On the Tourist Trail

Yesterday we travelled an hour or so north of Buea to Kumba, the economic centre of the South-West province of Cameroon.  That the journey is only around an hour is a tribute to a major improvement in the road infrastructure.  The old dusty road that went up hill and down dale has been replaced by a new one cut through the hill sides and covered with smooth tarmac.  It even has white lines in the middle and drains on either side of the road which puts it way ahead of the main road between the two main cities (Douala and Yaounde) in terms of quality.

Lake Barombi Mbo

The reason for the journey was not to marvel at the new road but to travel through the forest region and especially to visit Lake Barombi Mbo, a crater lake to the north of Kumba.  We had read in our guide book that it was a beautiful and peaceful place and we were not disappointed.  The lake itself is incredibly still and is set in a basin completely surrounded by thick forest.  The trees are effectively inside the lip of the crater and the water, while only 2.5kms across is 120m deep in the middle.

The only other people there were a couple in their sixties travelling alone from London to Johannesburg by road.  They were on Day 103 of their journey and with typical British understatement said they had very few problems getting through the various countries undergoing upheaval at the moment.  They have another six weeks to go before reaching South Africa and we marveled at their bravery.  We are not tempted to emulate them!

It is not surprising that, apart from a couple of locals bathing at the lake, the only other people were Europeans.  Cameroonians show very little interest in what in Europe or North America would be described as natural tourist attractions and consequently the many such sites of natural beauty here are hard to find.  We had to pay someone on a motor-bike to lead us to the lake, even though it is the area’s principal attraction. When we got there the road down to the lake was just about accessible by four-wheel drive.  The guide book lists untold numbers of similar gems around the country so Cameroon could have a very good network of tourist sites, earning much needed income.  Most are unspoilt although many are endangered by logging activity, so tourism could provide the alternative source of income needed to stop the logging.  The secondary effect of logging (beyond the link to climate change) is that by driving roads further into the forests, animal habitats are endangered and poaching is made easier.

Hopefully now it would also be possible to protect the sites while making them more accessible and to earn money for the local population, dissuading them from activities such as logging and poaching.  On Mount Cameroon for example some of the ecotourism guides are former poachers who know the mountain trails well but who now have the opportunity to earn their money a different way.  This sustainable “ecotourism” approach is the way forward.  Expect to see more of it if Suzanne ever becomes Cameroon’s Minister of Tourism!