Wildlife sound recording expedition to Sierra Leone
April 2027

This expedition is led by George Vlad, an award-winning field recordist whose work has featured in Planet Earth, Dune and The Lion King. In Sierra Leone we plan to record Chimpanzees, other monkeys and primates, pygmy hippos, forest antelopes and lots of birds. April is the tail end of the dry seasons so we should have easy access to remote locations. Make no mistake though, this will be a tough and challenging expedition and you need to have prior experience working in remote locations.

Key facts

Fee - £4500 per person (+VAT if you are in the UK)
Group size - 2 attendees plus expedition leader
Dates - April 2027 - 18 days on location - exact dates TBD
Airport - Freetown International (FNA)
Itinerary - Gola Rainforest, Tiwai Island, Kambui Hills, Kangair Hills, Outamba-Kilimi
Base - camps and lodges where available, camping otherwise
Proficiency level - fieldcraft and sound recording knowledge required
Equipment - bring your own, some kit available to borrow
Fitness level - strenuous physical activity in high heat and humidity
Fee includes lodging on a single basis, permits, food, snacks, coffee, transportation, access
Fee does not include flights, visas, personal expenses, alcohol, tips
£1500 non-refundable deposit required to confirm attendance, balance due two weeks before the trip

Field work

Our mission on this expedition will be to capture wildlife and nature sounds in poorly explored parts of West Africa. These include Gola Rainforest, Tiwai Island, Outamba-Kilimi and several smaller protected areas. We will have a 4x4 vehicle, driver and guides at our disposal. Sierra Leone and its national parks are home to the endangered and poorly studied Pygmy hippo, a cryptic relative of the African hippo. There are also chimpanzees and more than a dozen primate species, plus other mammals, rare birds and lots of frogs and insects. This will be an exciting opportunity to capture soundscapes that have not changed much over millennia, and species that cannot be found anywhere else on our planet.

Key species

• Pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis)

• Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

• Forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)

• Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

• West African potto (Perodicticus potto)

• Giant forest hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni)

• Galagos

Expedition leader

I am George Vlad and I have more than 16 years of experience as a field recordist and sound designer. I’ve worked on many high profile projects including Dune Part II, Mufasa the Lion King, Google Sound Matters etc. More info about me at https://mindful-audio.com/george-vlad-credits. I’ve not been to Sierra Leone but I spent months exploring other countries in West Africa including Senegal and Gabon.

Disclaimer

April is the end of the dry season on Sierra Leone, but the weather can be unpredictable. Our aim is to explore these landscapes as much as the weather permits, and we may have to switch our itinerary around based on access and local knowledge.

A note on recording wildlife and nature. The outdoors isn’t a zoo and wild animals are unpredictable. There is never a guarantee of seeing/hearing certain species. Maximising time in the field and immersing ourselves in the landscape merely gives us the best chances of encounters. The rest is up to nature and wildlife.

Feedback from previous Mindful Audio expeditions

Houstin Lichtenwalner wrote a nice blog post about his experience joining me on expedition in Romania: https://fieldlog.net/blog/2026/05/fieldcraft-is-the-definition-of-a-craft/

Questions/How to book

Email me through the contact form and I will get back to you. See you out there!