Cameroon

Visited: March 2024

Duration of visit: 15 days

Capital city: Yaoundé

Population: 29 million (2024)

Estimated reading time: 24 minutes

• Moto taxi drive along untouched forest paths from Libongo to Membele, avoiding all obstacles and spotting wild life high in the treetops.
• Observing gorillas and parrots during 3-day jungle trip in Lobeke National Park.
• Heat, chaos and Woman’s day celebration in Yaoundé.
• Visiting sultans’ palaces in the Northwest regions.
• Savoring the best fish in the country at Lombe beach, full of garbage and plastic bags.
• Finding a tranquil oasis of peace on a perfect Seme beach.
• The biggest city and economic center of Douala wasn’t as bad as described and anticipated.

Cameroon is Africa in miniature due to its exceptional geographical and cultural diversity. Diverse landscapes and terrain that represents each of the continent’s climatic zone wrap up in one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. From rainforest, swamp, savannah and beaches in the south to arid desert in the north (which was unfortunately off the limits due to security issues).

One of the most ethnically diverse populations in the region, made up of 250 ethnic groups, who speak 280 different languages.

A particular history during colonization, when a German colony was divided to France and British territories, set Cameroon as a non-homogeneous area, where great contradictions come together.

The frictions have had a very negative effect on the development of the country and the limitation of minority ethnic groups.

The national football team “The Indomitable Lions” is probably the best internationally recognized Cameroonian brand. Cameroonians love football and are proud of becoming the first African nation to reach the World Cup quarterfinals in 1990, winning gold medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympic games and winning the African Cup of Nations 5 times.

Cameroon was part of my Central African trip, which included Central African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon and São Tome and Principe in the beginning of 2024. I got eVisa in advance, supported with an invitation letter that had been previously arranged by a local person and properly certified at the Emigration Police office in Yaoundé. The price of 180.00US$ classifies Cameroonian visa among the most expensive visas in the world.

I entered Cameroon from Central African Republic, crossing Kadei River on a small wooden pirogue. Tired after a moto taxi ride on the narrow bush road and constant pressure for bribes at checkpoints in CAR, I was surprised by a warm welcome of Cameroon immigration officer in Libongo.

My first intention was to continue the ride on a moto taxi to the village of Membele, a base for Lobeke National Park exploration. The nature forced me to change the plan as soon as a strong tropical rain started in the early afternoon.

Even though the gasoline tank was full, my driver ready to go and my stomach content after the first fish and cassava lunch in Cameroon, we decided to postpone the trip until the early morning. In the evening I walked around the center of the village, where small entrepreneurs were offering BBQ with meat, fish, drinks, music and games.

Strangely enough, I couldn’t find any fruits, but I was happy to connect to internet, after various days of being offline in Dzanga Sangha area.

The ride from Libongo to the village of Membepe could be divided in three sections.

• At 6:30am the driver kicked off at full speed on the perfect dirt road, that was wide enough for two trucks to transit in different directions. No vehicles, some monkeys jumping on the top of high trees, which form dense jungle along the road.
• In the second part, the road narrowed, the surface was much more humid and slippery, some puddles from previous day rain were reducing the speed. We almost fell off a few times, diverted off the road and stuck into a deep puddle that the driver underestimated. The motorbike was making strange noises, the clutch was not working properly.
• We were forced to stop at a checkpoint where international logging companies control the traffic, since the driver didn’t carry any tools with him. He fixed the bike to continue through the last part with a decent speed, since the conditions improved as in the first section.

Five kilometers before the final destination we, were detained by a police officer, who showed all his repertoire of power, disrespect and indulgence. First to me, checking detailly all stamps in my passports and goods in my baggage; later he accused the driver of not presenting motorbike insurance and the driving license.

We both new that it was a question of bribery, but his expectations were much higher than acceptable by the driver. “No problem. I will wait here for another vehicle.”, I replied in a calm voice.

After 15 minutes a pick-up car passed by and as soon as I was allowed to jump into the cabin, the moto driver was allowed to continue as well. Of course, after paying the initially proposed bribery.

It is a challenge to describe how remote this place is, but the remarkable numbers about the visitors might give an idea: 102 visitors in 2023 and 7 visitors in the first two months of 2024.

Still, I didn’t have doubts that this spartan experience would be a great adventure.

I discussed the conditions of my visit with the tourism director, park director and logistics manager. They didn’t convince me with great knowledge of the national park, but enough to decide for a 3-day trip. I reduced the team that would accompany me during the whole trip to the following five members: two eco guards, a guide, a cook and a porter.

Additionally, a driver, a chain saw operator and another guard will participate in the section that is done by a jeep to the walking start point. Quite a team for a single visitor from Slovenia! But rules are rules.

With almost 2 hours delay, the next morning at 8:50am, the team was ready. The only available vehicle was an Ambulance Landcruiser in which we travelled for an hour to arrive to the end of a dirt road.

We walked 6 kilometers through dense tropical forest on a dry path. We heard the sound of birds, an elephant and some monkeys on the way. As I approached the observation tower of Bai Petite Savane, a gorilla emerged on the way, looked at me and slowly disappeared in dense tropical forest. Bai or forest clearing with water source provides an exceptional site, where animals can spend extended periods of time and are habituated to human presence on the viewing platform.

As soon as I reached the top of the tower with a view over the bai, I spotted a Western Lowland Gorilla family of four that were slowly moving around in the open area. After some minutes they walked to the jungle. This was my first real animal observation in Lobeke National Park.

The second part of the walk to Bai Ndjangui was much harder and eight kilometers long. The older security guard was so tired, he could hardly walk. High humidity, heavy backpack and lack of proper food caused the exhaustion by the time we reached the camp at 3:45pm. I immediately continued to the observation deck, but this time only buffalos were spotted at a great distance.

The accommodation was very basic, where you need a lot of tolerance to washing in shallow streams, and using pit toilets with or without walls. Even though a tent was raised for me, it was too hot to sleep inside. I quickly installed my mosquito net and slept on the wooden ground. We went to bed early, since no light was available and we were all very tired.

I started day 2 with the observation of wildlife viewing in Ndjangui bai – forest clearing, where mineral deposits prevent trees from growing. The forest animals and birds visit the clearings to lick or eat the mineral rich soil and bath in mineral rich water. At the same time, the bai can be very dangerous for the animals, since they are exposed to predators or poachers.

The amazing spectacle of thousands of African Green Pigeons and African Grey Parrots performing the bird dance was worth all the effort of walking the previous day.

Vast flocks of birds take off from the trees with the crash of thousands of wings and wheel through the sky, swooping, turning, merging or passing through each other. The sound of wings when taking off and flying over the observation tower is incredible. They seem to be perfectly aligned, since no accidents happened.

On the way back, we spent another night at Petite Savane campground, where I visited the bai twice. I was not lucky to spot any other animals, beside a couple of sitatungas (a swamp-dwelling medium-sized antelope), which were slowly grazing through high grass.

On the third day, we walked back to the parking lot. Suddenly, a yellow – orange snake, approximately two meters, long crossed our way. The guide was scared: “Mamba, mamba. Dangerous!”. The poisonous snake continued to move elegantly in a zigzag way to the forest, as if nothing had happened. An hour later, a gorilla was detected on the branch of a tall tree in a distance, warning us with noise screaming and quickly descending from the tree.

When spotting animals in Lobeke National Park, it is usually a question of short moments, during which I was able to appreciate the beauty of animals. Very often, not enough time to even take a camera out or too far to get a good photo. A pristine environment with basic infrastructure doesn’t offer the same commodity as the neighboring Dzanga Sangha National Park in Central African Republic, but it was still a wonderful experience to appreciate the wild nature.

The eastern region of Cameroon is the most remote and poorly connected to the rest of the country. It is a long way through rural areas on a dirt road, before reaching any decent urban area from Mambele and two days drive to the capital Yaoundé. There is not much to see or not many reasons to stop on the way either.

“Be at the central junction at 7:30am and stop any vehicle that will pass by!”, was a general advice, what to do, in order to start moving toward Yokaduma, the first town, north of Mambele. After enjoying the last salty, egg omelet with sardines and onion, I stood up on the main road and waited what would happen.

Two fully loaded cars passed by, before a comfortable Toyota, double cabin pick-up truck, stopped. “Yokaduma, oui, oui, sure, come in! We work for the post and go to Yokaduma and further to Bertoua!”

Three national post office employees were driving to the same direction as me. We spent eleven hours travelling on very basic bush roads, stopping at some villages to deliver and pick up the letters or packages. They purchased plantains, cassava and bananas directly from the farmers on improvised stands along the road. I invited them for drinks, when we reached the first settlement with electricity.

For me, it was a pleasure to drink anything cold after a week of warm drinks.

We arrived to Bertoua at 7:00pm. I was too tired to continue on a night bus to Yaoundé, preferring to sleep a short night in a basic hotel, before continuing through the last, comfortable part on a paved road to the capital. Even Bertoua was without electricity, being the capital of Eastern Region. Nevertheless, some electrical generators and improvisations lightened up the lively main street, where street vendors were offering drinks, fruits, grilled chicken, meat and fish.

I ordered a grilled fish with typical bobolo (a stick made of water and dried cassava, wrapped in banana tree leaves) in an unpleasant area, surrounded with garbage, trash under my feet and plenty of people. It was dark and hard to appreciate the vicinity. I was too tired to care about anything but tasteful fish.

The last part of the trip from Bertoua to Yaoundé was as comfortable and enjoyable as it could get in Cameroon. A climatized VIP van for 15 passengers left on time. Smooth drive on perfectly paved road with little traffic through villages, where higher standard of living was present, while the banana, avocado, papaya, palm trees and other tropical plants were decorating both banks of the road. Most of the jungle have been cut, deforestation seems to be part of Cameroon’s reality.

I settled down in a nice apartment in residential area of Anguissa, not far from central Yaoundé. My first activity was to get onward visas for Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. I knew that both countries currently have some political issues with Cameroon, but the inquiry brought me the worst news.

Equatorial Guinea Embassy is currently not issuing visas without a special invitation that needs to be approved at the Ministry of Tourism in Malabo. Gabon does issue visas, but only to the passengers that fly in, since the land border between Cameroon and Gabon is closed.

After analyzing various options, I changed my original plan, bought an airplane ticket for Libreville (the capital of Gabon) and received the visa next day. Mainland of Equatorial Guinea will have to wait for the next opportunity. Since I visited the capital Malabo and the island in the past, it is not such a big issue anyway.

Moving around Yaoundé is a real hassle. Motorbikes in the metropolitan areas were suspended years ago, public buses don’t exist.

The only option to cover great distances are shared yellow taxis. They pass by the main intersections and listen to the offers of passengers.

People stand along the street and scream destination and how much money are they willing to offer for the ride. The challenge is to stand on the right place, facing the right direction, which must be on drivers’ route.

Since the coins and small bills are limited, the regular price of 350 CFA is usually raised to 500 CFA, because the driver doesn’t offer change. At the beginning, I was consistently standing at the wrong corner, facing the wrong direction or going to the unpopular area of the embassies. Therefore, my only option was to offer higher price in order to get attention from the drivers. After screaming “Ambasade de Gabon, 1,000 CFA!” for some time, I finally got a ride.

According to various opinions from different sources, Yaoundé is a pleasant capital, with mild climate, well organized and easy to explore … comparing to the biggest city of Cameroon, Douala. I haven’t been to Douala yet, but after two days in Yaoundé, I didn’t fall in love with the capital of Cameroon.

Beside the complicated logistics, the city is dirty, full of garbage, extremely hot and crowded with hectic atmosphere. It is not easy to face the competition on every level, therefore the battle for surviving is fierce. People often don’t treat each other with calm, nor nice words. I saw quite some strong exchange of words that were close to a fight; among men and women.

I met my online French teacher Audry, resident of Yaoundé, to show me around her hometown. I asked her to take me to the central market (Marché Mokolo), which is chaotic and full of people. Many of vendors were screaming le blanc at me, or carefully observing what I was doing on the central market.

Taking photos is usually not welcome, but accompanied by a local girl, I was treated with more respect and I managed to talk with some sellers in very polite conversations.

What seems as a complete mess of people screaming, offering all kind of products on stalls, streets and more formal points of sale is in reality well organized by sections of products.

From electrical appliances, clothes, shoes, kitchen utensils, to farming equipment, fruits and vegetables. You can buy anything, if you find it, and negotiate the right price.

Yaoundé offers some interesting monuments and landmarks that are mostly concentrated in the downtown. Located in the business district, Kennedy Avenue is marked with a statue, which is raised to honor ex US president John Fitzgerald Kennedy as the founder of the Peace Corps in Yaoundé. The Independence monument was raised to commemorate Cameroon’s independence from France, proclaimed on 1^st January 1960.

Our Lady of Victories Cathedral, in the rotunda of the central post office, with a stunning architecture and a large number of seats, represent an oasis of peace, where I retreated from the intensity of the action on the streets and the heat of the day.

Bilingually decorated Monument J’aime mon pays le Cameroon – I love my country Cameroon is surrounded by the Ministry of Higher Education, the Prime Minister’s office, and the iconic Hilton Hotel. The well-organized area of public offices is known to host hundreds of public employees, who walk around in ministry uniforms with traditional African fabrics.

8^th of March is International women’s day that is celebrated on a big scale in Cameroon. I extended my stay in Yaoundé to observe the parade of thousands of women, who were marching on the main avenue, in front of the First Lady.

This year, green and red colors were chosen for the official dresses. Various groups of women organize to create their own dresses, accessories and hats to represent their union: from ministries, NGO’s or formal organizations, to educational institutions, cooperatives and communities. They are all beautiful and highly respected on that day.

Only the women in officially designed clothes can participate in the parade, walking around the central round abound Rond point poste centrale and passing in front of the eyes of the First Lady.

The impressive event is supported with music bands, but observed by very few people, that more or less randomly pass by during the event. Maybe the timing at midday, when the extreme heat and high humidity are unbearable, doesn’t attract the crowd, who probably prefer watching the live broadcast on television.

After six hours of freezing in super air-conditioned bus, I arrived to the city of Bafoussam, in the Northwest region of Cameroon. It was late at night, but the roads were still busy with moto-taxis, BBQ smoke was filling the air, vendors offering drinks. I was not in the mood to search for an ideal hotel and ended up in a simple St. John Palace Hotel, only two blocks from the bus station.

The northwest region of Cameroon is particular for being predominantly English speaking, with some Muslim influence and local kings, who have a big impact on development, culture and prosperity of local communities.

Foumban Royal Palace was built in 1917 by the most famous king, the Sultan Njoya, who created a new language with a proper alphabet and implemented a religion based on Islam, Christianity and traditional beliefs.

When I arrived, the king was sitting in front of his palace and receiving visitors from the village, who brought gifts for his sister’s wedding.

An interesting ceremony, with music, dance and a lot of speaking. Great respect for the king was obvious.

I took a short tour around a museum on the second floor of his palace to better understand historical facts about the kingdom. An interesting juxtaposition of European and African culture through a German photographer is expressed in numerous photos that show the way of life and architecture with construction methods of that time.

One of the most beautiful chiefdoms in the Bamiléké country is located in Bandjoun, about ten kilometers south of Bafoussam – Chefferie Bandjoun. An easy motorbike ride brought me to the main alley of the chiefdom, which leads to the main hut. On each side of this alley huts and houses are dedicated to many of king’s wife and children.

The 17-meters high hut, decorated with sculptures, is made of bamboo and linked by strong raffia ropes. Its ceiling is held by sculpted pillars symbolizing the ancestors and offering traditional decorations. A local guide also invited me to a small museum, where I was explained about the usage of objects which express the collective heritage: history, myths, legends, religion, etc.

The Chefferie Bandjoun was very quiet during my visit; without any inhabitants reminded me more on a museum, than active royal residence.

From Bafoussam to Limbe is only approximately 300 kilometers, but my trip was pure pain and suffering.

I made a mistake to buy a ticket for a regular bus, instead of VIP, which offers no luxury, no A/C and it is stopped by police at every checkpoint.

After delaying the kick off for an hour, to 9:00am, our bus was investigated at majority of police stops, where all passengers needed to present their personal documents.

Since some of them were not carrying any proof of identity with them, the bus had to wait for them to negotiate with the authorities to let them through. It was extremely hot; the speed bumpers were shaking the whole back part of the bus. All vendors along the road were selling the same things: bread, bobolo (cassava stick, wrapped in banana tree leaves) and some beef or chicken brochettes.

I reached Bekoko at 4:00pm, only to change a vehicle to a shared taxi, which took me to the suburbs of Limbe. Finally, an even more rundown car brought me to the vicinity of my accommodation on the outskirts of Limbe at 5:30pm. Another long and tiring day. Cameroon is a big country with relatively good roads (in central and western regions), but due to constant check points and speed bumps, the travelling speed is reduced drastically.

Limbe is described as one of the most beautiful, clean and charming places in the whole Cameroon. Its position at the foothills of Mt. Cameroon along the Atlantic coastline is very popular for local and international tourists.

I was disappointed with the first impression of Limbe town; especially the neglected central beach is full of rubbish. Rundown houses have been impacted by tropical weather. Extreme heat and humidity don’t spare on this tough environment, disabling normal activities during the hot daytime.

The beach sand is dark brown or black, the water shallow and extremely warm.  Some beaches are full of garbage or plastic objects, many properties are unfinished or decaying.

I talked with fishermen, villagers, kids and visitors, who were all really friendly to me. I received many invitations for fishing activities, having a drink together or proposals to invite the locals for a beer or lunch. Nothing strange in Africa. With a mix of shared taxis and moto taxis I easily managed the logistics of moving around quickly, as well as inexpensively.

In contrast to francophone areas of Cameroon, Limbe area is predominantly English-speaking territory. French baguette is replaced by British toast loaf. Instead of eating sandwich for breakfast, I started my day with fruits and fish was on the menu as early as 9:00am.

If the male part of population here was slim, I can list the females as the fattest in the whole Cameroon. It seems that ladies most of the day sit and eat very unhealthy food that doesn’t help to keep them fit.

I visited the main beach in Limbe twice. A fleet of fishing boats constantly delivers fresh fish, which are sold at an improvised market not far from the beach. Restaurants and bars are spread between the main road and the pier, under which piles of garbage accumulate at low tide. The really ugly scene with the trash apparently doesn’t bother anyone. In one of the restaurants, they even offered me a table on the pier with the words: “the best view in town”.

I bought fresh fish on the market, my local friend cleaned it and a chef in a simple restaurant prepared it on a BBQ. Fresh, just right seasoned, accompanied by cassava, was served to me thirty minutes later.

I visited some local beaches, nestled along the road northwest from Limbe. Most of them are covered with garbage, adorned with decaying buildings or visited by local fishermen to launch their boats in the sea. I didn’t feel comfortable swimming, since locals were only walking around without jumping in the water.

Therefore, I decided to spent a night in a resort hotel at Seme beach. A huge complex of rooms stands along the private beach and mouth of a stream descending from Mt. Cameroon, that formed a lagoon, which is suitable for swimming as well. There were some daily visitors, but at night the facilities were empty. During the morning swim hotel workers were the only souls around.

The economic and commercial hub of Cameroon, the most populous city in Cameroon and a place that is recommended to be avoided due to lack of charm, was my last stop in the country. Since I didn’t have any expectations, nor plans, Douala turned out to be quite OK.

I spent two nights in the first real hotel on the whole trip, with strong air condition, flat TV, room service and wi-fi connection, which was, due to the national blackout, only available on the first day of my visit.

Douala’s main difference from Yaoundé is the transport. If moto taxis were banned from the capital, in Douala they are still the main mean of transport.

For my personal convenience to move around Cameroon, moto taxis were much cheaper, faster, easier to order and reliable. Therefore, due to the logistic viewpoint, Douala was easier to manage than Yaoundé.

Bonanjo is the administrative and business center of Douala, where most of the government offices and head offices of the country’s main banks and companies are located. The district is well maintained, pleasant to walk around, free of motorbikes and offers several buildings with remarkable architecture from the times of German and French colonization.

Palais de Justice and Palace of the Kings Bell are the best example, even though the latter had been in poor condition and closed due to the constant changes in usage.

After taking a break from midday heat in Cathedral of St Peter and Paul Bonadibong, I continued walking through commercial areas to Temple du Centenaire, built in 1947 to commemorate the hundred years of the first Bethel Christian church built in Douala. Even though the remarkable building, covered with flashy green roof, is visible from a distance, what really called my attention was a simple food stand on the busy corner next to it.

A kind, English- speaking lady, who was attending construction workers during the lunchtime, directed me to the church’s main entrance. On the way back I stopped to taste one of the best meals during all Cameroonian cuisine experience.

Ndolé is a traditional Cameroonian dish prepared from leaves of a vegetable plant, known as bitter leaves, similar to spinach, called macabo. It takes time and patience to make this dish; boiled in water two to three times with rock salt, to make them lose their bitterness, later cooked with fresh peanut paste and crushed spices. Smoked fish or meat is added. The dish was served with cassava, tapioca and yam.

Simple, extremely tasteful and surrounded by surprised locals, I enjoyed an extra portion of ndolé.

Due to the lack of remarkable landmarks or attractions, La Nouvelle Liberté is the most famous and emblematic artwork of Douala. The monumental sculpture made of recycled metal parts pays homage to the culture of recycling, dismantling and re-assembling of objects.

The capacity of improvisation, finding solutions where educated engineers would give up, and extending life to discarded objects is not only Cameroonian, but wider African practice, which is worthy of all admiration.

Culturally and geographically diverse, the Republic of Cameroon, with more than 27 million people, is renowned for its varied landscape, abundant wildlife and one of the best football teams. I didn’t have much expectations before visiting it and I didn’t plan to spend that much time exploring it.

It is hard to believe that the country, with so much internal conflicts among ethnic, religious and particularly francophone – English groups, has been led by the same president since 1982.

Paul Biya with 7 consecutive mandates is the second longest-serving leader in Africa, behind Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

Additionally, Paul Biya was also the prime minister between 1975 to 1982.

With over 280 other languages spoken in the country, the official languages in Cameroon are French and English. Even though language-wise the regions are quite clearly marked, the linguistic variety comes to such an extent, that many times the first question to an unknown person is “Do you speak English or French?”

I am happy to have explored wide areas of the country: from Lobeke National Park in the East, to Atlantic beaches around Limbe, north west region around Bafoussam and two main cities of Yaoundé and Douala.

The differences in all aspects are huge: language, climate, topography, food, lifestyle, development. But one thing in common is the hospitality of people. I was always accepted in a polite way, even though people are not as relaxed and welcoming as in neighboring Central African Republic.

I hope the differences among Cameroonians can be peacefully resolved for the benefits of all minorities that have been living together in the same country with unequal rights. Otherwise, a new violent conflict will erupt, with Boko Haram attacks in the north, while French and English provinces will be pulling apart the fragile unity in Cameroon.