Maroua Things to Do

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Visiting Waza is probably the most likely reason a tourist would visit the Far North Region, and although my visit was for business, I did manage to visit the park. I arranged my visit through work contacts, but there are several operators in Maroua that offer tours of the park. From Maroua, it takes a bit over two hours to reach Waza over a mixture of paved and unpaved roads. This provides a good opportunity to see a slice of local village life (see third picture). My June visit was at the end of a particularly harsh dry season, so most vegetation was burned up, and many water holes were dry, or almost so. This causes much stress for the animals but makes it easy to find them at the water holes. Visiting the park shows that one need not go on an expensive Kenyan or South African safari to see African wildlife. I saw giraffes and numerous antelope and bird species. My guide also found a recently used lion's den, but we did not see lions. The elephants, unfortunately leave the park for wetter areas during the dry season. Waza has a large and relatively modern reception area at the entrance; travel within the park is on good quality dirt roads, and a guide is required. Entrance fees are reasonable. In this season, at least, there were very few visitors; we saw almost no one. If you go during the dry season, be prepared for a hot drive with a lot of dust.