12 DAYS STANDARD TOUR
From Sunday to Thursday
LEKEDI PARK, POINTE DENIS, LAMBERENE
DAY 1 Sunday
Arrival date
Overnight Sunset Beach BB
DAY 2-6 Monday to Friday LEKEDI PARK
Monday morning. Airport transfer and flight to Franceville at 10h30.
Situated in the southern of Moanda and Franceville, Lekedi Park is the successful result of an astonishing conversion project. Bakoumba, the place with the longest mono-cable way in the world (76km), became in some years a “nature” town. On 14.000ha has been set up: fish culture, breading of wild animals, ecotourism, mushroom production, roof tiles, pottery, weaving of raffia. Platforms for observation of the animals (especially mandrills and chimps), the ties of the railway used as fence posts, and most spectacular, a 30m high bridge of 360m long overlooking the canopy where a group of chimps is living. As well, a program to reinsert chimpanzees has been set up on a small island in the middle of Lekedi river and can be visited. The Mandrill’s tracking excursion enables visitors to approach those primates at very close quarter.
Since September 2010, a gorillas’ island is open to public. A group a few male orphaned gorillas have been gathered onto an island located in the park. They arrived in the park at a very early age and are now between two and four years old. Lekedi Park is one of the few parks in Gabon where animal watching is guaranteed.
Available excursion in Lekedi Park:
- Mandrills excursion
- Chimps excursion
- Gorillas excursion
- Sail on Lekedi Lake (Chimps, varans, birds, antilops…)
- Forest hike til the Lekedi cascades
- Safari by 4×4 (river hogs, antilops, impalas, buffaloes…)
During your stay in Lekedi Park, you will also experience two more excursions organized outside of the park (the accurate dates will depend on park schedule and groups planning):
- The Leconi canyon (at least 2 days and 1 or 2 nights: overnight(s) at Leconi Hotel)
- Liana bridge and waterfalls of Poubara
Accommodation available in Lekedi Park, ranges from classic hotel bedrooms (Impala Hotel) to two or three bedrooms villas.
Friday afternoon, Franceville Airport transfer and flight to Libreville at 3.30pm
Overnight Akewa Hotel
DAY 7-8 Saturday & Sunday POINTE DENIS (full board accomodation)
Alizé Hotel is ideally located for your transfer by boat to Pointe-Denis on Saturday morning. Just few minutes far from Libreville, Pointe-Denis offers the most exquisite beaches of the Estuary and a well preserved wild environment for a place located near by a capital. The alternatives in Pointe Denis are numerous and the one we will serve you will depend on the season.
From December to February: leatherback turtles season
Morning boat transfer to Maringa Lodge in Pointe Denis .
Visit of the turtle museum where you will be explained the sea turtles species, their nesting calendar, their life cycle and what can be done to preserve them.
In the night, from 10 pm til late, you will go with an experienced guide and appropriate lighting to visit the nesting beaches where the turtles are used to lay their eggs. Standard torches cannot be used as they disturb too much the turtles and disorientate them.
Overnight Maringa Lodge
From March to July and from September to December: Best months for savannah excursions
Morning boat transfer to Nyonié. Three hours trip through beautiful sceneries crossing the Estuary and mangroves, you will land at the small village of Matek Mavie from which you will finish the trip in a 4×4 vehicle. Nyonié Camp is situated south of Pointe Denis, very close to Wonga-Wongué Reserve. You will be welcome by Beti who has created a very familial atmosphere in this forest camp. Nyonié is between forest and ocean and people live there in an almost complete autarkic way, the boat you will come with being their only link with the rest of the world. The camp offers two excursions. The first excursion is the savannah excursion in the afternoon by 4×4 vehicle where people can watch forest elephants, buffaloes and monkeys in the canopy. Pair of binoculars and zooms are highly recommended as animals are in the distance. The second excursion is a forest hike early in the morning.
From July to September: Whales season
From July to September, hundreds of humpback whales come to mate off the coast of Gabon and offer an extraordinary show for nature observers. Come to attend this unforgettable ballet with our half day whales watching excursion. You will be steered by a professional skipper, specially trained to approach whales at close quarter. Overnight in the picturesque Wingombe village.
Day 8: Overnight Bilboquet Hotel or any equivalent hotel located in Quartier Louis
Bilboquet is centrally located in Quartier Louis, a couple of blocks from the seafront and close to restaurants, shops, supermarkets. The rooms are very clean and have been recently renovated. Good bathroom and shower, hot water, comfortable double bed, air conditioning and wall-mounted flat-screen TV and a free Wifi connection. The restaurant serves excellent pizza and other dishes until late in the night but no breakfast.
DAY 9-10-11 Monday to Wednesday LAMBARENE
In the morning, a driver will pick you up for a 4 hours trip to Lambarene by car. Lambarene is the most reputed Gabonese city around the world due to the German doctor Albert Schweitzer who set up the hospital which has always been in operation so far. All Schweitzer’s home, doctor’s room and theatre and personal belongings have been totally preserved to form a very interesting museum. Lambarene is also reputed for its numerous lakes which offer a wide range of excursions by pirogue. These excursions are all run by a professional and dynamic guide nicknamed “l’Italien”. L’italien offers half and full day excursions around the lakes, surrounding villages and historical sites.
Overnight in one of the Albert Schweitzer hospital‘s guests rooms. In the afternoon of day 11, transfer to Libreville. Overnight at Sunset Beach.
DAY 12 Thursday
In the morning, a driver will pick you up for a Libreville tour. Upon your request and your preferences, you will be able to visit Saint-Michel Church of Nkembo and its amazing carved wooden pillars, the very African Mont Boué market, Sibang Arboretum, the craftmarket .
At lunch time, you will be dropped at Saffir restaurant to discover Gabonese dishes.
After lunch, you will go back to Sunset Beach for you getting ready for your flight.
Airport transfer in the night
