Gabon

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Quick Facts

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Capital

Libreville

Government

Republic

Population

1,167,000

Languages

French

Religions

Christianity, Animism

Currency

CFA Franc (XAF)

Calling Code

+241

Nationality

Gabonese

Time Zone

UTC+1

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Introduction

Ogouee River at Lope

© All Rights Reserved svjorber

Gabon's rare and somewhat perplexing wealth, earned through the country's oil trade, has a dramatic effect on the West African country's modern day life. Though issues of poor health care and public education plague Gabon's reputation, the nation has invested heavily in propelling a rich image to the world, with the big city vibe of its capital, Libreville, as well as the fashionable restaurants, bars and cafés of towns like Port-Gentil. Heart-wrenchingly high everyday expenses are a further result of Gabon's pursuit of modernity.

Due to this first-world mindset, traditional Gabonese culture has pretty much been tossed out the window. Instead, travellers look to the country's ideal rainforests, where the abundance of wildlife is enough to match the abundance of wealth in the national purse.

Brief History

Geography

Gabon is located in the southern part of West Africa, along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and is bordered by the Republic of Congo to the east, Equatorial Guinea to the northwest and Cameroon to the central north. Much of the land in Gabon is tropical rainforest, totalling almost 85% of the country. There are 3 distinct areas: the coastal planes, the mountains and the savanna, from west to east. The Ogouué River is the most important and longest river system in the country, over 1200 kilometers. Much of the land, 11%, has been designated national park since 2002 and there are 13 magnificent national parks to visit.

Regions

Gabon is divided into nine provinces.

• Estuaire
• Haut-Ogooué
• Moyen-Ogooué
• Ngounié
• Nyanga
• Ogooué-Ivindo
• Ogooué-Lolo
• Ogooué-Maritime
• Woleu-Ntem

Cities

• Libreville - The capital
• Port Gentil
• Moanda
• Oyem
• Masuku (Franceville)
• Bitam
• Lastoursville

Sights and Activities

Gabon is opening up to travellers wanting to experience one of the last frontiers of Africa. It still comes at a price though, as flying to Gabon, hotels in the capital Libreville and lodges in some of the national parks are just expensive and budget options are very limited, if not absent. Add to that expensive domestic flights you sometimes have to take, and you will see while there still not many visitors in Gabon.
In the 21st century, many national parks have been formed to protect the large quantities of virgin rainforest and animals. There are now 13 national parks, totalling 11% of the landmass in Gabon, one of the highest in the world. One of the most famous and best is Loango National Park.

Loango National Park

One of the last tropical wilderness areas in the world, the Loango National Park deserves a place in Africa's top 10 regarding safari opportunities. Where else in the world can you see chimpansees, elephants and hippos living so close together in one habitat. The elephants and hippos, among other people can even be seen on the Atlantic beaches, which form the western border of this magnificent park. The Land of the surfing hippos it is called sometimes and the park is also famous because this is where Dr. Michael Fay ended his MegaTransect across Congo to Gabon, right there on the beach. In the waters just offshore there are good opportunities to see dolphins and whales as well, making the combination of animals you can see even weirder.

Lopé National Park

The Lopé-Okanda National Park was the first protected area in the country and contains mainly rainforests and some grass savanna areas. It was recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the area is one of the best places in Central Africa to experience the African rainforest, teeming with mostly smaller animals. There are many bird, monkey and butterfly species. For more details, check the Ecofac website, which has several other national parks in the region to be visited.

Akanda National Park

Akanda National Park is located in the northwest of the country, along the coastline containing the Mondah and Corisco bays. Mangrove and tidal beach habitats are the main ecosystems here and the area protects especially birds and migratory birds.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Located on the equator in Africa, Gabon experiences a typical tropical climate with hot and humid weather year round. Temperatures average around 30 degrees Celcius during the day and 22 degrees at night, the coastal areas being a bit cooler during the day and a bit warmer at night (Libreville for example is just a few degrees cooler at night than during the day). Also, the difference between the slightly cooler June to September months and the hotter months of December to May is just a few degrees. The country has one of the wettest climates in the world and from October to May there is long and rainy season. October and November generally are the wettest months, followed by March and April. Still, June to September is fairly dry and combined with somewhat lower temperatures makes it a better time to visit.

Getting There

By Plane

Libreville Leon M'ba International Airport (LBV) near the capital Libreville is where all international flights depart and arrive. Gabon Airlines flies to Paris and Pointe-Noire. Avirex Gabon flies to and from Bamako, Brazzaville, Cotonou, Douala, Lomé, Malabo, Ouagadougou and Pointe-Noire. Air Service Gabon flies to Brazzaville, Sao Tomé, Douala and N'Djamena. Other destinations include Johannesburg among a few other regional cities.
Royal Air Maroc flies to Paris via Casablanca, Air France flies directly to Paris from Libreville.

By Car

Not all of the crossings mentioned below are doable by car, but you can cross into most countries at one border post at least. The crossing with Cameroon is easiest, the one to Congo is located in a little bit of no-man's-land but doable, the ones to Equatorial Guinea are possible but include a lot of hassle, suspicious official and you will need your visa arranged before arrival!
Also, have everything regarding car and insurance in order. Even the, the customary bribes are unavoidable.

By Bus

To Cameroon you can cross at the Ntem River between Bitam (Gabon) and Ambam (Cameroon). From Ebolowa in Cameroon there is a regular bus service to Yaoundé and Douala and visas are available at the border.

To the Republic of Congo, the main crossing is between N’Dendé (Gabon) and Doussala (Congo). From here go to Loubomo to connect with the Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville railway.
Crossings in the east include Léconi (near Franceville) and Mékambo (the only crossing where visas might just be available).

To Equatorial Guinea, crossings are at Cocobeach (Gabon) by pirogue to Cogo and Acalyong (Equatorial Guinea), or otherwise via via Oyem and Bitam (Gabon) to either Mongomo or Ebebiyin (Equatorial Guinea) overland. It's about 4 hours from here to Bata by taxi along good paved roads.

By Boat

There are boats between Libreville and Cotonou (Benin), Sao Tome & Principe and Cameroon sometimes, but ask at the port authorities in Libreville first to check if and when they are running. It's long and uncomfortable.

Getting Around

Note that Port Gentil is not reachable by bus, car or train, only by plane or boat from Libreville or inland towns along the Ogoué River.

By Plane

Avirex Gabon flies between Libreville and Port Gentil. Air Service Gabon flies between Franceville, Port-Gentil, Libreville Koulamoutou, Makokou, Mouila, Oyem and Tchibanga.

By Train

There is the so called Trans-Gabon railway travelling between Libreville/Owendo and Franceville, stopping along the way in Ndjole Booué, Lastoursville and Moanda. Although services are limited (3 times a week) and slow, it makes for a comfortable journey and train enthusiasts will love it.

By Car

Less than 10% of the roads in Gabon are tarred and even the tarred roads can be impassable after heavy rains from October to December and February to May. If you do decide to rent a car, make sure it is a high clearance 4wd one and if you don't have any experiene driving in these circumstance, rent one with a driver. It's very expensive. Traffic drives on the right and you need an international driving permit and international insurance.

By Bus

Most public transport takes place in shared bushtaxis or minibuses. Fares are expensive for African standards and connections are slow and uncomfortable sometimes. Daily minibus services run from Libreville to Lambaréné, Mouila, Oyem and Bitam, some of them involving an overnight stay.

By Boat

There are ferries between Libreville and Port Gentil, taking about 4 hours each way on the fastest boats and almost 8 hours on the slower ones.
There are also riverboats along the Ogoué River between Port Gentil and Lambaréné, taking anywhere between 10 and 24 hours, depending on weather and going upstream or downstream. Some boats continue on to Ndjolé.

Red Tape

All national, except South Africans (for a stay no longer than 30 days) require a visa. See details about the processing at the Gabonese Embassy website.
Also check the nearest Gabonese Embassy for further details.

Money

See also Money matters

Gabon uses the CFA Franc as a currency. The CFA Franc is divided into 100 centimes. Coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 francs while banknotes come in denominations of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs
The exchange range is fixed at aproximately 656 CFA Francs for one Euro.

In Gabon the Central African CFA Franc (XAF) is used which has the same vallue as the West African CFA Franc (XOF), but it's not possible to use both currencies in the same country.

Fourteen countries in Africa use this currency, eight in West Africa and six in Central Africa. The West African CFA Franc can only be used in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, while the Central African CFA Franc can only be used in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also Travel Health

Safety

See also Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Gabon is: 241
To make an international call from Gabon, the code is: 00

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