Day 138 - Mon 15 Feb - 12,953km, Lope National Park, Gabon

After a restless night sharing the floor of a wooden shack that more closely resembled a sauna than a hotel with a bunch of rats I said bon voyage to Leo this morning. I left the main road and headed east along a bumpy loggers trail that wound its way through some truly beautiful rainforest. Far from being alone i was serenaded by countless troops of monkeys and a rich variety of birdlife. It was hard however to fully appreciate the spectacular surroundings as I struggled up climbs that were reminiscent of the Pyrenees and Atlas mountains, except this time temperatures were around 40 degrees and the relative humidity over 80%. With bags, flags, bottles and pans flying in all directions, on lethal bumpy descents Bertha and I took a real battering and it wasn’t till we crossed the substantial river Ogooue into the Lope National Park that the piste improved and I could get my average riding speed up to a whopping 12kmph! Comprising of a mosaic of savannah, rainforest and hills which supports a tremendous variety of wildlife, Lope National Park is an absolute gem, even if it is an effort to get to!