Outamba-Kilimi, or simply OK Park, is the oldest national park in Sierra Leone and the most mysterious, which makes it my favourite one. The gallery below showcases pictures from two trips organised in early November 2022 (end of rains) and early March 2023 (mid of the dry season). Getting to OK in November, just after the rains, was an adventure itself, as the dirt road from Kamakwie to the park headquarters was more suited for boats than for 4WDs.

Alas, OK Park can aspire to be seen as the most neglected one – it badly needs conservation and investment in tourism. As for now, exploration is limited to the Outamba side, where you can camp in your own tent, as the basic accommodation in wooden chalets OK used to provide lies in ruins. The park suffered greatly during the civil war – the rebells destroyed most of the facilities (Bradt, p.304). Still, walking around the wretched wooden chalets and remainings of the buildings now claimed by the jungle – and with a little bit of imagination – I could easily imagine its glorious times.

Why to visit Outamba section? In OK, you can simple enjoy the nature: hike in the forest, track the river hippos and other creatures, especially monkeys: red colobus, black-and-white colobus, western chimpanzee, Guinean baboons, not to mention more than 200 species of birds. Tours are organised by the local guides.

The canoe hippo trips used to be organised when the only boat at the park’s disposal was only a little bit leaky. A friend mentioned that during her visit a few years back, they used the leaky boat to look for the hippos, equipped with a margarine tube to constantly remove the water from the canoe. During both of my visits, we were not allowed to use the boat for the hippo trip – even with the aide of the margarine tube; however, you can now walk with a forest ranger for around 6km to the hippos’ favourite resting spot and admire them from the shore.

Kaba ferry on the Kaba River (the Little Scarcies): a cable pulley technique to make you cross the river