Trying to identify animal tracks in the wild is always exciting – and these were unmistakably a hippo’s. If we were attempting to spot one of Africa’s most dangerous beasts from the safety of a game-viewing vehicle in broad daylight, this would have been fun. But we were on foot. On a beach. At 2am.
Suddenly, seeing one of Gabon’s fabled “surfing hippos” didn’t seem very sensible. But, after scanning the waves with his torch, eco-guide Ghislain said: “Let’s go.” I’d seen him pad through the bush barefoot, stare down an elephant, and now shrug off a possible encounter with a hippo in the dark… “The animals know that I come in peace,” he said.
There are certainly enough animals in this country on the west coast of Central Africa to test that mantra. More than 85% of Gabon – slightly bigger than the UK, but with just 2.3million people – is covered in forest, which is home to an estimated 30,000 lowland gorillas and chimps, 90,000 forest elephants, buffalo, mandrills, bongo and sitatunga antelopes, leopards, golden cats, red river hogs… and humpback whales can be seen offshore from July to September.
The vastness of the country’s forests mean exact numbers are difficult to determine – and most of the animals actually live outside the designated national parks.
It also has one of the world’s most important nesting sites for leatherback turtles – which is why I was on that beach in Pongara National Park in the middle of the night, the forest looming on one side, the Atlantic surging on the other, while thousands of translucent ghost crabs scurried about.
Under the cover of darkness, the turtles painstakingly flipper their way up to the high-water mark to lay their eggs.
We didn’t find any leatherbacks that night, but we were lucky enough to find two endangered green turtles. French-speaking Gabon’s main export industry is oil, followed by mining and logging, but the government is on a drive to find new revenue streams for when the oil runs out – and, as well as selling carbon credits, tourism is high on the agenda.
Billed as The Last Eden, just over 10% of the land has been declared national parks, and plans are under way to improve accessibility for tourists.
Right now, you have to work hard for those animal encounters. But all those hours of bouncing along rough roads and sputtering across lakes in small boats evaporate when you see a baby gorilla riding on his mum’s back, or an elephant eyeballing you on a forest walk, or watch tiny turtles head to the ocean for their first swim.
By far the most action-packed and easily accessible national park is Pongara, a 30-minute boat ride across the Gabon Estuary from the capital Libreville. Kevin from Gabon Adventures picked us up in a huge rigid inflatable boat, which could drive on land before gliding into the water. We half expected a Bond girl to pop out of the cooler box…
We drove up on to the palm-fringed beach on the other side and hopped into rugged all-terrain vehicles. We buzzed along pristine beaches (carefully avoiding the turtle nests at the high-tide mark), barrelled through ancient forests, and drove up to the grassy plains of Nyonié. We stopped for lunch at Pongara Lodge, enjoying fresh jackfish tartare and perfect steaks under a huge tree.
On a kayaking trip, eco-guide Marcel, a Pygmy from deep in the forest, pointed out gorgeous birds, red-capped mangabey monkeys, and giant egg-stealing lizards. On a night drive we spotted a galago bush baby in a tree and a dwarf crocodile in a puddle left by the equatorial showers (there are only two seasons in Gabon: the rainy season and the dry season).
Marcel shared the secrets of his forest with us – the bark of the musanga umbrella tree heals wounds, the mighty okoume tree is used for making canoes because it is light and resin from the iboga shrub is good for making a fire. “The forest talks to you, so listen,” he said.
Further south is Loango National Park and its habituated gorillas. It takes about five years before these great apes get used to having camera-wielding tourists invading their space, so it’s a huge undertaking.
In comparison: tiny Rwanda has 12 habituated families out of just 600 animals, with 96 trekking permits issued every day. In Gabon, just four people a day are lucky enough to spend an hour with the Atananga family: silverback Kamaya, two females and five little ones – we were delighted when the trackers found them… shinning down trees, play-fighting, or cuddling their mums.
It was totally worth the mission to get here: a 35-minute flight from Libreville to Port-Gentil, a three-hour drive (half of it a bone-jarring ride on an open-sided vehicle in a rain storm), a small boat across the Iguela Lagoon, an overnight stay at the fabulous Ndola Lodge, an early boat ride to the ranger station, then an hour-long jungle trek to find the beasts.
You need resilience and a sense of adventure in this country, but the payoff is huge. As was the G&T poured by the wonderful Grace at the bar at the Louri tented camp… just because it’s a jungle out there, doesn’t mean you have to slum it! The lodges may be remote, but they have all the mod-cons – en-suite bathrooms with proper loos and hot showers.
Despite their name, forest elephants quite like hanging out on the beaches and we enjoyed sundowners while a herd eyed us warily. A huge blot on the landscape, however, was the amount of rubbish washed up on the beaches – a devastating knock-on effect of all the plastic weuse.
Back in Libreville, we explored the city from our base at the luxurious Hotel Sablière, visiting colourful stalls and artisan markets, and trying the street food. North-east of the capital is another slice of Eden at the Crystal Mountains National Park. Stay in the south section and do guided hikes into virgin cloud forests, teeming with waterfalls, butterflies and orchids… and, if you’re very lucky, you might encounter gorillas, mandrills, chimps or leopards.
Further south we visited the fishing region of Lambaréné, crossing the equator on the way. We stopped to try coupé-coupé – roasted meat from roadside grills – purple atanga fruit, and odika (indigenous chocolate).
Lambaréné is the home of the fascinating Albert Schweitzer Hospital, started by the French/German pianist and theologian – and later, doctor – in 1913. He ran it until his death in 1965, earning a Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. A modern facility was built in 1981, and his old hospital is now a wonderful museum.
The friendly Ogooue Palace Hotel made a good jumping-off point for a trip across Lake Oguemoué hosted by American ecologist Heather and her Gabonese conservationist husband Cyrille who, besides working with communities for their Oleo charity, run a fantastic ecotourism site called Tsam Tsam.
We worked up an appetite with a forest walk and a visit to a fishing village before a home-cooked meal.
Mass tourism is not a thing in Gabon yet – and the country is all the more captivating as a result. But there are many dedicated people here working hard to share their slice of Eden with the world.
As one of them said to me: “If Rwanda can build a tourist industry on 600 gorillas, imagine what we can do with 30,000.”
Top tips:
- Pack extra-strength insect repellent, beige or khaki sweat-wicking clothes, light raincoat, decent walking shoes, malaria prophylaxis, a head torch, patience, resilience and a sense of adventure.
- It’s a tropical country that is always hot and humid. Wifi is available at most hotels and lodges (even in the middle of the jungle).
Book the holiday
An 11-day all-inclusive Magic of Coastal Gabon trip costs from £4,900 per person in the dry season (July-September), with luxury lodges, internal flights, transport, tours, activities and safaris, guides and park fees. Extra excursions for sport fishing, gorilla trekking and whale watching can be arranged.
A yellow fever certificate is needed. International flights with Air France via Paris extra. Find out more at gabonwildlifecamps.com.
You can also get more information and look up tours at discovergabon.com, oelogabon.org, 241tour.com and gabonadventures.com.