 THE SOUTH: KRIBI’S ATTRACTIVE BEACHES
The centre of tourism in the South Province is Kribi, a seaport and a calm and pleasant resort town with beautiful, pale sand beaches. It is not without reason that the Tourism Delegation for the South Province is in Kribi and not Ebolowa, as is the case for the other provincial government services.
With the construction of the Edea-Kribi highway, the chief town of Ocean Division is in an even better position to live up to its reputation as a tourist heaven. Kribi is now only two hundred kilometres from Douala.
A touch of the sea graces every aspect of life in Kribi: the cosiest residences and the best hotels are situated along the Atlantic Ocean, in the shade of coconut trees.
The setting is ideal for relaxation and recreation, what with the Londji beaches, the Lobe falls, the nearby pigmy villages. It is such that any time spent in the region, even for work, can easily become a tourist excursion.
Kribi so attractive that one tends to forget that the South Province abounds with other tourist attractions. These include:
Ebolowa: A hilly and enchanting town built by the German, it is here that Martin Paul Samba, on of the heroes of the resistance movement against the Germans, was buried in 1914
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Akoafim: another German colonial town, 32 kilometres from Djoum along the road to Oveng Akoafim was abandoned in preference to Djoum
Sangmelima, reputed for its cleanliness
Lolodorf: founded by the German. The current residence of the divisional officer, a strategic relic with a German touch, is located at a vantage point where, like all other settlements founded by the German. It overlooks the rest of Lolodorf. It is the best spot from which to observe the town and the outlying areas:
The indelible marks missionaries such as:
Elat, near Ebolowa, where the alliance between the natives and the white man was consecrated ;
The old Teacher Training College at Foulassi near Sangmelima where the national anthem “ O Cameroon thou cradle of our Fathers” was composed;
The Bible School at Bibia, close to Lolodorf, which has trained many generations of pastors;
The Akoakas rock located 40 kilometres from Ebolowa on the road to metres from Ebolowa on the road to Ambam via Mekomo;
The Mezesse rock near Sangmelima on the road to Mvomeka’a
The Ntem falls at Memv’ele not far from Ambam;
The two German tombs at Mefoup (“fields” in Bulu) about thirty kilometres from Ebolowa on the Ebolowa
Ambam road, vestiges of the deadly battles between the German and the French on Cameroonian soil during World War I:
The natural tunnel “Mbil Bekon” (hole of ghosts) at Nkoétype some ten kilometres from Ebolowa. Sightseers are advised not to go too deep inside this tunnel.
Today, tourism in the South Province is also counting on the holding of the Agricultural Show in Ebolowa. Dja-et-Lobo, Ntem and Ocean Divisions are therefore gradually making available such facilities as would render pleasant the stay of all visitors, tourists and non-tourists alike. |
