Leone Star
Rupert Parker discovers how Sierra Leone is shaking off its troubled past to welcome tourists again
Standing amid the ruins of the slave factory on Bunce Island in Sierra Leone, it seems precisely the right spot to consider how things have changed for this African country — a brighter future following a dark past. From this point, thousands of slaves were shipped to the United States until the trade was outlawed in 1807. The horrors continued into the recent past with a terrible civil war over blood diamonds and then an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, both claiming many lives.
But the war ended in 2002 and the country was declared free of the virus in 2016. Tourism is now very much on the agenda.
And for those who love to venture off the beaten track, to discover a country few others have seen, Sierra Leone is perfect with idyllic beaches, plus plenty of hiking and wildlife to discover along with the history.
It’s an exotic experience right from arrival. From Lungi International Airport, a 30-minute boat ride across the
mouth of Sierra Leone River brings you into Freetown. I’m staying on Lumley Beach, the town’s seaside playground, home to fishermen and sun worshippers alike. From here the Atlantic coast stretches south in an unbroken swathe of sand with decent hotels to match. The Banana islands, just off the coast, offer more of the Robinson Crusoe experience.
Freetown itself sits at the foot of verdant green mountains vanishing into the cloud, perched on the edge of the ocean. Founded in 1792 by the British government as a haven for returned slaves, it went through a number of false starts as climate and disease took its toll. These days there are still a smattering of colonial style wooden rickety houses, patched with rusted corrugated iron, in districts like Gloucester, Leicester and Kent, although otherwise the architecture is undistinguished.
Just outside the city is the Tacugama Chimp Sanctuary, home to around 80 rescued animals. Sierra Leone has the third largest population of Chimpanzees in Africa after Liberia and Guin