The broad water
Between forests.
ITM PMT MS — CC BY-SA 4.0 · ITM PMT MS — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lambaiya — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Galbert pongui — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lambaiya — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Ogooué is Gabon's principal river, some 1,200 km long and the fourth largest river in Africa by volume. At Lambaréné, capital of Moyen-Ogooué Province, it splits the town into three districts: the Left Bank, Lambaréné Island and the Right Bank. Its broad sweep between forests is one of the country's finest sights. Lambaréné lies about 75 km south of the equator in the heart of the rainforest. Here the Franco-German doctor Albert Schweitzer, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, founded his hospital on the Right Bank in 1913. The hospital still runs, with a malaria research unit since 1981. You see broad, calm grey water, banks covered in thick green forest and red-roofed buildings among the trees. Bridges link the districts, and wooden fishing canoes pass beneath them. Roads run along the banks, where people sit at sunset. The Schweitzer hospital is about 3 km away in a straight line, and Libreville about 152 km. You can take a boat on the river and nearby lakes with a local fisherman, so agree the fare and ask for a life jacket.
Between forests.
Linking districts.
Wooden.
Lambaréné, Gabon
It usually has a small museum, so ask about visiting times.
By road from Libreville in a few hours.