Democratic Republic of Congo: Lubumbashi to Kinshasa
- Thread starter RadioBaobab
- Start date
Tour de Force
New member
Amazing, thank you very much.
Guys, firstly, thanks for taking the time to write all this up. As you can see by the responses, people really appreciate your hard work in writing the report.
Secondly, Tim Cahill once wrote in his book "Hold the Enlightenment" a great definition of adventure..
"An adventure is never an adventure when it's happening. An adventure is physical and emotional discomfort, recollected in tranquility"
I think the greatest trick is realising that it is an adventure WHEN it's happening! You guys definitely succeeded. I thought your " wrap up" of the whole trip was absolutely spot on. Like many people on here, I have been lucky enough to travel quite a bit in the developing world and it is good to know that you too agree that there is no easy answer to how to deal with "Donnez moi un cadeau" etc..
Much respect.
Cheers
Guys, firstly, thanks for taking the time to write all this up. As you can see by the responses, people really appreciate your hard work in writing the report.
Secondly, Tim Cahill once wrote in his book "Hold the Enlightenment" a great definition of adventure..
"An adventure is never an adventure when it's happening. An adventure is physical and emotional discomfort, recollected in tranquility"
I think the greatest trick is realising that it is an adventure WHEN it's happening! You guys definitely succeeded. I thought your " wrap up" of the whole trip was absolutely spot on. Like many people on here, I have been lucky enough to travel quite a bit in the developing world and it is good to know that you too agree that there is no easy answer to how to deal with "Donnez moi un cadeau" etc..
Much respect.
Cheers
Mr. Leary
Glamping Excursionaire
F & J... y'all rock! :victory:
Thank you so much for sharing this small piece of your amazing journey. You have shown yourselves to posess courage, resourcefulness, and a sheer determination that is extraordinary.
I hope you write a book. I hope you share this journey with everyone who will listen. I hope you hear the praise of all the admirers of your journey louder than the quibbles of a bunch of folks on an internet forum. We question, for the most part, out of a desire to learn from your experience so that we may strive to one day complete an undertaking of similar magnitude in our lives, if not similar scope.
Once again thank you so much for sharing your adventures, your experiences, and your feelings along the way. It has been a pleasure to follow your trip report. You have touched the lives of people all over the world with your narrative, and you have done so with a humility that is to be admired. An epic journey that was much more important than the destination, this trip report and your worldly travels embody the spirit that created and sustains this forum.
With highest regard,
Mr. Leary
Thank you so much for sharing this small piece of your amazing journey. You have shown yourselves to posess courage, resourcefulness, and a sheer determination that is extraordinary.
I hope you write a book. I hope you share this journey with everyone who will listen. I hope you hear the praise of all the admirers of your journey louder than the quibbles of a bunch of folks on an internet forum. We question, for the most part, out of a desire to learn from your experience so that we may strive to one day complete an undertaking of similar magnitude in our lives, if not similar scope.
Once again thank you so much for sharing your adventures, your experiences, and your feelings along the way. It has been a pleasure to follow your trip report. You have touched the lives of people all over the world with your narrative, and you have done so with a humility that is to be admired. An epic journey that was much more important than the destination, this trip report and your worldly travels embody the spirit that created and sustains this forum.
With highest regard,
Mr. Leary
Ford Prefect
Expedition Leader
I personally find, when it comes to internet forums, that people appear to really wish to control other people's lives and they way they go about doing just about anything. It is sad really. I say Great Job! Well done trip, well written, and clearly many are well and truly jealous. Jealous of your trip, to be sure, but also of your bravado and will to make this journey happen.
Thanks and best of luck on your journey. By the by, I really enjoyed the backpacker story, very good points in a simple and concise way.
Brian
Thanks and best of luck on your journey. By the by, I really enjoyed the backpacker story, very good points in a simple and concise way.
Brian
David Harris
Expedition Leader
I was kind of curious what it looked like as well, and what he was asking for it?
mcneil
Observer
Frederik & Josephine.. the English word is "EPIC". You're an inspiration to any would-be adventurer.
I'm a skilled mechanic, capable of repairing nearly anything on my jeep and improvising solutions to keep the vehicle moving. I know the location of nearly all components and fasteners, as well as the tools and techniques to service them. Like many of other commenters in this forum, I have put my resources towards equipment and the tools to maintain it.
With that said.. I don't get out much, especially not compared to F&J. I choose to spend more of my time working on vehicles rather than operating them. I speak one language, English, because my study time was devoted to technical subjects, not language. I've never even seen Africa, though one day I hope to, but probably not Congo.
There's a theory, that it takes 10,000 hours at something to become a true expert. I have that time in designing and fixing machines, as have most ExPo forum members. There are some very skilled people on this forum. But that time in the garage and time at work comes at at cost of time not spent elsewhere.
F&J are travelers, adventurers of the highest order. I am a engineer/mechanic. Had I been in Congo with a broken axle, I could have fixed it or improvised a solution. I would have used a different method for getting the ferry started. My vehicle has a winch, I know rigging techniques for improvising extraction tools. I could and would have done it differently.
But I wasn't in Congo, I was at home, wrenching on my jeep and working at my job to pay the bills, to pay for the tools, the house, the garage. This same could be said for most of the ExPo members, because with select exceptions, most of us work our jobs and travel as a hobby. Frederik and Josephine lived travel. The rest of us lived differently.
I'm a skilled mechanic, capable of repairing nearly anything on my jeep and improvising solutions to keep the vehicle moving. I know the location of nearly all components and fasteners, as well as the tools and techniques to service them. Like many of other commenters in this forum, I have put my resources towards equipment and the tools to maintain it.
With that said.. I don't get out much, especially not compared to F&J. I choose to spend more of my time working on vehicles rather than operating them. I speak one language, English, because my study time was devoted to technical subjects, not language. I've never even seen Africa, though one day I hope to, but probably not Congo.
There's a theory, that it takes 10,000 hours at something to become a true expert. I have that time in designing and fixing machines, as have most ExPo forum members. There are some very skilled people on this forum. But that time in the garage and time at work comes at at cost of time not spent elsewhere.
F&J are travelers, adventurers of the highest order. I am a engineer/mechanic. Had I been in Congo with a broken axle, I could have fixed it or improvised a solution. I would have used a different method for getting the ferry started. My vehicle has a winch, I know rigging techniques for improvising extraction tools. I could and would have done it differently.
But I wasn't in Congo, I was at home, wrenching on my jeep and working at my job to pay the bills, to pay for the tools, the house, the garage. This same could be said for most of the ExPo members, because with select exceptions, most of us work our jobs and travel as a hobby. Frederik and Josephine lived travel. The rest of us lived differently.
HiLift Jack
Adventurer
Thanks
Frederik & Josephine, thanks for letting us tag along on this adventure. I am humbled by your joie de vivre. Your wrap up post is as epic as the trip, thanks for explaining more about who you are and your world view from the front seat of the LC.
Great stuff, this is why I drive by Expo.
See you on the road.
Juan
Frederik & Josephine, thanks for letting us tag along on this adventure. I am humbled by your joie de vivre. Your wrap up post is as epic as the trip, thanks for explaining more about who you are and your world view from the front seat of the LC.
Great stuff, this is why I drive by Expo.
See you on the road.
Juan
Last edited:
RadioBaobab
Adventurer
Allow me to add the perspective of the author a trip report.
Writing a trip report like this is a lot of work. I dare not count the hours I spent on it. Like most people here I have a huge list of things I want to do, but only so much time to do it in. Yet I chose to spent some of my valuable (to me) time in writing the trip report. I do not get paid for it. I am not obliged to do this. The only reason I do this is out of passion for the travelling, and the will to share this passion with others. It actually costs me money too, the bandwith of all these pictures is not for free you know.
I do not expect anything in return for this. I do not expect a thank you. Ofcourse, positive comments are nice to receive and it will motivate me to post more trip reports. Snotty remarks will make me think twice before I post another report. Or will change the way I write my reports (in a defensive way instead of an open and honest way).
I know quite a few travellers out there. They have stories to tell that would make my little trip report look pretty boring. But they do not share them on the Expedition Portal. Partly because they are not so Internet minded like I am. But mostly because they know they will have to deal with all the silly remarks and questions. They fear that they either have to endure the remarks and get branded or spent A LOT of time trying to explain everthing they do. These people have better things to do... so they do not bother with it. Our loss!
The thing is, these people are usually willing to share their stories. And Expedition Portal would be a great site to do it on. It has everything it needs: a huge userbase (audience), great knowledgable and interested people, ... .
ADVrider is a nice example where a constant trickle of extremely interesting trip reports. Some time ago MetalJockey posted one of his epic trip reports where he took his little kid on the back of the bike. The first thing that crossed my mind was that he was going to get a lot of comments on taking a kid on the back of a dirt bike with minimal protection. Sure enough, remarks came in, but they were extremely civilised and contained no judgements (and the others were moderated out). Things like:
That is a very different question then (for example):
Spot the difference? The first will probably get you an answer. The latter will annoy the author, push him into the defence and he will certainly think again before sharing something with you again. With you, and the community you are part of. You might not get all the information you want out of a trip report, but if an author of a trip report feels appreciation, you have a much bigger chance he will eventually check out the technical forums as well and contribute there. Short term vs. long term thinking.
Does that mean you are not entitled to voice your opinion? That you cannot question what has happened? Ofcourse not, but do not forget everything you say - and how you say - has consequences.
Do not take this personally RMPO, I am convinced you have nothing but good intentions. I just make use of the opportunity to make a general point. Why don't we make this Trip Report section of the forum a nice and welcome place for authors of trip reports? We would all benefit from it.
Last edited:
taniyamorris
New member
Frederik - an amazing trip report &, in my humble opinion, your final points are extremely well put. With my experience (very limited, compared to yours) of overland travel in Africa you have hit the nail on the head re charity, support & many local attitudes. How you deal with it is also a very personal issue & whilst you shouldn't have to explain your motives & thinking, you have done so very clearly. Thanks.
As for the negative comments - unfortunately some people seem unable to ask questions without phrasing them in judgemental, negative way. You did what you did, the way you did.... I admire you both. Well done.
Many, many thanks for taking the time to produce this report & hopefully inspire others to seek adventure. You have certainly inspired me.:safari-rig:
As for the negative comments - unfortunately some people seem unable to ask questions without phrasing them in judgemental, negative way. You did what you did, the way you did.... I admire you both. Well done.
Many, many thanks for taking the time to produce this report & hopefully inspire others to seek adventure. You have certainly inspired me.:safari-rig:
hillstrubl
Observer
I'd also like to hear the status of the Toyota
mcneil
Observer
Not to ask even more out of Frederik.. but I'd love to see before/after pictures of that LC.