Gabon Expedition

Upon arrival at Libreville International Airport, we will be met by an African Waters representative and transferred to Radisson Blu Okoumé Palace Hotel for the evening. The Wild Eye host will arrange for a group dinner to discuss the following days arrangements.

After breakfast we will transfer back to Libreville Airport to board the scheduled flight which will stop over and reconnect in Port Gentil. From here we will continue onward to Gamba Airport which is scenically located on the edge of Ndogo Lagoon. This is where the local guide will meet us, and we will transfer by boat across the lagoon to Setta Cama Adventure Camp.

Once a briefing of the area and the camp have been done, lunch will be enjoyed after which there will be time to settle into our chalets, catch a short siesta or take a quick swim on the beach.

In the afternoon there will be an orientation ‘sortie’ to the lagoon mouth with a beach stroll and sundowners. It is a short boat trip to where the lagoon meets the Atlantic and from there a 15-minute beach walk to Point Milongo where we you can enjoy a sundowner. At any time during the excursion there is a good chance that some wildlife, big and small, will appear.

An early start, 06h00, to get us straight into the thick of things through spending the day on a slow walk, with many stops to look, listen, and take-in the atmosphere of the depths of the coastal rainforest. Monkey species, forest antelopes, red river hogs, the great apes, big game, birds, and any number of creepy-crawlies are all on the potential-encounters menu.

We will stop at picnic spot in the forest for lunch before making our way slowly back to camp again.

Getting back to camp in the mid to late afternoon and a chilled way to end the day off is with a drink and finger-snacks on the beach with a swim and/or some fishing (surfcasting) optional.

Once again, the day will start at 06h00 in preparation for a kayak circuit. We will be dropped off by boat at a tranquil corner of the lagoon from where we will spend the morning quietly kayaking the forest margins with our guide. Being stealthy at water level offers a totally different perspective to observe smaller life that one might otherwise miss and a chance to see the very shy and rare West African mana¬tee. This is also a good opportunity to engage with our sense of hearing and simply listen to the life hidden amongst the trees in the forest.

In the afternoon we will game drive through the picturesque savannah prairies near camp and will be introduced to another one of Ga¬bon’s coastal habitats. Even though this is outside of the national park, there is a chance to see forest ele¬phant, forest buffalo, and various primates. Sightings of great apes crossing the plains are not rare in this beautiful area.

We will stop for sundowners and once it is dark, drive back towards camp spotlighting for the highly elusive water chevrotain and other small, secretive creatures of the night.

After coffee at the camp we will prepare for a forest walk. Each forest walk we take on you during your stay is on a different trail. We want to ensure that you get to experience as much diversity and character as we can cram into your visit.

In the afternoon we will have an opportunity to choose from a range of “a la carte activities”. These activities will include fishing, birding, Missala-North beach walk, Campements Walk or the Trois Plaines Walk. (Min of 2 pax required to conduct the activity)

The fishing is from a boat in the lagoon or the beach (tackle and expert guiding provided). Birding can be anywhere depend¬ing on what is on our birdwatching to-see list and the beach walk is to an area near the camp that often has elephant, buffalo, and sitatunga. The Campements Walk is a partly-cultural experience to villagers’ near¬by plantations for an introduction to their way of life. The Trois Plaines Walk is a nearby circuit through low-forest and three savannah clearings often frequented by buffalo and elephant.

After dinner we will head out into the dark night in one of the boats, spotlighting for crocodiles. The focus will be on finding the rarely seen dwarf crocodile but West African crocodiles might be spotted too. There will also be the chance for spotting the rare Pel’s Fishing Owl and/or Vermiculated Fishing Owl as a special treat.

This morning we will explore the Lagoon and focus on Lagoon ecology and archaeology. This excursion will be by boat and the and we will be learning about the mangroves, salt marshes, and some of the ancient archaeological sites around the lagoon. But just as always in Gabon, during the excursion to various mangrove channels, forest edges and so forth, anything could happen, and any interesting birds and beasts might appear.

After lunch there will be the option to take some time out for a siesta or enjoy the various activities available as we did the day before.

For those not out fishing or birding until late, there is always the option for a drink on the beach with a swim and/or some fishing (surfcasting).

If the first night drive was unsuccessful for water chevrotain, we can have another go, or just go anyway to see what may be waiting for us this time. Although we are not quite travelling in the nesting season of the turtles, there is still a slight chance to catch any late comers.

The last two days at Setta Cama Adventure Camp will be utilised to enjoy the essence of the Loango and the land of the surfing hippos, a beach circuit, and overnighting at the forest fly camp.

By this point we will be well acclimatised and ready for our final adventure. Encountering big game and all the other wildlife along what is, probably, the wildest stretch of coast in Africa. This is what the last two days will be all about.

The first day starts before sunrise, walking the beach in the hopes of finding one of the mystic surfing hip¬pos. Once the sun is up, the walk continues at a slow, wildlife-watching pace. We will walk 10km of beach in total for the day and overnight at a fly camp in the forest, the sights and sounds of which will be an otherworldly experience on its own.

At dawn, the next day the surfing hippo search continues, first north along the coast for a short way, before spending the rest of the day walking south, slowly back to the pick-up point and returning to the main camp. Other large mammals on the beach will also be a focus of this morning.

Anything can happen along this stretch of coast. In the water you could see giant bull sharks, West African crocodile, the very rare Atlantic humpback dolphin, and hopefully a hippo in the waves.

On the landward side of the surf there will certainly be elephant and buffalo (the buffalo love to laze on the beach), but if we are in luck we may come across chimps or gorillas looking for the fruits that grow in the coastal scrub, or the crab-hunting red river hogs and red-capped mangabey monkeys. On previous experiences the local guides have even seen leopard on the beach. Only time will tell what special sights we will take home!

At approximately 07h00 we will depart Setta Cama Adventure Camp by boat to Sounga Lagoon, followed by 15km forest walk to the Rembo Ngowe River, and then a short boat transfer to Akaka Forest Camp for a late lunch and settle in to overnight here.

The Akaka Forest Camp and general area has a very special feel to it. The air seems to breathe with a tranquil ambi¬ence that urges one to just sit quietly for hours and soak it all up. There is remarkable swamp, floodplain, and forest habitat all along the banks of the lowland rivers around the camp that is somewhat different to elsewhere in Loango. These are rich feeding grounds for various mammals and bird species.

Game viewing and the general nature experience, by boat and on foot are excellent. Night time trips on the rivers are also very interesting. During the rainy season, the area floods but is still a marvel of beauty to behold.

After an early coffee and breakfast, we will depart by boat to the Max Planck Gorilla project followed by a boat transfer to Loango Lodge.
Leaving Akaka to travel downstream on the Rembo Ngowe River will take us on a memorable journey bursting with birdlife and vivid tropical scenes. After about an hour on the river we will enter the Ngowe Lagoon and continue to the Max Planck Loango Ape Project’s Yatouga field camp.

A thorough briefing will done whereafter Group 1 will be dispatched by boat and then on foot to wherever the Pygmy trackers have located the gorilla group. After spending an hour with the gorilla family, we will return to the boat and continue to Loango Lodge, a 60 to 90-minute traverse of the Ngowe/Iguela Lagoon.

Guest that trekked with the Gorillas on the first day, will remain behind and enjoy a game drive along the savannah prairies of Loango North.

Today Group 2 will track the habituated Gorilla’s. After a briefing we will be dispatched by boat and then on foot to wherever the Pygmy trackers have located the habituated gorilla family. After spending an hour with the gorillas, we will return to the boat and continue to Loango Lodge.

Our last morning will be at leisure in the camp, soaking up the forest sounds and sights.

After lunch we will transfer to Port Gentil by 4x4 vehicle, and once at Port Gentil we will check in for the evening flight back to Libreville.

Sadly, this is where the expedition will come to an end.