A TASTE OF GABON - BIRDS AND WILDLIFE

Visiting Libreville, two locations in Lope National Park and Nyonie beach camp. Walking for the most part is relatively easy. Accommodation in Lope with private bathrooms and at Nyonie with shared bathroom facilities.

Dates : 03 to 12 December 2007
with Ian Davidson and/or Patrice Christy and local guides

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Please note that any times given are scheduled times - these are here as a guide only. Please be prepared for delays and changes. The tourism structure is in its infancy.

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Briefly - 10 Days - A taste of Gabon

Day 01 (Monday) : Arrive and transfer to Tropicana Hotel for overnight (room only).
Day 02 : Morning transfer to Owendo for day train to Lope National Park. Afternoon at Lope. Overnight Lope Hotel.
Day 03 : Day in Lope National Park. Overnight Lope Hotel.
Day 04 : Morning transfer to Mikongo research Camp in Lope National Park. Overnight Mikongo Research Camp.
Day 05 & 06: Full day Mikongo in primary forest. Overnights Mikongo Research Camp.
Day 07 : Morning at Mikongo before return transfer to Lope Hotel. Day room Lope Hotel before night train to Libreville.
Day 08 : Night train to Libreville (02h25/07h00); arrive & transfer from train station to marina for boat and road transfer to Nyonie. Afternoon Nyonie area. Overnight Nyonie Camp.
Day 09 : Morning Nyonie. After lunch transfer to Libreville. Overnight Tropicana Hotel (room only).
Day 10 (Wednesday) : Morning at leisure before transfer (11h00) to airport for return flight to Johannesburg.

Price (2006) [subject to any airline ticket/fuel surcharges, adjustments for 2007 departures]

Minimum 6, Maximum 8 passengers

Price per person sharing ex Libreville (subject to availability)

Euro 3910 per person (price ex Joburg on request)
Euro 265 per person - Single room supplement

Includes
All accommodation; meals (except in Libreville and on train); transport; guides and trackers; park entry fees.

Excludes
International air tickets; visas; meals in Libreville and on train; any airport departure taxes; any drinks; bottled mineral water; teas & coffees; travel insurance; any tips to hotel staff; local guides, etc.

Currency Converter

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FULL ITINERARY (10 DAYS) (subject to alteration & availability)

with Ian Davidson and/or Patrice Christy and local guides

ITINERARY (10 DAYS) (subject to alteration & availability)

Day 01 (Monday) : Arrive Libreville and transfer to the Tropicana Hotel near the Libreville airport (room only).

Day 02 (& 03): This morning we will board the Trans-Gabonese train from Libreville bound for Lope National Park which lies in the centre of Gabon. The park including savannahs and primary forest is a reminder of what Central Africa was like during the Glacier Age. In this extremely rich habitat there are estimated populations of 4500 forest elephants, 2500 gorillas, 2000 chimpanzees, 50000 mandrills, 1000 leopard and large numbers of Red Forest Buffalo, Sitatunga, Yellow-backed Duiker, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Moustached Monkey, Red-river Hog and there are over 400 species of birds. With time and patience we will see some of these. From the camp we will enter the forest using elephant trails and any old logging tracks. We spend time in two different parts of Lope National Park, two in the savannah edges in the area of the Lope Hotel from where we'll bird along the Ogooue River and inland looking for Yellow-throated Leaflove, Scarlet-spectacled Wattle-eye, Splendid Glossy Starling, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Compact Weaver and Long-legged Pipit, Yellow-mantled Whydah, White-cheeked Bee-eater, and various species of swallow including Square-tailed Saw-wing, and Red-breasted Swallow. In the scrub and forest edge we should find Black Bee-eater, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Black-headed Batis, Naked-faced Barbet, Fiery-breasted Bush Shrike, Whistling Cisticola, Orange Weaver, Black-capped Illadopsis, Red-bellied Malimbe, Black-chinned Quailfinch, Forbes's Plovers and Green-headed, Tiny, Reichenbach's and Violet-tailed Sunbirds and in the evening perhaps Bates's and Swamp Nightjars. Overnights Lope Hotel.

Day 04 (& 05,06) : We have three nights deep in the forest at Mikongo Camp, an hour and a half drive from the Lope Hotel. It is from the conservation centre at Mikongo where we will access this central African tropical forest and it is from here that we'll look for primates and for the enigmatic Grey-necked Rock-fowl. Black Colobus, Crowned and Putty-nosed Monkeys, Western Lowland Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Mandrills, forest Elephant, various species of forest duiker and Red River Hog are most likely. Also in the forest we should encounter various species of hornbill including White-crested, African Pied, Piping, Red-billed Dwarf, the striking White-crested and the huge Black-casqued Wattled; also's to be seen include Snowy-headed Robin-chat, Great Blue Turaco, Guinea Turaco, Gabon Coucal, African Grey Parrot, various Greenbuls including Honeyguide, Golden, Red-tailed and if we are very lucky Lyre-tailed Honeyguide. Dja River Scrub-Warbler would be a very good find and Latham's Francolin, Black-bellied Seed-cracker, Vermiculated Fishing Owl and Red-chested Owlet could be encountered almost anywhere. Overnights Mikongo Research Camp.

Day 07 : Today we return to Lope Hotel. We have the rest of the day in the Lope area before boarding our the Trans-Gabonese express to Libreville.

Day 08 : After our early morning arrival in Libreville we will transfer from the station to the marina for our boat transfer across the 'estuaire du Gabon'. Crossing the 'estauaire' we will scan any visible sand bars and sandbanks that may be a temporary resting site for terns and waders, African Skimmers and Grey Pratincoles and Western Reef Heron. We may also find White-fronted Sand-plover and in patches of forest, along the coastal strip we'll come across Chattering Cisticola, Naked-faced Barbet, Speckled and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds, Palm-nut Vulture, Superb Sunbird, Splendid Glossy Starling, Lesser Striped Swallows, Didric Cuckoo and the superb Rosy Bee-eater. Overnight Nyonie camp.

Day 09 : After the morning exploring the savannahs and forests around Nyonie and after lunch we will transfer back to Libreville for overnight at the Tropicana Hotel.

Day 10 (Wednesday) : Morning at leisure before our late morning check-in for our return flight. Around Libreville and the hotel grounds we may see Royal Terns, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow and the white-vented Common Bulbul, Bronze Mannikin and Pin-tailed Whydah's in full breeding plumage. Also likely are African Thrush, Village Weaver, African Palm Swift, Reichenbach's Sunbird, Woodland Kingfisher, Vieillot's Black Weaver and along the shorelines we should see Cattle and Little Egrets, Ringed and Grey Plovers, Sanderling, Turnstone, Common Sandpiper and with luck some Western Reef Herons.

Reading Material
1. Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe. The Bradt Travel Guide by Sophie Warne, 2003.
2. Under the Canopy - advancing conservation in Gabon - Robert J Ross. Africa Geographic magazine, August 2004: 34-49
3. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, a comprehensive field guide. Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan, 2003.
4. Birds of western Africa. Nic Borrow & Ron Demey. Helm, 2001.
5. The Kingdon field guide to African Mammals - Jonathon Kingdom. Academic Press, first published 1997 with subsequent revisions.