Day 3 is short but not so sweet. A hugely rewarding experience but a challenge photographically, as we return to the Jupiter family, this time high amongst the branches, feeding, with babies clinging to their mothers. However and whichever way you encounter western lowlands, enjoy, digest, and spread the word...
From here we move northwards and then to an area more centrally located to Odzala-Kokoua, one of Africa’s oldest national parks. Walking along a boardwalk through the centre of Lango Camp, you appear onto a large open decked area that affords stunning views over Lango Bai (“bai” meaning a forest clearing). From here you are treated to documentary-style views and wildlife such as buffalo, elephants, sitatunga and more, all wandering in and out of the bai. Whilst sightings are intermittent and subject to the time of day, this is the perfect launch pad from which to explore this corner of the rainforest.
Our days at Lango are spent on foot. Wading through often waist-deep water, we explore this wilderness haven, walking down the length of the bai (approximately 2km long), winding through elephant waterway channels, tracking through dry forest, and back out into the luscious waters and greenery of Lango. Encounters on foot include elephants only a few metres away, forest buffalo starting as we approach them in the long and thick savannah grass, sitatunga as they tenderly emerge from the forest to graze on lush green bai grass, fish eagles, palm-nut vultures and more.
Lango is a place that is hard to forget. It’s the pure simplicity of it, and the privilege of being allowed that brief glimpse into the heart of the forest. A window into a world of wildlife and beyond.
We leave the Republic of Congo behind with what I would like to say is a quick skip and a jump... but in fact, it’s a charter flight, a 4x4 transfer, and a 5-hour boat ride. It’s worth it though. Crossing the border into the Central African Republic (CAR), we move north along the Sangha River and into the region of the Tri-National Park, where Congo, Cameroon and the CAR converge. Parts of this form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, yet remain largely uncovered by modern-day travel (or civilisation for that matter).