A short pirogue trip on the Sassandra tributary beside Fakobly is one of the more memorable things you can do in western Ivory Coast. Hippos and crocodiles live in this stretch of river, and from a low wooden dugout you are at water level with them — which sharpens the experience considerably.
Local guides and pirogues can be arranged through villagers in Fakobly; the cost is negotiable and the trips are short. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times for wildlife. The forested banks give the river a calm, enclosed quality that makes the occasional surfacing hippo all the more startling.