The Gambia

A Taste of West Africa

5 November to 19 November 2010

Leaders: Roger Lawrence and local guides

Maximum of 14 clients.

Cost: £2,099 single room supplement £220

Our holidays to The Gambia, which we have visited over 30 times, provide an excellent opportunity to explore the avifauna of a range of different habitats contained within this small West African state. Not only do they provide an exciting introduction to the birds of Africa, but they also provide the chance to see many Western Palearctic breeding species on their wintering ground. The first week of the tour is spent on the coast, where we stay at the Senegambia Hotel. Its beautiful grounds constitute a bird reserve in their own right and provide a first-class introduction to the commoner West African species. The stretch of sandy shore belonging to the hotel provides a chance to observe at least five species of tern, as well as passing gulls and waders. The programme of local excursions will take us to different habitats within the coastal zone from mangrove swamp and estuarine wetland through savanna to rainforest and rice fields. During the second week of the tour, we move 'up river', staying in two different camps, each located on the banks of the Gambia River. As we travel eastwards, so we encounter drier and more open variants of savannah, which should allow us to see over 300 species of bird. We will make sure we are back at the Senegambia Hotel for our last night, so we celebrate the end of the holiday in style! One of the beauties of travel to The Gambia is that it is on the same time zone as the UK - therefore there is no jetlag after the sixhour flight.