Tag Archives: birds

Our First Visitor…Ariana Visits Gabon…Trip to Loango National Park

20151029-IMGP7648At the end of October we were very happy to have our first visitor to Gabon, my best friend Ariana! After spending a few days in Paris to celebrate her 35th birthday we flew altogether back to Gabon. We eased her into her first African experience by spending the first few days doing a bit of relaxing, visiting the beaches nearby our house, 20151029-IMGP7653watching the elephants coming through camp to eat all the ripe mangos, and kayaking around the lake.

 

 

20151030-IMGP7691 But over the weekend we took a boat and headed up north through the lagoon to Sette Cama where we stayed in the Shell Hut and arranged for a guide to take us for a couple of hikes into the amazing 20151030-IMGP7708Loango National Park. Before arriving at the hut we of course had to stop at the newly semi-improved BBC Treehouse. I was really impressed that Ariana, who is extremely scared of heights, actually climbed all 20151030-IMGP7712the way to the top and even crossed the rope bridge! That night we enjoyed some drinks on the beach, just steps behind the hut, while watching the sunset.

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all smiles at the start of the hike

The next day we picked up our guide in Sette Cama at 6:30 for an early morning walk in Loanga. We decided to start with an easy 2 hours hike that takes you through the forest and 3 separate savannas. We came across several groups of monkeys (mostly red capped mangabeys), a massive snail, and some fairly 20151031-IMGP7736impressive spiders. I found walking through the forest was really magical; Ariana, who lets just say isn’t the most outdoorsy person, may have found the experience slightly less magical. 20151031-IMGP7749Or at least that the impression I had as she asked every 10 minutes if we were almost back to the boat yet and continuously tried to in vain to swat invisible insects away from her face. This probably wasn’t helped when at one point, after our guide pointed out a large spider web and then demonstrated where to walk around it, Ariana then walked through the side of it 🙂

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Giant snail, it was bigger than my hand!

 

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We all survived the hike and to our surprise Ariana even raved about how much fun she had! After a bit of relaxation at the hut, we dropped the boys (two of our 20151031-IMGP7823friends arrived that morning) off on the beach near the lagoon mouth and we went in search of hippos in a little river off of the north side of the lagoon. 20151031-IMGP7802It was a successful search and we spent about a half an hour watching a fairly relaxed group of hippos bob up and down in the water checking us out. We also spotted some rosy bee eaters, pelicans, and a red capped mangabey monkey hanging out in the mangroves.

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After meandering up and down the river for a couple of hours we headed back to the beach to see what the boys had caught (unfortunately nothing this time) and then all headed back to the hut for a (fishless) dinner

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The next day we had another early wakeup call and tried to mentally prepare ourselves for what was to come….a 6 hour hike through the heart of the Loango National Park!

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Getting from the boat onto dryish land
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more spiders
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giant monitor lizard
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our guide Kasa
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lovely scenery
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massive trees, small people
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yet more beautiful trees
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We finally made it out of the forest an onto the beach
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Herd of buffalo on the savannah next to the beach
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Herd of buffalo on the savannah next to the beach
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Cute!
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Pure Beauty! The only thing we’re missing is a surfing hippo…

We were all pretty exhausted after the long, hot hike, but everyone agreed that it was an amazing experience.

Part 2 of Ariana’s visit to come in the next blog post

Camping in Vera Plains, near Gamba, Gabon

20150926-IMGP7293Not far from us, hidden between the beaches and the large Ndogo lagoon, is the a beautiful place called Vera Plains. It consists of large sprawling open meadows, dotted with patches of dense forest. 20150926-IMGP7310One weekend we went with a group of friends to camp in one of the prettiest spots in the area, a hilltop that offers panoramic views over the plains, forests and nearby lagoon. It’s about an hour drive from our house through rough dirt paths winding through the forests and hills of the plains.

It’s not the easiest spot to get to, often areas of the road are blocked by fallen20150926-IMGP7311 trees or debris from a newly build plantation. Usually nothing a little muscle and machete work can’t fix, though.

 

20150926-IMGP7315 But one you get to the view point it makes all your effort worth it…

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The boys worked on cooking dinner while the girls enjoyed the view and sipped on some cocktails….

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20150926-IMGP7337Soon the darkness came and we all huddled around the campfire, or rather very large, bright citronella candles in this case. You would have though they would have protected us from all insects, but in a strange twist of fate we were actually invaded by a large swarm of tiny beetles. At first was funny, as all the bugs seemed be attracted to our one friend, but as more and more came we decided to take shelter in the car. After 15 minutes or so the coast was clear and we returned to our “camp fire” for a bit before heading to our tents for the night.

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Evading the swarm of beetles in the car
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Tiny beetles everywhere

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We woke up to a beautiful misty morning and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Vera Plains as we made our way back home.

 

 

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Weavers and Parrots in Gamba, Gabon

One of the many amazing things about living here is the beautiful birds that we get to see (and hear) on a daily basis.

Outside of the first house we were living in there was a tree a large group of village weaver birds called home. I loved watching them build their intricate nests.

Some of the most wonderful and noticeable are the flocks of african grey parrots that live around Yenzi. I was finally able to get some decent photos of both of them so I hope you enjoy!

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First Weeks / First Experiences in Gabon

We definitely experienced a lot of new things our first few weeks here…

I’ve found 2 main types of critters that like to call our house home as well… IMG_8290Ants (who I fight tooth and nail to be rid of) and geckos. The geckos I don’t mind so much, but it is quite surprising to grab and broom and find one hiding in it. I do my best to catch them and put them outside, but I think it’s a loosing battle (with both the geckos and the ants…).IMG_8294

 

20140308-IMGP0821 We have a bamboo tree right outside of our patio that weaver birds have built nests in. Almost every morning I sit on the patio watching and listening to them.

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There’s a beautiful beach called Colas that isn’t too far from our house and 20140306-IMGP0795isn’t too difficult to get to (i.e. doesn’t require off road driving, that has to wait until we get our own car). The Friday after Teun and I arrived we went there in the late afternoon. As we were walking toward the beach Teun 20140308-IMGP0829spotted some movement a ways off by the trees…it was a mother and baby elephant!They were headed toward the20140306-IMGP0797 beach, but soon spotted us and headed 20140306-IMGP0804back to forest, too bad, but it was a magical moment.

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20140306-IMGP0758We spent a couple of hours at the beach enjoying the cool breeze and beautiful scenery. It’s truly amazing to have these huge stretches of stunning, white sand beaches all to yourself.

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We spotted two more elephants on the drive home.

 

 

The first Saturday night we were in Yenzi there was the “Les Bal Des Majestes” where everyone was encouraged to come wearing traditional 11060102_10205177411927318_1965109754594954912_nclothes made in town by a local tailor. At first Teun and weren’t planning on going because we didn’t have any attire, but after meeting Christina at the open water sports day earlier in the day and having her offer to let us borrow a skirt and shirt from her and her husband, we decided it would be a good chance to meet people. So off we went to experience our first Yenzi night out. Christina and Calli had matching dresses made just the day before the event (aren’t they cute?!). Teun (much to my chagrin) even entered us into the IMG_8306competition for king and queen (even though we had no chance of winning, but we did get awarded the “judges prize” because we participated in the event after only 3 days of arriving). It was a fun night and great to see so many nationalities celebrating together. Close to the end of the event the king and queen were crowned and sat on their thrones in front of the whole crowd.

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The next week I was invited to picnic lunch on the beach (Colas) with Cali and Michelle and their kids. It was a beautiful day, bright blue skies.

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And we can’t forget about all of the elephants!

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The first two weeks we were here we saw elephants almost every day! It helped that we were seeking them out 😉 we would take drives in the evening before sunset trying to spot wildlife. 20140314-IMGP0976Some we saw just across the road from the housing camp, some in tall grass as we drove to or from the beach and some in our own yard!

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Elephant family staring suspiciously at me as they decide when to cross the street and wander through Yenzi.

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Then there was the afternoon that I received a telephone call from my neighbor that there was an elephant outside. I jumped up from my computer and looked out the window, there was a huge bull elephant 10 feet away, walking toward the bamboo tree!

He spent 10 minutes munching on it while I snapped pictures (from the IMGP1153safety of my house and patio, not that the mosquito netting would stophim) and then he wandered away to find food at other houses. I spotted him again a while later around the corner helping himself to someone garbage.

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And I’ve spotted other beautiful creatures just walking around camp.

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The birds here are amazing! Usually I’m too slow to get a decent picture, but sometimes I’m lucky.

 

 

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There are lizards everywhere!

 

 

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Haven’t seen too many creepy insects (yet), but a few big grasshoppers, butteflies, dragon flies, and a praying mantis.

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The jungle is just a few minutes walk from my doorstep (and literally on the doorstep of some of the houses). We’ve seen monkeys several times, but I haven’t been able to get a good picture yet.

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