Gabon

Some have referred to it as ‘the last Eden on Earth,’ and after visiting, you are likely to concur.

Two buffalo saunter along white sands to splash in the Atlantic Ocean before disappearing into a thick forest stretching down to the beaches of Pongara National Park. In a country where an estimated 88% of the land is still primary forest, wildlife encounters like this soon become all too commonplace.

Gabon is a beautiful Central African destination known for its lush national parks, which together account for around 10% of the country’s total land mass. These parks protect a bounty of rare wildlife – including the elusive forest elephant and the critically endangered western lowland gorilla. Outside its parks, Gabon boasts pristine beaches and a reputation for political stability. The capital, Libreville, is a modern urban playground.