recently, i was lucky enough to snag a last minute trip to cameroon and the central african republic with lupine travel. here are some of my pics.
the trip started in yaoundé in south-eastern cameroon before heading off on a truly epic 3 day journey across some of the dustiest roads we’ve ever seen.
i’m serious.
it was really freakin’ dusty.
we drove. and drove. and drove. for days.
and we got stuck.
again. and again. and again.
it was brilliant.
it was 3 very long, extremely muddy days over some of the worst roads i’ve ever seen. across old logging roads, through the jungle and past some remote tribal villages, we eventually emerged muddy, battered and bruised but somehow all in good spirits.
it is rare these days to travel for so many days and yet still be so remote. on the 2nd and 3rd day of travel, the largest villages we passed were made up of only a few dozen people. it was an amazing journey and a real honour to be a part of it. the reason for the excessive overland travel was due to the horrific war that has been taking place in the central african republic (CAR) for the past 7+ years.
with seemingly no end to the war in sight, CAR was a country that i didn’t think i would be able to visit for quite some time. lupine travel did an amazing job in organizing a safe trip to a beautiful and untouched national park on the far western edge of the CAR. the three days travel was a safe and necessary alternative to the unpredictability of the CAR.
we eventually reached the border between cameroon and the CAR along the sangha river. it was such a relief to finally stretch our legs and walk around town while waiting for the border formalities to be complete.
border formalities were surprisingly efficient and we were quickly on our boat and heading up the sangha river that divides the two countries. it was a welcome and relaxing boat journey after the relentless punishment of the cameroonian roads. the rum helped as well.
the main destination of our trip was the sangha lodge in the dzanga-sangha national park, central african republic. a wonderfully chilled riverside lodge with wood huts and plenty of excursions to keep us busy for days.
our first outing was to the dzanga bai to see the elephants. wicked.
and then the highlight of the trip, the western lowland gorillas. it was a pretty special moment, to be able to spend some time with these animals. one that i will never forget.
we also had time to find some mangabeys as well.
and finally a quick side trip down a tributary to find home brewed local palm wine.
they let the sap ferment on the tops of the palm trees for a short while.
fresh and ready to drink.
it was intensely sour. but it did the trick.
our final stop on the return journey was a pgymy village in cameroon.
i’m not normally a fan of village visits, but it gave us an interesting insight into the challenges faced by the baka people in today’s modern society.
i don’t normally take package tours, but i highly recommend checking out lupine travel if this trip is something you are interested in. they were able to expertly organize a rare and unique trip to a hard to reach area in central africa.
visa formalities were also very straight-forward and efficient. also, having other like-minded travellers to keep you company on the long journey was also a lot of fun and i don’t think i would have had the same enjoyment if i attempted this on my own.
thanks again for reading and check out some of my other travel blogs if you have time!