Help, keeping the other half happy, a common problem ! (1 Viewer)

[Dave Williams]

I am sure I am not alone in having a partner who is not as enthralled in birding as we are and would appreciate help in pointing us in the right direction in choosing an holiday where both of us would get maximum enjoyment .
Basically, a novice birder, I am looking for plenty of birding within walking distance of my hotel so that when I get bored of lying around the beach or pool, I can wander off with my camera and leave my wife soaking up the sun .
Any tips in pointing me in the right direction would be much appreciated.
Although budget is an issue, we also require a decent standard, minimum 3 star level. We don't mind if it's a quiet area, provided that there are one or two good bars and restaurants close by.
I have narrowed down my choice of hotels to the Senengambia, Kairaba or Sunbeach. The Sunbeach at Cape Point has potentially the best price but will it meet my needs ? Any other suggestions greatly appreciated.
On another issue, I am quite prepeared for the "bumsters" but is it safe to wander around with a couple of grands worth of camera equipment ?

 

[Dave Williams]

I'm picking up answers from the other post ( Practical help) and it seems that it's going to be difficult to left alone by the bumsters. Is it possible to escape by visiting other hotel grounds ?
I have booked for the second half of January 2008, is there another couple interested in the pirogue boat trip from the Colonial Residence hotel ? (We are staying in the Kotu area) £60 per couple sounds OK.

 

[redeyedvideo]

On another issue, I am quite prepeared for the "bumsters" but is it safe to wander around with a couple of grands worth of camera equipment ?

I've not heard of any birder being attacked or robbed in the Gambia although there are some places it would not be advisable to vist on your own e.g. The Bund Road.

Bumsters are not a threat just a nuisance as they can be very persistent, a polite go away might work but there's just too many of them and it will wear you down. The best option if you want to walk anywhere from your hotel is to hire an official tourist guide. They charge about £5 for around 2 hours, you won't be approached by the locals & it will be cheaper in the long run believe me!

Some excellent birding can be found in the hotel grounds & even from your balcony, the Senegambia Hotel is well know for it's bird list & they feed vultures every afternoon. There's a sign saying 'residents only beyond this point' although it's unlikely that you will be asked to leave but prepare to get pounced on by the resident bird guide touting for business when he sees your camera. You may want to take up the option for a trip out and he will pick you up from your hotel, don't accept the first price 'tho!

Here's a taster of what you can expect.

 

[Dave Williams]

Thanks for the tips Redeyedvideo, much appreciated.

Another question you , or anyone might know, is it possible to get your Compact flash cards transfered to CD/DVD whilst you are in the Gambia ?
I can't decide whether to buy extra cards or a storage device. Transferring to disc is the cheapest option !

 

[Dave Williams]

Having now been, I have to say this was the perfect place for a holiday where one half want's to lounge by the pool and the other wants to go walkabout for part of the time. IMHO the much publicised Senegambia hotel is not the best location either for birding or generally. The area outside the front of the hotel might have the biggest choice of eating places but I thought it a bit tacky. The hotel grounds may well attract some good birds but I found the whole place a bit miserable and the beach pool area very crowded.It doesn't offer the best value for money either. The biggest advantage I could see was that as it attracts birders it should be easier to find someone to share the cost of trips with.
The hotels at Kotu are much better placed for all round local birding, and in fact the bird guides are all based at Kotu bridge.

 

[Alan G]

The hotels at Kotu are much better placed for all round local birding, and in fact the bird guides are all based at Kotu bridge.

We were based in the Bakotu Hotel and the dry riverbed of the creek was literally at the back of the hotel. It was a 2 minute walk out of our room, through a small gate and we were there and up to the Kotu bridge.

Take a left out of that small gate and 2 minutes later and we were on the golfcourse with access through the mangroves onto Kotu Rice Fields and then the sewage pools and then onto the Badala Park ponds and the rice fields around Casino Cycle Track.

In summary I'm pleased I opted for the cheaper hotel in Kotu over the Senegambia which seems somewhat over-rated, overpriced, run down and situated in the tackier resort area of Kololi. And the less said about the massed ranks of Brits turning lobster-coloured along their stretch of beach or the enforced pleasure of daily water polo and aqua-aerobics the better.......

Of course, Bijilo Forest Park was on your doorstep (just a £2 taxi ride for us) but thats not enough of a convincer and it'll be Kotu area again for me should I decide to revisit although I suspect I'd ditch the coastal area altogether in favour of the inland areas.

 

[Dave Williams]

For the record, I can confirm sightings of the following in the immediate surrounds of the Kotu Creek area, there were others I failed to recognise.
A count of 80 is not too bad without travelling more than a few hundred metres of the hotel !
Abysinian Roller
African jacana
African-green Pigeon
Beautiful sunbird
Black Crowned Tchagra
Black egret
Black kite
Black Tailed Godwit
Black-billed wood Dove
Black-cap Babbler
Black-winged Stilt
Blue breasted kingfisher
Blue-bellied Roller
Broad-billed roller
Bronze mannikin
Brown Babbler
Bush Petronia
Caspain Tern
Cattle Egret
Common greenshank
Common redshank
Common sandpiper
Fork-tailed Drongo
Great white egret
Green wood Hoopoe
Grey Backed Camaroptera
Grey Headed sparrow
Grey heron
Grey Woodpecker
Grey-headed gull
Hamerkop
Hooded vulture
House Sparrow
Laughing Dove
Little egret
Little grebe
long tailed cormorant
Long-tailed Glossy Starling
Malachite kingfisher
Marsh sandpiper
Osprey
Painted snipe
Palm nut vulture
Palm swift
Pearl spotted owlet
Piapiac
Pied Crow
Pied Kingfisher
Pink-backed Pelican
Red Billed Hornbill
Red-billed firefinch
Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu
Red-chested Swallow
Red-eyed Dove
Ringed plover
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Sacred ibis
Senegal coucal
Senegal thick-knee
Shrikra
Snowy-crowned robin-chat
Splended sunbird
Spur-winged plover
Squacco heron
Striated heron
Subalpine warbler
Variable sunbird
Village weaver
Wattle plover
Western grey plantain eater
Western reef egret
Whimbrel
White Wagtail
White-faced whistling duck
Willow Warbler
Wood Sandpiper
Wood-chat Shrike
Yellow Billed Shrike
Yellow Billed Stork
Yellow crowned Gonelek
Yellow wagtail

 

[stevieb]

Thought I might point you in the direction of my report for birdtours. Not a great report but it gives you some idea as to what may be achieved with a non birding family during a non birding holiday!

Either way I hope it helps.

 

[stevieb]

Sorry. forgot the link!!!

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/gambia/gambia19/gam-nov-03.htm