Visiting

Cameroon
Quail-plover Ortyxelos meiffrenii
Photo: Birding Africa

Birding tours

Birding Africa, Birding Ecotours, Birdquest and Rockjumper operate tours to Cameroon.

Trip reports

The following trip reports are available for sale from the African Bird Club online shop.

Cameroon Trip Report by Richard Webb. 72 pages with sections covering travel, health, weather, references, a detailed itinerary, a systematic checklist of 481 species and a 29 page site guide including 25 maps. Dec 1994 ­ Jan 1995.

Cameroon Trip Report by Jon Hornbuckle. 22 pages, useful update to Richard Webb's report, following similar route. Logistics, sites, itinerary and systematic list of 551 species seen. March ­ April 1997.

See also the following articles in Bulletin ABC.

Birding Cameroon part 1 Northern Cameroon: Guinea Woodlands to Sahel by Michael Mills and Callan Cohen. Bulletin of the African Bird Club Vol.10, No.2, September 2003.

Birding Cameroon part 2 Southern Cameroon: forests, low to lofty by Michael Mills and Callan Cohen. Bulletin of the African Bird Club Vol.11, No.1, March 2004.

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Guides

The Cameroon Biodiversity Conservation Society, CBCS, formerly the Cameroon Ornithological Club, COC, has been responding to requests from expatriates by guiding tours of limited duration. There is no website for CBCS but the e-mail address is cbcs@iccnet.cm and the postal address is P.O. Box 3055, Messa, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Tel: (237) 221 16 58.

The Cameroonians who worked with BirdLife International to help define IBAs and carry out surveys in the Bamenda Highlands are able to act as guides to visitors wishing to see a general range of species or to focus on the endemics. Contact can be made via Taku Awa II at e-mail: takuawa@yahoo.co.uk or tel: (237) 745 44 44.

The following website http://www.mount-cameroon.org/birdwatching.htm includes many contact details of local guides in the excellent forests in Cameroon. If you hire one of these guides, you will make a contribution to the community which will help in biodiversity conservation. If you intend to visit Mount Cameroon, please make sure you go through Mount CEO. They are the only official tour operator on the mountain.

Logistics

There are daily flights to Douala from Paris on either Air France or Cameroon Airlines. There are international flights from Europe to Yaoundé on Swissair, Air France, and SN Brussel. SN Brussels Airline and Royal Air Maroc also have several flights during the week to Cameroon.

Air is the most efficient means of national transport. There are daily flights between Douala and Yaoundé but less regular flights to other interior towns. The roads are paved from Douala to Yaoundé, Limbe, Buea, Bafoussam and Bamenda and between main centres. Other roads are generally poorly maintained and become almost impassable during the rainy season. Rail travel within Cameroon is slow but cheap. Daily trains run from Douala to Yaoundé, with onward connections to Ngaoundere, and from Douala to Kumba.

There are road connections to Chad, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, Nigeria and Gabon. Travel on many of these routes is rough and should not be attempted in the rainy season. The road connection to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea however is now excellent all year round as it has been paved.

A valid passport, visa, evidence of yellow-fever vaccination, and current immunisation records are required.

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Safety

Safety issues encountered in Cameroon are no different from those met in many other African countries. Guidebooks, travel companies and websites provide much of the advice one needs, but some key points warrant repetition here. (1) be aware of the risk of malaria, seek current advice, sleep in a sealed tent or under a net and take prophylaxis as recommended. (2) always ensure you have sufficient water and some method of purification (even if this comprises a pot and a campfire for boiling). (3) do not underestimate the danger of being in the sun too long. Ensure you use sun-block and drink plenty of water, and wear a hat. (4) The incidence of Aids is high. (5) Ensure that you take a reasonably-equipped first-aid pack with you including supplies of hypodermic and suturing needles.

See the following 2 websites for the latest safety and travel information:  US travel and UK FCO.

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Last page update 23rd September 2011