Into the forest of eden

Not for nothing is Gabon dubbed 'The Last Eden'. Its dense forests are a bastion for some of Africa's rarest species - you just need patience to see them

- William Gray

"Elephant!" A single word, a raised hand and we stopped. All I could see beyond my guide, Franc, was a tightly woven tapestry of branches and lianas. I breathed out and felt my feet sink into the moist leaf litter. The word almost seemed to swell in the sultry air of Loango National Park's rainforest, deep in the south-west of Gabon, until it hung there, full of anticipation.

Franc turned to me, his face beaded with sweat, and gestured towards a scant path that led into the forest.

"If he comes, you go this way," he said, plotting an escape route through the tangled green chaos.

It was then that we heard a branch snap and spied a movement in the leaves ahead. A wrinkled grey hide flashed among the mottled shadows, then a yellow sheen of ivory appeared against the moss-covered bark. Slowly but silently, a bull elephant morphed from the forest, his ears fanned open, his unblinking amber eyes seemingly staring straight at us. He couldn't have been more than ten metres away. Then his trunk squirmed as he caught our scent.

"Go! Go now!" Franc stood his ground while I slowly backed away. The shrill pulse of cicadas seemed to rise an octave as I crabbed through the undergrowth. But I never let my gaze slip from the elephant. He simply stood there - lord of the forest, shrouded in his cloak of leaves.

It was a hard-earned sighting, which fell right at the end of my trip. But Gabon is not a typical safari destination. I had learned quickly that wildlife encounters here require time and patience.

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