Gabon: Where Hippos Surf, Elephants Beachcomb & Turtles Nest on the Beach

A Scheduled Trip to Gabon

Highlights

#SafarisWithSangeeta

This is a short post-trip extension after the Congo River Cruise
6 PERSON DEPARTURE

• In search of forest elephants, red river hogs, chimps, African gray parrots, central African buffalo and sitatunga on the beaches of Loango;
• Optional habituated gorilla tracking with the gorilla project in Loango National Park
• Massive leatherback turtles on the beaches of Pongara NP, a hop away from Libreville

Scheduled group tour from
January 7, 2025 - January 15, 2025

Starting from
EUR 5,250
per person sharing

Duration
8 days / 7 nights

Transport
Escorted Safari

Accommodation
Hotels, Lodges & Tented Camps

Exploring
Libreville, Loango National Park

About this Safari

Gabon in the Wet…When it really isn’t wet!

Dear Adventurers & Explorers,

We thought we had discovered what Gabon had to offer with our annual Ivindo-Lopé-Loango trips there in July and August, but boy oh boy, were we wrong! This multi-faceted country does not cease to amaze with its different hues and shades and completely different safari experiences, depending on the time of year you visit. One of the enduring images of Gabon is of large charismatic animals foraging on its pristine coastal beaches. This is not so common in the summer months of July and August, but very common during the wet months (most of the rest of the year). While wildlife safaris in pouring rain can be a challenge, Gabon provides us with a brief ‘dry’ season in the midst of its ‘rainy’ season, and this is the time we want to be here for hippos that surf, eles that beachcomb and Great Apes that lounge on the beach!

As it happens, our Congo River Cruise coincides perfectly with Gabon’s brief dry spell that occurs in December and January, and offers us the perfect opportunity to go right up to the Atlantic Coast and end our Congo discovery with some last iconic memories from an already epic trip. For those of you who choose to do this extension, you would have explored the Congo Basin all the way from the coast to the Heart of Africa – and covered 5 extremely-hard-to-visit West and Central African nations in the process.

The connection from Libreville to Brazzaville and vice-versa is relatively easy on Afrijet, the regional carrier. I am attaching the flight schedule below. It is possible to do this as a pre-trip extension as well – in other words start in Gabon and end in the Republic of Congo, but the return dates are more suitable, though we can work this either as a pre- or post-trip extension. I hope you decide to join me on this and end this Congo Basin Extravaganza on the highest of notes!

Sangeeta

Gabon is still an enigma. A wild place of pristine old-growth rainforests where there are almost no human settlements, and where wild animals live protected within the thick foliage of the Congolese rainforest spilling down to the coast, and nestled between the many rivers that traverse this west African country. This is a trip for those of you who want to see something new, something different. It is a place for the intrepid Africa enthusiast who will be thrilled by the sight of a red river hog in a wallow, or a wary lowland gorilla in a forest clearing, or a hippo looking to catch the waves. On this trip, timed to coincide with the appearance of charismatic mammals on the beaches of Gabon, we will enjoy a comfortable African adventure in a remote part of Africa. And if at least 6 of you are curious to learn about Gabonese culture, we have the potential to experience an authentic 2-day Bwiti ceremony on this trip as well.

The cost of this 10-day Gabon trip is:
EUR 350 per person for an extra night at Radisson Blu in Brazzaville (Day 0, Jan 7, 2025)
EUR 5250 per person for the Gabon extension based on 6 guests (Days 1-8, Jan 8-15, 2025)

Request for the Full Itinerary

or call our African safari specialists at
+1 703 220 6393 or +91 9717 275237