A few kilometres south of Zinga, the Lobaye River flows into the Oubangui, creating a confluence that is a notable landmark on the river journey. The Lobaye drains a large portion of the southwestern Central African Republic through rainforest and gallery woodland before meeting the larger river. The confluence is visible from the river as a change in water colour and character, and the area around it is relatively rich in wildlife — birds in particular.
The Lobaye valley upstream is the territory of the Aka people (sometimes called Baka), one of the Central African forest-dwelling communities whose lives have been shaped by the equatorial rainforest for millennia. The forest that lines the rivers in this region is part of the broader Congo Basin rainforest, the second largest tropical forest in the world. Travellers passing through in the dry season (November-April) will find the rivers more navigable and the forest more accessible.