Northern Africa and the Middle East - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 136

day, sample palm wine
and meet some of the local
people who live in this
thriving, protected part of
West Africa.

171 A TrIp To THE SEwAgE
workS, JordAn

Jordan is a birder's paradise. Bang in the middle
of the migratory route of millions of birds from
Europe, northwest Asia and Africa, you can tick
off pages of elusive species by heading to Aqaba,
and in particular, to the home of a favourite
avian stopover: the Aqaba sewage works. This
marshy habitat is proving to be so reliably good
for birdwatching that an observatory is being
established overlooking the works' large lagoons;
though by exploring on foot around the pools,
bushes and trees you will also come across a
huge variety of species, including common cranes
pausing on migration, pipits, gulls and sedge-
warblers…we could go on but you get the drift.
Hold your nose and get ticking.

Need to know The
Makasutu Culture Forest
is 5km from Brikama. For
prices and reservations see
W www.makasutu.com.

Need to know The lodge is open all year, though
the best time to see birds at the reserve is outside
high summer. For details of activities and trails,
directions, prices and reservations see W www.
naturetrek.co.uk; T [phone].

172 SlEEp on THE wATEr In THE
gAMBIA

Mandina River Lodge, situated over the banks
of the Mandina Bolon tributary on the northern
edge of the Makasutu Culture Forest, is the
remarkable vision of two Englishmen, who have
created one of The Gambia's first luxury bush
lodges run by locals and based on ecologically
sound principles. Each of the floating and stilted
handcrafted thatched cabins has its own jetty,
is solar-powered and is reached by an elevated
wooden walkway across matted mangroves.
Local guides run day-trips along the river in
dug-out canoes to show you kingfishers, monitor
lizards and troops of migrating baboons. It's a
morning well spent, but make sure you're back
in time for lunch at the nearby Baobab Cultural
Area, where you can feast on fish caught that

Traditional music and dance at the Baobab Cultural Area; the luxury floating handcrafted thatched
cabins at Mandina River lodge; wildlife spotting on trek through the mangroves