Tag Archives: camping

Road Trip Around Gabon. Part 3. Assiami Vineyard and Leconi

continued from Road Trip Around Gabon Part 2

After our stay in Lope we went on to Leconi with a stop in Lastoursville. We were looking forward too a nice shower, after the basic conditions in Lope, but in our hotel in Lastorsville there was AC and a shower, but no hot water…oh well. After cleaning ourselves up and doing a little laundry we went into town. Time for some food. We passed a delicious smelling street BBQ joint which we decided to try out.

Delicious BBQ Lunch/Dinner in Lastoursville

It could be looked upon as very daring but our faith was rewarded with some delicious chopped up chicken and no stomach issues! After dinner we strolled on and Saras wanted to have a dress made. We found a tailor that could do and pick up in the morning. We decided to celebrate this with a drink and were accompanied by some locals.

 

Enjoying BBQ chicken

After picking up the dress the next morning we went on to Assiami, famous for its “Vin du Gabon”. Yes, they make wine in Gabon….but first some ticks were removed on Adrienne and Chris and the usual police stops and the unusual ones….we were stopped by the police and were summoned one by one into the “office”.

dusty laterite roads down to Asiami

Questions regarding our profession, parents, occupation, army service, children and why not, purpose of being in Gabon were asked….this took an hour from our time but provided entertainment to the local police force which after the interrogation showed us the way to Assiami, so not that bad after all.

After some dusty roads we finally saw the sign to the vineyard. Our plan was to camp there but

as nothing was arranged we had to ease our way in….

 

The only vineyard in Gabon

We were welcomed by a very friendly man who appeared to be by himself on the property so was happy to talk to some people. He showed us around the vineyard and told some about the history. Not sure it was on purpose but he was muslim, guess to keep the wine safe…

The previous president of Gabon wanted to produce his own wine and several grape varieties were tested before they finally found the right one that would survive in the tropical rainforest.

Climate in the area is relatively mild but still a rainforest none the less. The advantage is that because of the high temperatures and rainfall there a 2 harvests a year so more wine can be produced on the same area.

We got a tour along the pond where they store water for irrigation, some previous trial plots and went back to the tasting room.

Irrigation pond for the vineyard

Some of our friends and family have tried the wine, and they know its an acquired taste…but in general it is not considered as very nice….

We were offered some by the guide and as not everyone drinks in our group the honor was up to 4 people…but we didn’t want to offend him as we wanted to camp there…so after taking one for the team we put Saras close to him and finally asked the question: can we camp here tonight? Yes was the answer!

Tasting wine

We set up our camp near to the vines and prepared dinner. Luckily we had other drinks to wash down the taste.

Campsite, overlooking vineyards
View from rooftent

The next day we packed up, said goodbye and went on to Leconi to the canyons. On the way we passed the Anza factory, the main supplier of bottled mineral water in Gabon. Unfortunately the plant wasn’t open for visits.

As with a lot of things in Gabon, the road to Leconi canyons is not really marked so we had to ask a couple of times for directions, but we even saw some roadsigns! Then we followed random tracks that led us to the canyon where we had some lunch while enjoying the view.

The red canyons of Leconi
The red canyons of Leconi
The red canyons of Leconi

After the canyons we went on to Leconi Park. This park has been set up by a rich Gabonese business man who decided to introduce some south african antelopes into the plaines of east Gabon. The plaines are endless and resemble a completely different habitat compared to the rainforest elsewhere in the country. Unfortunately the road to the park wasn’t clearly marked and we had to take some assumptions along the way. At one point we asked a guy on a scooter and he told us to follow him. But soon he turned and we were on our own again.

Trying to find Leconi Park

We drove for a long time into what we thought was the right direction. In the distance we saw a truck loaded with people and we decided to ask for directions…..it appeared we were approaching the Congo border and totally the wrong direction. Two guys were “friendly” and decided to join us in the airc onditioned cars to show the way.

then we ran into this group of farmers who said we were heading the wrong way
And they showed us the way

Finally we arrived at our destination and we got to drive through the park. We saw Oryx, lots of Oryx….which is an amazing and surreal sight at the same time.

Oryx herd
Neha climbing on termite mount to get even better pictures

We were shown a cabin in the park where we could spend the night, however, we decided to pitch our own tents….the cabin was filled with spiders and other creepy creatures. We had an amazing view over the valleys and started the fire while sun was setting.

a beautiful place to camp
Boyscout Chris at work

After dinner we enjoyed some drinks and went to bed on time as in the early morning we had to get up for a tour of the park.

Alarm went of at 5 and tents were packed up in silence. We drove to pick up the guide and started the tour where we saw more Oryx

Oryx

The guides took us to the border of the park too the outlook. we had a great view on Gabon and Congo (which we almost visited).

View of Congo

After the tour, after spotting some more Oryx we had to say goodbye to this gem as we were headed to Poubara and Lekedi park. The way back was a bit easier as we had some clearer directions “tout droit”….but still some sand hazards.

the sand was pretty deep
spotted a jackal on the way back to town

 

Next up…Road Trip Park 4: Poubara and Lekedi Park

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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Roof Tent Camping near Gamba, Gabon

One of the things we were excited to do in Gabon is camping, that’s why we bought a rooftent! A rooftent is a fairly unknown concept for most Americans/Europeans but in Africa is a fairly common sight. Just a big pack on top of the car that folds open into a nice spacious tent! One of the biggest advantages is that you sleep off the ground. So less likely for nightly visitors to surprise you: snakes, or other critters. But also being off the ground gives some safety for wandering elephants or hippos.

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Teun posing with the car and rooftent on top (unfolded)

Once the roofrack was assembled and mounted and the rooftent fixed on, it was time to give it a try. Helped by a long weekend off we headed to the beach. First night was spent at Ponte Dick (Dick’s bridge) and a second night at Jardin d’elephants (elephant garden).

Driving onto the beach of Ponte Dick we were welcomed by a group of 4 elephants! One  was a bit more daring than the rest so we kept hoping they would go into the ocean. Unfortunately no surfing elephants…

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Welcome committee at Ponte Dick
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One brave elephant
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Keep the fire going!

An important part of camping is collecting wood. Not only nice and fun to have a fire going for marshmallows, but also a necessity in order to keep the wild animals away; elephants, hippo’s, monkeys and big cats… so as soon as you arrive you start collecting wood…..the resulting flames provide a night of entertainment;  sit around it, stare at the flames, or look at the starry nights which is amazing due to the lack of light pollution all accompanied by the soothing sound of  waves crashing on the beach.

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Rooftent unfolded at Jardin d’elephants

As mentioned, the second night was spend at Jardin d’elephants, elephant garden. This raises the expectations to see some more of these magnificent creatures. Once we arrived we looked for a nice spot to set up our camp and started to look for wood. the view onto the beach was amazing and we had it all to ourselves. Having this to yourselves is fairly common in this very low densely populated area.

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Beach front property

You already feel bummed and the place overcrowded if you show up and there are 2 other people there….guess Scheveningen beach will be a different experience from now on…

During the night we heard a thunderstorm and the flashes were amazing, slowly but surely it moved towards us and eventually stopped. At 4AM we noticed a light drizzle but expected some heavier rain later, as it was rainy season. When we set up our tent earlier that day, we decided not to put on the rain sheet…..so that was something we did…. at 4AM……a light drizzle, worry for elephants/wildlife (fire died because of the rain) dark and ow…because it was our first time out we did not have experience with this….luckily we managed within 10 minutes and enjoyed our dry tent while at 6AM the rain came!

The next morning we woke up and enjoyed our stroll around the beach. A bit disappointed, it was elephants garden and our campsite was surrounded by elephant dung but we didn’t see any, but happy with our rooftent we left for a new adventure!

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Bee eater

 

 

 

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Gabon Road Trip and Volunteering: Fernan Vaz Gorilla Project

From May 21st to May 25th Teun and I (and a group of other volunteers from Yenzi) volunteered our time to help out the Fernan Vaz Gorilla Project (or Le Projet Gorille Fernan-Vaz in French). It was an amazing experience and I’m so happy we were able to be involved!

The Fernan Vaz Gorilla Project is an educational and rehabilitation center for western lowland gorillas in Gabon. You can learn more about them on their website: http://gorillasgabon.org/. They have 2 islands in the Fernan-Vaz lagoon that they work from, 1 if for orphaned gorillas (usually because of the illegal bushmeat trade in Gabon) that they aim to release back in the wild once they are healthy and old enough, the 2nd is an educational center that is home to 4 adult gorillas that can not be released into the wild because they are too dependent on humans for food (these gorillas came in 2001 from living in a research facility in Gabon) and the aim is that these gorillas will help promote great ape conservation through education and eco-tourism. We went to help make improvements (building a jetty for boats to dock on and repair to the gorillas enclosures) on the 2nd island to make it more feasible to bring tourists to view these magnificent animals which will raise the funds needed for the rehabilitation center.

But to get to the Fernan-Vaz was an IMGP2724-203adventure in and of itself. It started with a ferry ride through the Ndogo lagoon, which is simple enough except that the cars had to go on a separate ferry than all of us, one which took much longer than ours. IMGP2829-208So the day before we actually left Gamba, we sent our cars out on the ferry. One of the volunteers and his son went on the fast ferry the same day and then camped overnight with the cars. The rest of us left in the wee hours of the morning of the 21st and took the fast ferry (1 hour versus 5 hours) and met them on the other side of the lagoon. Now the real fun began.

We spent the next 6 hours driving through beautiful forest towards the Fernan-Vaz lagoon. IMGP2843-209The roads started out pretty good, well maintained laterite that we could keep up a good pace on. But after a couple of hours and turning off of the main route, the road got IMGP2857-210quite a bit worse and in some areas our pace slowed to a crawl. I loved every second of it!

 

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Stopping at a check point before entering the Rabi Complex. Luckily we didn’t have to wait too IMGP2899-213long, some of the volunteers that were driving up later in the day had to wait a couple of hours before being let through

 

IMGP2906-214Still not too bad, but to pace was pretty slow through this area

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived around 4pm and began setting up camp in a field IMGP3053-227 near where the boats would pick us up from to get to the island with the gorillas.

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We had a nice, short hike through the woods down to the boat the next morning and even found some new friends

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We divided into 2 groups, one that would make the repairs on the gorilla enclosures and the other that would build the jetty. It was really hard work, and for the most part I’m not sure how helpful I was being that I’m almost the least handy person there is (but I learned how to mix cement several different ways and I’m a pro a carrying around pieces of wood LOL), but together we really accomplished a lot and made some huge improvements to the island.

Team Jetty hard at work:
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Our well deserved lunch break

 

 

 

Team Gorilla Enclosures just monkeying around:
IMGP3103-234 IMGP3105-235 So the young male gorilla wasn’t really happy the team was working on his transfer cage and showed his frustration by IMGP3106-236continually running up the door (the only thing keeping him away from the team) and slamming tree branches or his body up against it. His care taker protected them by standing inside the cage and banging a stick back at him. IMGP3144-240All in all I think they had a pretty relaxing time…until he actually broke the door. Don’t worry…no gorillas were injured in the process… 😉IMGP3242-246

Heading back to camp on Day 1:

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I don’t think the gorillas were very impressed by our effort

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IMGP3043-224After we got cleaned up a bit (as best you can with camping shower bags and face wipes…) we went out to dinner the nearby town of Omboue. It was in a beautiful restaurant above the water.

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Our beautiful finished jetty.

 

 

 

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It even functioned properly!

 

 

 

 

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On day 2 the children of some of the volunteers came for a visit

 

 

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On day 3 we came back to make some final adjustments to the jetty and walkway


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And say goodbye to our new friends  IMGP3224-245IMGP3459-274 IMGP3478-275

 

Again, he just doesn’t seem impressed by the quality of work… He was actually scraping the paint off with his fingernail, it was pretty unrealIMGP3485-276 IMGP3501-277

After leaving the gorillas we got to do a little sight seeing nearby and were put up by the owners of Loango Lodge in thanks for our volunteer efforts, but you can read all about that in the next blog post!

 

For now, bye, bye from Kolo and the gangIMGP3518-279

Easter Weekend, Gabon Style

Sorry, this is a long over due post, but better late than never 🙂

IMGP2069-140Over Easter Weekend we were invited by our new friends to go camping with them at the Ngodo river mouth on the IMGP2074-142southern edge of the Loango national park. We happily accepted, they even provided us with everything we would need for camping! Teun and I had just started our training to be boat captains the weekend before, and because we were taking Daniel’s boat up to the camp site and I got to get a bit more practice.

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IMGP2078-143 IMGP2083-144 IMGP2087-145IMGP2089-146Daniel brought the boat into the shallows so we couldoffload all of our stuff, and lets just say nobody packed light… IMGP2090-147 IMGP2096-148

IMGP2099-149 But after several trips up and down the beach carrying all of the “necessities” we were able to set up camp

 

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And the boys went in search of firewood…

 

 

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Then it was time to relax, which meant fishing…

 

 

 

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It was absolutely beautiful at the beach; warm, but with enough of a breeze not to make it miserable for sleeping

 

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There was quite a feast for dinner! This weekend was the start of the celebrations for Daniel’s 40th birthday, so there were beautiful speeches and champagne to celebrate! It was a very memorable evening.

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After “a little hiccup” (the boat ended up getting flooded with water when the tide went out and it tipped over and then the tide came back in…) we loaded up the boat and set out on the slow ride (only 1 of the 2 engines was working now) back home.

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The somber mood turned more jovial again when we spotted a small group of hippos! After weeks of wishing and hoping to see them, I was over the moon to finally get the chance.

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Camping in Gabon

One of the, many, things we wanted to do while here in Gabon was to go camping. And we just did our first trip! We went with a group of 9 people (6 adults and 3 children) to Pointe Pedras. A scenic beach right next to the jungle. The ladies went earlier during the day and set up the campsite, the men joined after work. The drive to the campsite is a bit different, first so20140313-IMGP0899me tarmac, then laterite and finally sand. Going from a plain landscape through dense bushes which try to hide the path going to the beach. Soon after our arrival and some walks on the beach the prep work for dinner started which actually means gathering wood to build a fire for BBQing (and keeping the elephants away). Everyone brought some delicious items which were BBQ’d and accompanied by various salads etc.  Then the night falls and a beautiful sky full of stars appeared. Also making it pitch black dark and very difficult to see your surroundings. This is not a bad thing if there weren’t any elephant tracks and manure around us….they are 20140313-IMGP0909around us and are very difficult to spot but before you know they are right in front of you! Before bedtime we did a little walk on the beach and found fresh hippo tracks but didn’t hear anything. Unfortunately the hippo had set off, probably annoyed about the people sitting around in his spot….. Before we all gracefully retired we put some extra wood on the fire, just to make sure we wouldn’t be surprised by a nightly visit of an elephant which will start shaking the tent, or trampling us. That is the reason we bought a roof tent….20140313-IMGP0927

After a hot and some what humid night, resulting in a sweaty night of some sleeping and mostly avoiding touching each other. We don’t need more body heat! The true beauty is when the sun rises and you can hear the monkeys in the trees jumping around with some parrot noises here and there.

We decided to get up early and 20140313-IMGP0912walk to the lagoon and hope to see a surfing hippo or maybe an elephant. They tend to go out early to avoid the direct sunlight, or for that matter the people trying to spot them…. unfortunately no signs of wildlife at this lagoon.20140313-IMGP0919 After a delicious breakfast containing fresh coffee, cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs and some monkey entertainment we decided to walk over to the other side. There was a breakthrough where the river flows into the ocean this provides an interesting interaction between the salt and freshwater and brings in nutrients for the saltwater species. 20140313-IMGP0921Usually a good fishing spot or an easy way for wildlife to hop between the two. We spotted elephant and hippo tracks, but again the animals were probably hiding in the woods. Unfortunately no wildlife, most likely because of the sun starting to burn quite hot, it is the equator after all. We knew they were around, fresh tracks gave away their presence but didn’t reveal them as the tracks ended in the water where they wandered off…

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After the walk we sat down and watched the children play. The little girl in the photo, Liefie started to practice her surfing skills and balance. She must have some Australian bloodlines.

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There will always be an end, also for this trip. We packed up the stuff and only needed to take down the swing, which was knotted up to the tree….

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