Located in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, on the banks of the Lekoli River, Mboko is the largest of Kamba’s three Republic of Congo-based luxury eco-camps.
Overview
Situated overlooking an extensive and wildlife-populated bai (floodplain), Mboko Camp is a beautiful wood-and-thatch build, and consists of a main area and 12 sleeping cabins. Raised and set on polished wooden floors, its sides largely open to the elements, its peaked thatch roof most unlike the domes of its sister camps Ngaga and Lango, the main area includes a lounge, dining areas, decking and fire-pit. Characterised by comfortable seating, sisal rugs, a small library and a variety of well-chosen places from which to view the comings and goings of the local wildlife, the look and feel is one of muted colours, smart and welcoming.
Food & service
Sourced locally or in the main from Brazzaville, with any imports coming from France, the food at Mboko Camp is excellent. Breakfast is served early – giving guests time for an early wildlife drive, walk or boat – and includes cereal, breads, eggs and fruit. Served at 11, lunch is a buffet of salads, pastas, fish and meats. Dinner is always a three-course affair, and delicious with it. The service from restaurant floor to guiding is friendly, knowledgeable and professional.
Rooms
Spaced along the river, overlooking the bai, and backed by riverine forest, Mboko Camp’s sleeping cabins are raised on wooden platforms, and include a private veranda, four-poster double bed, seating, luggage space, and en-suite shower and sink. Inside the polished floors and panel-and-plank walls provide a chic-rustic backdrop to a restrained look and feel, one marked by a lovely writing table, a lightweight chair, a sisal rug and lanterns for light. Super atmospheric, especially during downpours.
Activities
Activities at Mboko Camp include wildlife drives, guided walk-and-wades, and boating and kayaking the Lekoli River.
Impact
Conservation
‘It’s Kamba’s founder, Sabine Plattner, life’s vision to ensure a balanced coexistence between man and nature, and she is enabling this specifically not only through low-impact eco-tourism but also through education and by contributing to preserve rainforests in Africa, particularly in the Congo basin. Kamba’s charitable sister organisation SPAC works all over the Republic of the Congo promoting and enabling all stages of education, focussing on child welfare, early childhood development, curriculum development as well as primatology and related research. Furthermore, this vital research on the region’s native lowland gorilla has thankfully protected them from extinction. Magda Bermejo is also actively engaging and bringing Congolese biologist postgraduate students on-site to learn about the rainforest ecosystem and its primate inhabitants.
Commerce
The salary of a single local staff member can feed up to 20 family members; this is essential for a region where hardly 10% of the population have a regular income from paid labour. Apprenticeships and additional jobs such as eco-guards and administrative work also provide a meaningful alternative to poaching and deforestation.
Community
In 2011, Sabine Plattner’s vision of an Early Childhood Development programme was launched with the opening of the first flagship centre, Sanza Mobimba, in the village of Mbomo on the periphery of Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo. The programme offers children between the ages of 3 to 5 years old the opportunity to learn fundamentals in a fun way and in clean and safe surroundings. The programme saw a rapid expansion with the establishment of five satellite centers in villages bordering Odzala-Kokoua National Park – i.e. Ebana, Mbanza, Miele-Kouka, Mokouagonda and Lango as well as a centre in Bomassa bordering Ndabali-Ndoki national park.’