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 So 2012 has begun and the fight to lose that Christmas excess is on. What better way to do this then on a beautiful hike on the peninsular.
A beautiful trail through forest on the peninsular has recently been opened to walkers.
A 6 hour trek that takes you up to the highest peak, pickets point is an amazing walk if a little tiring!
We left early Sunday morning from Tribewanted to one of the last settlements in the forests on the peninsular, where we were dropped in a car to continue the rest of the trip by foot. It was the second day for volunteers with new organisation The Collective –Sierra Leone and what an introduction they were to have. Our main tour guide was Daniel, who has been in the tourism industry for years and was a fountain of knowlege and we also had another guide called Mohammed who in flipflops walked faster than any of us and knew the exact route in the forest having grown up his whole life there.
On our way up we passed no one and felt like we were the only ones in the forest. Its enchanted nature gives the feeling of a fairytale story. The light just touching the tops of trees meant it was extremely cool below. We scrambled over rocks and eventually after 3 hours reached the top- even though it is the Harmattan- its a stunning view over the peninsular and you really do feel very high up. We took lunch with us and had it on the top. After a 40 minute stop we headed back down, towards big water a village in between John Obey and Tokeh. Its a rather steep decent and I managed to fall on my bum twice! As we got further down we walked through beautiful canapys of tree's. Daniel kept picking up different fruits and berries describing to us the different uses they have and how Sierra Leone has such a rich array of plants. Towards the end we came across the path built by colonialists and there are rocks that had been marked still here today. Along the way are signs put up by (Environmental Organisation) to indicate villages that existed before the main road was built and everyone moved from the forests in order to be close to the road. .
It is a long days walk but worth every minute and you really do feel like you could be exploring the forest for the first time. If interested in the Trek contact TribeWanted or Visit Sierra Leone.
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