Congo & CAR Gorilla Safari
Days 1, 2 and 3 – Gorilla Tracking, Odzala-Kokoua National Park
On your arrival into Brazzaville you will be met at the airport and assisted with your onward 2-hour flight direct to Odzala. From Odzala it is a further 3-hour road transfer through the forests of the Odzala-Kokoua National Park. When you arrive at Ngaga Camp you will get the chance to meet the gorilla research team followed by dinner. Enjoy your first night in the jungles listening to the sounds of the forest around you.
This morning is your first gorilla tracking experience. Before setting out into the forest looking for the family of gorillas, your guide and the researchers will go through a safety briefing and will explain more about the gorillas you are heading out to track. After your briefing you will head out into the forest in search of the family. Once you find the gorillas you get to spend a maximum of 1 hour with them. This is to limit the impact on their daily lives and reduce the risk of them catching infections from us.
After your gorilla tracking experience, you head back to the lodge for lunch, followed by a guided forest walk in search of birds and animals of the forest. This evening enjoy river sundowners.
Today you have your second gorilla tracking safari with the team from the lodge. Return for lunch and spend time with the gorilla research team learning more about the gorillas of Odzala. This evening head out into the forest in search of some of the nocturnal creatures of the jungle.
Days 4, 5 and 6 – Lango Camp
This morning you a relaxing morning in camp before heading through Mbomo Village and the Odzala-Kokoua National Park to Mboko Camp in time for lunch. From here you head to Lango Camp and Bai via the Lekoli River in kayaks. This afternoon you have a relaxed time in camp or if you are feeling up for it you can enjoy a discovery bai walk followed by sundowners.
Today you explore the forest and the bais on foot. The bai walks are generally through streams and lagoons and so are considered wet walks, while the forest walks are generally dry walks.
This morning guides take you on a wet walk to the bai where you have breakfast overlooking the clearing in the forest. From here you have a scenic drive and short walk along wooden paths among the trees to Mboko Camp. This afternoon you have a further forest walk followed by a river cruise.
Days 7, 8, 9 and 10 – Sangha Lodge, CAR
This morning after breakfast you take a 40 min flight to Kabo before a short road transfer to the boat station. From here it is a 4-6 hour boat trip up the Sangha River, passing through the Sangha Tri National Special Reserve. After arriving at Sangha Lodge, you have the afternoon to relax.
The next 3 days are spent exploring the forests and bais around Sangha Lodge. On one day you spend the day at the research platform overlooking Dzanga Bai where hundreds of forest elephants, forest buffalo, forest hogs, bongos and other forest animals come out to feed on the minerals of the bais. This is truly an amazing experience that very few get the opportunity to see.
The Ba’Aka community live in the forest and hunt and forage for food. Today you have the opportunity to learn more about their culture and way of life by joining them on a net hunting excursion. While in the forest they will also teach you about the medicinal uses of the plants of the forest.
The owners of Sangha Lodge have worked hard over the years to teach the local communities that hunting for bushmeats is not sustainable and have often gone into the local markets to rescue pangolins that were destined for the pot or illegal wildlife trade. They have since setup a pangolin research and rehabilitation area close to the lodge, allowing guests the chance to see these extremely rare animals.
Other highlights at Sangha Lodge include forest walks to see some of the biggest trees in the Congo Basin, walks to nearby waterfalls and night forest walks in search of the nocturnal creatures of the jungle.
Day 11 – Mboko Camp, Congo
Today you start your journey back to The Republic of Congo via 4-6 hour boat trip down the Sangha River and short flight to Mboko Camp. This afternoon enjoy a final jungle walk followed by sundowners on the Lekoli River.
