Sea turtles at Ebodjé and the Campo Ma'an coast

Olive ridley, leatherback and green turtles nesting; hawksbill offshore; western lowland gorilla and forest elephant in Campo Ma'an behind the coast. Ebodjé and Campo Ma'an National Park, South Region, Cameroon.

Best time: 15 Nov – 15 Jan (November to January). Where: Ebodjé – community turtle village (Tube Awu), Campo – Campo Ma'an National Park entrance (Cameroon). Time of day: Females come ashore after dark, mostly 21:00–03:00 on the rising tide.

• Guide, ranger or boat needed
• Low cost
• No binoculars needed
• Sound 2/5

Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.

When is the best time?

Peak: 15 Nov – 15 Jan. Mid November to mid January, the peak of nesting on the Ebodjé beaches

Active from 15 Oct to 28 Feb (October to February) in a typical year.

Time of day

Females come ashore after dark, mostly 21:00–03:00 on the rising tide; hatchlings from about two months after each peak

• Nesting patrol: 21:00 → 03:00

Depends on the tide: best around high tide. Check local tide tables.

What will you hear?

A visual event with a good close-mic moment: the digging and heavy breathing of a nesting turtle against the surf; behind the beach the Campo Ma'an forest at night.

Binoculars?

No binoculars needed. A nesting turtle at arm's length on a dark beach; red torch only with the eco-guides.

Where to go

• Ebodjé – community turtle village (Tube Awu) — Village ecotourism project south of Kribi with eco-guides who patrol the nesting beaches and take visitors along. Map
• Campo – Campo Ma'an National Park entrance — Park office for the forest; gorilla habituation is not a reliable tourist activity here despite past programmes — ask. Map

How to go on your own, and what it costs

Nesting turtles may only be approached with the Ebodjé eco-guides (protected species; community rule). Cheapest legal way: shared taxi Kribi–Ebodjé, homestay in the village and the guide fee for a night patrol.

Cost: Village guide fee and homestay; check current prices.

Free or no-guide alternative: The beach is public: hatchling emergences can be watched for free, and you can sit on the beach at night without lights as long as you do not approach a nesting animal.

Field-recording notes

Only with the village eco-guides: red light, approach from behind once laying has started, no flash. Ebodjé's project is the reason these beaches are not stripped; the guide fee is the conservation funding. Surf and onshore wind are the constant bed. The road south from Kribi is passable in the dry season; the Equatorial Guinea border is close, check current travel advice.

Sources

• Douala-Edéa and the Cameroon coast – turtle species (Wikipedia, Douala Edéa NP)
• Campo Ma'an National Park (Wikipedia)

Similar spectacles

• Sea turtles nesting at Grand-BérébyCôte d'Ivoire · Breeding colony · peak 1 Nov–15 JanMostly a sight, but the sound is worth having: the heavy breathing and sand-throwing of a leatherback digging, flippers slapping wet sand, and the surf of the Gulf of Guinea behind it.
• Sea turtles on the Togo coastTogo · Breeding colony · peak 1 Nov–31 JanA sighting more than a sound: the heavy breathing and sand-scraping of a nesting female against the surf, and the patrol team's low talk.
• Sea turtles nesting at Grand-Popo and OuidahBenin · Breeding colony · peak 1 Nov–31 JanA sight more than a sound, but with a close mic: sand thrown by a leatherback's flippers, the deep exhalations of a nesting female, and the Bight of Benin surf behind.
• Olive ridley nesting on the Angolan coast — the Atlantic's largest populationAngola · Breeding colony · peak 15 Nov–15 JanA sighting with a close-mic moment: the scraping and heavy breathing of a nesting ridley — a small turtle, a quick nest — against the Atlantic surf, and the Kitabanga patrol's low voices.
• Conkouati-Douli: humpback whales and leatherback nestingRepublic of the Congo · Marine mammals · peak 1 Aug–15 Oct and 15 Nov–31 JanBlows and breaches from the beach, humpback song on a hydrophone from a drifting pirogue, and at night the digging and heavy breathing of a leatherback on a wild beach with no lights for 50 km; chimpanzees pant-hooting from the lagoon islands at dawn.
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More: all spectacles in Cameroon · sea turtles · stork, heron and flamingo colonies · Cameroon in January · November · Cameroon in December