West Africa Expedition Republic of Congo to Principe

Day 1:
You will arrive into Maya-Maya International Airport, Brazzaville. Here you will be met at the airport by a representative, who will guide you to your waiting transfer to the Hotel Ledger Plaza for your dinner, tour briefing and overnight arrangements.

Day 2:
Today you will experience a tour of Brazza la Verte; or Brazzaville as it is fondly called – the capital of the Republic of the Congo, set on the left bank of the Congo River. You’ll be able to witness the rapids of the famous Congo River, the markets of Poto Poto and Moungali, as well as De Brazza’s Museum. Your overnight arrangements will be at the Hotel Ledger Plaza.

Day 3:
Today you will have your first long road journey, away from Brazzaville. After an early breakfast, you will depart, making your way through the low lying Southern Pool Region, heading up through the Plateau Region reaching your destination; the Cuvette Region and the town of Oyo. The estimated duration of the drive in approximately 7 hours, including the stops and a distance of 450 kilometres on tarmacked roads.

Day 4:
After an early breakfast, you begin a more demanding stretch of the journey, departing the beautiful town of Oyo at approximate 09:00, driving North, through the town of Makoua stopping for approximately 2 hours and crossing the Equator. Continuing on, you will cross the Likouala-Mossaka River, heading onto a dirt road as you begin the penetrate the African jungle as you make your way to Ouesso! This road is frequented by timber trucks and trucks contracted to tarmac the road.

You will arrive into Ouesso at approximately 18:00, which borders the Republic of Cameroon later in the day. Heading to your hotel; Hotel Mindongo for dinner and your overnight stay. Effectively this is a 9 hour drive with stops.

Day 5:
Early in the morning you will be transferred to the Ouesso Wharf on the banks of the River Sangha for your transfer via. Motorized canoe to Bomassa, a small conservation village at the Gateway to the Nouabale Ndoki National Park. On the route, you’ll undoubtedly pass small island settlements, inhabited by hunters and fishermen. The boat ride is spectacular, with lush rainforest on both sides of the river, and the occasional pygmy village en route. You’ll be able to spot a variety of hornbills, parrots and monkeys from the boat.

Once you arrive into Bomassa, you will transfer to the banks of the River Ndoki for another boat journey by dugout canoe to the Mbeli Research Camp within the Nouabale Ndoki National Park, arriving into Mbeli in the early afternoon. After checking in, you can pay a visit to the bai, to observe the wildlife that frequents this area, including sixteen gorilla families and ten solitary silverbacks (totalling 150 gorillas) that are very often sighted.

Dinner and your overnight stay will be at Mbeli Research Camp.

Day 6:
Today you will return to Bomassa early in the morning in dugout canoes, or alternatively can arrange for a car to complete the journey. Once arriving back at Bomassa, you will have the whole day spent Goliath Tiger fishing and rafting on the River Sangha.

Your dinner and overnight arrangements will be at the Bomassa Conservation Camp.

Day 7:
After breakfast you’ll take a motorized boat ride to Djembe on the Cameroonian side of River Sangha. At Djembe you will be met by vehicles that will take you to Mambele, located in the Lobeke National Park in Cameroon. From Mambele, you’ll hike into the forest, for a full day of jungle activities with the indigenous Ba’ka Pygmies, including:
-Fishing
-Net Hunting
-Pygmy display of their ritual dance: Jengi
-Collecting medicinal plants used by the tribe
-Butterfly watching
-Birding
-Honey harvest if they locate a honey comb

Your dinner and overnight stay will be at the Camp Kombo.

Day 8:
Early in the morning you shall leave Camp Kombo, hiking back to your waiting vehicles at the park entrance, for the beginning of your next drive, to Bertoua! You will drive for much of the morning, once again stopping to view scenes of natural beauty in the landscape.

You will be having lunch at Hotel Elephant in Yokadouma, before heading back on the road, with the most challenging part of the journey as you begin the true off road experience through the forest, with potholed roads and the vast expanse of forest covering the sides of the road.

You will be travelling an approximate total of 490 kilometres on earth and stone roads.

In the early evening you will arrive into the town of Bertoua, heading the the Mansa Hotel; this hotel is the best in Bertoua and comes complete with artificial lake, satellite TV, internet access and a tennis court. Your overnight arrangements will be at Mansa Hotel.

Day 9:
Your journey today sees you heading to Yaoundé early in the morning, thankfully back onto tarmac roads, where you will meet your wives/girlfriends for lunch at the Le Pachy Restaurant in the Hilton Hotel Yaoundé. The distance you will be covering is approximately 350 kilometres, travelling on good tarmac roads.

Later in the day, you’ll have a tour of Yaoundé, the capital of the Republic of Cameroon, visiting the National Museum, the Artisanal Centre, the commercial district for shopping and a ride to the top of Mount Febe for a birds’ eye view of the city!

Dinner and your overnight arrangements will be at the Hilton Hotel Yaoundé.

Day 10:
Today you will have an early breakfast, before being driven to the Mefou Primate Sanctuary to visit primates that have been rescued from the ‘bush meat’ trade. You will spend approximately an hour here, before departing for another leg of driving through the Ebogo Ecological Village; a self-sustainable ecotourism village that is run by the villagers that inhabit it.

After Ebogo, you will continue, driving through the towns of Ebolowa, Ambam and Kye Osie until you reach the border of Gabon (completing immigration formalities) and your destination for the day; Bitam. The wives/girlfriends will remain at the Hilton Hotel Yaoundé for another night, whilst the rest of the group will have their overnight arrangements at the Hotel Benedicta in Bitam.

The drive to Bitam in Gabon from Cameroon will be approximately 480 kilometres, on very good road surfaces.
Day 11:
After breakfast, you will be driven to Libreville, the capital city of Gabon, regrouping with the wives/girlfriends for lunch at the Hotel Nomad.

Your overnight stay will be at the Hotel Nomad.

Day 12:
In the morning, you will be driven to Porte Mole for a boat ride to Pointe-Denise (one of the two beaches on Libreville’s water front), for a day of relaxation on the beach. You will be given a picnic on the beach, with time for swimming, sun bathing and strolls.

In the late afternoon you will return to the hotel, and meet your transfer to Libreville International Airport, and your private charter plane to Principé Airport on the Island of Principé. Upon arrival on Principé, you will be transferred to the superb Bom Bom Island Resort for dinner and your overnight arrangements.

The airport at Principé (Bom Bom) is being extended and is scheduled to be ready by June. It will be suitable to take large aircraft such as an ERJ 145 – which is the aircraft we are planning on using for this trip.

Day 13:
Today you will spend the day at leisure on Bom Bom Island, and the waters that surround it. Activities can include:
-Big game fishing
-Whale watching
-Snorkeling
-Turtle watching
-Birding
-Scuba diving
-Hiking

After your day of relaxing/activities, you will return for a special dinner of traditional European delicacies, hosted on the white sandy beach. You will spend the rest of the evening enjoying the romance of the Tropical African night sky.

Day 14:
You will start your day with a picnic breakfast and lunch on the beach at Bom Bom Island, before later, being transferred back to Principé Airport for your private charter flight to Libreville International Airport and your international flight arrangements.

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