Filming on Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Filming on Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo- Lake Tanganyika in Congo is one of the wonderful water bodies that provide wonderful opportunities for visitors to explore the Congo’s great nature and the culture of the people. Lake Tanganyika borders countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Zambia, and Tanzania.

Lake Tanganyika is the longest fresh water lake in the whole world, spanning 660 kilometers, and it is recorded as the second deepest lake in the whole world after the Siberian lake Baikal. Lake Tanganyika offers a lot in terms of the infrastructure. The aquatic animals provide several activities that the film crew members can film on the lake. If you’re interested in filming, you don’t need to miss filming on Lake Tanganyika because it has stunning features with so many interesting activities and features.

What will your Lake Tanganyika filming mix in the DRC look like?

A lot of things will be involved in your Lake Tanganyika filming mix. The lake attracts a lot of activities and visitors who come to see the many animals that gather at the lake. There are a lot of aquatic animals on Lake Tanganyika, and those that come to drink the water are always found on the river banks. These offer wonderful scenery to be seen and provide wonderful backgrounds. The culture at the lake is massive, with the local people ready to perform their local traditional dances. Fish species and several categories of attractions can appear in your filming mix on Lake Tanganyika.

What to film on Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo

There are a lot of things that can be filmed here on Lake Tanganyika, and these, among others, include

Filming hippopotamus on Lake Tanganyika in Congo: Hippopotamus are among the animals that can be filmed on Lake Tanganyika since a school of hippos can be seen in the water from afar and in the nearby distance.

Filming fishing villages and the people’s lifestyles on Lake Tanganyika; the major economic activity carried out around Lake Tanganyika is fishing, and the communities are well organized into groups that are arranged into nuclear settlements that are located adjacent to the landing sites. The majority of the people live in improvised grass-thatched reed houses. You can film these landing communities only when you’re permitted by the local authorities, and the production here will indulge in the local people’s lifestyle, government service access, the traditions of the local people, and government access routes, as well as get to film people that have been displaced from their homelands and have decided to use the banks of Lake Tanganyika and their showers as their homeland.

Filming Lake Fisheries on Lake Tanganyika in DR. Congo: Lake Tanganyika is a wonderful destination for you to explore and film a lot of fisheries as the lake boasts 300 fish species, almost all endemic to Lake Tanganyika in Congo. People do depend on fish here, and it has improved people’s livelihoods.

There are several activities done on Lake Tanganyika, which include spot fishing, kayaking, scuba diving, and snorkeling, among several others.

What is the cost of filming in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

All the visitors going on the filming adventure in the Democratic Republic of Congo must obtain valid filming permits. If you’re filming for personal use, you will just need to pay the park entrance fees and then the fees and do the activity, while if you’re filming for commercial purposes or documentary, it will be the Institut Congolais Pour la Conservation de la Nature that will issue the filming permit, depending on which destination you’re going to do the filming from. But generally, you will need to pay the park entrance fees and then a percentage levied for filming, as it will be well explained by the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature. We engage with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature to ensure that we get for you the right and affordable Congo filming permit.

What do you need to make filming possible on Lake Tanganyika?

The first requirement is to obtain filming permits and clearance.

For any related filming activity to be done in the Democratic Republic of Congo, all the filming crew members have and possess the filming permits and these are provided with permission by the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo in order for you to continue with your filing on the. Other than the filming permits, you will also need to have your filming equipment cleared at any point of entry in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whether through the international airport or by using the land borders. The filming equipment is supposed to be cleared by the customs department, which is always stationed at the point of entry.

Therefore, as Africa Adventure Vacations, this is where we can help you a lot. By merely informing us of your intentions to do filming on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we are very experienced in organizing for you the whole adventure activity, including processing for you the filming permits required, organizing for you the accommodation facilities, transportation, help in obtaining for you the local authorities permits, as well as aiding you in clearance of your filming equipment with the customs department of the Democratic Republic of Congo at your point of entry.

With the Democratic Republic of Congo filming procedures, there is no formal process for the filming permits allocation and thus this is handled by negotiations between the parties, and at Africa Adventure Vacations, we are experienced in doing this. Also, the DR. Congo government doesn’t authorize filming in the areas of interest, especially filming the military installation projects, filming of government buildings, as well as filming along the border areas, and this is illegal and you may be penalized in the courts of law or even have your equipment confiscated. If you want to do filming that will require you to shoot by the use of drones, market filming, or filming alongside the road whereby you will inconvenience traffic, such as filming in the cities or those in the national parks, then you will also need to get permission from the local authorities. To avoid inconveniences, you will need to contact Africa Adventure Vacations so that we can advise you accordingly.

Visas and work permits are required as part of the second requirement.

As you are aware, it is illegal to enter another country without a visa. It is important that all the film crew members obtain a visa to be allowed into Dr. Congo. For the neighboring Congo countries of Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, you can get the visa immediately on arrival. For the DR Congo Visa, it’s a different story. Rather, you must apply for the visa in advance through your nearby DR Congo Embassy. The single entry visa in Congo costs $100 and is valid for one month. The one valid for two months costs $135, while for the one valid for six months, you will need to pay $400. The important thing to note is that the DR. Congo Visa will need to be applied for in advance, about 3 weeks or a month before your planned dates of travel to Congo for the filming, since this Visa cannot be issued on arrival as it is in her neighboring countries. The film crew members will not be allowed to enter the Democratic Republic of Congo to do filming activities without a visa. Another document here is the yellow fever vaccination card, and thus, please contact us at Africa Adventure Vacations for the best filming opportunities in DR. Congo.

Requirement 3: You need to hire a vehicle in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Yes, at Africa Adventure Vacations, we make sure that we make transport arrangements for you such that when you are in the Democratic Republic of Congo for filming, you don’t get stranded. We have got our own fleet of cars and we book and arrange the vehicle services for the film crew members depending on their interests, budget and the terrain of the area that is going to be filmed. For the film crew members going to film in the rough terrain, we advise them to use a 44 wheel drive vehicle that will be able to navigate the hilly terrain, especially in the national parks. We shall be able to tell you how much it cost in terms of the furl and the mileage covered in order to determine how much you will spend on the vehicle per day. Africa Adventure Vacations also organizes both chartered and scheduled flights within the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially for visitors who are interested in flying and do not have the time to drive long distances on the road.

Our hired vehicles will be manned by a well-experienced driver guide who has been in the Democratic Republic of Cong and knows all the corners of the country from the point of arrival up to the Democratic Republic of Lake Tanganyika. The driver fixer will be able to share with you the basic information about the Democratic Republic of Congo and all the solutions required when it comes to film fixing, so you are lucky to book your Lake Tanganyika filming safari with Africa Adventure Vacations.

Is filming on Lake Tanganyika safe?

Well, we all know that over recent years, DR. Congo has been affected by instabilities which have threatened investors as well as the tourism industry in the country. Such instabilities and disasters have come because of Ebola and other rebellion conflicts which have halted the filming process in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

However, as of recent, the Congo is now on track as there are limited cases of instabilities and now the filming industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo is safe and booming, so we can assure you that it is safe to do filming on Lake Tanganyika. As Africa Adventure Vacations, we keep tracking and monitoring any security threat from time to time, and we are very cautious in that anytime we feel the threat, we can let you know. This advisory service is always given before the filing on Lake Tanganyika starts.

How to get to Lake Tanganyika for the filming activity:

It is somehow difficult to reach Lake Tanganyika because of the nature of the road that is not all that good. Visitors, however, can link from Pweto to Pepa and then connect to Moba, from Moba to Kalemie, then to Uvira by the use of a boat, and link to Tanganyika. You can get a plane from Lubumbasi and then to Kalemie. The cars need to be very strong because the journey is so long.

What to wear during filming in Lake Tanganyika?

In order to have a successful filming safari in Lake Tanganyika in Congo, there are some of the items that you should not miss from your packing list, especially the right dressing code depending on the conditions available. Therefore, our visitors or the film crew members should put on or come with the following during filming:

• You need to wear long-sleeved shirts or long trousers while filming. It is good when they are waterproof, as these will protect you from being harmed by sharp tree branches and stones as well as thorns while in the Congo wildness filming.

• You need to wear water-proof shoes during filming. This will help you to navigate through the slippery trails that you will be following while filming in Congo as these will give you stability on the ground.

• Don’t miss out on putting on the gardening gloves when filming, which will be so influential in protecting your hands, and you can put them off when you feel you no longer need them.

• You also need to come with a rain jacket because, in most cases, filming is done in the tropical rain forests that are always wet, and this is why putting on a rain jacket is of great help to you.

• Since filming is always done in the wild, it is good that you have insect repellent with you to safe guard against various insects such as mosquitoes and any other biting insects.

Other clothes that you should not leave out are the water-proof safari back and jacket, as this will help protect your filming equipment from getting in touch with water. You can also put on the African safari hat, safari socks, and shorts that you can sometimes put on, among others.

Accommodation during filming on Lake Tanganyika

The film crew members can at least get the location of their put-up around Lake Tanganyika. You will find some lodges in Kalemie town, especially at the du Midi, the Boss Hotel, Murumbi, and La Perle, among others. The lodges are powered by generators since there is no hydroelectricity power.

When to go for filming on Lake Tanganyika in DR. Congo?

Filming on Lake Tanganyika is done throughout the year like any other filming destination in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, it has been established that the best time for making beautiful films on the Congo River is during the dry season, which runs from June to October and then from December to February. Majority part of the Democratic republic of Congo is covered with the tropical rain forest and these have influenced the  country to  experience the tropical rain climate  meaning that at times you can also experience certain rains un expectedly  therefore, you need to prepare accordingly for the changing weather conditions.

Why should you choose Africa Adventure Vacations for your Lake Tanganyika filming safari?

Africa Adventure Vacations is a local company based in Uganda but operates in East African countries that include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, and South Africa, and we have over 10 years’ experience in aiding filming and production companies, especially those interested in filming nature-related wildlife and the culture of Africa. We provide services such as booking for the filming permits, clearing of the filming equipment, booking for the accommodation facilities, organizing transportation to the filming companies, all in the shortest period of time. We organize other wildlife packages to all of the above-mentioned countries, including gorilla packages to Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Therefore, you should not hesitate to choose us to be your film fixers in East Africa.