MID-OCTOBER - A good time to visit.  It will still thunderstorm in the evenings, but the rainy season is mostly over and it is not yet as hot as it will be during the dry summer.  Just remember to consider a meningitis vaccination if you are going to stay long as this is the start of that season as well along the equator.  The roads are generally much better off by this point too.  You can cross the mountains outside Freetown with no problem and the streams are still full and beautiful.  By the end of the first week of November, the heat is starting to set in with a vengeance.  It will be hot and humidity still high enough that you will perspire heavily,  You need to stay hydrated at all times and if bottle water is not readily availalbe where you are going, you should carry a water bottle with filter (incl virus filter).