Getting into Gabon

Slash and burn

It was cool that morning when they started off from Ambam. It was Sunday and hence the town was more quiet except for the loud thundering music coming from a car in the parking lot. It seems rather unnatural for people to listen to music at a low volume in these parts. Which is also why she thinks that they do not hear when one talks to them in a reasonable tone.

Road works

There is a bit of a downhill to the border and there are very apparent signs of the logging/slash and burn that has taken place across the years.

The Moroccans made a feeble attempt at it, there were some signs in the Western Sahara and Mauritania but it was more apparent in Senegal, Gambia and even Mali – planting of trees along the towns/villages. It was more systematic in Burkina Faso. In these countries there is a programme of stopping desert advancement and reforestation.

Then in Ghana where things would just grow on their own, this town embellishment or whatever it is stops. Very few towns and villages in Togo and Benin have planted trees except for the actual cultivation/plantation. And in Cameroon one sees no sign of this whatsoever. What is it with these countries then? At one look, it is a big forest, so they do not replace when they take out? There is such wealth in these places but one just cannot go on taking without replacing.

Road from the north

Northern Gabon looks much like Cameroon, a bit less ‘rain forest’, more open space between the trees and villages. Here, however, the officials seem a bit more educated, more aware of what they have to do, what procedures are – even if it was a Sunday morning when they passed. They are both more articulate in writing and reading too.

Procedures on this border is rather lengthy, customs here at one village, immigration in the next town, Bitam, gendarmerie in the next and so on. But the road is nice and the place quiet.

Ah! At this immigration post, they need photocopies of passports and stamps and such. Of course, there was a cabin just opposite the office where they could do the necessary.

Then it was back to the customs where the officer was a bit more awake and signed off the ‘carnets’. They were then on their way further south. The road was good, newly cut into the escarpment through the forests where there were signs of logging and other road works. There were little signs of much else than logging, very little pineapples, one active rubber and oil palm plantation but otherwise a rather neatly kept environment with not much agricultural activities.

It is certain that this place has less population density than Cameroon but it is better kept, the houses are better built and the road side towns and villages cleaner. Even the wooden houses were better built in general.

Logging truck on the road

The road being like it was, they thought they’d push to Njole and spend the night there. That was without reckoning that 60km before Njole the road got bad to very bad. They are still working on this road but these last kilometres to Njole when everyone was tired was gruelling.

The bad road went through wonderful canopies of giant bamboo. Parts of the road side were being cleared to make space for the new road and there were signs of burning in many places. They crossed the Equator for the first time that day at around 16h00

When they reached Njole they had to hunt for some accommodation. It is a crowded and noisy town on the edge of a nice river with white sand. It could have been so much nicer with just a bit of planning but there it is, just another chaotic African town.

River beach

They booked into Hotel Papaye where the lady in charge started by being rather blunt and unhelpful. The other option was Auberge St Jean, a European Inn style place that is steadily falling apart.

Since the Papaye ‘Chinese’ lady was not there to open the restaurant/bar, Elismé cooked and even shared a bowl of food with the grumpy lady.

Roadside picnic

Starting off from Njole on a reasonable tar road it was again through roads cut out of the escarpment, lots of bends, uphills and downhills, progress was slow. Then the land evened out a bit and they could make more speed. They stopped at the equator to have some ‘breakfast’. At this point it was not marked, they worked on GPS 


coordinates.  There were numerous police check points and they were stopped many times.

Then 80km away from Libreville, the road goes bad, broken, similar to Nigeria. They are not working on this part. The only redeeming factor is the lack of heavy traffic and people walking just everywhere. On the approach to the city the roads got a bit better, to get worse as you enter the city.