RMP&O
Expedition Leader
I bet $10 it is a CV.....
Democratic Republic of Congo: Lubumbashi to Kinshasa
- Thread starter RadioBaobab
- Start date
I bet $10 it is a CV.....
Mr. Leary
Glamping Excursionaire
x2, or a hub.
Frankspinz
Adventurer
When I saw this, I thought you decided to carry the truck up the hill dismantled !
David Harris
Expedition Leader
Like someone else suggested, I think we should setup a fund to buy F/J a winch.
I'd say put together a HUGE care package with various supplies, treats, etc... and send it to Papa Likas and his crew of men to say "thanks a million" for such back breaking work, in hopes that similar support is provided in the future for the next traveler through their region.
Epic adventure! :Wow1:
mcneil
Observer
Good lord people. Have we gotten so wrapped up in the vicarious thrill of Frederik's story that now we're trying to diagnose impending mechanical failure by TEXT?
That said, I'm guessing a rod bearing.
rdraider
Adventurer
So much for the lack of inane comments!:sombrero:
Agreed. Toyota should put it in their museum. How many other practically stock vehicles could have survived the Congo?
Until now I thought the 'Top Gear' bashing of an old Toyota Hi-Lux (diesel) was the toughest truck I'd seen, and I thought mine was pretty impressive going 230,000 miles with only a clutch disk and spark plugs changed.
Sure, but who could take it? Should we send him back for part two?
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RadioBaobab
Adventurer
Everybody was shaking. Our helpers because of all the sugar they ate. We from anxiety.
Who were we kidding anyway. We had heard the tak-tak sound before and we knew what it meant. I guess we were just hoping it would have been a dry birfield or something. Whishfull thinking.
A quick run trough the the front driveline components showed the the noise came from inside the front differential. Trying to drive now only resulted in noise, no more movement.
Our front diff had completely packed up.
We switched the engine off and it became silent. Very silent. You could see the dissapointment on the faces of our crew. We had a deal with them, they would bring us to Kapia, no matter what, and we would pay them for the service. They were afraid now that they would not get paid (or paid less) as we would obviously not reach Kapia.
We had to decide very quickly how and how much we would pay. This is so difficult! We had no idea what a reasonable amount would be. We did not want to pay them too little. Because they deserved an honest wage and we certainly did not want to make enemies here. On the other hand we did not want to pay them to much as that would only open the doors for corruption and create the impression that 'white people' always pay too much.
We decided on 150$US for all of them. 150$US divided by 8 = 19$US per person. For three very long had working days. Josephine asked me if I would be happy with that amount? I wouldn't. I'd feel insulted and angry probably. But in Congo that is a lot of money. This was so difficult!
We gave the money to papa Likas and thanked them for all their work. We also gave them our axe, for which they were very grateful. We barely used it anyway.
Our crew then dissapeared in the darkness, leaving us all alone on the savannah.
Papa Bazil, Mufuta, Vita, Papa Likas, Masambe, Bony
We knew we had a bit of problem here, but we did not discuss it too much. We were tired and hungry. There is nothing we could do now anyway so we opened up our tent and made ourselves a nice meal. We cooked some pasta, opened a can of tuna and used our last package of instant mushroom sauce. Whatever would happen tomorrow, we might as wel do it well fed.
20 minutes after our crew had left we heard some very loud "YAHOO's" emerging from the forest. We recognized the voices. Probably they had waited with counting the money until now, and the result seemed to make them very happy. We paid too much..
It was a beautiful night again, as we were in the savannah now we had a clear view of the sky. The African sky can be so magnificently beautiful. We only had a candle to provide us with some light. In different situations this would have been the perfect bushcamp.
A strange sense of rest came over us, in a way we felt relieved. We were happy that we would no longer have to struggle with only a functional front axle.
Who were we kidding anyway. We had heard the tak-tak sound before and we knew what it meant. I guess we were just hoping it would have been a dry birfield or something. Whishfull thinking.
A quick run trough the the front driveline components showed the the noise came from inside the front differential. Trying to drive now only resulted in noise, no more movement.
Our front diff had completely packed up.
We switched the engine off and it became silent. Very silent. You could see the dissapointment on the faces of our crew. We had a deal with them, they would bring us to Kapia, no matter what, and we would pay them for the service. They were afraid now that they would not get paid (or paid less) as we would obviously not reach Kapia.
We had to decide very quickly how and how much we would pay. This is so difficult! We had no idea what a reasonable amount would be. We did not want to pay them too little. Because they deserved an honest wage and we certainly did not want to make enemies here. On the other hand we did not want to pay them to much as that would only open the doors for corruption and create the impression that 'white people' always pay too much.
We decided on 150$US for all of them. 150$US divided by 8 = 19$US per person. For three very long had working days. Josephine asked me if I would be happy with that amount? I wouldn't. I'd feel insulted and angry probably. But in Congo that is a lot of money. This was so difficult!
We gave the money to papa Likas and thanked them for all their work. We also gave them our axe, for which they were very grateful. We barely used it anyway.
Our crew then dissapeared in the darkness, leaving us all alone on the savannah.
Papa Bazil, Mufuta, Vita, Papa Likas, Masambe, Bony
We knew we had a bit of problem here, but we did not discuss it too much. We were tired and hungry. There is nothing we could do now anyway so we opened up our tent and made ourselves a nice meal. We cooked some pasta, opened a can of tuna and used our last package of instant mushroom sauce. Whatever would happen tomorrow, we might as wel do it well fed.
20 minutes after our crew had left we heard some very loud "YAHOO's" emerging from the forest. We recognized the voices. Probably they had waited with counting the money until now, and the result seemed to make them very happy. We paid too much..
It was a beautiful night again, as we were in the savannah now we had a clear view of the sky. The African sky can be so magnificently beautiful. We only had a candle to provide us with some light. In different situations this would have been the perfect bushcamp.
A strange sense of rest came over us, in a way we felt relieved. We were happy that we would no longer have to struggle with only a functional front axle.
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RadioBaobab
Adventurer
Progress after day 25 on the road. Our 30th day in DRC.
These progress report are becoming useless really, as we had not really progressed today (700meter)
These progress report are becoming useless really, as we had not really progressed today (700meter)
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RadioBaobab
Adventurer
Day 26
We slept until the heat of the sun chased us out of our tent and cooked up a strong breakfast of my favourite porridge.
It was time for a sitwrap:
- Our car's bodywork was badly damaged
- Exhaust broken off
- Two broken batteries
- Rear drivetrain broken
- Front drivertrain broken
- Our gearbox was no longer connected in to our wheels = not possible to jumpstart. Not possible to move.
- Running low on food
- Running very low on water, less then 2 liters.
- Nobody knew where we were. The last time we were able to contact somebody was in Kananga. 2 weeks ago.
- No cell phone reception.
We hid all valuable things (camera, GPS, ..) in our car.
We left a note inside our car with a description of our intentions.
We blinded the windows as good as we could.
We put on our hiking boots and a hat.
We took our passports, our 2 mobile phones, some immodium and dafalgan and some sunscreen.
We filled a bottle with our last remaining bit of water.
We locked the doors of our car
We walked out...
We slept until the heat of the sun chased us out of our tent and cooked up a strong breakfast of my favourite porridge.
It was time for a sitwrap:
- Our car's bodywork was badly damaged
- Exhaust broken off
- Two broken batteries
- Rear drivetrain broken
- Front drivertrain broken
- Our gearbox was no longer connected in to our wheels = not possible to jumpstart. Not possible to move.
- Running low on food
- Running very low on water, less then 2 liters.
- Nobody knew where we were. The last time we were able to contact somebody was in Kananga. 2 weeks ago.
- No cell phone reception.
We hid all valuable things (camera, GPS, ..) in our car.
We left a note inside our car with a description of our intentions.
We blinded the windows as good as we could.
We put on our hiking boots and a hat.
We took our passports, our 2 mobile phones, some immodium and dafalgan and some sunscreen.
We filled a bottle with our last remaining bit of water.
We locked the doors of our car
We walked out...
Mamontof
Explorer
Frederik , You did All what you only can in your situation , you fight to last .
Only it time when mast left your "Mull"
GOD BLESS You , you are some last people what not many left !!!!
My Respect and short walk trail distance to civilization .
Water very easy filtrate in bush ( grass it green- mean less as one mater down in low spot water) if you feel up jeans/ pants with a sand and tight low part , put water in top , true night water slow go down clear as much as only it can - what left it boil
Better lost a day with out food - like be dehydrated .
Sound stupid , only when pull a grass out , in ruts some white "meat" tissue , what you can eat and from there have some liquid too