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angola
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As
part of my decade living on Africa's
West Coast, our family spent a
memorable year in the Republic of
Gabon, which hugs the Atlantic,
straddles the equator and is roughly
the size of France. Being health
fanatics and outdoor types, my mother
Suzanne, brother Jean Pierre and I
thrived in the hot, humid climate - and
in 12 months, managed to visit much of
the countryside. This gave us an
intimate connection with the Gabonaise
culture and was valuable in my future
career in tourism. We enjoyed a laid
back, tropical lifestyle; food was
delicious and varied, the shops and
stalls were full of interesting items
and tempting snacks. What's more, to
our delight, the traditional West
African culture had in no way
disappeared with the oil boom. Thanks
to mineral wealth and a relatively low
population growth, Gabon is better off
financially than most of Africa. This
fact is reflected in their care and
attention to basic ecological concerns.
For example, the vast coastal wetlands
and marshes, are still largely intact.
This is something with which ATA
members will heartily agree, the
Association being a strong advocate of
ecotourism. Gabon, which hosted the
Africa Travel Association (ATA)
International Congress in 1980, is
easily accessible from the USA and
Canada. Gabon's
Great Leap: With a stable government
and 11 percent of the country's land
area set aside for the parks, Gabon is
uniquely positioned to become the
ecotourism capital of Africa. Last fall
photographer Nicolas Reynard trekked
through Gabon's new national park
system, where lush forests hide
Africa's largest concentration of
undisturbed&emdash;and
camera-shy&emdash;animals. Could these
parks change the face of ecotourism and
preservation in the Congo Basin? When
French photographer Nicolas Reynard and
writer Tom Clynes set out to test drive
three of Gabon's 13 new national parks
for "The Gabon Experiment" (check out
the September 2003 issue or our
excerpt), they expected dozens of close
encounters with the forest's denizens
of hippos, elephants, gorillas, and
mandrills. Excerpt
from National
Geographic. West
Africa's Freedom
City:
Libreville, our home at the time,
began as a settlement for freed slaves
on the site of a naval fortress. How
did it get its name? In 1849, our
French ancestors captured a slave ship,
releasing all of the passengers at the
mouth of the Komo River. In joyous
response and gratitude, the newly freed
slaves named their settlement
Libreville (Free Town). A lively and
charming capital, Libreville reminds me
of a quieter, more laid back 50s
version of Miami Beach, with its large
ocean-view hotels. To name a few,
there's the Hotel Mont-Bouet, the
Ebene, Rendema Meridien, Novotel's
Rapontchombo, Hotel Okoume Palace
Inter-Continental, Hotel Mont de
Crystal and Hotel Gamba. Libreville's
chalk white buildings contrast
dramatically with the dappled green
shades of the nearby equatorial forest.
It's a city of modern office buildings,
fancy shops, supermarkets and white,
sandy beaches inside city limits. Not
far away (140 km) on the south coast is
Port -Gentil on Ile de Mandji, a
coastal island to the south. Fueled by
oil funds and relatively high wages,
the town has dozens of restaurants,
night clubs and unique
shops. Getting
around in Gabon:
The country's national carrier, Air
Gabon, has regular flights from
Libreville International Airport to
Paris, Rome and London as well as
several cities in Africa. Air Gabon is
one of the three or four best African
airlines serving Central and West
Africa. If you are arranging a bus
tour, or taking a rental vehicle, there
are over 5,000 miles of good road. A
Land Rover or other 4-wheel drive
vehicle is recommended in much of the
forested areas.
I Muguette
Goufrani,
Africa Travel Magazine's Associate
Editor/ Pubisher, covers West African
destinations and events. Her native
language is French and she has lived in
five West African countries, working
for Air Afrique, Royal Air Maroc and
Citroen. As a Travel Agent, she worked
in North Africa, where her family
operates an inbound tour company, and
later in Tahiti and Cambodia. Muguette
has been a partner in the magazine
since it was founded in
1995. Gabon:
Hotel Mots de
Crystal Credits:
Legesse Travel and Tourism, New York,
NY, USA
Fax: (212) 447-1532
Pl. de L'Independance, PO
Box 544, Libreville. Gabon
Tel No: 76-25-20, 76-25-23,
Fax No: 74 65 01
Number of Rooms: 49, Single
from: 64. US Dollars. A small
hotel located in the centre of
town, not far from the shore.
Pleasant rooms with bath, air
conditioning, radio and TV. 2
small suites. Bar, restaurant
and garden. Limited meeting
facilities and small pool.
Wheelchair access. Rooms for
non smokers. Free parking.
Renovated in 1992. Facilities:
Air Conditioning, Sandy Beach,
Conference Facilities,
Disabled Facilities, Swimming
Pool
Airport: Libreville Leon M'ba
3 kms.