Greetings All, Back form a great trip to Sangha Lodge, in Central African Republic..So many people have asked for a report back on this, so here goes! I will do another one for the fishing guys - great potential here we feel. I flew in on Kenya Airways from SA, nice flight, had a great view of the Ruwenzoris en route. Overnighted at a good, cheap BB, and sorted logistics / food etc. for next day - had a very interesting meal that evening at a top restaurant, which had, amongst others, Pangolin, Python, Porcupine and other bush meat on the menu! The Bush meat trade is massive here - and there are many points of view on whether this is sustainable or not. Found a reasonable, expensive, hotel for guests to use, but as it turns out we did not need it. Not much to see in Bangui, as far as I could see. We left next day for the drive to Bayanga / Sangha Lodge, deciding to break the trip down into 2 bits - technically a 12 hour drive in total.  Once off the tar, about 2 hours out of town, the roads got bad, and slow, and we overnighted at an "auberge" en route - very basic, fairly clean, not unsuite, no lights or running water ...the saving grace was we had our own new sheets for the beds. Found beer and simple food, but CAR is not like east Africa where you can always get chicken and chips etc. Next day, we had another longish day, interesting stuff en route - great rivers, bit of forest - some logged - and many huge logging trucks carrying out planks and massive trees.  One hopes this is sustainable. Also, plenty of diamond dealers - legal - along the way.  It was an absolute relief to arrive at Sangha Lodge, and check in at the chalets - clean, simple, en suite, on the banks of the beautiful Sangha River. Total trip was about 15 hours, which included a bit of stopping for meals / photos / "number two” stops etc. Note - the maps are wrong in this part of the world, and there are many new roads not marked. There is also very little to buy en route - from a tourist point of view - so if you don't have it when you leave Bangui, that's it. Very, very, simple infrastructure, bit like DRC. Cell phone coverage limited, but can get a bit. Weather was good- not too hot - but overcast and humid. Had one or two good storms, and we all remarked on how the roads would not handle a good storm - there are regular government road barriers for "rain" ...the authorities actually close off some sections of road when it rains, so that big trucks do not get stuck and block the roads for days. This could really mess up your road travel plans. Once settled in, and having an icy beer with Rod Cassidy - owner of the lodge and legendary birder and guide - we planned our next few days.  There is plenty to do here - the Park is operated jointly with WWF.  The website gives a lot of detail - the specifics of this huge, three countries, multi-use conservation area, are impressive - but I'll list what we did. Dzangha Bai - Elephants This entails about an hour’s drive to the start, then a walk of about an hour to the raised viewing platform overlooking the "saline", an open clearing in the forest. This, for many, was the highlight, and I personally agree - there is NO WHERE else I know of that allows better viewing of forest elephant, plus many other species, at such close range.  Good birding too, Grey Parrots etc.  The only issue I felt was that you have to start your walk out at latest 1600, due to elephants on the path, this was proven by an elephant stopping the group on way out and doing a bit of ear flapping etc.  Pity one cannot stay later to see the shyer animals come out of the forest, and overnights are not allowed here. Gorilla Trekking They have two habituated families in two areas, and groups of 3 tourists only allowed per trek.  Two treks per day per site, so a total of six people allowed - has to be booked. E 230 a head plus E 30 entry, and a 25 % discount on your second trek.  I think one must realise these are Lowland Gorillas, and have a very different daily cycle to the Mountain Gorillas - they move a lot more, climb more, and the bush is usually quite thick and light low.   If you are trying for the award winning shot, you may be lucky - but Uganda is easier.  It's a good opportunity to put down the camera and watch. Note - the walk in can be long, so have to be fit, and allocate a whole day out of camp for this. Saline walk - this is a good walk, at Bai Hokou, the furthest gorilla site. A good, easy hike, around the series of salines in this area. Don't expect to see much - plenty fresh spoor, distant monkeys and birds etc, but the bush is quite thick. We did get a nice herd of forest buffalo, who thundered off, blue duiker etc. I really wanted to just sit in one place for a few hours - experience tells me this is how to see things (or see nothing!! - but you never see "nothing" in the bush). Some of the group trekked gorillas twice, and went back to Dzangha Bai, and there are many other activities you can do with the local Ba'aka (Pygmy) tribe --- a fascinating, happy people. Guides - these are supplied and trained by the WWF / Parks, and I enjoyed the guys we worked with.  If you do not speak French, may be an issue here, but some speak limited English.  They pretty good on the trees etc (Latin names!!); plant uses, birds etc, and run good activities.  Always accompanied by a Ba'aka tracker - these guys have amazing sight / hearing and bush skills, and just watching THEM is a priviledge. The word Pygmy - although in common usage, it's a bit non PC. It's best to use the tribe name, in this case Ba'aka, or "forest people".  I can agree with this - I don't like being called a "whitey / mzungu" either, I have a tribe too. OTHER THINGS TO DO.... This is where Sangha Lodge comes into its own.  Rod has set up a series of trails around the camp, in the forest, for birding and primate viewing - either guided or on your own (best to take one of his Ba'aka guys along in case of elephants - and we had gorillas behind the camp while there too). The evening cruise on the river, with a sundowner, is great for birding and forest noises too.  The local itinerant fishing camps, as well as an alluvial diamond camp up river can also be visited by boat, and are fascinating. He also has some great Ba'aka activities, such as medicinal plants, and hut building etc, that can be done in house. One of the best things is the Night Walk - behind the camp.  This, to me, is an unbeatable experience - we got Potto, Demidoffs Galago, and heard gorillas (Africas' smallest and largest primate in one place!!!), but Pangolin, Porcupine etc are seen too. It's just nice to experience the forest at night. Birding- in the camp and surrounds, is great, but you need to know a bit about forest birds etc, it's NOT easy.  The main “tick" for birders is Picathartes - Rod has found a nest site, up a gorge, which we visited and managed to see two, an amazing bird. It's a short, rough, walk though, worth the effort. Serious birders, there is plenty more, could fill a week here, easily, and we can arrange for Rod to guide you. I think one of the main things about the lodge is that it is run by "bush" people, with a fascination and knowledge of the area second to none. It works well, in an extremely isolated area. Another thing about the lodge and the area is that ALL the people you meet, who have managed to get there, are REAL people - we met some great characters. You do get the odd exception though - we met one, not staying with us though, I really do feel sorry for people who feel that their short presence in a country means that everyone should behave like they do in their home country (why travel ??). Medical etc. OK, if you Google what you CAN get in this part of the world, you'll never leave home! But, on short visits, with reasonable precautions with your water, personal hygiene, and malaria prophylaxis and insect repellents, you'll be fine. There are plenty of things that bite there - but we had very few, compared to previous visits to the region. Getting there the drive CAN be done, but it's long - and no where decent to break the trip. We were lucky on our road trip, a German group came in the day we left, at 0200 --- been on the road for 19 hours, bad rains messed up the roads.  The charter is expensive - E 3000 per plane, 10 seats, each way. Not bad if you fill it, we are going to see if we can set up some dates where we can share charters with others, to keep costs down. We managed to do this on our trip and fly out, cost us E 1500 for 6 of us e.g. E 250 each, and was a great flight too, an hour only. Getting out - Bangui airport is 'interesting', with incredible amount of checks and paperwork, bag searches etc, we counted 11 people who looked at our documents or bags or searched us before we boarded, don't put your passport away until ON the plane, as they do another search as you get on the airport bus!! Prepare for this, and maintain sense of humour. Future trips We will set up some set dates, for primates / birds / Ba'aka etc , or about a week duration - shorter is silly / costly. Idea is to have a day of park activities, which all entail drives, and then a day of Sangha Lodge activities, the drives are bumpy etc, so a day "in camp" allows for a break and later starts.  These will use charters, hopefully shared!  Am also going to set up a PURELY FISHING trip there, in FEB / MARCH. Group sizes - 6 - 8, maybe 10, but no more than this I feel.  Must be keen and interested in the whole picture - birds, ecosystem, people etc (not just gorilla tickers!), and relatively fit, and have a relaxed attitude.

Of course, can set up for private groups as needed, with drive in option if required - but it's a long, hard trip!!!. For the right people CAR and Sangha Lodge is a great destination, and we'd like to be involved in helping tourism grow to this amazing area. John Addison - Director Wild Frontiers