Douala Day Tour: Manoka Island

Not far from the small fishing port of Youpwé, near Douala, it is the sixth district municipality of the Urban Community of Douala and is native to the Malimba people. It is here that we find Ile Manoka, where the locals live mainly from fishing as well as smoking fish. 

We find several colonial vestiges in Manoka Island, like the prison of Douala Manga Bell, which is located on the beach of the island. Humans are not the only inhabitants as we can find many monkeys on the sandy beaches of Manoka. If you are looking for a day of escape and a change of scenery far from the tumult of Douala, the island of Manoka is a perfect day out!

Tour details:

• Private canoe trip to Manoka Island

• Lunch

• Island exploration

• Return to Douala

Included in the price

• Boat to Manoka Island

• Car with fuel and driver

• Guide

• Permits

• Lunch

Additional Information On Ile Manoka:

Manoka is the largest island in Cameroon and is reached by the small fishing port of Youpwé, near Douala, in the Wouri department. The Malimba are the local ethnic group and there are 46 settlements on the island, with barely drinking water, electricity and other basic needs. The majority of the inhabitants are Nigerians, followed by Cameroonians. 

The island used to be called Malendè. After the death of a German sister Monika, the local Germans named the island "Monika" in her memory. After the departure of the German monks, the locals changed the name to Manoka.

People live in straw-covered huts along the edges of the coastal mangrove, often perched on stilts to protect against flooding during the rainy season.

There is a main chief on the island and each “family” has a sub-chief.  The Cameroonians are coastals in origin and the Nigerians belong to two ethnic groups: the Edjo and the Ogoni. The locals are mostly Christian. 

The inhabitants of Manoka live mainly from fishing and smoking fish (mostly done by women), mostly done by the Nigerians and  the Cameroonians are the resellers and often owners of the canoes which they sublet to the Nigerians.