Gabon, Paperback

Bradt's Gabon remains the only English-language guide dedicated exclusively to what is considered by many to be 'Africa's last Eden' thanks to its sparse population and perhaps the highest percentage of forest cover of any country in the world. This new edition has been fully updated and covers all recent developments, including in the national parks. Several new maps have been added (taking the total to 31) and most sketch maps have been upgraded. Also covered is the discovery of the extraordinary orange-coloured crocodiles living in the Abanda cave system.Full background, natural history, conservation, practical and health information is accompanied by a nine-chapter regional breakdown of the country, from Libreville and L'Estuaire to Moyen Ogoou , Ngouni , Ogoou Maritime and Nyanga, as well as Woleu-Ntem, Ogoou -Ivindo, Haut Ogoou and Ogoou -Lolo.Visitors to Gabon will come face-to-face with nature in its rawest, wildest, most untouched form, from the impenetrable forests of the interior to the grassy plateaus of Haut-Ogoou and the windblown white-sand beaches of the coast - the latter known worldwide for the gorilla, buffalo, and elephant that come to wander the sandy shores and the 'surfing hippo' that - astonishingly - come to play in the frothy surf.Gabon is more than just nature, however, and culture lovers will be taken with one of the region's finest carving traditions (in both wood and soapstone), floored by the furious tempos played on the moungongo mouth-harp, and transported to another place entirely by the all-night drums, dance, fire, and faith of the traditional Bwiti rites.Bradt's Gabon offers the most thorough and up-to-date information available and is an ideal companion for wildlife enthusiasts, Africa aficionados and completists, and overlanders travelling along Africa's west coast.

Sean Connolly first travelled to Africa as a student in 2008 and has been returning to the continent regularly to research, teach English or simply soak up the ambience in its countless little-visited corners (of which Gabon has many) ever since. He has updated or contributed to a range of Bradt's African and South American titles and authored the first two editions of Bradt's Senegal. When he's not discussing verb tenses, African politics or the merits of camel meat, you may find him hitching a lift atop a truckload of plantains, sampling questionable local delicacies (though he's recently had to draw a few lines, as Gabon truly excels when it comes to hair-raising foods!), or seeking out a country's funkiest records. Raised in Chicago, Sean stays on the move whenever possible, though lately you'll find him most often in Berlin. ([instagram] shanboqol)