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Wednesday 12 January, Serekunda, Abuko national park

Gambia and Senegal 2005 - part V

Elisabeth & Teije
2006-08-26 17:59:22

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that this time she will see monkeys in the wild, but at first itn doesn't seem to happen.

But there they suddenly are, probably hoping that we have food for them. They seem reasonably accustomed to people but recoil when we come too close. We show the same behaviour: most monkeys have fleas, they can have rabies and they can bite very hard with their sharp teeth. And a bite can give you a terrible infection.

Berend carries no peanuts with him, but he has pepermints and one monkey seems to be curious about this white thing. Cautiously, he takes it from Berend's hand and backs off to study his acquisition and chew on it at a distance.

Most monkeys here are black faced velvet monkeys, but there is also a rehabilitation project for monkeys born in foreign zoos who are being prepared to be able to survive in the wild. After their education, most are set free on Baboon Island, a nature reserve that is not accessible for tourists.

When we walk along a hollow trunk at 30 centimeters distance, Berend suddenly exclaims: hey, a snake! We turn around and suddenly see a cobra raising itself into the air and trying to scare us off. The guide says, it is a spitting cobra and he jumps meters away. But it turns out to be a black cobra, which is still dangerous enough. It is a very rare occasion that we see one here. When we kep one meter between ourself and the cobra, it seems to be happy with us and returns to the trunk to do some sunbathing.

We continue our hike, but this time with a bit more care. At the end of the pathway we come to a place with a shop and a large cage with giant turtles and some monkeys. For us it is time to have a refreshment and a sandwich for the guide.

There are also some hyena's (caged) and lots of vultures who come to take their part of the meat that the animals get. There used to be some lions here as well, but according to the guide the last one (coming from the Beekse Bergen in Holland) escaped only three days ago and was shot by the military since he ventured too close to a Senegalese refugee camp.

The women of the shop have their kitchen outside and seem to live here. And again they like it that we take a picture of a child that is being carried. Until they are 3 or even 4 years old they carry them like this.

The taxi is already waiting for us and we are verry satisfied with this trip. We have seen much more than at Makasutu but when we read the stories on the internet this doesn't have to be true for everybody. Today we are lucky, yesterday not. But coming across a black cobra like this is a real highlight!

We get off the taxi at Elton's, the gas station at the corner near the hotel to have a cold drink. Time to calculate the expenses: less than 1200 Dalasi (€ 33) for the taxi, all tips, the drinks and the entrance fee for Abuko, so about € 8 per person. A bargain, compared with the excursion to Makasutu.

We have dinner early, chat a bit with Salifu the guard and go to bed early. Tommorow we are trying to make it a real rest day, without any excursions, so we decide.