Waza: elephants, giraffes and the Sahelian floodplain
Savanna elephant, giraffe, lion (few), kob, roan, topi, red-fronted gazelle; crowned cranes, Arabian bustard, waterbirds on the floodplain pools. Waza National Park, Far North Region, Cameroon.
Best time: 15 Feb – 15 May (February to May). Where: Waza camp and park entrance, Floodplain pools – eastern (Yaéré) sector (Cameroon). Time of day: Drives from sunrise to 10:00 and 16:00 to sunset (a guide is compulsory in each vehicle).
- Guide, ranger or boat needed
- Entry fee
- Binoculars essential
- Sound 3/5
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 Feb – 15 May. Mid February to mid May: the park is open 15 November – 15 June and the herds gather at the remaining pools as the floodplain dries
Active from 15 Nov to 15 Jun (November to June) in a typical year.
Time of day
Drives from sunrise to 10:00 and 16:00 to sunset (a guide is compulsory in each vehicle); lions and hyena from dusk around the camp
- Morning drive: sunrise → 10:00
- Afternoon drive: 16:00 → sunset
- Hyena & lions: last light → 2 h after last light
What will you hear?
Elephants at the pools, crowned crane duets across the floodplain at dawn, a Sahelian chorus of doves, sandgrouse and larks, and hyena at night around Waza camp.
Binoculars?
Binoculars essential. Elephants, giraffes and cranes on the open floodplain at 200 m to 1 km from the vehicle; binoculars needed, scope better.
Where to go
- Waza camp and park entrance — Camp with bungalows at the foot of the Waza rocks; guides are assigned here. Map
- Floodplain pools – eastern (Yaéré) sector — The dry-season water; the drive to the pools is where the game is. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
A park guide in each vehicle is compulsory (park rule). Cheapest legal way: bus Maroua–Waza, entry and guide fee at the park gate, the park's own vehicle or a hired one from Maroua; camp or take a bungalow at Waza camp.
Cost: Entry plus guide and vehicle; check current prices and whether the park is open to visitors.
Free or no-guide alternative: The Maroua–Kousséri highway runs along the park's western edge and Waza village sits at the gate: cranes, sandgrouse and the floodplain dawn are free from the roadside, the elephants are inside.
Field-recording notes
A guide is compulsory in every vehicle (park rule). Harmattan dust and wind through Dec–Feb, heat from March; the still hours are pre-dawn. The Far North Region has been affected by Boko Haram since 2013 and the park itself was the site of kidnappings; tourism has been intermittent since — check current travel advice and the park's status before planning anything.
Sources
Similar spectacles
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More: all spectacles in Cameroon · elephants · mountain wildlife · Cameroon in February · Cameroon in March · April · May