"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness," John Muir
GABON TRIP REPORT
When you think of an adventure look no further than West Africa, wildly unexplored despite its huge diversity of species. When I heard about a spot on a trip to Gabon, I thought I have to go.. I have been lucky enough to see gorillas a few times, first in Uganda on a work trip, then to the republic of Congo to Odzala again for work but the pull to see them persists. It is not a tick list item, the urge isn’t completed upon viewing the apes, it just makes the fascination with them stronger. Then there is the urge to experience safari, again for the first time. That awe, the wonder and fascination the pure joy and excitement. New species, new sights, new smells, new landscapes. West Africa does just that. Filled with new species, the forest elephants, the giant river hogs, the red river hogs, the bongo, sitatunga, water buffalo and let’s not forget the entirely new book of species of birds!! This was an opportunity to walk instead of drive, to follow elephant pathways, trek through tropical forests, savannahs, meadows and even beaches or take a boat down the intricate river systems. A place where you can encounter crocodiles, hippos and sharks all in the same body of water. Where the trees tower so tall it’s like you are in Jack and the beanstalk. This was the place I had always dreamed of as a child to explore, I just didn’t know it existed.
Gabon, for me, has been one of the most special places I have ever been, and I have been lucky enough to explore some incredible ones. There was something about being somewhere not many had gone, it was all the cliched words I had used in my marketing ploys, “off the beaten path” “authentic” “wild”. Here the animals were habituated to researchers who travelled on foot not by car, getting out and walking to a herd of notoriously aggressive forest elephant instead of staying back in a car will be something I won’t forget in a hurry.
Some of the things that struck me were not only the diversity of landscapes and therefore wildlife but the incredible level of guiding here. The guides here respected the forest, they respected the wildlife. There seemed to be an understanding that was missing in southern Africa where tip baiting has ruined many special places. Most of the guides have worked as rangers or researchers, they know the dangers and they don’t push it. The spirituality in west Africa may feed into this. Christianity offers a perspective of sin then repent and all is forgiven, here if you mess with the forest it will mess with you, if you respect the forest, it will gift you. I don’t know what stars aligned on this trip, but we had the best sightings, with the best guides, with the best team. It was such a special trip and one of the few places having been in this industry so long where I was truly in awe of the people here and desperately wanted to learn all they had to offer.
We were lucky enough to have two wonderful guides who understood the assignment, photography but experiential. Tracking is easy in the sand or the mud, along dusty pathways, footprints stand out like clear little markers. In the damp forest detritus, it is almost impossible to see what went where. Almost, unless you learnt how to track here; the odd snapped branch, the calls that echoed through the forest, the small hoof imprints marks hidden under an overturned leaf each left clues as to what went where. The guides mimicked the sounds of wild mangoes falling to entice ever shy red river hogs closer. Hidden upwind and behind vegetation we watched as they curiously made their way through the thick bush sniffing away looking for this delicious fruit. Squatting and kneeling in the mud and water, pushing what leaves we could out the way we struggled for gaps in the forest to take the shots we all wanted of these pretty little hogs, so much more ginger than their southern African relatives. Which for a Scot, seemed to make me love them more.
Walking on foot next to animals that were largely unhabituated and seemingly quite aggressive was quite a “thrill” it seemed to go against any intuition I had. To stop the engine as the elephants started to grumble then actively walk towards the herd seemed crazy but here, we were living it. The guides here have years of experience and have spent years habituating these very animals. As much as my own guide training and experience in the bush has given me some skills, these animals were new to me and much to my surprise and joy I was completely happy to put my safety into someone else’s hands. Perhaps a little too happy! When finding a breeding herd near the beach one day we sat quietly among the shrubs trying to fit elephant and sea in the backdrop which was proving tricky, they might be beautiful models, but they take no direction! After a few unsuccessful attempts to manoeuvre round them to get the favourable backdrop the herd decided they had had enough of us. Sat bum down in the sand we were, thankfully, mock charged. Looking to my left our guides were standing calmly hands behind their backs… ok now is my moment snapping away happily getting in the dust clouds from the charge and desperately wishing I had more range on my big zoom lens to pull out and get her in focus. When she retreated a gentle hand touched my shoulder “Chloe it is time to go” I hadn’t realised everyone else had retreated some meters giving this poor nervous elephant the space she so desperately desired, I had thought we had stood strong like a wall, but it was just me alone sat with my camera! A gentle reminder that whilst I felt safe and seemed to be I should really pop my guiding hat back on and use a bit more common sense.
We managed to spot both elephant and buffalo on the beach, quite the oddity from a woman living in landlocked countries, we had heard of the famous hippo in the surf but sadly for this trip they eluded us. Something else that shocked me was the insane quality of food. A Francophile country the influence was strong from fresh cheese and baguettes to pain au chocolates straight from the oven, fresh ceviche from the fish caught that day to the exotic and luxurious selection of French wines. Such a treat again for someone who lives in landlocked countries and off South African imports!
The main reason we came to Gabon was the gorillas, these magical and incredible apes have captured a spot in my heart. The human like behaviours, the depth of their stares, the sheer power in their all-vegan bodies! Lowland gorillas are incredibly endangered with approximately 360,000 left in the wild. Between habitat encroachment, civil war and poaching the numbers are fast dwindling. This gentle species like thick, dense, dark vegetation and are tricky to photograph but when you do the rewards are well worth it. Trekking in Gabon can be tough, of the three treks we did, we spent several hours wading through deep water, marshes, climbing and descending steep hills. You follow intricate elephant pathways weaving between the towering trees, climbing over roots and pushing past the mass on the forest floor. The mulchy leaf litter provides a comfortable springy base to cushion your weary feet as you stomp through the jungle eagerly anticipating these giant dark shadows in the trees. The lowland gorilla spends more time on the forest floor, the dark forest floor making it a tricky subject, every now and then a ray of sunlight pierces the canopy highlighting a hand, a face or an eye and you must be ready to quickly get the shot!
Gabon will always have a space in my heart, the people, the place, the wildlife, those trees! Its somewhere that’s ignited a spark back inside of me that longed for more adventure, that was excited to take and share more images, that inspired me to become a better tracker, a better birder, a better explorer. I ordered dry bags for my cameras, realised what worked and what didn’t in the forest, threw away an old pair of trainers that would never recover and embraced the dirt in my toenails that took weeks to scrub out! In fact, I was pretty sad when the last of it did. I scrolled through what seemed like endless images from the trip but each sighting I vividly remember and fondly pour over the little details I wanted to capture.
I am also pleased to say some of the images from this trip have travelled the world, most recently in Paris as part of the Amazing Gabon exhibition and so the adventure lives on!
