mud, wildlife and rain: central Africa

[netllama]

I recently returned from spending three weeks in central Africa, specifically Nigeria, Cameroon & the Central African Republic (CAR). It was a good trip, but a fairly chaotic one too. its a fascinating, vibrant part of the world, full of unique scenery, wildlife & people.  Its also very much developing, with all the challenges that come from that dynamic. To make it even more interesting, climate change has turned what should have been the dry season into a rainy, muddy mess. It rained several days in Nigeria, and nearly every day in Cameroon & CAR, when the reain would have normally have ceased weeks earlier. As we saw in Death Valley following the severe weather events earlier this year, when roads are dirt, rain really makes a huge mess. 

In Nigeria, I spent most of the time in the southwest corner, Lagos, and then within a few hundred km up as far north as Ilorin (with a day trip to the capital Abuja). Nigeria was mostly interacting with people, and cultural experiences.   
In Cameroon, I flew into the capital, Yaounde, then drove east overland, all the way to the Sangha River border with CAR, took a speed boat up river two hours, and then officially touched land just north of the tiny city of Bayanga, where I spent 4 days exploring the Dzanga Sangha National Park (which is buried in a triangle of land between Cameroon and the Congo). The drive across Cameroon was an adventure itself, through dense, remote jungle, on dirt/mud roads that even the locals referred to as "very bad".  It was the gorgeous, mythic jungle of people's imaginations, full of people (including pygmies), plants, trees, flowers, insects and wildlife. 
CAR was somehow even more of the same, with enormous wildlife diversity, including elephants & gorillas.  It was an amazing experience, but this was not easy travel by any means, driving as much as 11 hours in a day, and sleeping in very primitive places (including a spider infested convent).

Some photo highlights of the trip:




monkeys monkeys monkeys


beware



school time


Osun Osogbo

Abuja National Mosque

heading east


light mud

open on sundays


red dust

messy


hey kids!

school


Yaounde, Cameroon street life

sunday sunday sunday !


soupy

a sturdy bridge

where all the drinks are warm

stuck !


eastward


north on the Sangha river


to the elephants (Dzangha Bai)



greetings


kids just wanna have fun


spa day


family trip


the herd


to the gorillas


pygmy village


the mighty Sangha


sunset over the Sangha (plus jungle cat)

the biggest "adventures" of the trip:

• detained for nearly an hour one day by the Nigerian Navy, for not wearing a life jacket (nevermind all the Nigerians on boats who were also not wearing them), and then accused of photographing the naval base, which is a felony
  
• walking through sewage to reach the boat dock for the Makoko floating village
  
• seeing 68 simultaneous elephants at Dzhanga Bai
  
• getting charged by an enraged elephant while returning from the gorilla trek, and having to literally run for my life. it was basically this except substitute my legs for the jeep, and an elephant for the t-rex (yet it sounded nearly the same)
  
• not really seeing any gorillas, because they didn't care, and hid up in some trees
  
• watching a black mamba (snake) swim in the creek that we needed to cross to reach the gorillas.  the black mamba is one of the most deadly snakes, and most bites are fatal within 24 hours without anti-venom
  
• sleeping in a convent that was infested with spiders. i could hear them crawling around at night. also the convent had no hot water, and was rather filthy. this was the "good" lodging option in Yokadouma, Cameroon.
  
• my return flight home was cancelled 9 hours before departure.  had to call & fight with Air France for over an hour to rebook me on another airline to avoid getting stuck in Cameroon for an extra 24 hours. its a rare day when Turkish Air is a welcome sight at Yaounde's airport.
  

I've got a detailed trip report posted HERE. All of the trip photos are posted HERE.

thanks!

[trailhound]

Those are amazing pictures. Also, check out the YouTube channel for "Itchy Boots". This is a Dutch woman who rides her motorcycle around the world. She is currently in west Africa riding the same muddy roads.

[netllama]

Those are amazing pictures. Also, check out the YouTube channel for "Itchy Boots". This is a Dutch woman who rides her motorcycle around the world. She is currently in west Africa riding the same muddy roads.

Thanks. I'll go check out those videos.

[Bluegreen kayak]

I'm glad you made it back safely yet again, and that I get to enjoy your trip without having to go through it myself. The things you get into, netllama! I am curious about the pygmy village (and I have got to remember to use that word in Scrabble someday). Did you meet the folks who live there? The picture looks like one of the shelters is still under construction, and the choice of materials makes me think they have to be rebuilt periodically.

[netllama]

I'm glad you made it back safely yet again, and that I get to enjoy your trip without having to go through it myself. The things you get into, netllama! I am curious about the pygmy village (and I have got to remember to use that word in Scrabble someday). Did you meet the folks who live there? The picture looks like one of the shelters is still under construction, and the choice of materials makes me think they have to be rebuilt periodically.

Yea, we met the residents. They were very excited to meet us, and the chief did a welcoming ceremony as well (which involved rubbing muddy water over everyone's head - not a fan). They live very simple lives, and their dwellings are not intended to last a long time. They move locations based on where the best resources are available (hunting, gathering, etc).

[TacoLand]

I came for the stories about the spider infestation, but left with nothing but disdain for Megan.

Heck of a trip ...

[netllama]

I came for the stories about the spider infestation, but left with nothing but disdain for Megan.

Heck of a trip ...

LOL. It wasn't all that interesting. Just lots of spiders in an old, run down, filthy convent. In the grand scheme of things, the spiders barely registered after running for my life from an elephant.

[MojaveGeek]

Wonderful photos. You do get around. I bet you are one of those "visit every country" types

Your highlights sound like a typical trip through Central Africa I spent a couple of weeks in Mamfe, Cameroun, because the road out is so awful it alternates north and south bound on alternate days, and while stuck there we met the local Peace Corps guys, moved in with them, and had a great time. Oh those mambas, green or black.... And police? Well we had our passports confiscated when trying to leave Bangui (you take a dugout across the Ubangi River to Congo) and had to go whine to the embassy to get them back. Our charge? We didn't have "entrance permit" stamps from when we arrived. Probably just another bribe that should have been paid.

Those red mud roads bring back the memories, even after 50 years. Looking forward to reading your details

As for "Itchy Boots" - yes she is pretty good, enjoy her channel.

I've been in southern AZ all month hiking my butt off as usual.

[netllama]

Wonderful photos. You do get around. I bet you are one of those "visit every country" types

nah, i'll never get there at my current rate. i'm aiming to finish all 54 African countries though. currently at 29.

[MojaveGeek]

nah, i'll never get there at my current rate. i'm aiming to finish all 54 African countries though. currently at 29.

That is an interesting niche. I was glad I travelled Africa when I was young because it sure gets hard some times. Well I was a poor old hippie back than and often hitch hiked around, ate whatever I could find locally, slept in some hovels did not have as much control of my time and agenda as you do (as would I, travelling when I have a bit more money)

The other week I was at a bird watching place and bumped into a South African guy my age, with his son. It took me a few minutes to adjust to his accent but then we had some interesting conversation about Africa - both realizing that there are few in these parts who have spent any time there. Africa is the big unknown in terms of the transition from undeveloped to developed world... a lot going on there.