In spite of the long-distance driving that it needs, Wassadou Camp on the Senegal side of the young Gambia River is still worth the extra kilometers. Some special birds can be seen here. The infrasructure has deteriorated over the last years. Last Summer a flood destroyed part of the camp and its surroundings. Even the riverbed show signs of this huge flood. Wassadou Camp General Manager Omar and his team do their best and deserve all our support!
The landscape was changed by the recent flood, the roads in Niokolo-Koba National Park are now only possible for 4WD. You must leave your normal car outside and rent a big safari vehicle, driver and guide. The huge (the size of Gambia!!) Niokolo-Koba park as such offers few possibilities for wildlife and bird photography because it is mostly dense forest. The few open (water) spaces and the river offer the same species as Wassadou. The hotel infrastructure is extremely low, reservations are difficult. The lions that are now the main attraction can only be seen by chance and are mostly an extremely bored and boring motiv for photography, - as every wildlife photographer with the relative experience will know. Therefore we spent 6 nights at Wassadou instead of the planned 3, and just visited the park for one day with Burama's old Hyunday minibus. Driven expertly by Ansumana, Burama's brother, it survived.
For 2026 we are planning a similar trip but we'll leave out the park, focusing instead on the boat trips that are offered at Wassadou. With Kodai as boatman and guide this is top birding and offers best chances for good pictures. Hopefully the management will give him better outboard engines. The one he used failed to start several times and caused some axious moments for us, with hippos waiting near the boat to eat us alive.:)
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| Our guide Ansumana and Keita, the boat-man |
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| Campement Wassadou |
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| early morning light in the dining hall |
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| view of Simenti and the river |
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| the landing bridge at Wassadou |
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| dining hall at Wassadou |
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| man-made and controlled bushfires |
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| Thick-knee and chick |
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| the rare Shining Blue Kingfisher |
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| Wattle-Eye |
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| Black Mamba. No sandals in the African bush!! |
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| Red-throated and Northern Carmine Bee-Eaters |
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| Grey-headed Kingfisher |
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| 5 Painted snipes, a family, always hidden |
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| Green Wood-Hoopoes |
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| Long-tailed Glossy Starling |
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| Hadada Ibis |
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| Shikra |
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| Long-tailed Cormorant |
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| Pear-spotted Owlet |
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| Giant Kingfisher |
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| Violet Turaco |
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| young black-faced monkey |
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| fisherman catching our lunch |
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| Red Colobus Monkey |
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| Shikra |
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| White-backed Night Heron |
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| African Finfoot |
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| We saw the Finfoot on every boat-trip but it took us 5 trips to get this picture |
The African Plover is the Holy Grail for bird photographers. It only inhabits the upper reaches of the Gambia River, where it finds sandy banks and fast flowing water. To get
it in the right light, with the setting sun behind us and the
reflection of the red riverbed-sides in the water, we had to move and reach quite
uncomfortable shooting positions where we waited under camouflage. Which
proves that you make the best photos with your feet!
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| African Harrier Hawk searched for food in the holes at the river- bank |
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| African Wagtail |
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| African Plover and White-headed Lapwing |
