Gorillas & wildlife - safari to Central & West Africa

Contact us for all tailor made African Safari & Gorilla trekking holidays on 01728 748209 or send an enquiry. 

A fabulous two week adventure group tour to West Africa.  Flying into Yaounde in the centre of Cameroon, you spend two weeks in unexplored territory through mountains and jungles into the heart of the Congo Basin with it's amazing wildlife filled swamps and 'bai's.  These are unique areas to Central Africa where elephants, antelope and lowland gorillas all meet to drink and feed on the fertile swamp lands. There are some long hard drive days on bad roads but plenty of time spent with the local hunter gather tribes, the Ba'Aka pygmies who will teach you about their relationship with the forest.  You can view the wildlife from elevated platforms and hides.  This is a real adventure into 'deepest Africa' in the safety of a group with an experienced leader.

Trips will run in April, July and October and prices start from £4,599 per person including flights.

ITINERARY

Day 1

Arrive at Yaounde, trip briefing and dinner.  Yaounde, also known as the City of Seven Hills, was founded as an ivory trading post in 1888 by German traders and has grown into the bustling capital city of Cameroon. It's elevation of 750m means that the climate is slightly more pleasant than other, low-lying, parts of the country and the city is renowned as the country's cultural centre.

Day 2

Today we start our journey towards the jungles of the Congo Basin. Leaving after breakfast we follow the paved road all the way to the small town of Bertoua. From here the road stops being paved as we continue through tropical rainforest towards Bartouri and, later, Gari Gomb until we eventually reach the frontier town of Yokadouma towards nightfall. Though this is a very long day's driving (approx. 13hrs/650kms) it is necessary if we are to reach the remote regions this trip focuses on and maximise our time there.

Day 3

Leaving Yokadouma we continue on our way towards Mambele and the Lobeke National Park Headquarters. Though we only journey about 160kms, the road, maintained by logging companies, which hold concessions in the region, can be in poor condition in places and we won't be arriving till sometime early or mid-afternoon (depending on the condition of the road).

Day 4 - 6

Basing ourselves in a wild camp inside the national park we spend these three days exploring the area looking for its wildlife and learning about the local Ba'Aka tribe. Depending on the wildlife viewing opportunities we may stay in the same camp for the three nights or move camps. Our schedule will remain flexible and will be dependent on wildlife viewing opportunities though it will include hikes in the forest as well as time spent on the viewing platforms. We will also have the opportunity to spend some time with the local Ba'Aka pygmies who have inhabited the forest for generations.

Day 7 - 8

Today we will cross Lobeke National Park part of the Sangha Tri-National Park which borders several countries and base ourselves at Djembe on the Sangha River across from Congo for two nights. We will spend our time exploring the area in search of more wildlife and in the company of our pygmy trackers.

Day 9

This morning we will travel by boat along the Sangha River, a tributary of the Congo River, towards the border with the Central African Republic at Lidjombo (approx. 3hrs.). After completing immigration formalities we will continue along the river to Bayanga (approx. 1hr) and Doli Lodge, our home for the next four nights. We can spend the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the enchanting scenery as we watch the world go by on the banks of the river.

Day 10 - 12

The Dzanga Sangha Forest Reserve is also part of the Sangha Tri-National Park. The reserve was established in 1990 and covers about 6865 sqkm of jungle. This remote corner of C.A.R offers some of the best forest wildlife experiences around and there is a very good chance of seeing some of the resident wildlife which we may have not spotted in Lobeke NP in Cameroon. The reserve is home to forest elephants, bongos, forest buffaloes, numerous bird species, various monkeys and other wildlife. In particular Dzanga Sangha has the only habituated family of Lowland gorillas in Africa. Some of the activities we will partake in over the next three days include:

Bai Hokou gorilla and Mangabey tracking

We head over to the Bai Hokou research camp run by the WWF. From here we will start tracking the Lowland gorillas. The trek can be arduous and as the gorillas are constantly on the move foraging for food the exact length of the trek is variable but can take up to 3hrs. Though there is no guarantee that we will see the gorillas the chances are very good. Very few people actually track these gorillas! We will also have the opportunity to track Mangabey monkeys. These are ground dwelling, agile monkeys found in the African tropics.

Dzanga Bai

Similar to the Bais in Lobeke, this swampy clearing is rich in minerals which are lacking in other parts of the forest. Animals travel from miles around to feed on the rich mineral salts found in the soil here and, observing form a tree-top hide, we are likely to see large herds of forest elephants (on average between 40 and 120 a day), bongos (the largest forest antelope), sitatungas (marsh-dwelling antelope), Red river hogs and numerous birds including Grey parrots and sunbirds. We should have the opportunity to visit the Bai twice during our stay.

Ba'Aka folk experience

The Ba'Aka pygmies are one of the oldest inhabitants of the region and many still live a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Many Ba'Aka work as local guides and wildlife trackers and we will have the opportunity to join them on a net-hunting expedition. The hunt is launched amidst traditional singing as the Ba'Aka head into the forest tracking animals carrying long nets made from local lianas.  We will also get the chance to learn about the uses of various plants and some of the ceremonies of the Ba'Aka people.  We will also have the opportunity to meet local researchers as well as Louis Sarno, an American who came here over 20 years ago to learn about Ba'Aka music and never left.

Day 13

Leaving Doli Lodge and Bayanga behind, we travel by boat back to Lidjombo where we will cross the border back into Cameroon. Leaving the river we board vehicles and continue onto to Yokadouma where we will stop for the night.

Day 14

Today is a long day driving as we retrace our route heading back to Yaounde.

Day 15

This morning we will have time to visit the Mfou Primate Sanctuary. The sanctuary rescues injured and orphaned gorillas and chimps working towards rehabilitating them. When they are strong enough they are reintroduced into groups of their own kind in safe and controlled environments. The centre also runs an educational programme to teach school children (and adults) the importance of protecting these great apes which are still a delicacy in many parts of Cameroon. We will then have a city tour and visit a local crafts market where you will have the opportunity to buy some last minute souvenirs. Those on the group flight will head to the airport late afternoon.

Get in touch for more details of this group trip to Cameroon and Central African Republic or to discuss other options of seeing Lowland Gorillas and West African Wildlife on a range of group or tailor made itineraries.