In February I am going to Cameroon. Mainly to hunt LDE. I am using a camp rifle so no worries re Customs clearance on arrival in Cameroon.
I was wanting to film the hunt but cancelled this due to the extortionate cost of a "filming license".
I want to take my SLR Canon camera to take a few of my own pics.
I am hearing stories of how visitors are shaken down to clear entry requirements.
From those who have been to Cameroon and considering my circumstances above would you expect to be hammered for "lunch money" or could I expect ( hopefully ) a free run ?
Thankyou to any and all who wish to comment.

My experience, expect a shakedown- from everyone and his brother!

quote:

Originally posted by 30.06king:
In February I am going to Cameroon. Mainly to hunt LDE. I am using a camp rifle so no worries re Customs clearance on arrival in Cameroon.
I was wanting to film the hunt but cancelled this due to the extortionate cost of a "filming license".
I want to take my SLR Canon camera to take a few of my own pics.
I am hearing stories of how visitors are shaken down to clear entry requirements.
From those who have been to Cameroon and considering my circumstances above would you expect to be hammered for "lunch money" or could I expect ( hopefully ) a free run ?
Thankyou to any and all who wish to comment.

At which airport are you entering the country?

I've entered Cameroon many many times. I have residency and often took rifles and ammunition. I mostly go into Yaoundé. I find it to be a fairly easy airport by African standards. Don't discuss with people, say you are a tourist and you should be fine.

Ask your outfitter. Almost all outfitters have someone waiting at the airport.

Regards,

Dennis

My experience was that the outfitter dealt with a lot of it.

They said nothing about my cameras in my carry on bags- but I wasn’t carrying a bunch of pro camera bags or anything obvious. A camera without a pro assortment of lenses or multiples isn’t going to draw attention. A fair number of French people take a winter vacation there- tourism is a big thing.

I did have firearms both times.

The guns were a long wait. The rest of it was typical Africa. Longer than it needed to be, but the actual time once you got to the right person was less than here or other western states.

The gun thing is where you have issues. Given you don’t have that, it will be quick if you are off the plane first and you have everything in order (visa, yellow card, etc.). If you are in economy or something isn’t clear, you will be in for a slog.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
My experience, expect a shakedown- from everyone and his brother!

Then they can bloody well keep their country.

You won’t see me there!

Talk about cutting your nose to spite your face!

Having guns is where the problems are. It was worse getting out than getting in. Go into the little room away from others, they hold out their hand, you give them some and they want more. "So little, more." I just told them that's all I'm giving and grab my stuff and walked out. After I checked my bags, they took me to the back where the bags were and made me open up the gun case and the ammo case again. They counted the ammo and checked the paper work all over. Then they just around for a while waiting for me to give these guys some money, which I did not. I was glad to get out of there. Worst experience I have had in all the countries I've traveled.

I did an unguided buffalo hunt there about ten years ago. Not a damn thing has changed. Having said that .. I found the folks that I had anything to do with in Cameroon were very friendly .. I liked them very much … except the airport peoples ..

IMO its better to do in Rome as the Romans do! After spending $$$$ for the sake of 10 of 20 bucks are you going to inconvenience yourself. Baksheesh is alive and well all over the world.

Once in Yaounde for $20 buck I was not only given speedy service at the airport but the cop went outside and got me a cab. He then called the cab driver on my way to the hotel to make sure everything was ok!

quote:

Originally posted by reddy375:
IMO its better to do in Rome as the Romans do! After spending $$$$ for the sake of 10 of 20 bucks are you going to inconvenience yourself. Baksheesh is alive and well all over the world.

Once in Yaounde for $20 buck I was not only given speedy service at the airport but the cop went outside and got me a cab. He then called the cab driver on my way to the hotel to make sure everything was ok!

Exactly why one should deal with those in the know and on the ground!

I hunted LDE in Cameroon last year. I was advised by my PH not to try to bring my own guns but to use theirs. I believe that was the right call. Cameroon is becoming much more difficult about firearms coming in, and as unrest increases in the country, my guess is that this will only get worse.

As for camera equipment, I had a Sony camera with a couple of lenses as well as a Sony Handy-Cam. Wasn't asked about cameras at all. I had an observer with me, and he filmed for me. Never had an issue.

My experience both entering and leaving the country was uneventful. In-country flights were also uneventful, unless you count reliability of schedules.

Now, as for the actual hunt . . . had some interesting experiences with game scouts and Cameroon special forces . . . but that's another story.

Expect a full shakedown and being asked for many bribes. I have been their twice. It is a mess. Hopefully you have a meet and greet service to do all of that for you.

Guns a problem, so expect a couple of hours at every airport, internal as well. They are waiting on a bribe.

If the outfitter has a decent gun, use thiers.

Gents, many thanks for the various replies and info.
As it happens I will use an outfitter rifle, but not as a first choice. I intended taking my own but ditched this plan when Ethiopian Air was absolutely unresponsive to firearms carriage enquiries. Many emails, absolutely not one single response ! Unbelievable. I know USA hunters have taken own firearms flying from the USA. My plan was to transit Dubai checking in my rifle on Ethiopian there, connecting again in Addis Ababa. Why this should warrant zero communication from my embarkation point is beyond my understanding.
Anyway, not sure what to expect on arrival in Douala but guess I should be prepared for the worst. Mayo Oldiri will have their meet & greet guy to meet me. And maybe without a firearm I might avoid customs excesses !
Re outfitters guns, it took some doing but I finally got agreement on use of the rifle I wanted, a Sako .375H&H. Several questions later I'm still trying to find out what ammo they supply but either vagueness or no response so far. I'll keep at them. They want Euro 10.00 per shot used so it better not be rubbish ammo.

Mayo Oldiri is a solid outfit. The gun will be fine. The ammo will be fine. $10 per round is what it costs when you consider - $6 per round to buy it, $2 per round for them to get it in the country and another $2 in bribes.

They don’t make their money off ammo.....

What you may not know is that a gun permit is $600 in Cameroon and you may not get in and out with it. So, you are money shooting their gun.

Ross,
About Mayo's cost for ammo, I would say you are 100% correct. Providing ammo is not a money maker. It's too easy to only consider my ammo cost at home ( estimated NZD $7.50 - $9.00 per round ) and to forget Mayo's logistical costs getting ammo to their camps. But, at current Euro / NZD exchange rate each shot costs me NZD $17.50
Rest assured I won't be letting loose in wild west fashion.

Perhaps I will save some cost by using their rifle. I didn't know the firearms permit costs $600 ( USD ). I had to send my passport to France for the Cameroon visa. I used the expedited service. That alone cost Euro $420.00 ( NZD $763.50 ).

I became quite tetchy at one point while working through a breakdown of costs for this hunt. Everything seemed a bit OTT. I cancelled the planned hunt filming due to a ridiculous filming license cost. Had to take a chill pill, or two. Eventually accepted the need to overcome all the aggravation as I really want to do this hunt. Nice to be over most of the hurdles now.

By the way, very sorry I missed you at DSC. My fault entirely. I was hoping to bump into you, and to txt but had far too many distractions. Was walking around with a friend chatting about everything and also targeting certain outfitters. Made a couple of days pass pretty quickly. Hope all is good with you.

I've hunted with Mayo Oldiri both in the savanna and in the rain forest.

You will love the hunt. Cameroon is kind of a specialty destination for hunting, and it is more expensive than most of "southern" Africa for western tourist hunters.

Yes, the gun permits are expensive, and it is a huge hassle. You will spend a lot of time at the airport customs area to deal with it, and while they may feel you out for a bribe, if you play dumb, you get through without paying (well except tipping the guys getting you through from Mayo Oldiri, anyhow, in my experience...)

They also can be very particular in what the permits say, and since they are done by one of the embassies, MO has no control over that.

Given the licensing procedure, costs, etc. I don't know if MO is making a little, or if it is essentially break even, but it is definitely cheaper and less hassle to use theirs.

I will say this, that you are very unlikely to shoot a lot. there just are not that many animals on license, and the shots are generally pretty close range- if you don't develop some hitch in your shooting (which I did...) if you shot 10 rounds, you probably filled your license.

The billing does feel like nickle and dimeing you though... but it is the way it is. Western Africa is even more you got to go with the flow than other places.

In 2010 when we arrived in Garoua by plane from Doula we went through another customs as though it was another country (another opportunity for graft) the customs agent demanded that I give him my passport. Despite my complaints to accompany my passport, he yelled and told me to stay put. When he returned he said,"you have a problem". He had peeled off my visa stamp. Luckily I had a copy of the passport showing the stamp and suggested that it had "just fallen off". Corrupt beyond compare.

Cameroon can be a pain in the ass, especially with guns.

I'm thinking you probably saved yourself some stress and headaches by using the camp rifle so in the end, that might be fortuitous for you.

They definitely do things a bit differently there for sure but if you are patient and calm and just let things happen you will be fine.

The folks on the ground meeting you will likely know the correct personnel to deal with but it still will likely be a slow process.

The Douala airport and Douala in general is not the nicest place but once you get in the hunting concession, it is really a very cool hunt and a beautiful country so enjoy the experience and just mentally prepare for the small inconveniences of getting in and out of the country.

You are correct FishN4Eyes. I shouldn't mention the problems with corruption without stating that of all my African safaris the one to Cameroon for LD eland and roan was, without a doubt, the very best experience!

How to Avoid the Shakedown:

1) Learn how to speak some French
2) Look like you've got your act together
3) Be ready to answer all of the basic questions
4) Speak confidently
5) Don't be last in line
6) Smile and present a pleasant demeanor
7) Don't come off nervous
8) Be polite and don't talk back to airport officials
9) Don't look like you're vulnerable
10) A pre-tip can often work

In other words, smile and bribe

posted 29 January 2020 14:07 Hide Post
How to Avoid the Shakedown:

1) Learn how to speak some French
2) Look like you've got your act together
3) Be ready to answer all of the basic questions
4) Speak confidently
5) Don't be last in line
6) Smile and present a pleasant demeanor
7) Don't come off nervous
8) Be polite and don't talk back to airport officials
9) Don't look like you're vulnerable
10) A pre-tip can often work

You say "how to avoid the shakedown"
Are you speaking from personal experience in Cameroon ? Just asking cos several posters here suggest bribes are unavoidable. I am sorta prepared for something.
Where I may be a little different is I am not taking a rifle, perhaps making me a less likely target to squeeze. Some hunters with rifles told me they got through unscathed. I don't know how. Maybe it just boils down to luck and how corrupt the on duty officials are on the day. Would really like to know what you experienced. Cheers.

I didn’t take a rifle either and it lessens the hassle a lot. You will never learn enough French to keep up with their rapid fire patois. AirFrance lost all my luggage. Everyone wanted a bribe to help me sort it out. Of course, it didn’t do a damn bit of good- it was never found. 15 safaris to 8 African countries, far and away the most corrupt. Once you leave Yaoundé, things improve drastically.....

quote:

I didn’t take a rifle either and it lessens the hassle a lot. You will never learn enough French to keep up with their rapid fire patois. AirFrance lost all my luggage. Everyone wanted a bribe to help me sort it out. Of course, it didn’t do a damn bit of good- it was never found. 15 safaris to 8 African countries, far and away the most corrupt. Once you leave Yaoundé, things improve drastically.....

I will carry a change of clothing, meds and some other necessities in my carry on bag. If my luggage doesn't arrive in Douala I will be able to hunt. My hunting clobber is not top shelf stuff so any luggage never found is not a major financial blow. My French is pretty non existent so can't rely on that. Flying on Emirates ( no worries there ) then onwards to Douala on Ethiopian. Never been on Ethiopian before so unsure what to expect. Hoping they handle luggage efficiently and all goes to plan.

Ethiopian is now I believe the highest rated airline in Africa (a crown SAA used to have before corruption decimated it). While that may not be saying much, I've flown it to Addis and both the plane and the service were up to global standards. Not Emirates, but better than most North American airlines.

quote:

Originally posted by 30.06king:

quote:

I didn’t take a rifle either and it lessens the hassle a lot. You will never learn enough French to keep up with their rapid fire patois. AirFrance lost all my luggage. Everyone wanted a bribe to help me sort it out. Of course, it didn’t do a damn bit of good- it was never found. 15 safaris to 8 African countries, far and away the most corrupt. Once you leave Yaoundé, things improve drastically.....

I will carry a change of clothing, meds and some other necessities in my carry on bag. If my luggage doesn't arrive in Douala I will be able to hunt. My hunting clobber is not top shelf stuff so any luggage never found is not a major financial blow. My French is pretty non existent so can't rely on that. Flying on Emirates ( no worries there ) then onwards to Douala on Ethiopian. Never been on Ethiopian before so unsure what to expect. Hoping they handle luggage efficiently and all goes to plan.

You should be fine on Ethiopian. My son and I flew them from Kilimanjaro to Washington-Dulles and the flights were as one would expect. Only problem I had was they tried to shake me down in Addis while our flight was boarding. I had to go down into baggage handling to open my Tuffpak so they could verify my serial numbers. The 777 was waiting for me, with everyone else boarded and they obviously wanted a bribe to load my luggage. Instead, I finally blew my lid, yelled at the manager to go F*ck himself and I demanded his name and company ID. He asked why and I told him I was going to file complaints with the airline, Ethiopian and US Embassies about him. At that point, the bullshit ended and my guns were quickly put on the plane.

Other than that airport shakedown, our Ethiopian Airlines flights were uneventful.