The Gambia is a very flat wholly uninteresting landscape
aside from the lazy beaches. So Nikki and I and 6 others decided to embark on a
journey to find topography, destination; Kedouguo, Senegal.
Day 1: A relatively uneventful late afternoon Journey from
Banjul to Basse which took about 5 ½ hours and took us from pretty much the
entire length of the country west to east. As expected this would be our last
running water, plumbing and electricity for the remainder of the trip.
Day 2: A relatively early start as we anticipated a long
drive and the usual hassle at the Senegal border and customs, a non-event as we
drove right over the dusty border without seeing a soul anywhere. (So glad we
spent $65 each and 3 frustrating days acquiring the mandatory Visa). We drove
along the border of the very large Niokolo-Koba National park which is reputed
to have all kind of wildlife from Lions to Elephants and Giraffes. We saw some
birds, monkeys and warthogs. Later that day after driving along some very rough
roads we reached our destination and set out on a short hike to one of the most
popular water falls; Dindefelo Falls. It was a very nice hike to a beautiful
spot...ahhhh topography at last. That night was in a mud hut with thatch roof,
bamboo bed, pit latrines, bucket bath and dinner by candlelight at a little
camp that cost us a total of about $5 each.
Day 3: We took a guided hike to the top of the nearest mountain
plateau where the top of the falls, some caves and a village are located. We
get to the caves and my primal urge to explore off the beaten path kicks in
(life lesson here). The mouth of the cave is actually a large hole that drops
down to the floor of the cave about 2 meters below, I jump down and swing my
flashlight around in the dark and am stabbed in the chest by something very
sharp. I couldn’t figure out what I ran into as the room was pretty open and
clear. Then I was stabbed in the side of my head this time I heard the
perpetrator and shined my light up to find the whole roof of the cave covered
in hornet’s nest all of which were now moving. I immediately yelled for
assistance to get me out of this hole as the urgency of escape from an angry
swarm was overtaking my ability to focus on climbing out. Some helping hand
heaved me out relatively unscathed other than a couple large red burning welts
where I was stung. We continued our hike and exploration and returned back to
the quiet little village which was now bustling with people for the weekly
market. Some quick local fare then back on the road. We headed back into Niokolo
Park hoping to see some animals. The map indicated a relatively easy drive that
shouldn’t take more than a couple hours on well-developed roads to our
destination. 7 hours later after some very intense white knuckle driving over
some of the worst 2 track trails I have ever been on we were stopped short of
our destination and forced by the 5 local park patrol guys to remain at the
outpost station and pitch our tents. We shared our road food with them and they
shared there giant bowl of beans with us and we all enjoyed the campfire and
whatever conversation either of us could glean from the other (they spoke
primarily French and other tribal languages). At one point the senior man
leaned over and said “if you have beer we would like it” (Predominantly Muslim country
I should have been surprised but I wasn’t) I replied “No beer, but I have
Whiskey” the smile broadened on his face. So I sat and drank whiskey with a
band of outpost rangers in the middle of BFE Senegal while they told us of the
Lions and Hyenas they had seen recently. We turned in late that night zipping
up our thin nylon tents thinking they would be taking turns on watch through
the night. One by one each one closed and locked themselves inside their
concrete bunkhouse room with solid steel doors and we realized we were on our
own. Beginning about 2am large Baboon
troops began parading through the camp not far from our tents, barking,
growling, grunting and screaming. It was very unnerving being so exposed to
something that can be so violent and aggressive, it lasted most of the night to
we were a bit tired once the sun finally rose.
Day 4: We were now ready to head home. We decided to take
the most direct route out of the park which was a 2-3 hour trail through the
park back to the main highway. This was again a very difficult drive as much of
it was over expanses of barren volcanic rock and through thick grass and tree
saplings that were 10-15 feet tall all around and on the unmarked road (or lack
thereof) by this point one of our vehicles is running dangerously low on fuel
so urgency is a concern. We crest a small hill that dips sharply into a river
valley and we find ourselves at the bank of a healthy flowing river that is not
on any of our maps, we can see the road continue on the other bank up and out
of the valley to the highway which is only a mile or so on the other side.
There is no sign of a bridge and our searching for it on foot up the river bank
resulted in locating a large Hippo we cautiously watched it for a few minutes
keeping an eye out for snakes and crocs which are very common before deciding to
face the music and figure out our predicament. We are now more than 2 hours
from our initial starting point for the day which by another route is 4 hours
from a developed road, 12 hours from home and one vehicle is on 1/8th
of a tank of fuel. Surprisingly enough nobody panicked, UNTIL the vehicle got
stuck buried to the frame in the soft sand. Now we realized we may not be
making it home that night. So we began digging then laying down branches, an
hour or so later we are back on hard earth and backtracking to our previous
camp and the alternate route out of the park. We finally make it out of the
park early afternoon exhausted and running on fumes barely making it to the
welcome sight of a fuel station. Back across the dusty uninhabited border into
The Gambia and prepared for the final 6 hours home.
These women just came down from the mountain in the background to sell produce.
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