African wildlife

Sierra Leone certainly isn’t known as a safari destination, but there is an excellent chimpanzee sanctuary on the edge of Freetown. They rescue chimps who have been kept illegally in captivity or injured by poachers and they currently house around 100 in a large area of preserved forest. We spent a very enjoyable day there visiting the chimpanzees in the morning (and dodging the rocks and handfuls of gravel they like to throw at the tourists!), followed by a fabulous guided jungle hike in the afternoon.

On our hike we marvelled at many magnificent trees and also this pair of giant snails in the middle of our path!

Since being at sea we’ve enjoyed watching out for wildlife in the ocean, particularly from the Bridge. Initially there were large numbers of flying fish and several pods of dolphins in the first few days. Since then things have been much quieter - just a brief sighting of a large turtle and a whale while eating our dinner on deck.