Cameroon
 
 


I spent a lot of time obtaining permits and replacing a lost passport in the capital, Yaoundé.
You can buy anything from street vendors - pharmaceuticals, pants, toasters, or these mangos.




Finally I was on an overnight train headed north from Yaoundé, along with a hired assistant.  
A moth flew in the window and landed on my hand.  




Maroua, capital of the Far North province, is a dry and dusty place, but they plant trees along the streets.
This city was the first place we collected fruit flies from.




We went farther north still, to the village of Waza.  We didn't manage to collect any fruit flies there,
but we did come across plenty of wildlife at Waza National Park.




It's the end of the dry season, so everyone flocks to the few remaining watering holes.




An eagle perched in a tree, crane and other birds in the water, antelope on the far shore.
Can you find any other animals?  In the background maybe?  With a long neck?  




Me and Stretch.  I really didn't put on weight - it's the neck wallet under my shirt!




We were fortunate enough to come across a large herd of elephants.




Couldn't resist the photo op.




A family of warthogs comes down for a drink.




This is actually how giraffes drink - they do the splits to get their neck low enough.




Now we're in a much different place - the mountains of the (English speaking!) Northwest Province.
This is the forest of Bali Ngemba.  In theory it's a protected forest reserve.





In practice, local villagers set fires inside the reserve to clear land for planting.  
Last time someone checked, 3% of the unique highland forest was left.  I'm sure it's less now.  




The mountain village of Oku.  I collected flies some flies from the village...




...and with permission granted from the Fon of Oku (local chief, above is his palace)...




I collected wilderness-living species from the wonderful forest around Lake Oku.
Traditionally a sacred place, this is the best patch of highland forest left in Cameroon.  




Goats graze on the slopes of the mountains near Oku.




Now I'm back in the French speaking area, near the town of Foumbot.  
This is Lake Mfou, in an ancient volcanic crater.  I collected flies from the village nearby.




Waiting for the fly traps to work, I took a day trip to Foumban.  Here is the mosque, surrounded by a market.




The palace built by Ibrahim Njoya, local chief of a century ago who invented an alphabet and a religion.
He couldn't find every aspect of beauty in a single woman, so he had to take over 800 wives.




There are numerous handcrafts in Foumban's Artisans Village.




As I prepared to leave Foumban, I nearly got run over by a parade with traditional instruments...




...and people in costume - this guy did a little dance when he saw my camera.