Gabon Safaris: 8 DAYS - LOANGO NATIONAL PARK - HIGHLIGHTS

ITINERARY AT A GLANCE

ITINERARY DETAILS

Day 1 SATURDAY: ARRIVAL IN DOUALA - FLIGHT TO PORT GENTIL - FLIGHT TO THE LODGE
Upon arrival at Doula airport (Cameroon) you will be welcomed by one of our staff members where you go in transit and fly to Port Gentil (Gabon) in about 1.5 hrs. In Port Gentil, you clear customs immediately and after a short stop of 30 minutes you fly southwards to the lodge in another 30 minutes. You will arrive arrive around 20h00. Our staff will welcome you with refreshments and take you to your room. The Gabonese cuisine will be served in the restaurant afterwards. After dinner, the first introduction to Loango National Park is possible and you can have a short lagoontour with our crocodile experts.

Day 2 SUNDAY: LOANGO NATIONAL PARK SAFARI POSSIBILITIES
After having breakfast in the lodge, you can choose if you go by car, by kayak or on foot into the reserve accompanied by our guides. You will discover the beauty of the park and its diversity of landscapes and animals. Other activities that we offer include sport fishing with our professional equipment and trained guides, or a village tour through the nearby village 'Ntchongerove'. One of the beautiful spots in the area near the lodge is the Okume Forest. Our eco- guides will explain how to survive in the forest and you will see how the local population is living with and in nature. Myths, medical usage of plants and trees and its other hidden treasures will be revealed to you.

Day 3, 4 MONDAY AND TUESDAY: TASSI BUSH CAMP (WET SEASON) OR AKAKA (DRY SEASON)

TASSI:

After breakfast one of our 4x4 jeeps will take you southwest to the Tassi / Louri area, which will approximately take 1.5 hours. During this drive you might see animals like elephants, red river hogs, buffalo's, birds and sitatunga's. Tassi bush camp is situated on the savannah, surrounded by primary and secondary forest. In this area might be seen gorillas and chimpanzees. In Tassi Sud, 30 minutes from Tassi Bush Camp, the Max Planck Institute is based for their habituation project of these primates. From Tassi you can easily make excursions to Louri. Here you will have a good chance to see buffalo's and elephants on the beach: a remarkable view and characteristic for Loango National Park!

AKAKA:

After an early breakfast, the boat will depart in southern direction to Akaka, where you will arrive approximately 4 hours later. During the boat drive you have a good chance to see animals like birds, elephants, buffalo's and sitatunga's, maybe even bathing in the rivers. Akaka is one of the most remote parts of Loango National Park . The bush camp is situated in the heart of the tropical rainforest and the wetlands. It is a good basis to undertake excursions by boat, by kayak or on foot.

Day 5 WEDNESDAY: LOANGO NATIONAL PARK SAFARI POSSIBILITIES
After returning from Akaka around lunchtime, your guide will discuss with you in which way you'd like to discover other parts of the park. Go on foot into the Mangroves, by kayak through the forest or by 4x4. accompanied by our guides. You will discover the beauty of the park and its diversity of landscapes and animals. Our eco- guides will explain how to survive in the forest and you will see how the local population is living with and in nature. Another option is to take the 'houseboat' at the end of the afternoon and visit Bat and Bird Island and its flocks of birds. While having a sundowners on the deck, you can enjoy the beauty of the lagoons, the savannahs and the forests.

Day 6 THURSDAY: POINT ST. CATHERINE BEACH CAMP
After your return from Tassi and a lunch in Loango Lodge, you can choose if you go by car, by kayak or on foot into the reserve accompanied by our guides. You will discover the beauty of the park and its diversity of landscapes and animals. Other activities that we offer include sport fishing with our professional equipment and trained guides. It is also possible to do a village tour through the nearby village 'Ntchongerove'. Our eco- guides will explain how to survive in the forest and you will see how the local population is living with and in nature. Another option is to take the 'houseboat' at the end of the afternoon and visit Bat and Bird Island and its flocks of birds. At the end of the day, you go to the most beautiful beach of Gabon: pt. st. Catherine where you have the beach for yourself and where you can relax and hunt for seashells.

Day 7 FRIDAY: ST. ANNE - MPIVIE RIVER - LOANGO LODGE
Early in the morning, after arrival from the beach, you go back to the lodge, where you will collect you r belongings and head for evengue lodge, your last stop. By 4x4, in 45 minutes, you will arrive at the debarqadere where you will get into a Gabonese 'peroque' for a 2.5 hr boattour over the beautiful mpivie river. En route to the island, you will visit the small town St. Anne, where Gustav Eiffel has built an iron church in the late 1800s. The story goes that it was a gift from the first priest mother, designed and built in Paris, then shipped in pieces to Gabon and transported over water and pulled out by elephants. The church is still intact and if you are lucky you can even attend mass. Other features of interest are the missionary post, the boarding school and the 'bamboo cathedral', where, on rare occasions, ceremonies are held. After your visit to St. Anne you will continue the trip over the Mpivie River that from there runs through dense rainforest. You can enjoy the breathtaking views and you will see all kinds of birds, monkeys and crocodiles. Hartlaubs Duck, Finfoots, Fishing owls can be spotted all around.

Around lunchtime you will arrive at Evengue island, a small island where Operation Loango has its gorilla sanctuary. The gorilla program will be explained by our eco guides and experts on the island. One of the guides will accompany you during a short bush walk that will lead to the gorilla family that currently consists of eight gorillas. Because their living area is enclosed, you are assured to have a good look at these impressive primates. For the rest of the day you can decide whether to discover the island on foot or by kayak, or just enjoy the calmness and the fantastic view from the terrace.

Day 8 SATURDAY: DEPARTURE FOR PORT GENTIL AND DOULA
After breakfast, you will go to the airstrip where your fly in about 30 minutes to Port Gentil where your flight to Douala will depart around 13h00.