Sunset Cruise from Mandina Lodges
What an amazing amount of birds!
14.04.2019 - 14.04.2019
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Galavanting in The Gambia 2019
on Grete Howard's travel map.
This afternoon we are taking another boat trip, this one with two added bonuses: a bottle of wine and the sunset! Hopefully. The sunset, that is, the bottle is most definitely present!
My plan of action this evening is to take photos of birds just as they take off. I always like a challenge and to step outside my comfort zone. I start with this Long Tailed Cormorant.
Fishing centre
I have a soft spot for baobab trees
Whimbrel
Wattled Plover
Black Kite taking off
Palm Nut Vulture
Great White Egret
Preening
I think she's going to fly...
Here she goes!
It looks like she is having a blast!
We see a tree full of Pink Backed Pelicans.
Yellow Billed Stork
African Spoonbill
Goliath Heron
Black Kite
Blue Cheeked Bee Eater
The sun is getting low now, and depending which direction I point my camera, the sky glows a warm yellow, glistening in the ripples on the water surface.
Great White Egret
Common Sandpiper
Sacred Ibis
Sacred Ibis
Whimbrels
And they're gone
African Darter
Cattle Egret
The sun is only just above the horizon now, as we have entered an area enclosed on three sides by mangroves and an island in the middle.
Max, the captain, explains we will wait here for the sun to go down and the birds to come back to roost.
We see a few single birds flying around in the sunset, then coming in to the island to settle down for the night.
The sun has painted the sky a deep orange now.
Beautiful reflections on the water
Where there were initially just one or two, they are now coming in thick and fast, it seems to be never ending, and they seem to appear from nowhere.
More and more egrets are gathering in the trees, and when you think there is no room for any more birds, a whole lot of others arrive.
It is hard to know where to look, the birds are coming from three out of four directions, and seem to suddenly appear out of nowhere from behind us with a whoosh. It is an air traffic control nightmare!
When there is no more room at the inn and the light is fading rapidly, we start to make our way back to the lodge, stopping from time to time to take photos of the sunset. To say this evening's performance has been spectacular is an understatement!
By the time we reach the hotel, darkness has all but enveloped Makasutu Forest and the twinkling lights of Mandina Lodge welcome us back.
Dinner
As time is getting on, we go straight to dinner from the sunset cruise; the boat conveniently lands at the jetty right by the restaurant anyway.
Pre-dinner drink of Pina Colada
Prawn Cocktail
Butter fish with Lyonnaise potatoes and a delicious home made tartare sauce
David's Samosas
Gambian Rice Pudding with ground peanuts - a very delicate flavour
We decline the offer of an early morning coffee in the room tomorrow, in favour of a lie in, and sneak off to bed after a magical day in Makasutu Forest.
Posted by Grete Howard 15:16 Archived in Gambia Tagged trees birds fishing reflections sunset pelicans kite africa dinner forest birding captain baobab stork vulture ibis egrets spoonbill birdwatching mangroves cocktail west_africa samosas cormorant gambia boat_trip fores sunset_cruise piña_colada darter roost plover bee_eater sandpiper the_gambia butter_fish mandina_lodges makasutu makasutu_forest whinbrel flying_birds birds_flying air_traffic_control prawn_cocktail rice_pudding Comments (5)
