Cyril and the Tsam-Tsam boat take us back to the Dr Schweitzer hospital in Lambaréné. We just want to spend one more day here to discover the lakes on the North side of Lambaréné, upstream of the Ogooué river, and if we are lucky, to spot some hippos.
on board with our guide Yannick and captain Ibrahim
Our motorcanoe captain for the afternoon is called Ibrahim. He’s a young and strong guy with a constant and contagious smile on his face. He know the secret entry to lake Zilé. It’s a very narrow water path in the mangrove, which then winds through tall reeds. Behind the reed curtain lies the lake, peaceful and spectacularly wide, dotted with little green islands. Some of these islands are occupied by fishermen who use them as a base so they do not have to go back and forth to Lambaréné. Some of them are perfectly green and unoccupied, such as “Sacred island”: according to the local legend, the few people who ventured on it never ever came back. So even though it looks fairly small and even welcoming, you will never find a boatman to take you there.
Sacred Island
At one point, only a tiny stretch of land separates lake Zilé from the Ogooué river. We step out of the boat and have a look at the one-century-old remains of a small woodcutting factory created by the French. Rusty Renault machines and motors, the green ghost of a boat called “Corsaire”… it all looks very mysterious and unlikely, and the locals do not know much about what happened here. There seems to be quite a few of these places in Gabon, quickly deserted after decolonisation, and whose owners took away the stories and history with them.
Back on the Ogooué river, we start looking for hippos. Unfortunately the water levels are high as we are in rainy season, so there are fewer stretches of land for them to roam around. After an unfruitful search, we turn round and head back to Lambaréné, slightly disappointed. But Ibrahim and our guide Yannick have not given up and keep on scrutinising the waterline. Suddenly, their eyes see another pair of eyes, popping out of the water. We slow down, then completely stop the engine. Three huge beasts are there, a few dozen meters away.
During 7 or 8 suspended minutes, we see their heads and hear them at intermittent moments, as they are noisily coming to the surface to catch some air, then go back underwater for a little while. The thing is, they are slowly but surely getting closer to us each time they pop out. The girls are not exactly at ease, and after all it’s one of the most dangerous animals on Earth. Ibrahim, as a responsible captain who would prefer to get paid at the end of the day by living customers, turns on the engine. We wave goodbye to our grey friends, from whom we will not bring any photo nor film home – a camera would have ruined the intensity of the moment.
As we happily hover back to Lambaréné, a rainbow crowns this glorious afternoon. Sometimes, you get lucky!
Tanad stories from Gabon 