I don't think there is much to see in Kumba. Those of us who love it here only do so because it is where we feel the most at home. The only attractions that I can think of are the Kumba main Market, and the Barombi Mbo Lake. On Friday, because the weather was sunny and bright, I headed out to see the lake with Soshina and my young cousin Dare, who was home on Easter break from boarding school. We chose a sunny day because I imagined there are probably only a few scenarios more cumbersome than trekking through a tropical forest during a rain storm.
We were dry alright, but boy were we hot! To get there, we drove to Up Station, the old colonial administrative post of Kumba. I drove my sister's old, very beaten up, 2 door, manual shift Toyota RAV4. Now, I don't drive manual cars, but I've been teaching myself how to. Let me just say it is a pain because I still have not totally resigned myself to why I need to be thinking and listening and moving limbs so much while driving! When we got to Up Station, I neatly parked on the sweet decline of a hill, knowing that this meant zero hassle reversing and starting back into town... except that someone park right behind me and I had to do a U-turn.
Before we started our 15min trek, we were informed by a very impolite person, that the council was imposing an entry fee of 200FCFA per person. There were no signs anywhere and he had no leaflets or brochures to show us. It is not much money at all, but I totally freaked out about having to pay for a non-guided trek on a road through the forest which looks like it has not seen any kind of maintenance in forever...to see a crater lake... the same one I used to sneak out of primary school to go and see for free! When my questioning of this began to slowly turn into name calling... on this fellows part, I offered to check with the council first. So I battled with the manual gears to the council, only to get confirmation that we had to pay the fee.
Drama aside, it was ultra fun to get out of the town for a while and just do a nature walk to the lake. We ran into an old school acquaintance of mine who was visiting from Germany with his family. We got lots of sun and fresh air, lots of pictures, a good workout, and Dare got a lot of giggles from seeing Soshina jump each time a lizard ran through the grass! Enjoy!
