Monkey Island

Tiwai

Tiwai island is the place to go for wildlife in Sierra Leone, with chimps, monkeys, birds and the elusive Pygmy hippo. Nature walks and boat trips failed to get us a hippo spotting, but given the BBC spent weeks filming without success perhaps it's no surprise the best we saw were some tracks.

Birds at Tiwai

Monkey on Tiwai

Spider on Tiwai

Wherever you are in the country you can find out about the impact of the conflicts. Our main guide, the son of the village head is 28, aged 15 he spent 5 days running from the rebels through the jungle Split up from his parents he had no food only water, his brother died but he made it to the UN run refugee camps. Now back in their village they are trying to build Tiwai as a tourist destination as well as a research centre, & it may be working we met a Spaniard, 2 Croats & 2 Serbs.