Date: 14th May 08
Location: Ngo, Congo
Weather: humid and thundery, 34°c
Status: Moving south as well as can be expected
Left the debatable comfort of the hotel grounds in Ngo and started early on the trek south to the capital Brazzaville, made good progress and hit the outskirts of the city around 3pm with the help of the hand drawn map from the owner of the hotel.
Now I’m not one to criticise help in any way but in general African directions bear very little resemblance to the actual direction that you need to be going in, distances are never correct and usually come as either “just down the road” – which could mean 100m or 10kms,or “in ten minutes you’ll be there” – again could be walking very slowly of flat out in the car…..but this set of directions and the subsequent map which was drawn were absolutely spot on!! I managed to navigate a bustling city with police stops every where, with two vehicles in tow and pull into them embassy car park just as it was about to close for the day. A big thank you to Francis for the help!!
Spoke to the security guard at the gate of the embassy and told him about the letter and email which had been sent forward on behalf of us to his boss and he insisted that all we could do was to drive to Matadi, on the DRC border, and try and apply there. After a troublesome 10 minutes of yet more pigeon French I managed to tell him of our arrangement for the visas and even got him to talk to the consul about our plight.
He asked us to come back before 3pm with photocopies of all the passports at which time a letter would be ready for us to take to the DRC authorities allowing us entry into their country which would allow us to transit through to Matadi to collect our 30 day visas giving us enough time to travel across the vastness of Angola legally.
Next was to find accommodation for the night and funnily enough the guidebooks feature absolutely nothing on the Congo and even less on the capital Brazzaville as tourists rarely visit here, so we drove to the centre and spotted the Le Meridian hotel, a far too expensive spot to stay in at CFA150,000 for a night, but somewhere I could speak to the Director for information on a better location for our camping. He directed us to the Hippodrome and 8th Novembre hotel just down the road, so we turned the trucks around and pulled into the very welcoming forecourt. WOW what a perfect place to stay, another expat hangout with quality Chinese restaurant and bar!
Olivier the owner was more than welcoming and told us that he’d had other overlanders staying there in the past and we could use the forecourt for the vehicles, the toilet and shower room and the pool/snooker room to set up our base camp in for however long we’d be here for! And no charge as he’d been on the road a few years ago and knew how hard it was to make ends meet, perfect!
Had a spot of lunch, very good and then back to the embassy with photocopies. Was told to come back tomorrow at midday to collect the letter.
Back to the restaurant for dinner and then bed.
End of day location: Brazzaville, Congo
Distance covered: 370kms
Friday, 16 May 2008
14th May 08
Date: 14th May 08
Location: Ngo, Congo
Weather: humid and thundery, 34°c
Status: Moving south as well as can be expected
Left the debatable comfort of the hotel grounds in Ngo and started early on the trek south to the capital Brazzaville, made good progress and hit the outskirts of the city around 3pm with the help of the hand drawn map from the owner of the hotel.
Now I’m not one to criticise help in any way but in general African directions bear very little resemblance to the actual direction that you need to be going in, distances are never correct and usually come as either “just down the road” – which could mean 100m or 10kms,or “in ten minutes you’ll be there” – again could be walking very slowly of flat out in the car…..but this set of directions and the subsequent map which was drawn were absolutely spot on!! I managed to navigate a bustling city with police stops every where, with two vehicles in tow and pull into them embassy car park just as it was about to close for the day. A big thank you to Francis for the help!!
Spoke to the security guard at the gate of the embassy and told him about the letter and email which had been sent forward on behalf of us to his boss and he insisted that all we could do was to drive to Matadi, on the DRC border, and try and apply there. After a troublesome 10 minutes of yet more pigeon French I managed to tell him of our arrangement for the visas and even got him to talk to the consul about our plight.
He asked us to come back before 3pm with photocopies of all the passports at which time a letter would be ready for us to take to the DRC authorities allowing us entry into their country which would allow us to transit through to Matadi to collect our 30 day visas giving us enough time to travel across the vastness of Angola legally.
Next was to find accommodation for the night and funnily enough the guidebooks feature absolutely nothing on the Congo and even less on the capital Brazzaville as tourists rarely visit here, so we drove to the centre and spotted the Le Meridian hotel, a far too expensive spot to stay in at CFA150,000 for a night, but somewhere I could speak to the Director for information on a better location for our camping. He directed us to the Hippodrome and 8th Novembre hotel just down the road, so we turned the trucks around and pulled into the very welcoming forecourt. WOW what a perfect place to stay, another expat hangout with quality Chinese restaurant and bar!
Olivier the owner was more than welcoming and told us that he’d had other overlanders staying there in the past and we could use the forecourt for the vehicles, the toilet and shower room and the pool/snooker room to set up our base camp in for however long we’d be here for! And no charge as he’d been on the road a few years ago and knew how hard it was to make ends meet, perfect!
Had a spot of lunch, very good and then back to the embassy with photocopies. Was told to come back tomorrow at midday to collect the letter.
Back to the restaurant for dinner and then bed.
End of day location: Brazzaville, Congo
Distance covered: 370kms
Location: Ngo, Congo
Weather: humid and thundery, 34°c
Status: Moving south as well as can be expected
Left the debatable comfort of the hotel grounds in Ngo and started early on the trek south to the capital Brazzaville, made good progress and hit the outskirts of the city around 3pm with the help of the hand drawn map from the owner of the hotel.
Now I’m not one to criticise help in any way but in general African directions bear very little resemblance to the actual direction that you need to be going in, distances are never correct and usually come as either “just down the road” – which could mean 100m or 10kms,or “in ten minutes you’ll be there” – again could be walking very slowly of flat out in the car…..but this set of directions and the subsequent map which was drawn were absolutely spot on!! I managed to navigate a bustling city with police stops every where, with two vehicles in tow and pull into them embassy car park just as it was about to close for the day. A big thank you to Francis for the help!!
Spoke to the security guard at the gate of the embassy and told him about the letter and email which had been sent forward on behalf of us to his boss and he insisted that all we could do was to drive to Matadi, on the DRC border, and try and apply there. After a troublesome 10 minutes of yet more pigeon French I managed to tell him of our arrangement for the visas and even got him to talk to the consul about our plight.
He asked us to come back before 3pm with photocopies of all the passports at which time a letter would be ready for us to take to the DRC authorities allowing us entry into their country which would allow us to transit through to Matadi to collect our 30 day visas giving us enough time to travel across the vastness of Angola legally.
Next was to find accommodation for the night and funnily enough the guidebooks feature absolutely nothing on the Congo and even less on the capital Brazzaville as tourists rarely visit here, so we drove to the centre and spotted the Le Meridian hotel, a far too expensive spot to stay in at CFA150,000 for a night, but somewhere I could speak to the Director for information on a better location for our camping. He directed us to the Hippodrome and 8th Novembre hotel just down the road, so we turned the trucks around and pulled into the very welcoming forecourt. WOW what a perfect place to stay, another expat hangout with quality Chinese restaurant and bar!
Olivier the owner was more than welcoming and told us that he’d had other overlanders staying there in the past and we could use the forecourt for the vehicles, the toilet and shower room and the pool/snooker room to set up our base camp in for however long we’d be here for! And no charge as he’d been on the road a few years ago and knew how hard it was to make ends meet, perfect!
Had a spot of lunch, very good and then back to the embassy with photocopies. Was told to come back tomorrow at midday to collect the letter.
Back to the restaurant for dinner and then bed.
End of day location: Brazzaville, Congo
Distance covered: 370kms
13th May 08
Date: 13th May 08
Location: Okoyo, Congo
Weather: Thundery and wet with scattered sunshine, 37°c
Status: All going well, Kees’s truck has new belts fitted but still unsure of the Colonel’s winch problem. Will fix asap.
Up bright and early and by the time the sun had come up about half an hour later we had quite a group of people assembled all around the temporary campsite with the youngest children being the most bold and the nervous parents hanging back in the wings for something new or exciting to be produced from the vehicles. Once we’d got the camera out and they saw their own faces on the screen that was it….everyone wanted to be the star of the show!
A rough sandy track greeted us as we pulled back onto the main drag and nothing changed much apart from the odd puddle for the next 20kms and we arrived at the next town where we hoped the tarmac would start, or at least that’s what the map showed. But as we left the town the tarmac left us and we were back onto rougher still sandy and undulating tracks.
Eventually after 60kms we arrived in the town of Oyo, the home town of the Congolese president and also arrived at the start of the new road. Apparently so he can get home quickly and smoothly he’s had the entire section from Brazzaville, where he works, to his house laid recently much to our advantage and the average speed crept up to over 50km/hr for the first time today!
We hit a good size storm as we entered the town of Ngo and decided to try and find somewhere to stay the night instead of battling into the darkness and pulled into the yard of a hotel which looked like it hadn’t been used for the last 50yrs or even opened up at all, no cars, no guests, no people about apart from a security guard (guarding what I’d like to know!). so I chatted to him and offered some money to allow us to stay in the compound for the night and he trotted off to talk to someone else.
Returning with his friend Francis some minutes later they said it would be no problem and we could use the rondavels to cook in, the one room to stay in and the entertainment room for all the others to pitch their tents in the dry for once and all at no charge at all! Superb.
The rain continued to come down so we had dinner and got an early night as we hit the capital tomorrow in the hope of collecting our infamous Angolan visas from the embassy as Eduardo the ambassador from Ghana had promised to us what seemed like so many weeks ago!
Bed
End of day location: Ngo, Congo
Distance covered: 334kms
Location: Okoyo, Congo
Weather: Thundery and wet with scattered sunshine, 37°c
Status: All going well, Kees’s truck has new belts fitted but still unsure of the Colonel’s winch problem. Will fix asap.
Up bright and early and by the time the sun had come up about half an hour later we had quite a group of people assembled all around the temporary campsite with the youngest children being the most bold and the nervous parents hanging back in the wings for something new or exciting to be produced from the vehicles. Once we’d got the camera out and they saw their own faces on the screen that was it….everyone wanted to be the star of the show!
A rough sandy track greeted us as we pulled back onto the main drag and nothing changed much apart from the odd puddle for the next 20kms and we arrived at the next town where we hoped the tarmac would start, or at least that’s what the map showed. But as we left the town the tarmac left us and we were back onto rougher still sandy and undulating tracks.
Eventually after 60kms we arrived in the town of Oyo, the home town of the Congolese president and also arrived at the start of the new road. Apparently so he can get home quickly and smoothly he’s had the entire section from Brazzaville, where he works, to his house laid recently much to our advantage and the average speed crept up to over 50km/hr for the first time today!
We hit a good size storm as we entered the town of Ngo and decided to try and find somewhere to stay the night instead of battling into the darkness and pulled into the yard of a hotel which looked like it hadn’t been used for the last 50yrs or even opened up at all, no cars, no guests, no people about apart from a security guard (guarding what I’d like to know!). so I chatted to him and offered some money to allow us to stay in the compound for the night and he trotted off to talk to someone else.
Returning with his friend Francis some minutes later they said it would be no problem and we could use the rondavels to cook in, the one room to stay in and the entertainment room for all the others to pitch their tents in the dry for once and all at no charge at all! Superb.
The rain continued to come down so we had dinner and got an early night as we hit the capital tomorrow in the hope of collecting our infamous Angolan visas from the embassy as Eduardo the ambassador from Ghana had promised to us what seemed like so many weeks ago!
Bed
End of day location: Ngo, Congo
Distance covered: 334kms
12th May 08
Date: 12th May 08
Location: Leconi, Gabon
Weather: Scattered clouds and sunshine, thundery, 32°c
Status: Problems with Kees truck sorted, all persons ready for the next country.
After a good nights sleep in the police yard, everyone gathered up their things and slowly ready readied for the off, we filled with fuel and stopped at the shop to get some baguettes and avocado for lunch and then found the road out of town towards the Gabon/Congo border.
Drove for 30kms until we came to the border post and had all of the documents stamped and signed out of the 15th country of the trip so far, back in the vehicles and the road immediately turned from good tarmac to soft sand….great another day waiting for the truck!
It turned out to be all good though and we made the 30kms across the border to the first of the Congo’s towns to have our carnets and passports stamped to show our arrival. Now normal procedure is to offer a copy of the passenger manifest to the official which they then take as this includes all of the details required from each passport and saves a huge amount of time but this awkward individual wanted to hand write all of the details down from everyone wasting an hour of hour precious time! As soon as he was through we made our way to the customs to have the carnets stamped and then this guy wanted a CFA2000 donation per vehicle to allow us through all because he had a photocopy from 1998 which he insisted was the new law….figure that out!??!
Left the town finally and arrived at another weak looking bridge next to a ford and it looked like we had another rebuild process on our hands, Kees was convinced he wouldn’t make the bridge so I offered to drive the ford first to check its depth and suitability….so off I went. Got about 2/3rds of the way across and the wheels bogged down until I stuck fast. No amount of forward and backwards would get me out so I had to use the winch for the first time on the trip, unwound it to the nearest tree and started to wind it in but couldn’t get the clutch to stop slipping, bloody disaster!
In the end Patrick made it across the bridge once we’d rebuilt it and Kees crept across so was able to tow me free from the sticky mess. Must have a good look at the winch tomorrow then!
Drove for another 20kms until we came to the town of Okoyo as the sun went down and camped up in the yard of the local police again….although this time there was no-one there to protect us, hope were ok then!
Slept
End of day location: Okoyo, Congo
Distance covered: 125kms
Location: Leconi, Gabon
Weather: Scattered clouds and sunshine, thundery, 32°c
Status: Problems with Kees truck sorted, all persons ready for the next country.
After a good nights sleep in the police yard, everyone gathered up their things and slowly ready readied for the off, we filled with fuel and stopped at the shop to get some baguettes and avocado for lunch and then found the road out of town towards the Gabon/Congo border.
Drove for 30kms until we came to the border post and had all of the documents stamped and signed out of the 15th country of the trip so far, back in the vehicles and the road immediately turned from good tarmac to soft sand….great another day waiting for the truck!
It turned out to be all good though and we made the 30kms across the border to the first of the Congo’s towns to have our carnets and passports stamped to show our arrival. Now normal procedure is to offer a copy of the passenger manifest to the official which they then take as this includes all of the details required from each passport and saves a huge amount of time but this awkward individual wanted to hand write all of the details down from everyone wasting an hour of hour precious time! As soon as he was through we made our way to the customs to have the carnets stamped and then this guy wanted a CFA2000 donation per vehicle to allow us through all because he had a photocopy from 1998 which he insisted was the new law….figure that out!??!
Left the town finally and arrived at another weak looking bridge next to a ford and it looked like we had another rebuild process on our hands, Kees was convinced he wouldn’t make the bridge so I offered to drive the ford first to check its depth and suitability….so off I went. Got about 2/3rds of the way across and the wheels bogged down until I stuck fast. No amount of forward and backwards would get me out so I had to use the winch for the first time on the trip, unwound it to the nearest tree and started to wind it in but couldn’t get the clutch to stop slipping, bloody disaster!
In the end Patrick made it across the bridge once we’d rebuilt it and Kees crept across so was able to tow me free from the sticky mess. Must have a good look at the winch tomorrow then!
Drove for another 20kms until we came to the town of Okoyo as the sun went down and camped up in the yard of the local police again….although this time there was no-one there to protect us, hope were ok then!
Slept
End of day location: Okoyo, Congo
Distance covered: 125kms
11th May 08
Date: 11th May 08
Location: Franceville, Gabon
Weather: Lovely day, sunny and scattered clouds….although I hear it’s very warm in the UK today….still 10°c colder than here. 37°c
Status: Happy as you can get, loving Africa and still moving south.
Got up lazily and thoroughly enjoyed my morning, superb breakfast, internet connection where I managed to phone Mum in Spain in time for her birthday, followed by packing up the tents and hitting the road for the border town of Leconi, our next stopping point on the mission as we prepare to cross the border into Congo even though our visas don’t start until the 14th we’ll go there and give it a go to see if they will let us through early. Failing that there is always a good deal still to see in the area.
The road to Leconi was another suprising newly laid tarmac delight which wound its way out of the forested areas and higher up onto the open rolling hills of eastern Gabon which I didn’t expect at all. Some parts looked like the New Forest in England and some parts like Natal in South Africa but it was truly awesome and very photogenic!
Pulled into the police stop outside of the town to ask about the visa situation and they recommended just giving it a go and see what happens, they will allow us back into the country if we have problems on the Congo side. As we left the police stop the radio crackled into life and Kees reported that he was getting a load of wobbling from his wheel so we stopped had a look and found that one of the rear wheels had cracked totally around the welded seam in 3 places and was about to fail completely so we had to remove the replacement at the side of the road and fit it, rather worrying though that such a major part had gone wrong. We checked the other wheels carefully but found no further problems.
As we were stopped a Toyota Hilux pulled up along side and I chatted with the driver who asked where we were off to, when I said the Leconi Canyon he recommended that we take a guide up there as there had been bandit activity in the area and it would be best for our safety! So we rounded up a likely candidate and he directed us to the canyon. It was beautiful, a red and orange sandstone wash out area which had been formed over the last few thousand years and looked like a mini grand canyon, if you can have such a thing! Took photos and headed back on the sand road towards the police station where we’d camp the night.
Bre drover from the canyon back to the road but as we got halfway there the big truck got stuck…..again, this time in soft sand and after about 4 attempts finally pulled itself clear by cutting a new track at the edge of the existing one. This left our route soft and rutted, Patrick had fun driving out of it and got bogged down but the Colonel sailed through as ever, proving yet again the worthiness of a Land Rover as an overland vehicle!
Got back to the camp, Kerry cooked dinner and Bre and I sat in the hammock talking before hitting the sack.
End of day location: Leconi, Gabon
Distance covered: 119kms
Location: Franceville, Gabon
Weather: Lovely day, sunny and scattered clouds….although I hear it’s very warm in the UK today….still 10°c colder than here. 37°c
Status: Happy as you can get, loving Africa and still moving south.
Got up lazily and thoroughly enjoyed my morning, superb breakfast, internet connection where I managed to phone Mum in Spain in time for her birthday, followed by packing up the tents and hitting the road for the border town of Leconi, our next stopping point on the mission as we prepare to cross the border into Congo even though our visas don’t start until the 14th we’ll go there and give it a go to see if they will let us through early. Failing that there is always a good deal still to see in the area.
The road to Leconi was another suprising newly laid tarmac delight which wound its way out of the forested areas and higher up onto the open rolling hills of eastern Gabon which I didn’t expect at all. Some parts looked like the New Forest in England and some parts like Natal in South Africa but it was truly awesome and very photogenic!
Pulled into the police stop outside of the town to ask about the visa situation and they recommended just giving it a go and see what happens, they will allow us back into the country if we have problems on the Congo side. As we left the police stop the radio crackled into life and Kees reported that he was getting a load of wobbling from his wheel so we stopped had a look and found that one of the rear wheels had cracked totally around the welded seam in 3 places and was about to fail completely so we had to remove the replacement at the side of the road and fit it, rather worrying though that such a major part had gone wrong. We checked the other wheels carefully but found no further problems.
As we were stopped a Toyota Hilux pulled up along side and I chatted with the driver who asked where we were off to, when I said the Leconi Canyon he recommended that we take a guide up there as there had been bandit activity in the area and it would be best for our safety! So we rounded up a likely candidate and he directed us to the canyon. It was beautiful, a red and orange sandstone wash out area which had been formed over the last few thousand years and looked like a mini grand canyon, if you can have such a thing! Took photos and headed back on the sand road towards the police station where we’d camp the night.
Bre drover from the canyon back to the road but as we got halfway there the big truck got stuck…..again, this time in soft sand and after about 4 attempts finally pulled itself clear by cutting a new track at the edge of the existing one. This left our route soft and rutted, Patrick had fun driving out of it and got bogged down but the Colonel sailed through as ever, proving yet again the worthiness of a Land Rover as an overland vehicle!
Got back to the camp, Kerry cooked dinner and Bre and I sat in the hammock talking before hitting the sack.
End of day location: Leconi, Gabon
Distance covered: 119kms
10th May 08
Date: 10th May 08
Location: Bush camp in the jungle! East of Libreville, Gabon.
Weather: Clear overnight and colder, then scattered clouds in the morning 33°c
Status: Worried about how the hell we’ll get the truck out!
A good nights sleep in the surprisingly cooler conditions and awoke not knowing where the hell I was as I poked my head out of the tent in the morning…and then it hit me, we had a huge task ahead of us today to try and get back to the safety of the main track, somehow rebuilding the bridge we had destroyed the night before!
Had a superb breakfast and finished off the last of the bacon, tomato and fresh baguette much to the disgust of my fellow campers as the smell percolated into their tents to wake them prematurely!
Packed up and started the drive back to the broken bridge which appeared ominously around the corner after 15kms. Everyone left the vehicles, walked over to the scene of the disaster and offered their immediate opinions on how best to tackle the rebuilding of the next 15m off road. When the truck had driven across on the evening before it had smashed 40% of the horizontal struts and as it had done so also dropped a number of supporting logs into the river below leaving the two main tree trunks and a number of planks left for us to drive over!!
After an hour of building and digging we managed to get a base ready for the sand ladders to be strapped to and prepared to send over the first of the cars…surprisingly…..me first! As I warmed the engine a Hilux pulled around the corner with 3 members of the bridge construction team who we’d passed earlier in the day. Oh it was good to have some experts overlook the job we’d done and they even gave it the thumbs up….once we repositioned some of the major supporting beans at the side of the bridge!
Gingerly I approached the edge of the bridge and crept over with not so much of a crack or crumble, Patrick approached and did exactly the same just leaving Kees and the 10 tonne truck to traverse the rickety old bridge!
With film crews positioned at all angles the beast approached the edge of the bridge and started the crossing, immediately the first log shattered so Kees floored the accelerator and the truck committed itself fully. The sides of the bridge fell away completely but the main tree trunks held firm and the momentum of the truck carried up the far side of the river bank, but it was a close run thing! Congratulations all round for another good team effort and we were on our way again.
Pulled into Franceville again but this time we decided to try our luck with the 5 star Hotel Poubara. Armed with my Afritrex shirt and business plan I spoke to the director of the hotel in French and managed to get him to allow us to pitch up camp in the grounds of the hotel right underneath the President’s room, with full use of the facilities and restaurant including the swimming pool! Ah wicked after the last nights camping…..
Had a swim, used the internet and relaxed before heading to the restaurant for a slap up dinner, which was given to us at a cut price due to the expedition so had to settle for the duck in mandarin sauce….exquisite! This over landing is such hard work!
Bed and sleep.
End of day location: Franceville, Gabon
Distance covered: 50kms
Location: Bush camp in the jungle! East of Libreville, Gabon.
Weather: Clear overnight and colder, then scattered clouds in the morning 33°c
Status: Worried about how the hell we’ll get the truck out!
A good nights sleep in the surprisingly cooler conditions and awoke not knowing where the hell I was as I poked my head out of the tent in the morning…and then it hit me, we had a huge task ahead of us today to try and get back to the safety of the main track, somehow rebuilding the bridge we had destroyed the night before!
Had a superb breakfast and finished off the last of the bacon, tomato and fresh baguette much to the disgust of my fellow campers as the smell percolated into their tents to wake them prematurely!
Packed up and started the drive back to the broken bridge which appeared ominously around the corner after 15kms. Everyone left the vehicles, walked over to the scene of the disaster and offered their immediate opinions on how best to tackle the rebuilding of the next 15m off road. When the truck had driven across on the evening before it had smashed 40% of the horizontal struts and as it had done so also dropped a number of supporting logs into the river below leaving the two main tree trunks and a number of planks left for us to drive over!!
After an hour of building and digging we managed to get a base ready for the sand ladders to be strapped to and prepared to send over the first of the cars…surprisingly…..me first! As I warmed the engine a Hilux pulled around the corner with 3 members of the bridge construction team who we’d passed earlier in the day. Oh it was good to have some experts overlook the job we’d done and they even gave it the thumbs up….once we repositioned some of the major supporting beans at the side of the bridge!
Gingerly I approached the edge of the bridge and crept over with not so much of a crack or crumble, Patrick approached and did exactly the same just leaving Kees and the 10 tonne truck to traverse the rickety old bridge!
With film crews positioned at all angles the beast approached the edge of the bridge and started the crossing, immediately the first log shattered so Kees floored the accelerator and the truck committed itself fully. The sides of the bridge fell away completely but the main tree trunks held firm and the momentum of the truck carried up the far side of the river bank, but it was a close run thing! Congratulations all round for another good team effort and we were on our way again.
Pulled into Franceville again but this time we decided to try our luck with the 5 star Hotel Poubara. Armed with my Afritrex shirt and business plan I spoke to the director of the hotel in French and managed to get him to allow us to pitch up camp in the grounds of the hotel right underneath the President’s room, with full use of the facilities and restaurant including the swimming pool! Ah wicked after the last nights camping…..
Had a swim, used the internet and relaxed before heading to the restaurant for a slap up dinner, which was given to us at a cut price due to the expedition so had to settle for the duck in mandarin sauce….exquisite! This over landing is such hard work!
Bed and sleep.
End of day location: Franceville, Gabon
Distance covered: 50kms
Sunday, 11 May 2008
9th May 08
Date: 9th May 08
Location: Lastourville, Gabon
Weather: Scattered cloud and humid, thundery in the afternoon. 35°c
Status: Stuck in the middle of the jungle, unsure of how to progress!
Had a fantastic lie in this morning as I decided to splash out on a room in the hotel last night as I had spare CFA’s which had to be spent before crossing the border in a few days time. Was awesome to have aircon, a king-size bed with company and the chance to have no alarm clock to wake up for as we set the departure time for a lazy 10am, superb! Bre and I wandered downstairs, filled the water tanks, drove into town and stuffed ourselves full of baguette and choco spread, popcorn and OJ.
Took to very steep road out of town towards Franceville and luckily found ourselves a really good quality road, we managed to keep an average speed of 50kms/hr up and 3hrs later entered the outskirts of the city passing the obligatory police road blocks some of which wanted the full passenger manifest, some wanted the carnet and one even asked for vehicle insurance….of which none of the vehicles had any! So I produced my UK insurance and the lady cop was more than happy to accept it as being a legitimate document! HA
Had a phone call from my old boss Alistair today which was excellent, amazingly good line from the UK and really good to hear from him too, reminded me how much I loved working at the RS&G and also how much I’d love him to join me for the Kili climb later in the year.
Found the tourism office in the centre of the town and spoke to the official who advised us about the best attractions to visit in the area including a number of waterfalls which we’d heard about that at this time of year, the rainy season, which were bound to be running at a maximum this time of year, wicked!
Decided to drop the idea of having a guide with us (which later turned out to be a bad idea) and headed out of town on the southerly road down which after 5-10kms, according to the guide, we’d find our waterfalls! Oh African directions, estimations and guides…..they suck!
The road slowly got thinner and thinner, the surfaces more and more rutted and the storm on the horizon got closer and closer until it was raining hard all around us. We’d tried a few smaller bridges and had no problems but then arrived at a precarious looking combination of logs, stones and planks nailed to the top of the lot. I approached it first and after lining myself up made it over though rather shaking from the experience. Patrick followed and made it over safely with a little sliding to get traction and then came Kees.
He did the first bit well enough and lined up the front wheels but as the truck squared up to the bridge the rear wheel cut the corner and crashed through the first layer of planks and logs, a luckily hit the accelerator at just the right time, powering over the bridge and up the other side. He’d made it but there was no way we’d be going back over the same bridge again, unless we had to and only after extensive repairs.
We continued for another 5kms with the track getting narrower and more over grown and the wash out ruts getting deeper and deeper. We stopped and assessed the situation concluding that it would be best if the two 4x4’s went on to find a camping spot and the truck hold tight for now. We managed to get another 1500m before the track totally disappeared and even we struggled to make it further, there was no way the truck would make it through here.
Decision made then, we turned around and made it back to the truck and pitched camp for the night, Patrick cooked dinner and we hit the sack early as who knows what tomorrow holds with a bridge building mission top of the agenda. Another feather in our Trans Africa hats maybe!
End of day location: edge of the track, south of Lastourville, Gabon
Distance covered: 250kms
Location: Lastourville, Gabon
Weather: Scattered cloud and humid, thundery in the afternoon. 35°c
Status: Stuck in the middle of the jungle, unsure of how to progress!
Had a fantastic lie in this morning as I decided to splash out on a room in the hotel last night as I had spare CFA’s which had to be spent before crossing the border in a few days time. Was awesome to have aircon, a king-size bed with company and the chance to have no alarm clock to wake up for as we set the departure time for a lazy 10am, superb! Bre and I wandered downstairs, filled the water tanks, drove into town and stuffed ourselves full of baguette and choco spread, popcorn and OJ.
Took to very steep road out of town towards Franceville and luckily found ourselves a really good quality road, we managed to keep an average speed of 50kms/hr up and 3hrs later entered the outskirts of the city passing the obligatory police road blocks some of which wanted the full passenger manifest, some wanted the carnet and one even asked for vehicle insurance….of which none of the vehicles had any! So I produced my UK insurance and the lady cop was more than happy to accept it as being a legitimate document! HA
Had a phone call from my old boss Alistair today which was excellent, amazingly good line from the UK and really good to hear from him too, reminded me how much I loved working at the RS&G and also how much I’d love him to join me for the Kili climb later in the year.
Found the tourism office in the centre of the town and spoke to the official who advised us about the best attractions to visit in the area including a number of waterfalls which we’d heard about that at this time of year, the rainy season, which were bound to be running at a maximum this time of year, wicked!
Decided to drop the idea of having a guide with us (which later turned out to be a bad idea) and headed out of town on the southerly road down which after 5-10kms, according to the guide, we’d find our waterfalls! Oh African directions, estimations and guides…..they suck!
The road slowly got thinner and thinner, the surfaces more and more rutted and the storm on the horizon got closer and closer until it was raining hard all around us. We’d tried a few smaller bridges and had no problems but then arrived at a precarious looking combination of logs, stones and planks nailed to the top of the lot. I approached it first and after lining myself up made it over though rather shaking from the experience. Patrick followed and made it over safely with a little sliding to get traction and then came Kees.
He did the first bit well enough and lined up the front wheels but as the truck squared up to the bridge the rear wheel cut the corner and crashed through the first layer of planks and logs, a luckily hit the accelerator at just the right time, powering over the bridge and up the other side. He’d made it but there was no way we’d be going back over the same bridge again, unless we had to and only after extensive repairs.
We continued for another 5kms with the track getting narrower and more over grown and the wash out ruts getting deeper and deeper. We stopped and assessed the situation concluding that it would be best if the two 4x4’s went on to find a camping spot and the truck hold tight for now. We managed to get another 1500m before the track totally disappeared and even we struggled to make it further, there was no way the truck would make it through here.
Decision made then, we turned around and made it back to the truck and pitched camp for the night, Patrick cooked dinner and we hit the sack early as who knows what tomorrow holds with a bridge building mission top of the agenda. Another feather in our Trans Africa hats maybe!
End of day location: edge of the track, south of Lastourville, Gabon
Distance covered: 250kms
8th May 08
Date: 8th May 08
Location: Lobe, Gabon
Weather: Clear blue skies with the occasional cloud, 36°c, - very un-equatorial!
Status: All good
Up later than usual as we all decided to have bit of a lie in so rolled out of the tent around 8am and then pottered around, lovely breakfast of bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato baguette, coffee and then Bonne Mama strawberry jam courtesy of the supermarket in Libreville….awesome.
Did some jobs on the car, greased, checked underneath and found no problems then stocked up on fruit and veg for the next day or so and hit the road. What a different road from the past day! Perfectly graded gravel roads which twisted and turned through the forest, so good you could even get a power-slide with the back of the Landie when you boot it in third!! Sorry Dad, will take care.
Again another day of “of my god this is what its all about” as we passed along the valleys of huge rivers, through the forests and up onto the tops of grassy hills for what seemed like km after km. The drive was so good that we covered 216kms in a little over 5hrs and pulled into the town of Latourville to fill up. Found a cool hotel overlooking the river and camped up for the night, ate dinner and headed to bed.
End of day location: Latourville, Gabon
Distance covered: 216kms
Location: Lobe, Gabon
Weather: Clear blue skies with the occasional cloud, 36°c, - very un-equatorial!
Status: All good
Up later than usual as we all decided to have bit of a lie in so rolled out of the tent around 8am and then pottered around, lovely breakfast of bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato baguette, coffee and then Bonne Mama strawberry jam courtesy of the supermarket in Libreville….awesome.
Did some jobs on the car, greased, checked underneath and found no problems then stocked up on fruit and veg for the next day or so and hit the road. What a different road from the past day! Perfectly graded gravel roads which twisted and turned through the forest, so good you could even get a power-slide with the back of the Landie when you boot it in third!! Sorry Dad, will take care.
Again another day of “of my god this is what its all about” as we passed along the valleys of huge rivers, through the forests and up onto the tops of grassy hills for what seemed like km after km. The drive was so good that we covered 216kms in a little over 5hrs and pulled into the town of Latourville to fill up. Found a cool hotel overlooking the river and camped up for the night, ate dinner and headed to bed.
End of day location: Latourville, Gabon
Distance covered: 216kms
7th May 08
Date: 7th May 08
Location: Bush Camp, Nr Oyem, Gabon
Weather: Blue skies and sunshine, 37°c
Status: All vehicles good, all passengers good too!
Left our beautiful bush camp around 6.30am and got straight back on the bumpy dirt road which took us towards the national park where we intended to spend the next few days exploring. It was a 2.5 hr mission to complete the 50kms and finally we arrived in the town of Lobe and drove straight to the hotel, the only place we knew of in town.
Now this sort of hotel is designed for fly-in tourists with shedloads of money and was well outside our price bracket…they wouldn’t even let us camp on the bloody grass outside, and they wanted to charge us CFA18,000 per person for a 2hr drive using their vehicles, nearly £25 each! So stuff them, and we headed back out into town to find our own accommodation!
Arrived at the cross roads at the centre of town and bumped into Jules who owned the motel opposite, it wasn’t the most attractive site but he would allow us to stay on his grass, have use of the toilets and shower and the well to fill the vehicle tanks for less than one person would have been charged at the hotel! Brilliant. He also knew of a local guide who could take us around the park with our own cars at a fraction of the original hotel’s quote, again good work.
The 4x4 safari happens at 4pm as the sun is starting to loose its heat and the animals appear from the forest so it gave me a chance to catch up on some well overdue training even though the outside temp was a barmy 39°c in the sun, so I confidently set off around 1pm and headed back up the road we had arrived into town on.
It was stinkingly hot and after an hour of running with no water in the direct equatorial sunshine I was shattered so turned and headed back to the camp. 2hrs after I’d left the others I arrived back and was ready to drop….god I hope the Comrades isn’t anything like this or I’ll never make it.
Met the guide for our trip and headed to the entrance to the park, it a stunning mixture of forest and savannah sweeping south for 5000 hectares in which there is a variety of game from elephant to leopard, jaguar and monkeys. Usual story though, not too much on offer and we managed to clock 5 forest ele’s, which are wickedly small and cute and a few monkeys. Back out around sundown.
Had a good dinner courtesy of the new rota system we’ve implemented meaning fairer duties for the next few weeks, joined Kerry and Alex for a birthday drink and headed to bed as I was fit to drop
End of day location: Lobe, Gabon
Distance covered: 68kms
Location: Bush Camp, Nr Oyem, Gabon
Weather: Blue skies and sunshine, 37°c
Status: All vehicles good, all passengers good too!
Left our beautiful bush camp around 6.30am and got straight back on the bumpy dirt road which took us towards the national park where we intended to spend the next few days exploring. It was a 2.5 hr mission to complete the 50kms and finally we arrived in the town of Lobe and drove straight to the hotel, the only place we knew of in town.
Now this sort of hotel is designed for fly-in tourists with shedloads of money and was well outside our price bracket…they wouldn’t even let us camp on the bloody grass outside, and they wanted to charge us CFA18,000 per person for a 2hr drive using their vehicles, nearly £25 each! So stuff them, and we headed back out into town to find our own accommodation!
Arrived at the cross roads at the centre of town and bumped into Jules who owned the motel opposite, it wasn’t the most attractive site but he would allow us to stay on his grass, have use of the toilets and shower and the well to fill the vehicle tanks for less than one person would have been charged at the hotel! Brilliant. He also knew of a local guide who could take us around the park with our own cars at a fraction of the original hotel’s quote, again good work.
The 4x4 safari happens at 4pm as the sun is starting to loose its heat and the animals appear from the forest so it gave me a chance to catch up on some well overdue training even though the outside temp was a barmy 39°c in the sun, so I confidently set off around 1pm and headed back up the road we had arrived into town on.
It was stinkingly hot and after an hour of running with no water in the direct equatorial sunshine I was shattered so turned and headed back to the camp. 2hrs after I’d left the others I arrived back and was ready to drop….god I hope the Comrades isn’t anything like this or I’ll never make it.
Met the guide for our trip and headed to the entrance to the park, it a stunning mixture of forest and savannah sweeping south for 5000 hectares in which there is a variety of game from elephant to leopard, jaguar and monkeys. Usual story though, not too much on offer and we managed to clock 5 forest ele’s, which are wickedly small and cute and a few monkeys. Back out around sundown.
Had a good dinner courtesy of the new rota system we’ve implemented meaning fairer duties for the next few weeks, joined Kerry and Alex for a birthday drink and headed to bed as I was fit to drop
End of day location: Lobe, Gabon
Distance covered: 68kms
6th May 08
Date: 5th May 08
Location: Cap Esterias, Gabon
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 36°c
Status: Ready to move east and find the way down to Congo, relaxed and refuelled!
After a day in the capital Libreville yesterday sorting out a few internet things, spending some money on some good food and soaking up the atmosphere of one of the best cleanest cities in Central Africa so far, we hit the road again.
This time it was retracing the route we’d taken in a few days before so knew what to expect.
The day started slowly as we waited for everyone to gather speed to leave, a habit which is becoming too regular so had to mention it and finally we left our comfortable surroundings around 7.30am.
First stop the airport to get money changed, speak to the national parks office about the next few days which was a struggle as I had to do it and they didn’t speak English unsurprisingly. It reminded me of the French oral exam I took at 16; struggling to hear the person on the end of the phone as the tannoy announcement with the latest flight departures blared in the background and then trying to respond, but I managed it and after finally sending home the postcards I wrote 5 countries ago we were on our way.
After a few hours we stopped for brunch and then continued on until the we finally hit the split in the road which took us to the park. A simple 11kms on a bonne route was the advert, but this again is Africa and 4 hrs later we were still struggling on the bouncy dirt road through the jungle. An hour before sundown we decided to find a bush camp for the night and fell on our feet yet again as the track we followed took us onto a little hillock which overlooked the entire river and surrounding countryside.
After a bland dinner we went to bed ready for the early start in the morning to get to the park as it opens.
End of day location: Bush Camp, Nr Oyem, Gabon
Distance covered: 320km
Location: Cap Esterias, Gabon
Weather: Clear blue skies and sunshine, 36°c
Status: Ready to move east and find the way down to Congo, relaxed and refuelled!
After a day in the capital Libreville yesterday sorting out a few internet things, spending some money on some good food and soaking up the atmosphere of one of the best cleanest cities in Central Africa so far, we hit the road again.
This time it was retracing the route we’d taken in a few days before so knew what to expect.
The day started slowly as we waited for everyone to gather speed to leave, a habit which is becoming too regular so had to mention it and finally we left our comfortable surroundings around 7.30am.
First stop the airport to get money changed, speak to the national parks office about the next few days which was a struggle as I had to do it and they didn’t speak English unsurprisingly. It reminded me of the French oral exam I took at 16; struggling to hear the person on the end of the phone as the tannoy announcement with the latest flight departures blared in the background and then trying to respond, but I managed it and after finally sending home the postcards I wrote 5 countries ago we were on our way.
After a few hours we stopped for brunch and then continued on until the we finally hit the split in the road which took us to the park. A simple 11kms on a bonne route was the advert, but this again is Africa and 4 hrs later we were still struggling on the bouncy dirt road through the jungle. An hour before sundown we decided to find a bush camp for the night and fell on our feet yet again as the track we followed took us onto a little hillock which overlooked the entire river and surrounding countryside.
After a bland dinner we went to bed ready for the early start in the morning to get to the park as it opens.
End of day location: Bush Camp, Nr Oyem, Gabon
Distance covered: 320km
Monday, 5 May 2008
4th May 08
Date: 4th May 08
Location: Cap Esterias, Gabon
Weather: Equatorially hot and humid, thundery and very pleasant. 36°c
Status: Relaxing by the beach to use up our two weeks on the Gabon visa
Once we awoke we realised our mistake from the night before with the navigation which had led us straight into somebody else’s back yard rather than to the site we were meant to find!
La Marina, our new location is stunning! A bit of a French expat hangout at the weekends but idyllic all the same with a good quality restaurant situated right on the beach with views out along the reef and down, down the coast towards the capital and also across the bay to mainland Equatorial Guinea.
We spent the day swimming in the sheltered bay, relaxing in the massively strong sunshine and feasting on dirt cheap fruits de la mer. Another shit day in Africa then!
Watched a couple of movies in Kee’s truck and then had a disturbed nights sleep as the thunder and lightning continued throughout the night.
End of day location: Cap Esterias, Gabon
Distance covered: 0kms
Location: Cap Esterias, Gabon
Weather: Equatorially hot and humid, thundery and very pleasant. 36°c
Status: Relaxing by the beach to use up our two weeks on the Gabon visa
Once we awoke we realised our mistake from the night before with the navigation which had led us straight into somebody else’s back yard rather than to the site we were meant to find!
La Marina, our new location is stunning! A bit of a French expat hangout at the weekends but idyllic all the same with a good quality restaurant situated right on the beach with views out along the reef and down, down the coast towards the capital and also across the bay to mainland Equatorial Guinea.
We spent the day swimming in the sheltered bay, relaxing in the massively strong sunshine and feasting on dirt cheap fruits de la mer. Another shit day in Africa then!
Watched a couple of movies in Kee’s truck and then had a disturbed nights sleep as the thunder and lightning continued throughout the night.
End of day location: Cap Esterias, Gabon
Distance covered: 0kms
3rd May 08
Date: 3rd May 08
Location: Oyem, Gabon
Weather: Blue skies and scattered clouds, 30°c
Status: All moving along quite happily now.
Up early as we had a huge drive to complete to try and get to the capital, Libreville some 535kms away.
This was the day when I finally realised quite how happy I am on the expedition and quite how much the saving and hard work of the last five years has paid off! I nearly choked and cried at one point as everything was suddenly so awesome. Owen you’ve really lost out here and only have yourself to blame, sorry to be harsh but this is what it was all about.
The drive from Oyem towards the equator was outstanding and like nothing I’ve ever seen before, vast swathes of lush rainforest visible as far as the eye could see with huge, tall trees and the kind of sounds you’d expect from a jungle! The road went from super-fast highway with nothing on it at all, awesome sweeping S-bends and perfect views and then dropped down in the river valley below where we lost the good road but made up for it with a wide African-brown river that we followed for nearly 50kms. All we passed on the way were logging trucks and the occasional taxi….how do they make it down some of these awful roads!?
As we entered the capital the sun had disappeared behind the horizon which made navigation fun and finally we found the highway which would whip us around to the north and towards and our destination the beach! The road went from two lane highway to potted tarmac to graded sand and of course the rain started to hammer down from the thunder clouds we’d been watching light up the sky for the past hour.
We confidently followed the road as we had a waypoint for a campsite and all of a sudden to road changed to muddy, sloppy track. Diff locks engaged we struggled on until we’d followed the track through deep water and roadwork diversions and arrived at the now pitch black beach front to find the power out and the bar/restaurant closed!
So we made camp and Bre and I headed off to the local hotel to try and find some food. We returned an hour later as successful bounty hunters armed with chicken, fish, warthog, rice and chips for 12!
Slept.
End of day location: Beach N of Libreville
Distance covered: 539kms
Location: Oyem, Gabon
Weather: Blue skies and scattered clouds, 30°c
Status: All moving along quite happily now.
Up early as we had a huge drive to complete to try and get to the capital, Libreville some 535kms away.
This was the day when I finally realised quite how happy I am on the expedition and quite how much the saving and hard work of the last five years has paid off! I nearly choked and cried at one point as everything was suddenly so awesome. Owen you’ve really lost out here and only have yourself to blame, sorry to be harsh but this is what it was all about.
The drive from Oyem towards the equator was outstanding and like nothing I’ve ever seen before, vast swathes of lush rainforest visible as far as the eye could see with huge, tall trees and the kind of sounds you’d expect from a jungle! The road went from super-fast highway with nothing on it at all, awesome sweeping S-bends and perfect views and then dropped down in the river valley below where we lost the good road but made up for it with a wide African-brown river that we followed for nearly 50kms. All we passed on the way were logging trucks and the occasional taxi….how do they make it down some of these awful roads!?
As we entered the capital the sun had disappeared behind the horizon which made navigation fun and finally we found the highway which would whip us around to the north and towards and our destination the beach! The road went from two lane highway to potted tarmac to graded sand and of course the rain started to hammer down from the thunder clouds we’d been watching light up the sky for the past hour.
We confidently followed the road as we had a waypoint for a campsite and all of a sudden to road changed to muddy, sloppy track. Diff locks engaged we struggled on until we’d followed the track through deep water and roadwork diversions and arrived at the now pitch black beach front to find the power out and the bar/restaurant closed!
So we made camp and Bre and I headed off to the local hotel to try and find some food. We returned an hour later as successful bounty hunters armed with chicken, fish, warthog, rice and chips for 12!
Slept.
End of day location: Beach N of Libreville
Distance covered: 539kms
2nd May 08
Date: 2nd May 08
Location: Ebolowa, Cameroon
Weather: Hazy low cloud, and chilly, 26°c
Status: All good
Left the delights of the hotel and hit the road south as our target for the day was to get to border of Cameroon and Gabon and into the next country on the agenda.
Another good road and the 100kms passed very quickly with not much hassle, a few roadblocks but we’re used to these now and the simple ‘smile and greet with a handshake’ seemed to work as well as ever. It was only one official who wouldn’t accept and instead walked the length of the vehicles without saying a word and then finally let us pass.
The border was a little different from what I expected, all of our info had told us it was a little hut and then a free ferry across the river through no-mans-land and into Gabon but since those instructions were written 4 years ago it seems the collective governments have invested in a new office, and a bridge! So out of Cameroon and across to Gabon renowned for its slightly more expensive way of life and also its corrupt officials….again!
100m later we found out about the second part of the statement as the lovely Carl Cox lookalike told us we each had to pay CFA5000 (£6) for a copy of the official paperwork we needed just to be let into the country….let alone get our stamps in the carnets and passports! After much arguing in French and with Maggie adding her usual disgruntled approach to anything which costs over 2p, we were allowed to pass with no charge. Onto the next town to have the stamps we required and there we were, in Gabon!
We drove for another 2hrs before finding the town of Oyem and parking up at another Catholic Mission (seriously worries about all of these religious stop-offs tainting my mind, especially travelling with the Mormon family too!)
Battled through a thunder storm and cooked up a storm of my own with Alex my Aussie fellow-chef and made tuna patties for all! Bed
End of day location: Oyem, Gabon
Distance covered: 226kms
Location: Ebolowa, Cameroon
Weather: Hazy low cloud, and chilly, 26°c
Status: All good
Left the delights of the hotel and hit the road south as our target for the day was to get to border of Cameroon and Gabon and into the next country on the agenda.
Another good road and the 100kms passed very quickly with not much hassle, a few roadblocks but we’re used to these now and the simple ‘smile and greet with a handshake’ seemed to work as well as ever. It was only one official who wouldn’t accept and instead walked the length of the vehicles without saying a word and then finally let us pass.
The border was a little different from what I expected, all of our info had told us it was a little hut and then a free ferry across the river through no-mans-land and into Gabon but since those instructions were written 4 years ago it seems the collective governments have invested in a new office, and a bridge! So out of Cameroon and across to Gabon renowned for its slightly more expensive way of life and also its corrupt officials….again!
100m later we found out about the second part of the statement as the lovely Carl Cox lookalike told us we each had to pay CFA5000 (£6) for a copy of the official paperwork we needed just to be let into the country….let alone get our stamps in the carnets and passports! After much arguing in French and with Maggie adding her usual disgruntled approach to anything which costs over 2p, we were allowed to pass with no charge. Onto the next town to have the stamps we required and there we were, in Gabon!
We drove for another 2hrs before finding the town of Oyem and parking up at another Catholic Mission (seriously worries about all of these religious stop-offs tainting my mind, especially travelling with the Mormon family too!)
Battled through a thunder storm and cooked up a storm of my own with Alex my Aussie fellow-chef and made tuna patties for all! Bed
End of day location: Oyem, Gabon
Distance covered: 226kms
1st May 08
Date: 1st May 08
Location: 1st May 08
Weather: Yaounde, Cameroon
Status: Nearly off again….
Collected the visa and passport and headed back to the trucks to clear up the debris we’d made over the past few days before hitting the road again.
Definitely good to get the wheels moving after sitting still if for only for 3 days.
Pulled into the town of Ebolowa (not the deadly tropical disease capital further south but a good town celebrating Labour Day and the public holiday) so we pulled into a Hotel just on the outskirts of town and camped out on their tennis court.
What a run down place and if ever it had a heyday it was at least 30yrs ago with paint peeling off the walls and corridors just like on the film ‘The Shining’. But the staff made up for it, they were brilliant fun, if a little drunk and took photos of us all and even offered us dinner. It took 3 hrs to arrive and the chicken, rice and chips was just about edible even though the meat came from one of Africa’s selective racing chickens!
Slept as up for an early depart….
End of day location: Ebolowa, Cameroon
Distance covered: 165kms
Location: 1st May 08
Weather: Yaounde, Cameroon
Status: Nearly off again….
Collected the visa and passport and headed back to the trucks to clear up the debris we’d made over the past few days before hitting the road again.
Definitely good to get the wheels moving after sitting still if for only for 3 days.
Pulled into the town of Ebolowa (not the deadly tropical disease capital further south but a good town celebrating Labour Day and the public holiday) so we pulled into a Hotel just on the outskirts of town and camped out on their tennis court.
What a run down place and if ever it had a heyday it was at least 30yrs ago with paint peeling off the walls and corridors just like on the film ‘The Shining’. But the staff made up for it, they were brilliant fun, if a little drunk and took photos of us all and even offered us dinner. It took 3 hrs to arrive and the chicken, rice and chips was just about edible even though the meat came from one of Africa’s selective racing chickens!
Slept as up for an early depart….
End of day location: Ebolowa, Cameroon
Distance covered: 165kms
30th April 08
Date: 30th April 08
Location: Yaounde, Cameroon
Weather: Clear in the morning, thunder in the afternoon, 36°c
Status: All ready to move again
Collected the DRC visa early I the morning and took the next set of application forms straight to the Gabon Embassy for processing so we could pick them up early in the morning on our way out of the capital.
Washed and cleaned clothes, prepared the vehicles for the next big drive and found a good little bar where we could watch the semi final of the Champions League between Chelsea and Liverpool and only at the end of the road!
Enjoyed a bite of lunch at the local patisserie, oh these Francophone countries really have kept some of the best parts of the French traditions!
Watched Chelsea beat Liverpool 3-2 AET and went to bed.
End of day location: Yaounde, Cameroon
Distance covered: 3kms
Location: Yaounde, Cameroon
Weather: Clear in the morning, thunder in the afternoon, 36°c
Status: All ready to move again
Collected the DRC visa early I the morning and took the next set of application forms straight to the Gabon Embassy for processing so we could pick them up early in the morning on our way out of the capital.
Washed and cleaned clothes, prepared the vehicles for the next big drive and found a good little bar where we could watch the semi final of the Champions League between Chelsea and Liverpool and only at the end of the road!
Enjoyed a bite of lunch at the local patisserie, oh these Francophone countries really have kept some of the best parts of the French traditions!
Watched Chelsea beat Liverpool 3-2 AET and went to bed.
End of day location: Yaounde, Cameroon
Distance covered: 3kms
29th April 08
Date: 29th April 08
Location: Yaounde, Cameroon
Weather: Cloudy and humid, 34°c
Status: Resting up and recovering after the climb. Colonel – puncture fixed and treated to a washed bottom.
Visas, visas and more visas is the name of the game during our extended stay in Yaounde. All of the embassies are located here which will hopefully allow us to get all of our visas for the next 3 countries Gabon, Congo and DRC but each have differing requirements on the time it takes to get them, the costs involved and the number of forms/photos/photocopies they need.
After much research and to’ing and fro’ing between them all we worked out that if we played our cards right and used the express service on offer we could have all we needed in our passports by Thursday at the latest. And so the mission started…..
To the Congo Embassy first, collected the forms, filled them in, photocopied and stuck photos on and together with the 70,000CFA each (£87.50!) had our first application in by 9am. After some sweet talking in my pigeon French the lovely Janet decided to allow us to collect our visas the same day for no extra cost, excellent diplomacy!
Next job was to rush from the Congo Embassy to the DRC Embassy before 3 o’clock with our freshly stamped passports in order to make use of the next day service, so same rountine and just managed to get them there by the closing time with 5 minutes to spare.
Stomach was rumbling away that night so had a small dinner and headed to bed early.
End of day location: Yaounde, Cameroon
Distance covered: 10kms
Location: Yaounde, Cameroon
Weather: Cloudy and humid, 34°c
Status: Resting up and recovering after the climb. Colonel – puncture fixed and treated to a washed bottom.
Visas, visas and more visas is the name of the game during our extended stay in Yaounde. All of the embassies are located here which will hopefully allow us to get all of our visas for the next 3 countries Gabon, Congo and DRC but each have differing requirements on the time it takes to get them, the costs involved and the number of forms/photos/photocopies they need.
After much research and to’ing and fro’ing between them all we worked out that if we played our cards right and used the express service on offer we could have all we needed in our passports by Thursday at the latest. And so the mission started…..
To the Congo Embassy first, collected the forms, filled them in, photocopied and stuck photos on and together with the 70,000CFA each (£87.50!) had our first application in by 9am. After some sweet talking in my pigeon French the lovely Janet decided to allow us to collect our visas the same day for no extra cost, excellent diplomacy!
Next job was to rush from the Congo Embassy to the DRC Embassy before 3 o’clock with our freshly stamped passports in order to make use of the next day service, so same rountine and just managed to get them there by the closing time with 5 minutes to spare.
Stomach was rumbling away that night so had a small dinner and headed to bed early.
End of day location: Yaounde, Cameroon
Distance covered: 10kms
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