Mayumba is a Vili- and Shira-speaking town of about 5,208 people on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

coast of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

, at the end of the N6 road, lying on a peninsula separated from the mainland by the Banio Lagoon.

Description

It is known for its long sandy

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...

where

leatherback turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the wikt:luth#English, luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of ...

s nest. The most common ethnic groups are Vili, Lumbu, and Punu, and locals of Mayumba town call themselves 'Mayesiens'. It is home to an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, several small restaurants, and a market. There are seven primary schools in the area, and one

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

of about 500 students. Mayumba lies north of

Mayumba National Park Mayumba National Park is a national park in southwestern Gabon. It is a thin tongue of beach, dunes, savanna, and rain-forest in the extreme south of the country, between Mayumba and the Congo border. Mayumba National Park shelters 60 km of ...

, the only national park in Gabon that is dedicated to the protection of marine species. Mayumba town is nestled among three small hills separating the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...

from the ocean. Sleepy at the best of times, its two main streets only come to life at twilight when the townspeople meander past the market and a scattered small bars, exchanging greetings and the news of the day. It is a time to catch up, sip a cold beer and enjoy the cool of the evening. Instead of the roar of traffic, you are serenaded by the melodies of southern Gabon’s singing celebrity

Annie-Flore Batchielillys Annie-Flore Batchiellilys (born 10 April 1967), is a Gabonese singer, musician, and composer, combining traditional Gabonese forms of singing with jazz and blues. Early life Annie-Flore Batchiellilys was born on 10 April 1967 in Tchibanga, in so ...

, or at least a chorus of ardent local fans. Oysters are part of Mayesien life. Each dry season (June to September) salt water floods in from the ocean, turning the lagoon near Mayumba clear and salty. This has two exciting effects. First, the clear sea water cleans the oyster beds near the lagoon mouth, making this wonderful seafood deliciously palatable. Secondly, the greater water visibility permits locals to dive for oysters and take them back for sale at Mayumba’s market. Oysters are purchased alive or already cooked ‘kebab’ style. Visitors can even try their hand at diving for an oyster (the usual depth of the water is only 3 meters (10 feet)) after which the diving party retires to the beach front where the oysters are grilled in their shells on open fires. Mayumba is home to a very relaxed pace of life, but for those with energy to spare after a hard morning of tanning, swimming or sampling the local seafood, there are several good walks to be had in and around the town, with excellent views of the lagoon and the ocean. The seashore itself draws walkers like a magnet, and the wild coast to the immediate south of the town offers hiking limited only by your own stamina. Return home through the

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

for the chance to catch a glimpse of a rare bird or a

sitatunga The sitatunga or marshbuck (''Tragelaphus spekii'') is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of Southern Sudan, Equatorial Guinea ...

antelope.

Climate

Mayumba has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Aw'').

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Nyanga Province