The Banana Islands are a group of

islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

that lie off the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

Yawri Bay Yawri Bay is a bay in the coast of Sierra Leone on the Atlantic Ocean. Geography Yawri Bay opens to the southwest and is located about 25 km to the south of Freetown. The Banana Islands The Banana Islands are a group of islands that lie of ...

, south west of the

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

Peninsula in the

Western Area The Western Area or Freetown Peninsula (formerly the Colony of Sierra Leone) is one of five principal divisions of Sierra Leone. It comprises the oldest city and national capital Freetown and its surrounding towns and countryside. It covers an a ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. Three islands make up the Banana Islands: Dublin, Banana Islands, Dublin and Ricketts are linked by a stone causeway. The third

Mes-Meheux Mes-Meheux, Sierra Leone is a private island of the Banana Islands and was named after Jean Meheux, who was a French merchant and trader who assimilated into Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, a ...

is a privately owned island and used as an adventure tourism destination. Dublin Island is known for its

beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

, while Ricketts Island is best known for its

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

. Banana Islands are entirely surrounded by the Freetown peninsula; and the islands are only accessible by

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

, ferry and helicopter. The major industries in Banana Islands are

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

History

''Diemermeer''

In 1747 the ''Diemermeer'', an East Indiaman belonging to the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

was wrecked here.

The Clevlands

William Clevland and a group of fellow sailors were ship wrecked on the Island, and Clevland took the opportunity to declare himself king. This claim was cemented by his marriage to his wife Ndamba, a Kissi woman. During the late 1700s disputes broke into deep violence between the Clevelands of Banana Islands and the Caulkers on Plaintain Islands. This ended in the 1800s when finally the Caulkers succeeded in taking both sets of islands.

Ricketts and Dublin

Dublin and Ricketts Islands have a combined population of about 900 people. The two Islands are connected by a spit of sand that is underwater at high tide. A stone bridge connects the path between the two islands' villages of Dublin and Ricketts, located on the coast facing the Western Peninsula. The islands were visited in the 17th century and perhaps earlier by Portuguese sailors. They were settled in the late 18th and 19th centuries by freed slaves, mostly from the Americas. Their descendants make up most of the population of the islands today.

Activities

Shipwrecks lie off the coast and in one can be found cannons amongst the ruin and coral. On the northern tip of Dublin Island the ruins of an 1881 church as well as an old slave dock can be found. It is advised that visitors should pay their respects to the tribal chief before wandering around the islands. Tourist infrastructure exists only in the northern part of the island. “Daltons Banana Guest House” or the “Banana Island Chalets” can arrange transportation to the islands from the nearby town of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

References

External links

Adventure tourism Mes-Meheux

Banana Island travel guide

Bibliography

* Manson K. & Knight J. (2009) ''Sierra Leone'' Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides Geography of Freetown Islands of Sierra Leone {{SierraLeone-geo-stub