Family Adventure Holidays
Where to start with this week? Family adventure holidays rarely get better than those spent at Sette Cama, Gabon. It’s always hard to put into words the great times here when everything just comes together – the fish reading their tide tables through the same lens as we do, the game not shying away on the forest walks, and a group in camp ready to make the most of every minute in this special place. When the stars align like they did this week, there’s nowhere in the world as wild and exciting as Sette Cama.
This week, we welcomed a group of mostly new faces to Sette Cama. Our longstanding stalwarts, the husband-and-wife team of Jean and Franco Viglietti, stayed on for the second week of their visit, and we were joined by one of African Waters’ key figures, Keith Clover, along with his family (Carline and Juliette), three more couples (David and Jo, Simon and Cara, and Darren and Clementinie), as well as Morne, an expat living and working in the DRC.
A Perfect Itinerary for Adventure and Relaxation
This week was set to be a real change of pace from our usual fishing-focused itinerary. Mornings were nearly all dedicated to game viewing and ecotourism, while the evenings were reserved for hard fishing in search of the monsters that Sette Cama can produce. Given the current conditions, this was the best possible itinerary for our group. Lagoon sessions in the mornings have been slower than usual over the past few weeks (though they’re picking up now after the rains), so mornings focused on game viewing and jungle walks proved to be the perfect plan. The group had some phenomenal wildlife sightings, underscoring that dedicating time to explore the jungle and Loango coastline rewards you with life-changing wildlife encounters.
Wildlife Highlights for Unforgettable Family Moments
- Forest Elephants and Surfing Hippos: On an early morning coastal walk in Loango Park in search of the famous surfing hippos, the group was treated to multiple sightings of forest elephants and buffalo. The cherry on top was spotting the famous surfing hippos of Loango.
- Chimpanzee Tracking: Tracking a troop of chimpanzees as they vocally engaged with each other on an early morning jungle walk. Upon finding their night nests, we were rewarded with the sight of a big male leaving his nest and following the troop that had departed just minutes earlier.
- Rare Pangolin Encounter: On a separate jungle walk, while listening to some feeding grey-cheeked mangabey monkeys, David Wood spotted a giant pangolin foraging for ants just a few metres away. Unaware of our presence, the pangolin continued to feed as we quietly observed. Such an intimate encounter with this rare and secretive animal is a once-in-a-lifetime event, a privilege that wasn’t lost on anyone.
- Close Encounters with Forest Elephants: The group experienced two incredible, calm encounters with large forest elephant bulls on separate jungle walks. Sitting quietly and watching these forest giants feeding and moving so stealthily through the jungle is an awe-inspiring experience.
- Sundowners at Bird Island: Taking in the sights and sounds of hundreds of grey parrots and various hornbill species returning to roost on this jungle island in the Ndogo Lagoon.
- Rosy Bee-Eaters and River Martins: Sundowners at the rosy bee-eaters’ nesting site, where the group witnessed flocks of rosy bee-eaters and the endemic river martins returning to nest.
- Lifelong Birding Highlights: Multiple “lifers” for the birding enthusiasts in the group.
- Night-time Boat Excursions: Searching for slender-snouted and dwarf crocodiles – two of the three crocodile species at Sette Cama, the third being the Nile crocodile.
- Bull Sharks in the Surf: Watching 150kg-plus bull sharks feeding in knee-deep water in the surf. Seeing these incredible predators hunting in their natural environment was unforgettable!
Fishing Thrills and Family Fun Combined
As for the fishing… We were fishing the high drop this week on the lagoon side of the south point. One of the main challenges when fishing this tide is the massive current that builds, giving fish an advantage in the fight. Often, you’ll need to run down the beach to chase your fish out of the mouth, then try to land it surf-side or on the shallow spit separating the two. Sounds easy, right? Not quite, when you’re attached to a monster of the deep emptying your spool at speeds you didn’t think possible, with 600 metres of sand to cover before you can pull it out of the current! Clear guiding and perfect angler execution are required in these moments. Success here isn’t about luck; these are some of the most rewarding fish to land.
This week was a week of giants. The mouth had been building towards a frenzy, and our group jumped headfirst into the excitement that defines fishing here at Sette Cama. On our orientation night, we came home humbled, having faced large tarpon, snapper, and other creatures that snapped fly lines, destroyed flies, and left reels smoking.
But then, the group had started to pick up on the fishing rhythms here. Night two produced a spectacular 60-65 kg tarpon for Morne Wilken, and the ladies got into some fantastic threadfin and snapper. From then on, the nights and bites blurred into one. Each evening, we heard tarpon, snapper, and threadfin gorging on mullet in the dark, followed by the soothing sounds of screaming drag clickers and frantic feet chasing fish out of the mouth into the surf.
Some catches stood out amidst the mayhem. Morne landed two snapper between 25-35 kg on different nights. Keith landed three phenomenal tarpon on fly, ranging from 40-55 kg. David Wood landed a 10kg kob up against the mangroves, a rare spot to meet kob, and Darren Smit landed two snapper on fly close to 15 kg each, plus an impressive longfin jack. Interestingly, Keith only hooked tarpon all week, landing three out of the 11 jumped, while the rest of the group enjoyed a mixed catch of snapper, threadfin, and kob.
Highlighting the Exceptional Catches by Our Ladies
We can’t mention our catches this week without highlighting our incredible brigade of ladies – Caroline, Joanne, Clementine, and Cara. Whether live-baiting, fishing a paddle-tail down deep, throwing a fly, or collectively taking on a resident bull shark, no fish were safe when they were around. Our weekly catch would have been more than halved without their efforts. The standout catches for the ladies included a 20 kg cubera snapper landed by Caroline Clover and a 25 kg-plus threadfin landed by Cara Lishman. Jo Wood surprised herself by getting into snapper, threadfin, and jacks, while Clementine was always among the fish, tackling all the major species in each session.
To call it a phenomenal week would be an understatement. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Sette Cama in the future. Most notably, we hope to see more couples and family groups here. When the fishing blinkers are lifted, the diverse and life-changing wildlife experiences on offer at Sette Cama truly have a chance to shine, and this week, they shone with brilliance!
Book your next family vacation
Discover the magic of Sette Cama for yourself! Whether you’re seeking family adventure holidays or thrilling fishing experiences, there’s something for everyone here. Don’t miss out—book your next unforgettable journey with us today!
