Site Touristique de Nyonié — Hotel in Estuaire Province

I very much enjoyed my stay at Chez Béti. I had intended to stay two nights, but due to some flight issues, I had to change my plans and could stay only one.||||The rooms are standalone buildings. I was in Room B5. It has a big bed, bunk beds, cot and shelves to store things. There’s an AC unit, but I didn’t need it. Shared toilet and shower facilities are nearby. Bring your own towel and soap.||||In the dining area, everyone eats together at a big table. The food was excellent. Bottled water is available, so you don’t need to bring with you all the water you think you’re going to drink. Béti is from the Basque area of France and is very friendly. I speak intermediate-level French and couldn’t follow most of the fast-flowing conversation of the native speakers. (The other guests were French.) There’s often, but not always, someone on staff there who can speak some English. I was told that often there are non-francophone guests, and things tend to work out on the language front. ||||Be careful walking around the common areas, as some of the beams are a little low. (I hit my head against one of them.) There’s a dog and a couple of cats hanging out a lot in the common areas. If you want to have cell coverage while here, buy an Airtel SIM card in Libreville beforehand or make sure that your roaming includes Airtel. I had a SIM card from another Gabonese company, which didn’t work.||||I went on a safari drive with other guests from 4-7PM in a safari-style vehicle with open-air seating. (Bring a light coat in case it rains and if you want to protect yourself from wind.) We saw elephants, buffalo and birds. On the way back in the dark, the guide used a spotlight to find animals and we saw some elephants. I went on the nature walk in the morning from about 6AM, just as it was starting to get light, until about 8.15AM. Although this was intended to be more a scenery walk than an animal-spotting walk, we saw elephants at the beginning. We finished with a stroll along the beach. I had read in a blog online that maybe it was possible to see turtles during turtle season (which was when I stayed), but was told that this wasn’t possible when I asked about it.|| ||If you’re into swimming, which I’m not, you can swim during the day at the beach, as Chez Béti is alongside the beach. If you want to go walking along the beach by yourself very near Chez Béti, bring shoes with you to wade through water, as there’s some water nearby that stopped me getting very far. There’s also a nearby village, but it wasn’t particularly interesting. I had a walk around, but there seemed to be few people there, and a very menacing dog whose bark scared me sufficiently that I turned around and headed back to Chez Béti. ||||To get here, I was told to go to Michel Marine in Libreville at 9AM. There was some issue with the boat, so we left more than an hour late. The boat ride takes about an hour. Then after unloading at the other end, the drive in a safari-style vehicle is meant to take about an hour. However, it took longer, as it had rained overnight, so the driver and a helper had to get out to lay planks so that we could pass by the muddiest part. Getting here was a lot of fun!||||I paid 195 euros altogether, which covered my accommodation, meals and activities, which seemed reasonable to me for what I got.||||Making bookings can be a little challenging for those of us used to doing everything online. Béti is old-school, so prefers dealing with people by phone (+241 07 05 00 28). It’s easier if you speak French or ask a French speaker to make the call. If not, Béti has enough English that you will be able to communicate the number of people and dates in order to make a reservation. The business card he gave me also shows a second number +241 07 57 14 23 and an email address of castorene7@live.fr, but be warned that I asked him on my first call whether I could communicate by email or WhatsApp...

Set on the beach near Wonga-Wongue National Park, this rustic lodge is a favorite of the expatriate community in Libreville. To get there, you catch a boat from Michel Marina in Libreville at 9 am for a 1 hour 15 minute ride across the estuary and into the mangroves. You land in the village of Matech Ma Vie where a open air truck will meet you and drive you 45 minutes on a dirt road to Chez Beti at the small village of Nyonie. The cabins are basic, but comfortable. Transportaion and all meals are included in the price as are afternoon game drives. As of this writing the cost was 120,0000 CFA per adult for the first night and 60,000 CFA for each additional night (cash only). Meals are family style and served in the open air dining room. The meals were hearty and delicious. Lunch was a salad - tuna and tomato one day, vegetable the next and both beet salad and carrot slaw the third - on the days I was there, followed by a main course usually heavy on carbs - shepherd pie, spaghetti and meat sauce, and calao (a local bird - tastes like chicken of course) stew, topped off with fresh pineapple for dessert. Dinner was paella one night and a cauliflower, potato and meat casserole the other, with fruit tart and crepes the desserts. Breakfast was simple - toasted baguettes and coffee, tea or cocoa, though some of the kids did get offered leftover crepes from the night before. Beer, wine and spirits are also included in the price. The owner, Beti, was not there for my visit, but Bernard was a gracious and welcoming host. As a general rule, don't expect English to be spoken. Bernard speaks only basic English. Between his English and my two years of high school French, we managed fine. Bathrooms are not self contained, but shared like at a campground. At 4 pm, the safari leaves, returning in the dark around 7:30. Expect to see elephant, forest buffalo, huge termite mounds, and hornbills. We could hear chimpanzees one evening, but could not see them in the dark. A walking safari is available at 6 am for those interested. No animals were spotted the morning I did it. The rest of the time can be spent swimming in the waves, sunbathing or reading a book. There is wi-fi, but it is occasionally spotty. You must have a reservation in advance. Try emailing castorene7@live.fr. I got no response, but was able to reach them by phone. There is...

Chez Beti was highly recommended by everyone who had visited and we were so happy to have taken their advice. Unfortunately we only had one night there but we loved the whole experience. We rang two days before we wanted to go and it was all easy. ||Getting there was not a problem. The boat left on time if not early and we were met by the driver of the 4x4 as soon as we arrived. We left the marina in Libreville at 9am and were in our room at the lodge by about 10.30am. There was time to relax or swim before drinks and lunch. The safari later in the afternoon was great. We saw elephants, buffalo and birds. We got back to the camp for around 7.30 and had drinks and dinner. Food was excellent and the whole atmosphere was welcoming. Lucky for us that the owner Béti was there too. He is great fun and so positive.... as all the staff are. ||The following morning we had an early breakfast and 3 hour walk through the park. We saw elephants and buffalo and the footprints of a hippopotamus too. It was such a great experience. There was time for more breakfast when we got back and time to relax before lunch. ||The end came all too quickly and we left at 2pm to get the boat back to Libreville. ||Definitely not...