Destiny…Gorilla…and more travel stories to treasure

Unfortunately bush meat trade exists in Gabon too

If things would have gone according to plan the next day I would have commenced my journey back to Liberia but true to the whole script there was one more twist left in the tale.

After spending the night in Gamba, I was scheduled to take the early morning flight back to Libreville and then next day take the international flight to Monrovia via Lome. In the morning, I learnt that the flight from Gamba was cancelled and no apparent reason was given for the cancellation. I guess a monopolistic company can do that without a lot of customer attrition.

These kids were catching small fish...as a
kid I did exactly that but not for food

That left me with just two options to get to Libreville; get the rescheduled flight 3 days later; or take a bush taxi for a couple days through the interiors of Gabon. Neither of the two options could prevent me from missing my international flight from Libreville. I choose to go with the road as there was no guarantee that the rescheduled flight would in fact depart after 3 days. By the road I at least knew that I would be in Libreville in 3 days…or so I though!

As always there was just a single taxi which was a pickup leaving early in the morning so I had to wait for the next one. From what I had read on the web, the only reliable way to get in and out of Gamba was taking the plane as the roads are virtually non-existent through the coastal forests. The pickup taxi option was suggested to be very dicey and I was unfortunate (or fortunate) to experience it first hand.

First breakdown...

The pickup looked decent as we set on our way but the ride was through extremely sandy terrain. The only vehicles that can get through these tracks were 4X4 in decent condition and our pickup was not up to the mark. We had to stop a couple times for engine problems within the first 50 kilometers. My seat was not very comfortable either; I had to sit in a makeshift seat made with bundled towel in between the driver and the person sitting beside the window. To make matters worse I had an intoxicated park ranger slobbering and resting his head on me. Having had too much of it, I decided I was better off at the back of the pickup. Sure it was bumpy and dusty but at least I did not have the obnoxious ranger beside me.

Drivers frequently have to use different tracks to avoid a sandy trap

Here we go....

Got some help pushing this time

A little later we had more issues with the pickup and this time it was a little more serious. The four wheel drive was not functioning and not surprisingly we got stuck in the sand in a very isolated stretch of the forest. A pickup came that way which had just one seat available and that was taken by the inebriated ranger who I was more than happy see leaving. That left me, the driver and a couple other guys who could push our pickup out of the sand as the remaining three passengers were middle-age women one of whom was pregnant.

Had to trudge thro' this forest for the planks

Picture at frst ferry crossing where
the vehicle was ferried on a different boat
and the passangers on a different one.


Shortly afterwards we were fortunate that another vehicle came along from the other side and they helped to push our vehicle out. After getting us out of the loose sand, they got stuck so we had to go help them Fortunately for them, theirs was a newer vehicle so it was much easier. Seemed as though on isolated and difficult terrains like these there existed a unspoken code of conduct between travelers where anyone needing help will not be turned away.

Branches and leaves only helped so much

I was exhaused at the end carrying the
planks & this dude was still smiling

Unfortunately for us, that was the first of several times we got stuck. Basically with the 4-wheel drive not working, it seemed we were pretty much doomed. Moreover, for the rest of the day, no more vehicles came along our way so we were pretty much on our own. A few times we dug the sand and push our way out but the pickup got stuck again before we had even boarded it. As the day wore on, we could not even dig our way out nor could we bank on just having branches and leaves being laid on the sand to give the wheels traction.

Manually powered ferry

Hamlets we sometimes passed
were dusty with the red soil kicked up
by passing vehicles


Exhausted, dehydrated we left the vehicle to find abandoned hamlets around to see if we can get some wooden planks. As we trudged along in the sand, I was certain that there was no way we were getting anywhere that night. My thoughts were about where to sleep in/on the pickup. Perhaps I was dehydrated or disoriented by seemed as though the forest came alive with noises and I even saw a couple Blue Duikers hop right in front of me.



Kids in the interiors of Gabon

We did manage to find the planks after long walk and so returned back to the pickup hauling them with us. For the next few kilometers following was the recurring process
1) Lay some planks in front of the front wheels to form a track of wood for the vehicle to accelerate
2) Dig the sand out of all four wheels
3) Use a jack and lift the vehicle and place a couple long planks underneath the rear tires and release the jack back down
4) Three of us push the vehicle while the driver steps on the accelerator
5) The pickup moves out of the sand trap and goes about 200 odd meters with the momentum that it had gained due to the extra traction
6) It gets stuck again and we pick up the planks and walk to the vehicle to repeat from step one


Vehicle track in the Mouklaba-Doudou Park



We finally managed to get the vehicle to a small stream where we had ferry it across manually. The road actually got better after we crossed this stream and we all heaved a sigh of relief. All along the way, one of the guys kept promising me that we will get to and sleep in the town of Tchibanga and sure enough after several hours we did manage to get there. The first thing I did as we entered the town was run to a store, purchase water and even before I could pay the cashier, I guzzled the bottle down as he looked on in bewilderment.

Mouklaba River

Quite a workout!

This ferry crossing was also manually powered
but the ferry was heavy duty and the river
was wide. So instead of pulling ropes we had
to use bamboo poles to push and direct the ferry

I learnt a key facet about these tough Gabonese who live in the interiors; they may not be flush with wealth or good fortune but they certainly don’t lack in persistence and optimism. Lesson to be learnt for me there!

At Tchibanga, I had to spend a day before I could catch the next pickup taxi to Libreville. I still had 3 quarters of the way to go but at least we were done with the sandy tracks so it looked like I would make it to Libreville soon.

Defassa Waterbuck...only park in Gabon that harbors these bucks is the Mouklaba-Doudou Park

Limestone rock formations at the entrance of the Mouklaba-Doudou National Park

The town of Tchibanga was not too far from the Mouklaba-Doudou National Park and I remembered Ghislien telling me that during the summer months one of the best places to track Gorillas was in this park. I decided to give it a shot considering I was lucky to be in Tchibanga in the first place. With the help of Ghislien’s contacts I managed to get myself a ride into the park. Seemed as though this time luck was on my side as a park vehicle was scheduled to be heading into the park to pick up a group of people.

I was not supposed to be there in the first place but fate had it for me and I was ready for whatever was in store even if it meant that I did not see the Gorillas.

The De Fassa Waterbuck is the
symbol of Gabon Parks



Gorilla droppings

Tracking the gorillas was not easy as the terrain was moist dense with very thick undergrowth. This meant that our visibility was limited and the gorilla could easily stay unrecognized among the foliage. I was fortunate that I had a Guide Joly who was an expert at his job. He was tracking them based on their dropping, their footprints, the wake they leave in the bush and also their smell.

Tracking the Great Apes

After about 4-5 hours we heard the sound of branches being ripped apart which was a tell tale sign of the Gorillas feeding. As we approached we even heard a Gorilla flatulence. The guide advised me to stand my ground if the silverback charged at us as we proceeded closer to them but it seemed as though they caught scent of us and started to disperse into the bush. Through the thick cover I was able to get a fleeting glimpse of a silverback and a juvenile gorilla as they dashed away. I though I had lost the best opportunity to see one clearly when Joly pointed to another one atop a tree. It was far away for a picture but the heavy (and powerful) binoculars I had been carrying all through my Gabon travel finally paid off with remarkable views. Below is a clip of us tracking the Gorillas. From the vegetation you can see the difficulty of moving through it as well as trying to spot it.

Kids in Dussala village with leftover bread

Trying to see a distant waterfall

I even saw a forest elephant in the Mouklaba-Doudou Park which was particularly special since it meant that I had seen one in all the four parks I had been to. This could have been a coincidence but probably also meant that a very healthy population of these magnificent animals exists in the jungles of Gabon.