Travel Safely

If you plan on traveling abroad, and you expect to take the road less traveled, then you should consider some of the following tips on traveling safely.

A group of Lonely Planet bloggers are sharing their insights on traveling safely from different points around the globe and this is my inclusion.

Instead of writing about the dangers of malaria or a run-in the local Gendarme in Gabon, the following are just some basic tips from me as a New Yorker…

Local Religious Ceremony in Gabon

Went to watch a local Bwiti ceremony a while ago.  Bwiti is a local religion that has been followed for hundreds of years by several different tribes throughout this region of Equatorial Africa.  It is practiced by the Fang, which is the largest ethnic group here in Gabon.  It is a very colorful ceremony with lots of fire, dancing and drums.  During ceremonies, it is usual for participants to chew the root bark of the iboga, which acts as an hallucinogenic.

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”).

Driving Up North to Cap Esterias

We recently took a drive up to Cap Esterias about 30K (1 hour) north of the city. Drive 15 minutes outside of the city and you are literally in the middle of nowhere. The paved roads that you saw in previous blogs turn into an old logging road that that takes you north through the jungle. On the map, it is demarcated like a highway...in reality, it is an old dirt road that probably used to be paved 10 years ago. We are traveling with someone who has been here before, so we are not worried that none of the routes have signs or markings.

Navigating Gabon works like this, “did we pass an old radio tower back there, I think we make a left soon; no, not that left, I did that the last time and it’s the wrong way, take the next left.” None of the streets, even in the city, have markings. Directions are given by landmark, as long as the jungle doesn't grow over it.

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 - Durban

From South Africa

Drove to the east coast and stopped for the evening in Durban on the Indian Ocean.  Very beautiful, another example of the diversity of landscape in South Africa.  The city reminded me of South Beach with the ocean, hotels and restaurants all in close proximity.  The only place in the world that has more people of Indian decent is India.  They were brought over by the British for labor and stayed.  Now they own most of the big hotels.

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.

South Africa - Pretoria

I met my girlfriend in South Africa on the way back from NYC.  We are spending time and touring around with a friend who works at the US Embassy in Pretoria.

Initially, it felt more like a suburb, maybe in NJ, rather than a country in Africa.  Very clean with street lights, paved highways with signs and exits, nice homes, shopping malls, restaurants…lots of infrastructure.

After I rest up from 20 hours in the air, I start to realize where I am.  

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.

About Gabon, Africa

Gabon is roughly the size of Colorado, with a population less than 1.5 million people. It is one of the least populated countries on the continent. Gabon is located on the west coast of Africa, on the equator. It is thick and lush with tropical jungle. So thick that the two major cities, Libreville, the capital, and Port Gentil, the major oil port city, are not connected by roads. Gabon has an 885 kilometer coastline along the Atlantic with some magnificent beaches; although the more pristine south coast is not easily accessible, except by water (no roads, remember).

Leaving for Africa; Packing, Prepping & Arriving

Before I started packing up my stuff to move to Africa, my big fear was renting my apartment. Finding someone to trust is difficult enough, but finding someone who will achieve co-op board approval is a tuff challenge. Although I was moving all of my personal belongings out, I wanted to rent it furnished so I wouldn’t have to afford moving & storage. I love my little apartment, so finding a responsible renter was particularly important to me, especially since I was leaving so much behind. Apologies to my friends in real estate, but in this day & age, craigslist is definitely the way to go. Quick, easy and no cost. I found an investment banker from Chicago who was looking for a small furnished apt to stay during the week…he would travel home to Chicago on weekends to see his family. And he didn't try to negotiate the rent. Perfect. Thank you craigslist. As an added coincidence, he was interested in my last name and wondered if I had relatives on the west coast. It turns out he had worked for my uncle many years ago after he had graduated from Harvard.