In September 2002, President El Hadj Omar Bongo announced that Gabon would set aside more than 10,000 square miles (26,000 square kilometers) of land to form a national park system protecting 13 separate parks. These parks represent some of the last pockets of true wilderness in Africa ... I should know, I traipsed through them for 2 years from 1981 to 1983. The parks will protect pristine rain forests, mangroves, savannas, ancient forests, lagoons, marshes, rivers, and canyons.
Of course there is so much more to see on safari than just the Big Five. There's my favorite, the cheetah. And so many others. Like the elusive and nocturnal striped hyena, or the rare wild cat that I saw in the rocky "kopjes" at Kusini in the western Serengeti, or chimpanzee in the Kanyawara Reserve in the Kibale Forest near Fort Portal in Uganda. And let’s not forget the Mountain Gorilla found in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda along the borders of Rwanda and Congo.
One of the great safari experiences is to watch the Great Migration as it crosses the Mara River.
Why is Gabon such a fresh and exciting safari destination? Because Gabon is home to some of the wildest, most unspoiled wildlife habitat in all of Africa. Though threatened by logging and mining, there are still large tracts of land that are untouched by modern man. That’s why many a traveler there comes back entranced, saying parts of Gabon are what Africa must have looked like before the first white man got there. I agree with that estimation, and I say that from experience, having lived two years in the remote reaches of northeastern Gabon, some 300 miles from the country’s capital.
When most people hear the word safari, it conjures up romantic images of canvas tents on the rolling plains of Africa, herds of wildebeest and zebra migrating across the Serengeti, lion, leopard and cheetah stalking in the high grass, hard on their heels.
Whereas the classic Serengeti safari is a magnificent experience, my favorite African safari is to the Okavango Delta of Botswana.
Zimbabwe used to be home to some of the most exciting safaris in the world, but recent troubles there have kept all but the most seasoned adventurers away. One of the classic safaris there is a raft or canoe trip down the Zambezi River to Mano Pools.
Over the years, travelers traded in their guns for cameras, and most African safaris today are photo safaris. This was made immeasurably easier when mobile refrigeration became commonplace in the 60s and 70s. And as the wild animal population has been threatened across Africa, more and more people prefer to shoot with their cameras, rather than guns.
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