AFTours - overland tours from North, West to South and East of Africa

Itinerary and highlights

Day 1

• Arrival in Douala. We will spend the night at the well-known "Sailor’s Home" of the German sailor’s home mission. A wonderful garden, a swimming pool and air-conditioned rooms await us. (Prior registration is required. Participants who register very late may have to be accommodated in a good midrange hotel. (Accommodation in double rooms. Single rooms, if available, for a surcharge)
   

Day 2

• Departure from Douala.
• Let's get out of this overflowing city! Already after 90 kilometres, we arrive in Limbe, the former Victoria.
• Visit to the Limbe Wildlife Centre. An animal foster and shelter station, which takes care of wild animals that were smuggled illegally out of the rainforest. Over a dozen gorillas also live here. But also chimpanzees and other monkeys such as mandrills, as well as parrots and reptiles find refuge here and receive medical care.
• Just 20 km out of Limbe, we will camp right at the ocean on a hotel’s property.

Day 3

• A day off to relax and get accustomed to Cameroon! The black beaches in the southwest of Cameroon are one of a kind. The Mount Cameroun volcano erupted last in 1999 and spewed its lava all the way up to here. The stream of lava stopped only 45 m short of the ocean. The palm-lined beach is flat and stretches far out into the ocean. One can wander for kilometres along the beach. A dream comes true.

Day 4

• Near Limbe, we will drive along the old "Tea Road" to Buea. This curvy road winds its way through the tea plantations all the way to Buea. Uniquely beautiful. Buea is for Mount Cameroun the same as Zermatt for the Matterhorn in Switzerland. Starting point for the climbing of the country's most impressive mountain. The highest peak in all of West Africa can seldom be seen. Its peak is generally shrouded in clouds.
• Camp near a hotel.

Day 5

• From an elevation of 1000 m in Buea, we now drive down a steep road almost to sea level. Our next destination. The Ekom Waterfalls near Nkongsamba. The movie "Greystoke - Lord of the Apes" with Christopher Lambert was filmed here. The waterfalls can only be reached by foot. But from tonight's campsite, we have a wonderful view on the falls.

Day 6 - 10

• We will reach Bamenda towards midday. We will be able get the supplies we require for the next 4 days at the big market. Bamenda is the starting point for our trip on the "Ringroad", possibly Cameroon's most impressive stretch of landscape. The landscape alternates between forests, savannah and grassland. And time and again, mountains and crater lakes. On short hiking tours, the natives will show us their wonderful country. Just about 400 kilometres lie ahead of us.
• Until Wum, the only larger town on the "Ringroad", the track is still good. Many small villages with cheerful people lie along the way. We will not be seeing any other tourists. This is why the inhabitants exhibit such friendly curiosity. The people here still live very traditionally. The village chiefs – called Fon – live in their palaces and are highly respected. We will be visiting one or two of the palaces. We will drive through villages with strange names such as We, Su Bum, Bum. Once we are past Nkambe, the track gets a little better. It climbs to an elevation of 2000 m. Bush camping is the word, camping at crater lakes or maybe also a night in a small village. The "Ringroad" - a memorable experience.

Day 11

• Today, we will reach Foumbam. This historical city from the German colonial era boasts an impressive palace and a museum. We will be visiting both. Craftwork (masks) and naturally also local products are offered at the colourful market.

Day 12

• Our longest travel day. On good tarred roads, past Bafoussam and Bafia, we will travel to Yaounde, the country's capital. We will spend the night on the property of a mission station.

Day 13

• One day in the capital of the country. Impressive and maybe even frightening: The lively city life and the chaotic traffic. Countless colourful markets catch our eye. Particularly worth seeing: The museum of art on the property of the Benedictine monastery high above the city.

Day 14

• On the way to Yaounde, we will drive through dense rainforest again. We will drive through Ebolowa to Kribi, Cameroon's most popular seaside resort with wonderful sandy beaches stretching all the way down to the border to Equatorial Guinea.
• Camp on the beach south of Kribi.

Day 15

• Visit to the Sala Waterfalls. We will travel up the river in a pirogue, through dense rainforest, and visit a Pygmy village.
• Onward journey towards Campo.
• Camp on the beach.

Day 16

• We will reach the small town of Campo and are already in the middle of the Campo-Ma’an National Park. Lowland gorillas, elephants and various monkey species live here. However, these animals are extremely shy. We will likely be able to hear them. But it is rather unlikely that we will also see them. This park is not equipped for tourism yet, and gorilla guided tours, for which the permit alone costs several hundred dollars, are not offered here (yet).
• Onward journey to a small lodge in the park. Starting point for tomorrow's hike through the rainforest. We will be camping there.

Day 17

• Today, we will be going for a hike in the real rainforest. Our day will consist of high temperatures with high humidity, swarms of mosquitoes, sweat, the sounds of the rainforest and tracks from gorillas and elephants. A hike through the rainforest is exhausting, and is anything but the relaxed and fluffy image of the fascinating primeval forest and fantastic nature that we know from Tarzan movies. A very special experience.
• Camp at the lodge.

Day 18

• Return trip along the beach until we are near Kribi. We will enjoy one last day and night on a wonderful Atlantic beach in the south of Cameroon.

Day 19

• This day is our buffer day. On journeys in Africa, it is always possible that delays may occur. This can be due to the weather, poor roads, delays at border crossings, technical breakdowns or the need of medical aid etc. We have included this day so that we will be able to carry out our full travel programme without pressure of time.

Day 20

• Return to Douala. We will spend the night again at the “Sailor’s home or equivalent hotel. (Accommodation in double rooms. Single rooms, if available, for a surcharge)

Day 21

• Day of departure. Most flights to Europe start in the evening or at night.

Travel information

After booking, you will receive from us detailed travel information. Preparation, equipment, visa, health care and detailed information of the meeting point.

We are already in Douala one day before as well as two days after the trip. Thus, you can choose your arrival and departure dates individually.

Further information:

Before the beginning of this trip, our vehicle will be in Cotonou/Benin. We will be starting from there on January 1st, 2012 to head towards Douala /Cameroon. We have 6 days to complete the trip (approx.1700 km). We plan to arrive in Douala in the afternoon on January 6th.
We offer the participants of Tour 31 the possibility of joining us in Benin and travelling with us through Nigeria up to Douala. Costs: € 180,- . The regular on-board catering is included in the price. If you are interested in this trip, please let us know with your reservation for Tour 31. Additional visas are required for Benin and Nigeria (transit visa).

Our price includes

• 2 x hotels (Marin’s home in Douala, double room, A/C)
• All camping fees
• Entrance fee to the Limbe Wildlife Centre
• Entrance fee to the fon palace and the museum in Foumbam
• Excursion on the Lobe river by pirogue
• Entry fee and guided tour into the Campo Ma’an Nationalpark
• 11 x 3 meals per day
•   8 x 2 meals a day
•   2 x breakfast
  (At the starting and ending points, we just serve breakfast. On camping grounds with a restaurant, normally we do not do cooking.

Not included

• Flights
• Taxi fees
• Photography fees
• Drinks (soft drinks / alcoholic drinks)
• Visa fees
• Tipps (for guides)