Gabon Hotel Tips by kokoryko Top 5 Page for this destination

Fly camp: Deep deep deep in the forest(2)

At the fly camp you are on your own; do not think about a shower, the river is good, and as it goes for food and drinks (drinks: water, sterilised for me, or when available, water from small creeks in the mountains, had never problems).
Food: some supply like "manioc" (fermented cassava flour, very sticky and I would like the computer displays the smell when you click on the name. . . ugly, but you need to eat!), coffee, sugar, rice, oil. The meat is what the hunter got during the day, generally birds, sometimes monkeys and game: small antelopes, porcupines, little crocodiles, snakes, pangolins, and fish if we have time to fish when coming back from work and after building the camp.

Unique Qualities: Unique! Environment, food, weather change everyday.

Address: see previous tip

Directions: see previous tip

Theme: Other

Fly camp: deep deep deep in the forest

The fly camp, it could stand for flies, mosquitoes or fourous( a very little but very agressive blood sucking fly-local name- I do not know another name), but it designates a moving camp, changing plage everyday. Walking for weeks in the forest, living on "natural" products (hunting and gathering, we could not carry food for two weeks, as we carried also lots of equipment and needed to carry back rock or soil samples). I played there J.M. Stanley, looking for Dr Livingstone (I presume?).
The fly camp consists of a tarpauline and below the workers bulit "beds" made of long thin supple branches tied together with lianes and fixed on a frame made of bigger branches; a blanket makes the matress and you lie down and pull another blanked over you and you sleep! You sleep very well there, but mainly because you are exhasted from the day.
For amenities and food there will be another tip.

Unique Qualities: You are in the forest and it is on some places like the beginning of the world! You are days walking from the nearest populated place.

Address: Not far from the beginning of the world

Directions: Just go deeper into the forest.

Theme: Other

Your tent: Secondary camp

In the secondary camp, we were a few hours or a day drive from the base camp. This camp consists of your tnet, , one or two other tents and tarpaulins for the workers.The comfort is still acceptable, as there can be some personal staying at the camp for cooking, cleaning, etc. , but you need to establish your camp near a river (no problem, generally), for cooking, washing water. You leave the camp for the day and come back every night.
When weather allowed it, the VHF radio allowed you to report to the base camp and have news, and you can ask for supply or help if needed from the base camp.

Unique Qualities: You are there in the middle of the forest, the vegetal life is surrounding you, and day or night the noises from the forest are filling your ears.

Address: Deeper in the forest

Theme: Other

your tent: Find a nice place for your camp!

Well I was not a tourist, a traveller "only", and stayed in a big tent at the base camp or secondary camp.
At the base camp the toilets were latrines, the shower, a rubber balloon pumped full of river water, and an employee brought a bowl of cold water to your place in the morning.
The restaurant under a big tarpaulin could be changed into a meeting room for work during the day if you did not go into the field.

Unique Qualities: All was very spartan, but coming back from two weeks in the forest , it looked like heaven, and I was happy to meet my fellow colleagues there.

Address: forest, Monts de Cristal

Theme: Other