Dutch tourists celebrated the arrival of 2017 in the most Dutch way possible – by flocking to the Poco Loco beach for the traditional New Year’s Day dive.

They may still have been recovering from the festivities the night before, but that did not stop them descending on Senegambia’s most famous beach.

The event was organized by the Dutch community in The Gambia to raise funds for the charity Animal Care Association Gambia.

Pierre Jatta, a Gambian that witnessed the New Year’s Day dive, said: “This New Year’s Day was so nice at Poco Loco. I was there and saw what I have never seen before.  It was nice fun with the Dutch people.”

The Dutch traditional New Year’s dive started in 1960 in Scheveningen, Holland when a swim club decided to start the year fresh with a plunge in the sea. It later generated both national and international attention with an increase in the number of participants and locations. 

In The Gambia, it has become the most famous local event among Dutch tourists.