Judith's Cameroon Visit

Christmas this year was spent in Yaounde with some friends putting on a great feed at their house on the other side of town. Elodie and I then headed to Kirbi, with its wonderful long deserted stretches of white sand and some quiet beach time. We hoped to track down some rare turtles laying their eggs on the beach under the cover of darkness, but after two nights out walking and sleeping on the beaches we will have to try again another day for that experience.

My sister Judith arrrived in Cameroon to visit our African outpost just before the year ended. We headed with her for the hills and spent New Years Eve beside a beautiful lake at the top of the Mananguba Mountains, about half way between the coast and where I work in Belo. The 'guide' turned out to be a right pain, but we got there in the end and enjoyed a swim, fresh fish, and christmas pudding all the way from New Zealand. My mate Andy also joined us for this little camping trip.

Cameroon has featured in the movies it turns out, with one of the main sets of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (1984), being a huge Ekom waterfalls. This was Elodie and I's second visit here and this time we got to balance across the log at the top, which in the rainy season is under the water.

Back in Yaounde we visited the money park nearby where there are many small chimpanzees being raised by hand, and quite a large family of gorillas, which have been rescued from various zoos and pet owners around the country. They were just as interested in us and we were in them. There was another monkey refuge down in Limbe that we also visited but this first experience of being up close and personal was amazing.

Judith and I then got some time in Belo, along with Ryan, an american dance teacher who spent a couple of days with the kids teaching them some good old fashioned disney stage moves. They kids loved it and here is a quick video of the practice...

We also visited Betuael, a little boy with a serious skin condition which is keeping him out of school, Stephen of course my favorite, and a few of the other orphans around town. We also visited the local waterfall near Anarjua for a quick swim.

Other items on Judith's three week itinerary included more time at the beach in Kribi for mid week, an explore of the Limbe coast line with a stop at the boarder with Nigeria and it's colourful boats, a swim in a famous fresh water spring at the base of Mt Cameroon, and of course Judith meeting some young locals at the hotel pool! Then it was time for her to return to New Zealand for some rest, Elodie to return to work in Yaounde, and me to return to the orphan project in Belo for the start of the new years list of jobs. It really was wonderful to be able to share a little of this year with someone from home.