Cameroon Mangrove Forest
In the summer of 2019, I was offered the amazing opportunity to volunteer at a Cameroonian primate sanctuary as an animal care giver. During one of my days off from the sanctuary, a fellow volunteer (Tesse) and I took a tour with local guide Thompy Ekonde. He showed us around “Mangrove Forest” just outside of Bimbia. The road there was long, winding, and treacherous with huge rocks, ditches, and falling logs. Many times we had to pull over to calculate exactly how to place the car. Upon arriving at the forest, we trekked through the trees for about two hours as Thompy showed us some of the breathtaking native African flora.
We had to wade through two shallow but powerful rivers cutting through the lush forest.
This tree is called the “milk tree” by locals. It is used in Cameroon as a medicine, the bark and white sap underneath are harvested and made into a drink for breast feeding mothers. The drink is said to increase the amount of breast milk produced, in a country where it is culturally significant to have many kids.
This tree pictured is the largest and oldest tree in the forest at over 400 years old, and too tall to see through the forest canopy.
This is a small section of the acres of mangrove forest. During our visit, it was low tide and was very easy to see the magnificent system of roots tying this forest together.
TotalAdventure does not currently . have adventures in Cameroon, but we invite Cameroon companies to apply. For another exotic area in Africa, check out our trip to Ethiopia. https://totaladventure.travel/trips/203383
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