Into the Heart of Madness - This is Gabon!

[Galago]

@michael-ibk yaay what great views and I love Moutchi!

 

@SafariChick what a magnificent ele!

[TonyQ]

A wonderful elephant, and I imagine that rom looked pretty wonderful as well.

The boat trip looks much more relaxing

[Sangeeta]

The main flaw, however, was that there was no back-up plan at all, and that simply did not do. After all, our boat could have died anywhere along the route, far away from any human settlements, and what then? I have no idea, and it´s pretty clear our captain wouldn´t have had one as well. For God´s sake, they didn´t even have lights on board, so even if someone had tried to find us out on the lagoon they wouldn´t have seen us.

 

As the trip organizer, I do want to add a few insights to this boat fiasco, which was indeed just as scary as described by Group 1 here.

 

1) It was not a whimsical decision by us to use the boat on this leg of the journey. As mentioned earlier, there are no longer any flights in and out of Ivindo, and even if they tell you that the flights are working when you plan the trip, it is entirely possible that by the time the trip rolls around, they may not be operative. This is one of the main reasons we chose to do this leg by boat - the mode of transport would be in our hands (not in the hands of some Gabonese official), and it was also the most efficient route to get from Ivindo to Loango; also, we wanted to include all 3 parks into one, relatively affordable 2-week trip, so we had to be efficient with our time (something we may need to perhaps rethink for future trips).

 

2) This Lamberené-Omboué river transfer was not a new route. Nor was this a new boatman or an unknown boat - Guillermo has used this precise route and this precise set-up dozens of times before, without incident. Including with other big travel companies that use his services, and strange though it may sound to say this here, for many people, apparently this boat trip down the river has been the highlight of their trip to Gabon (especially for birders). I had personally looked at this as an exciting addition to the trip when we planned it - many miles of unexplored and uninhabited river banks etc. 

 

3) We did discuss the question of back-ups as we were planning the trip, and given the hitherto uneventful nature of this transfer over several years, we thought that the fact that the boat was equipped with 2 engines gave us adequate redundancy. Obviously, this turned out not to be the case. It is really unfortunate that things turned out as they did, there is no gainsaying that. But it wasn't because of any foolhardiness by the ground team. There was no reason for them to think that this would not be like any of the dozens of trips they had done in the past with this boatman on this river.

 

4) However, based on Group 1's experience, for Group 2, we got 2 boats for the 7 of us and did the exact same trip from Lamberené to Omboué, and it took us 5.5 hours on the dot from the time we boarded the boats to the time we got off at the pier, including pee stops en route. This being Gabon, even with 2 boats going along together, we managed to lose contact with one another, and for future trips (I am eternally optimistic that there will be more!), we will be using walkie-talkies and keeping flares in the boats to minimize the risks. 

 

Even with the best laid plans and contingencies, sometimes things will happen out of the blue, and despite a whole year of planning, you cannot always anticipate them. I think Group 1's boat trip falls into that category of something that went terribly wrong, but not because of carelessness or lack of thought. I am writing this whole long post to let you all know that Guillermo is a wonderful ground operator - for countries like these, where there is absolutely no tourism infrastructure, he performs miracles, and he is one of the best among the very few people in West Africa who can make these types of trips happen. @Anomalure's group used him too. Not sure who you traveled with @inyathi, but if a UK company, then most likely it was him at the back end too.

 

I fully accept and understand that this type of travel is not everyone's cup of tea, and I fully respect that. But all safaris, even ones to South Africa and Tanzania, can suddenly throw you a curve ball, and these incidents hit you in the face. Just a few days ago, we received a sad notification in the mail that there had been a crash with an Auric Air flight at the Seronera airstrip. Similar incidents have happened on other flights too. That does not mean that the airline was careless or that we should not fly into Sero anymore. Once again, not at all trying to minimize the gravity of the incident, but I am trying to put it some perspective given the inherent nature of these types of trips, and also trying to state that Guillermo is a careful planner and has loads of experience that stood us all in good stead.

 

I am fully open to hearing any and all ideas from the rest of you as to how we can improve this trip, and I will be writing a (shorter) follow up report about Group 2, but I wanted to say that in my eyes, Gabon is a treasure. My own trip there has shown me many little ways to improve the overall comfort/quality of these trips, but for those of you who want to explore new vistas, this is an extraordinary country with extraordinary nature, landscapes and wildlife, and if you're up for adventure, then there is no reason not to come here.

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Sangeeta

[GEORGE PALLADINO]

I am so sorry gang. After reading Kit's response to my opening volley it seems this format has a structure that i incinerated haha a thousand pardons.I will save any further input for group 2's ledger and sorry for breakin the narrative you had going.I humbly submit these last 4 words as my summary of advise to be weighed.CANT LAUGH.....CANT GO!.

 

[Kitsafari]

oh dear @GEORGE PALLADINO I didn't mean to scare you away!

 

@michael-ibk very jealous of your awesome gorilla sightings with them staying so well in the open. you three had better views of the silverback. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

The Akaka camp, operated by the Loango Lodge management, sits on the Rembo Ngowe River right in the heart of the Loango National Park, two hours away from Loango Lodge which sits on the Iguela Lagoon. The small camp was my favourite camp in Gabon. 

 

Dawn over the Rembo Ngowe River at camp

 

 

one of the tents

 

view from our tent

 

preparing for our boat game drive

 

 

welcoming us back

 

The camp provides an opportunity to explore and immerse ourselves into the core of the 1550-sq km park. As much of the park is surrounded by waters, boat game drives were the best way to go. They did offer forest walks which Josep did once, but I had to quickly decline as Dmitri said tse tse flies were inevitable. in the end, we had  more flies than Josep did on the walk. 

 

With only four ensuite tents managed by a staff of three, including an incredible lady chef who cooked the most delicious African meals of the trip, the camp was warm and welcoming. But it was more than just looks. It was a front view to what the park had to offer - the remoteness, the tranquility, the quietness, the peacefulness. the tents are built on platforms, along the river which meant each tent with a little terrace offered riverviews. on the other side of the path was the forest where even elephants traversed through. One night, I needed to go the tent and Dmitri, our guide, accompanied me because an elephant was browsing and we could hear a bit of rustling in the darkness as I walked to the tent. 

 

twice, just a little way off from the camp, the forest elephants would swim across the river to get to juicy bits on the other side and we would observe them as they go snokkelling across. the camp twinkled at night, and it was just us laughing and chatting at the table, enjoying the moments and giggling at all the misadventures we had. 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

 

The Loango National Park was established in 2002 and is a unique maritime reserve that contains coastal, rivers, wetlands, savannahs, forests and beaches. The surfing hippos where the jumbo animals go splashing in the ocean's waves was filmed on the beaches of the park. This is a RAMSAR site since 2007, thanks to the marshlands that serve as habitat to a large diversity of birdlife.

On the way to the Akaka camp, and we felt our stresses draining from our bodies. well until the tse tse flies - gleeful for new blood - descended on us. LOL. 

still, beautiful river, gorgeous sceneries, fabulous birds for the two-hour ride to the Akaka camp, what more can one asks for I suppose. 

 

 

Then at the camp, something flew into the tree at the main deck. It was in the shadows but had a distinctive tail and beak. I only realised it was a long tailed hawk when i returned home and search for its ID. 

across the deck, an African darter was preening. 

 

 

 

After lunch, the rosy bee-eaters were huddling on a tree across the camp, and the reflection of a lone tall tree on the placid river was just too lovely to pass over. 

 

I did so love this camp.....

 

 

 

[GEORGE PALLADINO]

to Kitsafari,

I never answered your inquiry about "beating of this world" but the short answer is I am surrounded by a me me me society when i prefer a we we we one so its painful and empty.Thats it.

[ForWildlife]

That crocodile in post 157, is that a Central African slender-snouted crocodile? The recently described Mesticops leptorhynchus, a split from M. cataphractus?

Edited September 29, 2019 by ForWildlife

[SafariChick]

@ForWildlife I think it is - we will have a better view of one coming up soon in the trip!

[Kitsafari]

5 hours ago, ForWildlife said:

That crocodile in post 157, is that a Central African slender-snouted crocodile? The recently described Mesticops leptorhynchus, a split from M. cataphractus?

@ForWildlife yes it is.

[Galago]

@Kitsafari after all the tension I'm relaxing along with you here. And the Rosy Bee-eaters are just gorgeous.

[inyathi]

@Sangeeta Thinking back on what I wrote in the final paragraph of my previous post, I realise that what I said might be seen as reflecting badly on you and that wasn’t my intention at all, I certainly don’t want to suggest that sending your clients down to Ogooue by boat was in any way irresponsible. The Ogooue River was always the main transport route in Gabon prior to the railway line and people have been boating up and down it forever, what happened is clearly a rare occurrence, once it happened there wasn’t really a lot anyone could do, that’s the nature of travelling in remote places. The Lodge being on Iguela Lagoon couldn’t send out a boat to search for their missing guests who were somewhere in the middle of Nkomi Lagoon, maybe if there had been another boat at Omboue someone could have gone out from there to look, but I’m guessing there wasn’t. Travelling by boat from Ndjole to Lambarene and then onto Omboue is really the best way to get to Loango if you are coming from Ivindo or Lope, without the option of being able to fly. I've just read the most recent reviews of Loango Lodge on Tripadvisor, they're all very positive about the lodge and the park, but they do all point out just how difficult getting to Loango NP is. Really the major benefit of flying for us was just to save time and fit slightly more in, except that in doing so I missed out on doing a river trip on the Ogooue, if I was going back it is something I would want to do, as earlier photos show it is clearly good for birds. This incident hasn’t put me off in the least, after all thinking about it besides the boat trips I did do in Gabon in and around Loango, I’ve transferred by boat to lodges in South America, although I don’t think any of those trips have been as long as five hours but certainly a few hours. I’ve also boated up down the rivers in the Pantanal in Brazil for more than a few hours on my two trips there, thankfully I’ve never had a boat break down, but it could easily have happened at any of the places I’ve been. I think as long as they had a phone through which they could contact the lodge to explain where they were, then perhaps the main thing would be just to make sure everyone knows to get moving as early as possible from Lambarene, to allow time for any hiccups along the way, so that in the unlikely event that there’s another problem they can hopefully fix it before it gets dark. With Gabon being Francophone, maybe there’s a still bit of a language barrier and that certainly doesn’t help, if you’re in a sticky situation you really want to know what’s going on. At the time of my trip Loango Lodge was still owned and run by Africa’s Eden and I’m pretty sure they made all of the ground arrangements for our trip; I wouldn’t know if Guillermo worked for them at all. The trip was booked through Audley Travel in the UK, they don’t offer Gabon at all now (or STP), I’m very pleased that you are offering trips to Gabon. I hope that everyone reading this report will realise that the boat incident was just a rare event and one that could just as well happen somewhere else and aren’t put off by it. Any of the other issues are just the sort of things you have to put up with if you want to visit off the beaten track places in search of wildlife, that you can't see elsewhere.   

 

@michael-ibk I’m really not sure about your Lope squirrel, I know it’s not a Gambian sun squirrel as this species is not found in Gabon, and it doesn’t look like your other squirrel, which I’m certain is a red-legged sun squirrel, it’s not therefore a sun squirrel in my view, there are no other species in the country. My guess is it could possibly be a Biafran Bight palm squirrel (Epixerus wilsoni) this is evidently a recent split from the western palm squirrel (Epixerus ebii) Kingdon has it as a separate species, the squirrel book doesn’t and the one photo it has, doesn’t look very close to yours, but then it doesn’t specify the subspecies or say where it was taken, but my guess is somewhere much further west. It does look to me somewhat like the palm squirrel in the Gabon report on Mammal Watching so perhaps @Anomalure who was on that trip saw that squirrel and can help out, it’s shame that most of the tail is obscured, I can otherwise only suggest giant forest squirrel (Protoxerux stangeri) as I think it’s clearly not a rope squirrel, but I think it’s probably not a giant, but I don’t know. 

 

Nice to see a crowned monkey quite well and a good few moustacs even if the light wasn’t great for photography.

 

I hadn’t realised until I saw WLGs in the wild for the first time, just how brown they are on the head, your photos have captured this very well particularly the silverback, I had just recently seen someone else’s photos of gorillas in Loango on Flickr, so I already knew that the trekking has proved successful, your opening post gave the game away that you had seen gorillas up close. I’m so glad that this project has worked out, I think it will make a big difference to tourism in Gabon. When the gorilla trekking started, I did wonder what the cost was, bearing in mind the cost of treks in Rwanda now, and was thinking that Rwanda’s price hike could prove a bit of a godsend for Gabon. I would think at the moment a lot people thinking about going to see gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda, maybe aren’t aware of the possibility of going to see them in Gabon instead, as more people do go then the option of visiting Gabon will become better known.

 

@KitsafariGreat to see photos of Akaka, I was there at the wrong time of year to stay there and the camp was at the time a bit of a wreck due for some serious refurbishment, it looks really nice and a great place to be, nice view of a long-tailed hawk   

Edited April 27, 2022 by inyathi

[SafariChick]

I have a few more photos of the swimming and snorkeling eles from the day we arrived at Akaka also. Sadly, my video of them was a casualty of the memory card mishap so I'm glad @Kitsafari had hers to share. 

 

 

 

And some more photos of the camp. There were only four tents here available for guests even though we'd been told there would be one for each of us, so we drew straws and @Kitsafari and I were assigned a shared tent while Josep and @gatoratlarge each got their own. 

 

 

View from outside our tent:

 

 

 

Dining area:

 

 

 

 

This was the most delicious homemade bread and we were given it with pretty much every meal!

 

 

Checking for signal on the sat phone 

 

 

We were wondering where the rest of the guys were after their gorilla trek and we were just going out on our afternoon boat drive a bit after 4 p.m. when they showed up! 

 

[Atravelynn]

Only fitting that the Snakes on a Plane actor would precede you on this trip.

Gorilla success.  They were very cooperative for the 40 minutes you had them.

 

I never doubted you would have copy of Squirrels of the World @michael-ibk.

 

Until we get to your gorilla experience, @SafariChick, I'll enjoy the towel art with petals!

[Alexander33]

@michael-ibk

 

Okay, now I am feeling a bit envious with those gorilla shots. What a fantastic sighting. And thank you for the map showing the ranges of the various subspecies — very informative and helpful. 

 

Love the forest elephants crossing the river that you all saw, @Kitsafari and @SafariChick .  The water apparently was deeper than I was expecting; those trunks are more like periscopes!

 

I’m glad all of you made it through largely unscathed after the boat trip. Akaka Camp looks like quite the reprieve after that stressful journey. 

[gatoratlarge]

I've been out for a few days and thought I'd add some pics from the trip from Lamberene to Loango to catch up with the group.  The Hospital founded by Dr Schweitzer sits on a stunning spot on the Ongooue River.  We had a little time to explore before we set off on the boat, there 's a little makeshift museum:

This was one of the more scenic settlements along the Ongooue (I believe home to a monastery):

Getting to Loango has already been aptly described---I really loved our time with the gorillas the next morning.  They were feeding on the edge of the swamp so we had great views of them going about their daily routine until they decided to turn into the heart of the swamp.  The gorillas made it look rather easy to navigate but that would be an illusion for humans---maybe you need those extra set of hands for feet that gorillas have---our closest encounter came when Moutchi emerged on our right and gave us a close inspection before crossing back into the slough.  I was juggling two cameras at that time and pretty much missed the photography or video of it but here's what I have:

 

The baby was the cutest!

 

I think this is Moutchi:

 

 

And a couple of videos including our best look at the silverback---you can choose a higher resolution to see clearer:

 

After a successful encounter with the family of western lowland gorillas we headed straight to Akaka Camp by boat.  Loango would turn out to be my favorite park and Akaka afforded intimate views of forest elephants.  The eles frequently cross the river for greener pastures and we saw multiple snorkeling elephants on the way to Akaka Camp and during our stay.  You get quite close as the river isn't particularly wide and the elephants liked to feed on papyrus and other plants along the shore line.

Edited September 30, 2019 by gatoratlarge

[Kitsafari]

 @gatoratlarge   wonderful shots of the baby and so envious you three had great views of the silverback.

 

i'm so glad you shared the the hospital's museum shots. I totally missed that since i was too busy looking up at the trees, without much to show for it unfortunately!

 

If anyone is wondering about that clucking noise you hear in @gatoratlarge's videos, this is the researchers' way of telling the gorillas, it is I/Us, and I am/we are here, and you have no reason to be fearful. The same clucking noise was also used by David for the mandrills whenever they could hear/smell us. 

 

 

[ForWildlife]

@gatoratlarge that's a pretty big saw from a sawfish! Was there any information as to where it came from?

[gatoratlarge]

@ForWildlife. There wasn't but I assumed it came from downriver or from the lagoon where it meets the ocean. Do you know if they swim into fresh water? Lambarene is quite far from the sea but on the Ongooue River...

Edited September 30, 2019 by gatoratlarge

[ForWildlife]

They do swim in brackish and even fresh water. When I was young I remember seeing those 'saws' here and there, but these fish have become very rare in the last decades, like nearly all large fish species. They can grow up to over 7m longs.

[gatoratlarge]

@ForWildlife  Wow!  Had no idea they reached that size.  Yes, I've heard they've become quite rare.  We have them in Florida as well but I've never seen one in the wild.

 

On our boat trip to Akaka Camp we were still riding high from our gorilla trek, and the sightings kept coming --- we entered the Akaka River from the lagoon.  The river was narrow enough to give the wildlife room but also for the boat to get quite close and excellent front and center viewing....we spotted two hippos and when one went down below the surface, our driver moved quickly onward anticipating a charge.

 

Then we came across an elephant snorkeling across the river --- there's something about that that is a huge thrill to me!  We followed closely behind as he walked along the shore going in and out of the water, struggling at times in the mud. And then a slender snouted croc on the bank---it quickly jumped into the water for cover....I had seen one before through binocs at Ivindo on my first trip to Gabon but this trip afforded many opportunities to see crocs and they have three species in Loango which is pretty impressive---maybe South America can claim multiple species of caiman in the same location but few other places on earth have three species of crocodilians!

 

The vids can be adjusted to HD1080 which I recommend -- I love elephants!

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by gatoratlarge

[gatoratlarge]

I thought it was funny the elephants didn't seem to want their tails wet or at least they curled them up as much as they could---of course if their whole body is submerged, that goes out the door!  This ele disturbed a hammerkop:

 

 

The slender-snouted crocodile before it disappeared in the Akaka River:

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by gatoratlarge

[Atravelynn]

That first photo in #156 is a painting @Kitsafari!  Snorkeling forest elephants, what a treat. 

A tri-croc destination!

[gatoratlarge]

I swear I'm not trying to hog this report, but I'll continue and let the others fill in their version of events. 

 

What I can tell you is if I'm fortunate enough to go back to Gabon, Loango will definitely be a part of the itinerary!  Just extraordinary sightings and wildlife interactions as you will see.  In Akaka we saw approximately 55 forest elephants.  Giant kingfishers were so common we (almost) were bored of them as were pied kingfishers numerous, but also pygmy, shining blue, and malachite kingfishers.  Palm nut vultures I've seen elsewhere are singular or alone...here they were perhaps the most common bird we saw, well maybe rosy bee eaters outnumbered them.  Pink backed and white pelicans, flocks of jacanas, hammerkops, wooly necked storks and paradise flycatchers, hadeda ibis and goliath herons, white faced ducks and finfootes… hippos and crocs and forest eles and sitatungas...we were never without something to observe...

 

A word about forest elephants.  They have a reputation as being much more dangerous than savannah elephants.  I'm not so sure why.  Michael Fay was nearly killed by a female trying to protect her calf in Loango in 2003.  Here is his account:

 

https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a3162/elephant0807/

 

In 2016, in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo, the Wildlife Conservation Society suffered the tragic loss of one of its field researchers, Jane Robeyst in the Republic of Congo. She died after she was charged by an elephant while she was working with a team of fellow conservationists.  

David Lehmann said not a week went by without some close encounter with a forest elephant and on my first trip to Gabon, my guides were extremely cautious and skittish when they heard the cracking of branches from a forest elephant.  they removed their rubber boots and went barefoot in the forest.  We crawled on the ground to see them at a substantial distance through the forest undergrowth.  They were not about to get any closer!

The testy elephants we encountered were males.  Eager to show they were the boss of the river.  One squirted water at us.  One attempted to turn over a tree.  Another one whooshed us away with his trunk and still another encouraged our departure with a kick!  Others may disagree, but I interpreted it as machismo.  One thing is certain to me though, even if they are smaller than their savannah cousins, they are every bit as handsome and impressive in appearance!  The tusks often point downward and to me, they seem almost like a mastodon,  more prehistoric.....without further adieu: 

 

The Forest Elephant:

 

 

 

 

 

Some still shots:

Getting the side eye:

 

Breeding herd:

 

Really the only part of our trip where we got hammered by tsetses was on the Akaka River---no pain no gain I reckon---they really do like some folks better than others...they landed on me, my hat, my camera, but I received few bites....unfortunately, @Kitsafari and @SafariChick can't say the same...here's the top of @SafariChick's hat!

 

even the crocs eyelids had a pair of tsetse's!

 

We took a tributary of the Akaka or a feeder stream and got a great view of the slender snouted or is it a tree climbing crocodile?

 

That's it for now---add to, subtract, take it away!