Fathala Wildlife Reserve

Job made the safari so much fun. He’s a great guide and got us close to giraffes, zebras, antelopes, rhinos and pumbas!!! Hope his boss hears how good he was.

The local guide shared lots of interesting information during the safari, which was nice. The "walk with lions," though, was a really sad experience. They bring a pair of lions over for tourists to take photos and videos while walking with them, and at first it might seem fun. But the lions looked as if they were on drugs, and the guide kept bullying one of them to make it roar for the tourists. It felt disrespectful and humiliating, like a puppet show. Not a good experience at all. I hope the people responsible reflect on the fact that every creature deserves respect, especially the lion, the king of the jungle.

I was unsure about doing an activity with animals since you never know how they’re treated for tourists’ photos, but the lions seemed healthy and were affectionate with their caretakers, so I believe they live happy lives. That was one of my favorite activities, along with the mangrove, which was beautiful and so peaceful. We saw lots of birds and a crocodile there. The reserve is a long way out, so I’d recommend renting a car and driving. Senegal has good roads, and driving felt friendly to Westerners, with courteous drivers. The reserve itself is really cool. I’ve been on safaris in Tanzania and had already seen all the animals there except the white rhino, so I might skip the game drive if you’ve done other safaris. For a first safari, though, you can see several kinds of antelopes, zebras, giraffes, and the rhino. The giraffes were especially cool, they’re my favorite. It is pricey, at European or American prices or even higher. Still, they care for all those animals and provide jobs for people in the surrounding areas, so I’d say it was worth it. The staff were so friendly, especially Maimuna and Joseph. They were the best!

We saw quite a lot of wildlife, and our guide was excellent and full of information. The drive ended after just 60 minutes, though, which really surprised us since we expected it to last 2 hours.