{"id":465,"date":"2012-07-12T08:17:12","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T08:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/?p=465"},"modified":"2014-06-18T02:51:12","modified_gmt":"2014-06-18T02:51:12","slug":"pendjari-safari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.overlandrover-westafrica.net\/?p=465","title":{"rendered":"Pendjari Safari"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Benin has a couple of large national parks in the north and the Parc Pendjari provided our last adventure in Benin.\u00c2\u00a0 http:\/\/www.pendjari.net\/english\/<\/p>\n

The drive up from Nattitingou was much further than we expected.\u00c2\u00a0 There seems to be a commercial mafia in Nattingnou that works to give visitors the impression that Natti is the logical jumping off point for the park, which we learned is quite nonsensical.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It is 50 km from Natti to Tanquieta\u00c2\u00a0 on the main road, then another 30 km up a along a laterite road featuring some serious stretches of washboard to get to Batia, which is the actual Park entrance.<\/p>\n

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Washboard road into Batia from Tanquieta<\/p><\/div>\n

We were insulated from that because we had our own transportation and we were not in a hurry.\u00c2\u00a0 We planned on going to the Park before looking for a guide and this worked perfectly. Batia is the place where visitors should plan to had for, not Natitingou.\u00c2\u00a0We arrived at Batia about 16:00, just in time to make arrangements with a guide to heinto the Park at 6:00 AM the next morning.\u00c2\u00a0 We stayed that night at a great campement <\/em>\u00c2\u00a0in Batia. Campement Numi is run by a German named Alfred who has been there for some 15 years.\u00c2\u00a0 Set aqauinst a cliff he has\u00c2\u00a0 a couple of rooms and a good camplite wnot far from a creek that also feeds his swimming pool.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Numi was the first campement we have been in with hot water, and it was very hot, a real nice surprise.\u00c2\u00a0 For overlanders is it s great place because he also has a mechanical shop.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 He also rents 4X4s.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 So, if you go to Pendjari, with or without a vehicle, don`t waste time in Natitingou, rather plan to arrive in Batia mid-to late afternoon, make arrangements for a guide there and with Campement Numi to rent a vehicle if you do not have one.<\/p>\n

We got an early start the first day, were on the trail in the park before 7:00.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 We slowly cruised about 7o km into the park along a good laterite road.<\/p>\n