Colossal kevazingo trees sway and lurch in the misty jungles that line the backcountry depths of Gabon. Mangroves sprawl over the coastal lowlands, chirping and tweeting with a colourful cacophony of tropical birds. Savannah takes over where the highland plateaus leave off in the centre of the country, while perpetual mists cling to the tops of the Chaillu Massif. Gabon is wild and untouched to the hilt.

Luckily, ambitious national park designation schemes have rendered the hinterlands here some of the best protected in the world. Add to that a stable government (something of a rarity in these parts), and a thriving democracy, and bingo: Gabon is arguably West Africa’s prime safari destination. Today, Gabon tour guides in the capital of Libreville can organise every aspect of that eco excursion, whether to spot turtles and swelling rivers in the Akanda National Park, to hit the tenuous rope-bridge walks of the Banteke Plateau, to wallow on the beaches and gorilla-patrolled coasts of the Loango National Park, or to case out elephants in the high forests of Minkebe. The choice is yours!