Gambia Reptile Farm

Enza and Abi visited so we took some time off preaching and visited the Gambia Reptile Farm.  I've been wanting to go for two years but haven't had the opportunity.  It's run by a European man and is very educational. 

The first snake we met is a Herald snake, poisonous but doesn't bite.

Next we met an egg eating snake.  It can eat eggs 4 times the size of it's head!  It had no teeth but has an egg cracking device lower down in it's throat.  Enza managed to touch this one but still kept her distance.

 

This is Abi with a lovely Olive Sand snake.

My favorite was the python.  So beautiful.  This one is 3.5 meters long but can grow up to 8.5 meters!!

 
Must be a girl, she loves bling and had to make friends with Rebecca to get close to it.

Here's a better picture of Rebecca with the new love in her life.

Rebecca is from Wisconsin and is spending 7 months here in Gambia on a  pioneer trip.  She rented the holiday house in our compound so it's been great to get to know her.  Her love for Jehovah and her enthusiasm for the truth has been a wonderful boost for us.

Even Enza loved the baby tortoises.  Of course what is there NOT to love about baby tortoises??

  Terry and I with a giant tortoise.  They are the second largest in the world after the Galapagos tortoises.

These large tortoises don't live in Gambia, they are from the north of Senegal, right on the edge of the desert.  Some of the animals are kept here for breeding and some are captured for a while, used for education or research, then released again into the wild.  This is a male tortoise who has recently bred with a female from another zoo.

Aptly named Beauty snake.

Baby West African crocodiles.  Wicked looking things.  Even I wasn't tempted to hold one.

I've forgotten the name of this snake, I just loved the curliness of the photo.

Chameleons live in the wild here but they're so well camouflaged I've never seen one.

Puff adders are very poisonous and will bite if stepped on.  They are very good at disguising themselves in leaves so they're difficult to see.  Fortunately there aren't too many of them around.

Scorpions are something else to miss if you possibly can.  Hope I'm not putting any of you off from visiting!  Kasia, I've honestly NEVER seen a puff adder or a scorpion in the wild and I'm sure you wouldn't either.

After the farm we went to the beach.  Sporty Rebecca immediately felt at home . . .

. . . and so did Terry

Not one for sunbathing, Rebecca went for a run with a friendly cow.  I just never know what's she's going to do next.

Abi enjoyed the water but it was too cold for the rest of us.

We finished off the day with a meal at my favorite restaurant, Blue Kitchen. 

Hope you enjoyed sharing our day! xx