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toubab1020
12237 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Sep 2017 : 00:55:09
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I wonder if the proposed plans for a DAM before the river becomes the River Gambia will affect the tourism ideal of the Gambia river as envisaged by the Author of this article,interesting thought.
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Thursday, September 07, 2017
In this piece, emphasis will focus on the river Gambia with a view to unraveling the potentials of this great natural attraction. In one of my earlier pieces I did point out that a lot of potential is attached to the River Gambia, which if properly harnessed could serve us great in the domain of tourism. The point was underscored that Destination Gambia is the one river country and that if Egypt is the Nile, and the Nile is Egypt, then destination Gambia is the River Gambia and the River Gambia is the Gambia. This point amplifies the dominant nature of the Gambia River in the scheme of things and in our cultural and traditional setting name sakes are accorded great pride in our scheme of things, The GAMBIA as a nation has name sake in the form of a river and should be treated in like manner.
I always wonder and ponder why this great natural gift has not always been accorded pride of place. Even the colonial rulers did some modicum of justice in this regard; and according to historians first it was Lady Denham, followed by Lady Wright and then Lady Chilel. Way back in the early 80s during break time, junior students of the then Muslim High School including my humble self would undertake occasional forays to Wharfi Nyago with the sole purpose of touring the exquisite facilities of the Lady Chilel and the captain – a well-groomed, tall and lanky fellow used to urge us in and would take us on a conducted tour of the various cabins of the river going vessel. In those days and I believe still today people attach lot of respect to school uniform. It was with great sadness that I learned of the sinking of the coveted Lady Chilel in 1984 summer and thus died with it river transport. What a tragedy.
Late Monika Killi – Cole – Trail blazer in Eco- Tourism
However, the purpose of this piece is not to cry over spilled milk, but to revisit another very important and notable initiative by a non Gambian, but one who loved the Gambia and her RIVER and she was no other person than the late Monika Kili Cole. This German lady came to the Gambia in the early 1980s with her husband Peter and i suppose as backpackers and after criss- crossing the Gambia, eventually fell in love with the local charm and our legendary hospitality just like the early Swedes, but unlike the Scandinavians they were not infatuated by the gorgeous beaches and the glorious winter sunshine, but quickly fell in love with the River Gambia and its wonderful meandering tributaries. Thus they quickly set up base camp on one of the bolongs(creek) and developed the Legendary Lamin Lodge – the spot where the National Tourism Policy 2000- 2005 was launched and remained an icon of eco tourism, but was ravaged by an outbreak of fire in the beginning of this millennium. The fire was so devastating that the iconic restaurant with its exotic thatch roof – the symbol of eco tourism was burnt to ashes. The then Minister of Tourism and Culture Madam Susan Waffa Ogoo- found time despite her busy schedule to visit Monika and Peter at the Lamin Lodge to commiserate and convey the goodwill of the Gambia Tourism fraternity and by extension her Government. In no time the indefatigable Monika and husband worked hard to restore Lamin Lodge once more as a haven of eco tourism in one of finest tributaries of the River Gambia. Lamin Lodge was restored, and even though it has lost its old charm and splendor, still remains an icon of ecotourism.
True to their love of the River Gambia, Monika and husband Peter also made frequent forays up river with their elegantly designed and locally made pirogues and also set up another landmark ecotourism site known as the Janjanbureh Camp in the heart of the Central River Region. This upriver camp has been designed to taste and blended neatly with the local environment, overlooking the majestic river Gambia. It was a true eco tourism haven, offering tailor made tours up river to explore the charm and the serenity of rural communities, as well as boat trips on the majestic river Gambia for those tourists who view the river as “add on” to their Gambia experience. Monika truly loved the Gambia and her people and it was a very sad day when I visited her on her sick bed in Bakau new town – their land side base only to be told by a maid that Monika was so sick that she gave instructions to her not to allow any body in to see her. A few days later I learned with great sorrow that this lady who devoted the best of her life to developing ecotourism and stretching her imagination to unravel the potential of our majestic River Gambia has passed away in 2003.
Samba Lives in Africa – The Ninki Nanka Trail
This piece is therefore a fitting tribute to Monika Killi – Cole as she was later to be known by virtue of her marriage to a Gambian – Musa Cole who also passed away and Monika personally broke this sad news to staff of the National Tourist Office in 2001. Monika”s initiatives designed to develop ecotourism up river were among her finest legacies, but in my humble view, her greatest legacy lies in another project - the award winning film – Samba Lives in Africa: the Ninki Nanka Trail. Samba is the one and only son of Monika and the main thrust of the film are his trials and tribulations as he set out on an expedition on the majestic River Gambia in search of the Ninki Nanka – a mythical creature associated with great mystery in local folklore. To accomplish this task Samba has to undertake an expedition on the majestic River Gambia in search of the Ninki Nanka and in the process came in direct contact with the inhabitants of the riverside communities immersed in their culture and related tangible and intangible heritage, marveled in the fauna and flora, and experienced their legendary hospitality and genuine warmth.
The Ninki Nanka Trail kicked -off from the Lamin Lodge in one of the tributaries of the River Gambia, right through to Dog Island and other pristine islands of the majestic river Gambia. The trail proceeds to Kunta Kinteh island - formerly James Island, passed the Bintang Bolong and on to Manduar – site of the ruins of the Portuguese Trading Post, next stop Tendaba – site of the Tendaba Camp one of the oldest and most successful up river camps, and then to the Devils Point –a landmark in river navigation on the River Gambia. The Kaur Wharf Town is the next stop and on to Kuntaur Tenda not far from the Stone Circles at Wassu and the River Gambia National Park- a chimp sanctuary adjacent to Janjanbureh (formerly Maccarthy Island) – a major destination for ecotourism, then on to Basse Santo Su and finally Koina Tenda, where the trail terminates in search of the elusive Ninki Nanka.
This film – Samba Lives in Africa in my view deserves an award for promoting eco- tourism in the Smiling Coast and Samba the hero of the film equally deserves recognition for his exploits. The film truly highlights the eco – tourism potential of the Smiling Coast in a way that is refreshing and passionate. Just like the docudrama –“Roots”, this film puts Gambia on the world map for all the good reasons and showcases our wonderful ecotourism credential as never before mainly in Europe and Germany in particular. Invariably following the release of this film, which was translated in to German, interest in the Smiling Coast surged and Lamin Lodge in particular, as evidenced by the number of FAM Trip requests from Germany at the time mainly to follow in the footsteps of the trail and also savour the delights of the Lamin Lodge. I must admit however, that by then the Lamin Lodge has lost its former charm and spendour and has become a dog product in need of massive dose of investment and rejuvenation.
Another notable legacy of the project is that over time the film inspired series of initiatives and as such project proposals have been crafted by tourism stakeholders especially those concerned with community and eco tourism in the Gambia. The core concept of the Minki Nanka Trail Projects seeks to develop eco- and ethno-tourism experience with significant improvement in the livelihood of rural communities along the river. The whole concept is geared towards product diversification and emphasis on the involvement of local communities. Invariably the project concept is geared towards poverty alleviation through tourism in terms of employment creation, capacity building, and empowerment of local communities. As such the project seeks to initially set up boat building centre to build the skills of the youth in the art of boat building, which will serve as the main means of transporting tourist within the river. Initially ten reverine villages will be identified along the river and a key component is the development of African inspired accommodation facilities, using locally sourced materials on the river banks.
The Promise of the Niniki Nanka Trail
The Ninki Nanka Trail in a nutshell embodies our wishes and aspirations to fully utilize the potentials of the river for eco-tourism and this is aptly captured in the Responsible Tourism Policy when it underscores that ‘The Gambia is its people. The diverse people of the Gambia are what distinguished us from many other sea, sun and sand destinations. The cultural heritage of our people is our primary tourism asset”. It adds that ”this policy has as its lofty vision the need to make The Gambia a better place to visit and a better place to live in- recognizing that it is the interaction between guests and hosts in a secure and enjoyable environment that is the experience of the Gambia and which encourages people to return..---- We recognize that there is increasing interest in the inland area along the river and that over the next decade tourism will develop in the rural areas, the bird watching sector will grow as well as other opportunities to experience the country side and to interact with local communities.”
Eco- Tourism has emerged as a major niche in tourism and this refers to “environmentally and socially responsible travel to natural or near natural areas that promotes conservation, has low visitor impact and provides for beneficially active socio – economic involvement of local people”. Another definition by Gardner (49) refers to ecotourism as “purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the culture and natural history of the environment taking care not to alter the integrity of the ecosystem, while producing economic opportunities that make the conservation of natural resources beneficial to local people”.
This form of tourism have become buzzwords in the global tourism market place mainly due to the fact that tourism as a global industry is evolving by leaps and bounds as tourists are becoming even more discerning, environmentally conscious and increasingly crave for more interactive holidays where real things matter.
Though Monika is long gone, but her legacy remains and the river Gambia stills retains its undiluted charm and splendor, but remains hugely underutilized
The River Gambia is truly majestic and has in store a lot of touristic attractions, which if properly harnessed can score big for Gambia Tourism. This was not lost to the Tourism Development Mater plan which devotes a huge chunk of the study to amplify the potential of the River Gambia as a tourism resource and went further to recommend the gradual expansion of tourism development areas and these to be developed on theme basis with well defined trails in each TDA in conjunction with local communities and by extension the Local Government Authorities to complement the existing TDA, and here emphasis is on the development of the River Gambia as a product icon
The main TDA in the mix is the Central River TDA from Tendaba to Janjanbureh and here emphasis is on the development of river based products for those tourists who view the river as “add on’ to the holiday experience for cruising –around the River Gambia National Park- place of serenity and a Chimp sanctuary, bird watching, fishing and heritage/cultural tourism. “Low impact, high value tourism’.
Another proposed TDA germane to this is the Kiang West TDA on the south bank of the majestic River Gambia– revolving around the Kiang West National Park and the environs – mainly for ecotourism and bird watching ‘where birds of different feathers flock”.
Conclusion
In conclusion it is worth pointing out that the Smiling Coast is not among the big five African destinations in terms of wild life and Safari Tourism, so we will have to strive hard to craft the requisite products revolving around our unique selling points, and this means creating the most of what is unique about the Smiling Coast and in my humble view the river is part and parcel of this project. According to a leading light of the tourism and hospitality industry “most of the news of the river”s beauty is spread by the word of mouth, lot of tourist and visitors have a great experience on the river , where rare species of monkeys, dolphins, hippos, variety of bird stock are some of the games spotted along the banks of the river” and I most add that any tourist following in the footsteps of Sambia will not be disappointed and perhaps unlike Samba who could not find the elusive Ninki Nanka, you might be lucky to see, feel and experience the mythical and mysterious Dragon – The Ninki Nanka along the river Gambia trail.
The author Lamin Saho operates as a tourism and marketing consultant and was formerly Senior Tourism Officer (National Tourist Office)-2000- 2002. Former Director of Marketing, GTA/GTBoard/ (2006-2012) and briefly served as Director of Planning, Ministry of Tourism & Culture (2012)
Author: Lamin Saho
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/feature-orbiting-through-gambia-tourismin-search-of-the-ninki-nanka
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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"....in search of the Ninki Nanka ....."
