel.
Day Four: George Town
You will drive to Georgetown passing through Kaur wetlands, a fantastic inland floodplain less than 30 minutes drive from Farafenni, the area boasts the exquisite Egyptian Plover, Collared Pratincole, Kitlitz’s Plover, Black Crowned Crane, Knob Billed Duck, and White-Crowned Plover. Stop at Panchang Swamps fabulous evergreen with reeds to watch zebra waxbill, Sudan golden sparrow, African pigmy goose, speckle –fronted weaver, and many more. Proceed to Wassu Sandpit for the colony of red-throated bee-eaters, a family of ant-eater chat. Then take a boat ride to kuntaurr to see the hippos and chimps. Take a small ferry crossing to the island Georgetown upon arrival you will check in to Bintou’s Lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day Five: Wassadou Camp Senegal
Head to Wassadou camp after breakfast passing through Bansang Quarry to see up close with a Colony Of The Red-Throated Bee-Eaters, Paradise Whydah, Cinnamon Breasted Buntings, Cut-Throat Finch, Pin-tailed Whydah, and many more. Drive to the base for lunch and a quick city tour before crossing the border to Senegal. After the border formalities, we will drive to wassadou Camp for dinner and overnight.
Day Six: Nlokolo Koba National Park
In the morning, we will visit Goulombou, close to the Niokolo Koba National Park birdlife looking out for Bateleur, Martial Eagle, Denham’s Bustard, Violet Turaco, and Abyssinian Ground Hornbill. The immediate area around the upper reaches of the Gambia river offer species such as Woolly-necked Stork, Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle, Stone Partridge, African Finfoot, Standard-winged Nightjar, Shining-blue Kingfisher, Red-throated Bee-eater, Oriole Warbler, Grey Tit-Flycatcher, Sulphur-breasted Bush-Shrike, and Orange-cheeked Waxbill. Drive back to the hotel for lunch. Then go again for the boat trip in the area, navigating to the west of the Gambia River and check out for the African Wattled Lapwings, Egyptian Plover, Finfoot, Northern Carmine Bee-eater. There are also static Nile Crocodile in the river. Dinner and overnight In Wasssadow Hotel.
Day Seven: Wassadou
Today, we will drive east to Wassadow where we will spend the next two nights. Depending on water levels we will stop near a drinking pool that attracts vultures, with chances for close views of White-Backed, Hooded, and Griffon Vultures, Marabou Stork. Black Kites are abundant here. Birding en route with comfort stops before arriving at our hotel in Wassadou, where Egyptian Plovers feed in the grounds of the hotel, while Green Monkeys fight in the nearest forest. Other birds we can see before dusk include Palm Nut Vulture, Long-tailed and Purple Glossy Starling, Grey-headed Bush-Shrike, White-crowned Robin-Chat, and Yellow-crowned Gonolek. Overnight in Wassadow Hotel.
Day Eight: Kunkilling Forest Park
After breakfast proceeds to Kunkiling Forest Park that lies on the south bank of the River Gambia and 6 km east of Janjangbureh. The majority of the habitat is dry Savannah with riparian habitat and farmland. The forests boast an impressive diversity of birds including Little Green Bee Eater, Yellow-Bellied Hyliota, exclamatory Paradise Whydah, African Hawk-Eagle, Booted Eagle, African Fish Eagle, Vieillot’s Barbet, Spotted Thick Knee, African Hawk-Eagle, Red-Winged Pythia, whilst Adamawa Turtle Dove is one of the area’s specialties. Dinner and overnight at Baobolong camp.
Day Nine: Tendaba
Have breakfast and head back to Tendaba, one of the hottest spots for birdwatching. You will explore from Savana woodland forest, farmlands, Riverine wetlands. Take a boat trip to cruise on Georgetown Island for 3.5 hours to Tendaba via South Bank of the River Gambia with several detours on the way at Savannah Woodland, Brikamaba cemetery Madinaumfally Rice fields. You will encounter a colony of Marabou Verreaux’s Eagle Owls, African finfoot, Woodland kingfisher, Grey-headed bush shrike, palm nut vulture, bronze wing course, and many other species. Dinner and overnight at Tendaba Hotel.
Day Ten: Gambia River to Coastal Gambia
Take a boat on Gambia River to the coast, you will have a quick stop at raptor bridge picturesque of the beautiful scenery. You will also have a chance to see Hooded Vulture, Brown Snake-Eagle, Black-billed Wood-Dove, Squacco Heron just to mention a few. Proceed to eco-lodge for lunch, continue to coast region where you will encounter Goliath heron, White-throated bee-eaters, blue flycatcher, mouse-brown sunbird, White-backed night heron, and many more. Dinner overnight at Bakotu hotel.
Day Eleven: Abuko Nature Reserve and Marakissa River Camp
After breakfast, we will head east to Abucko Nature Reserve with an amazing diversity of vegetation and animals, this well-managed reserve is one of the region’s best bird-watching haunts. Lookout for sunbirds, green hylias, African goshawks, oriole warblers, yellowbills, and leafloves reen and violet turacos, white-spotted flufftails, ahanta francolins, and western bluebills. Continue to Marakissia woods to watch more Birds such as White-breasted Cuckooshrike, African Golden Oriole, African Green Pigeon, African Scops Owl, Malachite Kingfisher, Painted Snipe, and many more. After lunch at the Marrakiss river camp, we will proceed to sifoe forest for more birdwatching experience. Dinner and overnight at Badala Hotel.
Day Twelve: Fly Out
After breakfast, the guide will transfer you to the airport to catch your flight back home.
ENJOY AFRICA