My African Spider

Are you afraid of spiders?  I am...especially big, giant ones...here is my African spider story.

I was 'cat-sitting' for a friend on the embassy compound in Libreville.  Her cat is small and fast, so it was important to enter/exit the apartment quickly in order to prevent her from running out.  On the first day, when leaving the apt and locking the door, I noticed a large black spider to the left of the front door.  I mean it was huge...it stood as large as a tennis ball...and it wasn't moving.  Maybe I surprised it?  I didn't notice it when I went in, but I was fumbling with the keys.  Eeeww.

The next morning, there it was again.  It was in the same area and I was looking around for a stick or something to poke it.  It wasn't moving and I wanted to shoo it away.  No such luck.  When I left, sure enough, it was just standing there large and still.  My friends' townhouse is not far from the front gate, so I decided to ask the local guard if he knew what kind of spider it was.

He came over to check it out with his boots on.  I mention this because I wear flip flops and there is no way I am getting too close to that thing, it's so damn big.  The guard slowly walks up to it.  He bends down for a closer look and slowly puts his finger down towards it.  He pokes at it.  I am thinking, what is the RSO's (Regional Security Officer) number?  This guard is going to get bit by some large poisonous spider and I am going to have to call for help.  The guard picks up the spider to show it to me with a big smile on his face.

The townhouse next store is actually home to the RSO and his wife.  They have two children and one of them is a four year old boy who likes plastic bugs.  I was afraid of a plastic bug for two days.

Quick Weekend Safari

Went into the jungle again this weekend for a short elephant safari.  Despite its many challenges, Gabon is primed for eco/adventure-tourism.  The country is just so green and wild.  It is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world.

You drive into Libreville to one of the “ports”…more like a dirty, muddy lot surrounding a single cement slope into the water.  There is no dock, all of the boats sit on rollers and they are dragged into and out of the water with a rope tied to a truck and a lot of guys yelling in French “non celui-ci, celui la, on fonction…sortez de la voie! (not this one, that one, get out of the way”).

South Africa - Pilanesberg Park

Went to Pilanesberg Park for a few days before going back to Gabon.  Also stopped in Sun City which is at the entrance to the park.  Don’t bother; it’s like a lame Las Vegas.

Pilanesberg is just 2 hours northwest of Johannesburg.  We stayed at a nice lodge inside the park, The Ivory Tree Lodge.  If you are only in South Africa for a short time, the lodge is highly recommended.  Nice rooms, good food and two drives per day with excellent guides.  We got to see wildlife we hadn’t seen in Kruger, including hippos, which were amazing and giraffe.  Our guide Peter tried to get us to see lions, but it didn’t happen.  We’ll definitely come back.

South Africa - Drive North and Kruger Park

From South Africa

Drove up North through Blyde River Canyon and then over to Kruger.  Beautiful drive through some amazing country; the landscape changes every 100K, flat lands, hills, hugh cattle farms, pine forests, steep rocky outcroppings, etc. The highway stretches forever with nothing in between the exits, yet we often see people walking along the road.  Parts of the highway are adjacent to shanty towns and they have signs that read !Danger Hijacking Area! !Do Not Stop!.  The median on the highway has a wall 15ft high and 6 feet thick in these areas, separating the shanty on one side and a more middle class neighborhood on the other.

An Elephant Safari in Nyonie

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We went on our 1^st real trip into the jungle in Gabon.  Nyonie is a base camp about 2 hours south of Libreville, about ½ hour south of the equator.

The trip starts with a one-hour boat ride across the estuary and into one of the smaller waterways.  It’s an hour in a small outboard boat, a little rough and wet, but it’s all part of the adventure.  The next hour is in the back of a 4x4 through the tropical rain forest and down past the equator to the Nyonie base camp on the shore of the Atlantic.