Tri - National Safari Tour

Highlights:

Forest Elephants - Gorillas - Bongos - Sitatunga - Dwarf Buffaloes - Chimpanzees- Ba'Aka pygmies - Net hunting - Traditional medicines -Trekking - Traditional dance - Boat and Canoe ride - Pygmies camp - Lobe waterfalls - Seaside relaxation - Marine Tortoise Museum ...

Introduction:

Tri-National safari Explore19 is an expedition designed for nineteen days to explore the core of the Congo basin visiting the tri-national park that comprises Lobeke in Cameroon, Nouabale Ndoki in Congo, and Dzanga Sangha in the Central African Republic. This is an adventure as it requires physical fitness and the spirit of an adventure.

Traveling long distances on asphalted roads, sailing by canoe, and trekking deep under the evergreen canopy of the Congo basin is the second vast & incredible rainforest in the world after the Amazon, will give us the opportunity to witness endemic wildlife such as Forest Elephants, Western lowland Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Leopards, Sitatungas, Buffaloes, Bongos... and numerous birds species not living out traditional dance, net hunting, and initiation to traditional medicines offered by the Ba'Aka pygmies.

Sailing by canoe to pygmies camp, visiting the marine tortoise museum, and relaxing at the white sandy beach in Kribi are added to crown this unforgettable experience.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Sunday: Arrival in Yaounde
Day 2: Monday: Yaounde – Bertoua
Day 3: Tuesday: Bertoua – Yokadouma
Day 4: Wednesday: Yokadouma – Lobeke (camp Combo)
Day 5, 6: Lobeke (Mirador 1-3)
Day 7: Saturday: Lobeke - Bomassa – Nouabale Ndoki
Day 8, 9: Nouabale Ndoki (Mbeli bai & Mondika)
Day 10: Tuesday: Mondika – Bomassa - Bayanga
Day 11: Wednesday: Bayanga (Sangha bai)
Day 12: Thursday: Bayanga (Bai Hokou)
Day 13: Friday: Bayanga (Ba`Aka Pygmies)
Day 14: Saturday: Bayanga – Nola – Yokadouma
Day 15: Sunday: Yokadouma – Bertoua
Day 16: Monday: Bertoua – Yaounde
Day 17: Tuesday: Yaounde – Kribi
Day 18: Wednesday: Kribi
Day 19: Thursday: Kribi - Douala - Return Flight.

Detail of Program:

Day 1: Sunday: Arrival in Yaounde

Meet and greet at Yaounde Nsimalen airport, transfer to hotel, briefing, dinner, and night.

Day 2: Monday: Yaounde – Bertoua

Early breakfast, we board our vehicle and head to Bertoua. The 338 km driving is not an issue, the road is asphalted at a great distance as we traverse the forest of the Centre Plateau. We arrived at Bertoua late in the afternoon and checked in at Mansa Hotel for the night.

Day 3: Tuesday: Bertoua – Yokadouma

The real part of the adventure commences today with a dirt road that stretches 279km linking Bertoua to Yokadouma. There is a perpetual encounter with timber trucks loaded from numerous logging companies exploiting a great part of this side of the Congo basin. We arrived in Yokadouma in the evening and checked in at Elephant Hotel where we spent the night.

Day 4: Wednesday: Yokadouma – Lobeke

We drive along the thick rainforest into the Lobeke National Park in the southmost part of Cameroon. Arrival and check-in at Combo camp for the night.

Day 5, 6: Lobeke

These two days are spent in Lobeke. After early breakfast each day, we take a forest walk in the national park and embark on an animal safari in the quest for big mammalian species that are endemic to the region such as elephants, monkeys, gorillas, sitatungas, bongos, buffaloes, etc.

Trails lead us to various platforms of observation. This Park also constitutes part of the tri-national park of Dzanga Sangha in the Central African Republic that we also have in our program and the Nouabale Ndoki National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dinner and night in tents.

Day 7: Saturday: Lobeke - Bomassa – Nouabale Ndoki

At Lobeke, we depart early crossing the Sangha River by boat from Djembe to get to Bomassa in Congo. After about an hour's drive from Bomassa and one and a half hours by canoe including an hour's trek, we arrived at Mbeli camp, installation, dinner, and night at the Camp.

Day 8, 9: Nouabale Ndoki National Park

During these days, we trek through the evergreen canopy in the heart of this part of the Congo basin to watch forest elephants, antelopes, birds, hedgehogs, Red River hogs, etc. on a well-settled platform including tracking of western lowland gorillas with nights at both Mbeli and Monika camp.

Day 10: Tuesday: Mondika – Bomassa - Bayanga

After visiting Lobeke and Nouabele Ndoki National Park, the next and last part of our Tridom safari adventure was Dzanga Sangha at Bayanga which we attained late in the evening. Dinner and night at Doli Lodge.

Day 11: Wednesday: Bayanga (Sangha Bai)

Our center of interest today at the Dzanga Sangha National Park is Dzanga Bai where hundreds of forest elephants, sitatungas, Bongos, dwarf buffalos, and numerous birds meet at the saline as they look for mineral salts to facilitate digestion.

After about 30 30-minute drive and about an hour's walk in the heart of the forest, we attained Dzanga Bai and comfortably sat on the platform as we observed pure game scenery in the jungle.

Late in the afternoon, we return to the Lodge where we are honored with the Ba'Aka traditional dance before dinner time.

Day 12: Thursday: Bayanga (Bai Hokou)

After early breakfast at the Lodge, we head to Bai Hokou where knowledgeable pygmy guides are waiting for us for the Western Lowland Gorillas safari trekking. We go after them up to the last camp where the Gorilla spent the night. An hour and a half in their company gives us the opportunity to experience their social life and feeding behavior. We later returned to the research center and continued to explore by tracking mangabeys. Later we board our 4x4 car and drive back to the Lodge.

Day 13: Friday: Bayanga (Activities with the Ba'Aka Pygmies)

Our last day visit at Dzanga Sangha comprises a net hunting expedition with the Ba'aka folks, an introduction to traditional medicine by the pygmies who will show us how they use plants to heal themselves when sick, a cultural excursion to Yadoumbé a famous and typical Ba'Aka settlement to learn more about their architecture, cuisine and daily lifestyle.

Day 14: Saturday: Bayanga – Nola – Yokadouma

After our safari expedition to CAR, we returned to Cameroon where we attained Yokadouma late in the evening, checked in at Elephant Hotel, and night.

Day 15: Sunday: Yokadouma – Bertoua

After breakfast, our return continues with a night in Bertoua at Mansa Hotel.

Day 16: Monday: Bertoua – Yaounde

After driving for several hours, we attained Yaounde, dinner, and night.

Day 17: Tuesday: Yaounde – Kribi

Today we head to the South of Cameroon in Kribi where we crowned our safari adventure with seaside relaxation, dinner, and a night at Hotel Ilomba.

Day 18: Wednesday: Kribi

After early breakfast, we drive to Lobe River and next sail by canoe to pygmies camp. After a warm welcome and visit to the pygmies sandwiched by traditional dance, we then board our canoe and return to Kribi. We visited Lobe Waterfalls and relaxed at the white sandy beach before retiring to the hotel for the night.

Day 19: Thursday: Kribi – Douala - Return Flight

Possibility for an excursion to Ebodje fishing village to visit the museum for the conservation of marine tortoises. Return and continuation to Douala, transfer to the airport, departure formalities, and return flight.

Included:

Meet & greet - Airport assistance - All transfers - Ground transportation - fuel - tollgates & driver - Boat & Canoe ride - Double room occupancy - Gorilla permit - Ba'Aka dance - Net hunting - All visits & activities as in program - Professional field guide - Porters - Local guides - Mineral water - Full board - Elephant viewing - Gorillas tracking - Park fees - Nights in tents.

Not Included:

Visas & International flight - Personal purchase of souvenirs - Laundry - Gratuities - All visits & activities not mentioned in the program - Drinks - Personal & travel insurance - Life jacket.

If people are to develop love and concern for the earth, they need direct experience: otherwise, their knowledge remains remote and theoretical and never touches them deeply.