Year 3 – Volunteering in Cameroon

The ancient volcano cores of Rhumsiki, Extreme North Region of Cameroon

At the beginning of this year, I had the opportunity to travel the Extreme North Region, where I celebrated the holidays with some other volunteers and took in the sites. It was an amazing trip and I will never forget it as a part of my time here in Cameroon. In the Extreme North, the environment is so much different from areas in the South; an arid, flat, sub-Saharan realm with some very interesting and unique geological features. I won’t write anymore about what it looked like—I think the photos say it all.

Baobab Tree, Rhumsiki, Extreme North Region of Cameroon

Huts at Rhumsiki, Extreme North Region of Cameroon

Stalking Giraffe, Waza National Park, Cameroon

When I traveled there it was during the cool season, when temperatures range between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures can get much hotter, reaching up to 120 degrees. The remote location and environmental conditions limit the amount of goods that can be transported there. So life is tough for both the local people and the volunteers living in the Extreme North. But it is culturally diverse, and unique from the rest of Cameroon, with languages spoken ranging from Fulfulde and French to the less-spoken Arabic and Pidgin. The life is simple, so one can subsist without too many amenities. There’s no denying however that the Grand North (consisting of the Extreme North, North and The Adamaoua regions), is somewhat disconnected from the rest of Cameroon.

I’d have to say that the experiences available in the Extreme North are worth the grueling, seemingly endless train ride up there—at least from a visitor’s point of view. When I took the train, there was a 6-hour delay before we departed, and then the train ride took about twenty hours! It was soon forgotten though, replaced by better experiences including Waza National Park, where we had the chance to hang around giraffe, among other wild life. Fortunately, the train ride back to the south was accompanied by many fond memories and beautiful images of the time spent in the Extreme North.

For more info, check out the Wikipedia article Far North Region of Cameroon