Cameroon holidays, wildlife and culture
| country: | Cameroon |
| departures: | 2010: 30 Mar |
| price: | From €2250 (15 days) excluding flights. Single supplement €350 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Cameroon’s tag line for tourism is “all of Africa in one country”. In the south the stunning coast has a backdrop of equatorial forest and mountains and as you go north you pass through highlands, savannah, sahel (semi desert) to desert in the very north.
In this diverse terrain live a cacophony of different cultures ranging from Ba’Aka pygmy forest people to nomadic Fulani in the Sahel. Between these cultures are 200 indigenous dialects. Yet despite all this you are unlikely to see any tourists here.
The emphasis on this trip is the remote community of Esu, the kingdom at the end of the road, in the Bamanda highlands of Cameroon, for a fascinating insight into the grass roots of African culture. This region is the cradle of the Bantu African who spread east and south to colonise most of the continent. Esu has its own language, a very strong sense of its identity and is the inspiration behind my company - a Garden of Eden in the cradle lands of sub-Saharan Africa.
Bookending our trip are the beaches of Limbe, one of the most beautifully situated towns in West Africa, nestling between Mount Cameroon and the beautiful equatorial forest coastline. Limbe is home to Cameroon’s premier primate conservation project – The Limbe Wildlife Centre.
You will be given an in-depth introduction to the issues facing conservation in this part of the world and meet up with the gorilla, chimpanzee and many other primate groups indigenous to the region.
You may not quite see “all of Africa” in this trip but you will be taken to its very heart.
In this diverse terrain live a cacophony of different cultures ranging from Ba’Aka pygmy forest people to nomadic Fulani in the Sahel. Between these cultures are 200 indigenous dialects. Yet despite all this you are unlikely to see any tourists here.
The emphasis on this trip is the remote community of Esu, the kingdom at the end of the road, in the Bamanda highlands of Cameroon, for a fascinating insight into the grass roots of African culture. This region is the cradle of the Bantu African who spread east and south to colonise most of the continent. Esu has its own language, a very strong sense of its identity and is the inspiration behind my company - a Garden of Eden in the cradle lands of sub-Saharan Africa.
Bookending our trip are the beaches of Limbe, one of the most beautifully situated towns in West Africa, nestling between Mount Cameroon and the beautiful equatorial forest coastline. Limbe is home to Cameroon’s premier primate conservation project – The Limbe Wildlife Centre.
You will be given an in-depth introduction to the issues facing conservation in this part of the world and meet up with the gorilla, chimpanzee and many other primate groups indigenous to the region.
You may not quite see “all of Africa” in this trip but you will be taken to its very heart.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive Douala, transfer 1 hour to Limbe, staying in a good hotel. |
| Day 2: | Limbe. Am - Intro to primate conservation issues of the region with the project manager of the Limbe Wildlife Centre. Visit the 14 gorillas, 47 chimpanzees, drill monkeys, mangabee, mandrill...they’re all there! Pm - Beach, sea and surf at the foot of Mount Cameroon. Evening - BBQ fish on Down Beach. |
| Day 3: | Travel to Bamenda |
| Day 4: | Spectacular journey around the ring road and through the mountains of the province, returning to Bamenda for the evening. |
| Day 5: | Am - drive to Esu - the kingdom at the end of the road. Pm - settle in, relax and take in the surroundings. |
| Day 6: | Esu. Am - visit and pay respects to the Fon, the cheif of Esu, and his palace. Pm - relax and wander at will. |
| Day 7: | Esu. Visit the schools and tour of Esu lands |
| Day 8: | Esu - walk out to the Fulani camps and optional horse trek. |
| Day 9: | Am - Farewell to the Fon and the people of Esu. |
| Day 10: | Travel to Calabar, Nigeria for the Jewel in Pandrillus’ crown - Drill Ranch at Afi Mountain. From Limbe by speed boat along the coast and through mangrove forests to witness Cameroon’s wonderful birdlife, to Calabar in Nigeria. Here we will be hosted by Peter Jenkins and Liza Gadsby, founders of the Pandrillus project. Their garden is a mini-LWC - the rescued chimps and drill monkeys arrive here and are socialized into groups before they travel to Afi mountain and Drill Ranch. |
| Day 11: | Drive to Drill Ranch and Afi mountain. |
| Day 12: | am. Walk the canopy walkway and visit the ranch. pm. climb to base camp on Afi mountain. Camp in the forest |
| Day 13: | am walk around Afi, lunch back at camp. pm descend Afi. |
| Day 14: | Return to Calabar. |
| Day 15: | Return to Limbe. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. how this holiday makes a difference
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This trip helps to support the primate conservation project of the Limbe Wildlife Centre and education in the community of Esu.
The Limbe Wildlife Centre is at the forefront of the conservation of Cameroon’s indigenous but threatened primate populations. Gorillas, chimpanzees and the highly endangered drill monkey which only exists on the Nigeria/Cameroon border regions, are among the many primates at the centre. The centre’s main remit is to rescue primates caught up in the bush meat trade, which, along with illegal logging, is the main reason for the destruction of primate populations. Adult primates are killed for bushmeat and their infants are sold as pets. The LWC steps in at this stage and confiscates the infant. They are then re-socialised into groups at the centre with the long-term aim of rehabilitation in the wild. The LWC also works hard to educate local populations about the threat to their wonderful wildlife. The community of Esu is in a remote region of the NorthWest province of Cameroon. This company has a special relationship with Esu. Each trip to Esu provides money to the families which host the trip and the company supports achieving children to stay in education with the longer term aim of providing scholarships for the most able children to be able to go on to further education outside Esu. The company believes that this is the most equitable and sustainable way of recompensing the community as a whole for their hospitality. It also supports this company’s belief in “African solutions for African” problems and that Africans are the best placed to know how to support their own communities. It is a fact in African culture as a whole that people who succeed in education and employment end up supporting large numbers of people in their communities. For example, remittance to Africa (money sent back by Africans who move to the West) is greater than international Aid – an amazing statistic when you think about it. Company Ethos: This company aims to dispel a few culturally inherited myths about Africa and to show you a modern, vibrant, open, safe and progressing west Africa. We ensure that your trip only has a positive impact on the communities that host you. Too often tourism in Africa centers around the amazing wildlife and stunning scenery whilst the most vibrant, colourful and fascinating aspect of Africa - its people - pass by the window of the 4x4. I try to reverse the focus by taking you out into some of the amazing communities I have befriended over my 20 years of traveling this vast and extraordinary continent. The landscape is merely the background to the colour, music, vibrancy and hospitality of the people of west Africa. Throughout the trip food and water is bought en route and as locally as possible. Before your trip you will be sent my Responsible Travel guidelines, and en route you will be advised about changing cultural sensitivities. This trip minimizes waste by advising clients to follow the African example and recycle everything. You will see how a system that provides no waste disposal produces very little waste. I encourage you not to bring anything that we in the west count as disposable such as razors or wet wipes etc because in Africa they are not disposable. My company aims to minimize its environmental impact by:
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Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |