Gabon

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 those in the national parks. Several new maps have been added (taking the total to 32) 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, covering each of Gabon's provinces: Libreville and Estuaire, Moyen-Ogooué, Ngounié, Ogooué-Maritime, Nyanga, Woleu-Ntem, Ogooué-Ivindo, Haut-Ogooué and Ogooué-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 plateauxs of Haut-Ogooué 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) - mbigou, floored by the furious tempos played on the mongongo mouth bow, and transported to another place entirely by the all-night drums, dance and fire ofa traditional Bwiti ceremony.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 ambiance in Africa's countless little-visited corners ever since. He's been poring over maps since before he could read them, and working with Bradt Guides since 2011, where he's updated or contributed to guides to Somaliland, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana, Uruguay, Sierra Leone, Gabon and two editions of Rwanda, along with authoring the new 1st and 2nd editions of the Bradt Guide to Senegal. When he's not updating guides or discussing the many merits of camel meat, you may find him hitching a lift on a grain truck, sampling questionable local delicacies, 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)