Glorious GABON

Adventurer Dan Grec is sending us updates from his two-year trip around Africa’s perimeter, covering 30 countries and 130 000km. He is driving a four-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. To follow Dan’s ongoing adventure around the entire African continent, check out his website www.TheRoadChoseMe.com

Traversing the West Coast of Africa requires visiting a minimum of 12 countries, and optionally up to 24. There are many reasons to skip certain countries – safety, weather, visa issues, and even Ebola outbreaks closing the borders. More often, sometimes a country is skipped simply through lack of interest. On the coast, and straddling the Equator, lies the small and often-overlooked country of Gabon. Gabon seems to be one of those countries that are skipped due to a lack of interest. Virtually no-one explores the remote corners, and there is almost no information about what can be found when venturing deep into the dense jungles which the country has in spades.

The mighty rainy season is forecast to start during my visit, and my now battered-and-torn Michelin map shows that only the main North-South highway is paved. All other roads appear to be dirt tracks though dense jungle. Gabon’s population is so low (fewer than six people per square kilometre) that it is one of the least densely populated