Cameroon
The information below is provided by Lonely Planet readers and is not verified by Lonely Planet. For the official lowdown, contact your nearest embassy or check out our Travel Links.
Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
Whilst in Douala I needed to get a visa for Equatorial Guinea. The consulate was very reluctant to issue me with one. At first they refused completely, but after visiting the British Consulate and getting a general letter of recommendation and revisiting the EG consulate I was issued with a visa but only for 15 days as the general election was being held (every 7 years) and they didn't really want any tourists to see what was going on. The visa is normally issued for 30 days but I still had to pay the 30 day price CFA36000.
I got my Gabonese visa in Yaounde. You can get it in one day if you go in the morning and pick up in the afternoon. The cost is CFA37000. Originally I was told it would take 2-3 weeks but after showing them the print in the LP West Africa book they just said come back at 2.30pm that afternoon.
Peter Kell, UK (Feb 03)
Travel Tips
I travelled from Maroua up to Kousseri, after checking the situation with local people and a VSO worker located in the area to ensure that there were no security problems. The journey now appears to be safe, at least in the daytime. I experienced no problems whatsoever and it is a beautiful, breathtaking journey!
Jim Mackie (Mar 03)
Mvog-Betsi Zoo in Cameroon's capital city, Yaounde, is jointly run by MINEF (the Government of Cameroon's Ministry for the Environment and Forests) and CWAF (Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund). CWAF is a UK registered charity, based at Bristol Zoological Gardens, concerned with primate protection and conservation.
The majority of the primates taken in by CWAF are infants orphaned when their parents are slaughtered for the illegal bushmeat trade, which poses a very serious threat to much of Cameroon's wildlife. Primate meat is considered a luxury delicacy and illegal poaching is a lucrative trade. CWAF has also helped to rehabilitate older chimpanzees kept illegally as household pets.
CWAF operates from two sites in Cameroon; the first of which is in the forest of Mefou National Park on the outskirts of Yaounde, where eight rescued young gorillas and 20 rescued juvenile chimpanzees are kept in spacious enclosures. The second site is the aforementioned zoo in Yaounde, where CWAF is responsible for the primates including chimpanzees, baboons, mandrills, mangobeys, guenons and a group of drills (a highly-endangered species). MINEF take responsibility for all non-primates at the zoo, including lions, a hyena, snakes and reptiles, birds of prey and other forms of native fauna.
Over the past four years CWAF has made enormous improvements to the zoo, most significantly with respect to the animals' living conditions and welfare. Mvog-Betsi Zoo is now a well-run project and makes for an interesting, enjoyable and worthwhile opportunity to see some really spectacular native wildlife.
Martin Smith & Tansy Jefferies (Mar 03)
Moving About
I urge you to warn your readers of the extremely DANGEROUS ROADS here in Cameroon. They are dangerous equally for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. I have driven in a number of countries (including Southern Italy, Greece, and a few Third World countries like Mexico), but this is the worst traffic I have experienced. Travel after hours is even more dangerous and there is the additional risk of carjacking. There are also occasional incidents of banditry in the north of the country between Maroua and N'Djamena. Please make this warning about road travel as clear and powerful as possible, so that your readers can make informed choices about their travel in this country.
Antonio Antiochia, Cameroon (Mar 02)
Yarns, Fables & Anecdotes
Entering/Leaving Cameroon through Douala airport would have been an amusing experience if it wasn't so hot and humid and if it had happened to someone else. Firstly, on arrival, I had a huge heated row with the baggage handlers all desperate to handle any bags they could get their hands on - I won. Result - I started smoking again.
On departure I was met by a representative from Euax et Foret (Water and Forest), demanding 10% on the wooden carved stool I had purchased. She finally backed down when I said I was a tourist. This, according to her, changed everything and I was not eligible to pay. Nothing convinced me that this lady was genuine.
Next at the check desk the officer in charge accused me of carrying a false passport. Twenty minutes later he finally relented and accepted that my passport was not an imitation. The fact that he mistook my British passport for a United States passport did not give me any real confidence in him.
Jim Mackie (Mar 03)
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