Tiwai island

The well established ecotourism facility and wildlife sanctuary of Tiwai Island is one of several tropical rainforest islands on the Moa River in the south east of Sierra Leone. Local communities in the area are benefiting from visits by tourists and researchers to provide an income and support the needs of their communities. Since the end of the war, The Environment Foundation for Africa (EFA), with the aim of creating a protected area suitable for biodiversity research, conservation and ecotourism, has worked in convincing local communities that farming, hunting and logging are the not the only ways of prospering from the island.

Arriving on the island by boat you are led to a camp in an opening in the forest which comprises of a main central open-sided building, shower and toilet block and peripheral sleeping areas.

The central building holds information on the island and has dining facilities and is where you are debriefed. Around the edge of the camp there are currently three sleeping areas which consist of a concrete base with tents (without fly sheet) and mattresses under a wooden frame with corrugated iron roof. We soon discovered on the first night that this configuration works extremely well as we were totally protected from the heavy downpour. Extra accommodation in the form of wooden chalets in pockets of the forest which will offer a more luxurious stay are also being built. The facilities on the island are basic but the on-site cook provides good meals of local produce normally consisting of the typical rice, fish and nut stew. Drinks can be bought on island but it is still worthwhile bringing some provisions with you.

Activities on offer include guided walks, boat excursions on the river and spending time on a beach which unfortunately is only worth visiting during the dry season. Visitors can follow guided trails but in order to venture further a field we opted for a morning and evening guided walk as you are more likely to see the various species of monkeys and other wildlife at those times of day. There are several guides who take it in turns to show people around the island and whose knowledge of the grid system of tracks is invaluable. The tracks are designated by letters or numbers that after a while you would get to know but as we were only there for a short period of time its worth leaving the navigation to the guide.

Walking through the cool undergrowth of redwoods, thick vines, large crops of bamboo and smell of formic acid and stopping while the guide provides information of the flora and fauna or points out a group of monkeys you would have either walked passed or easily disturbed without realising they were there. Our guide also pointed out the significance of certain types of tree. The cotton tree is one significant example.

It is highly respected as it is considered to be sacred and that the closest and largest one to a village should not be chopped down, to for example, make a dugout. A striking example of this same symbolism can be seen in the old part of Freetown where a cotton tree provides a roost for thousands of bats most evenings. In traditional medicine, the seeds, leaves, bark and resin are used to treat dysentery, fevers, venereal diseases, asthma, menstruation and kidney diseases. Definitely a tree worth looking after. Another tree with more relevant symbolism in the west and visually impactive after being cut into was the latex tree.

Our guide was very helpful and informative and keen to provide us with the best chance of seeing and learning about whatever we came across, pointing out duiker droppings, monkey footprints and mimicing calls of certain monkeys. The duration of the walks were a lot longer than advertised but as we were so engrossed in the search for the different species of monkeys, chimpanzee being the most sought, we just kept on looking. One major benefit of the early morning walk is the temperature you experience under the protection of the canopy and relief from what would be energy sapping heat.

The most elusive creature in the area is the pygmy hippo. It is a solitary nocturnal animal only found in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. Its behaviour is currently being researched on Tiwai by an American lady who has only seen it three times in the flesh and uses motion trigger cameras to track the animals and glean potential information. Previous attempts to capture and tag these animals have proved unsuccessful as two animals ended up in a holding pen resulting in one killing the other. They are also so elusive that even when a BBC wildlife visited the island to film the they were unable to get any footage.

Amongst the various species of butterflies, spiders and vegetation the highlights of what we saw include western black and white colobus monkey, lesser spot-nosed monkey, diane monkey, red colobus monkey and olive colobus monkey.

We also saw several species of the six varieties of hornbill found there who’s call and noise of their wings flapping above the canopy were very distinct. The experience of wandering the forest, enjoying its sights and sounds and getting away from the hustle and bustle of Freetown is definitely worth the trip!