Democratic Republic of Congo: Lubumbashi to Kinshasa
- Thread starter RadioBaobab
- Start date
RadioBaobab
Adventurer
We had this made up for us in Congo :sombrero: It's on our wall in our living room at the moment.
goodwoodweirdo
Adventurer
RadioBaobab
Adventurer
I take out the multimeter and it gives funny readings on our batteries. I am starting to fear that they are shot. :?
We have been on this ferry for over 4 hours now, and we have not really made any progress. Luckily we still have an ace up our sleeves. Our Landcruiser is a 24volt version. That means we have 2 batteries for the engine. (imagine you arrive here with only one battery?). But we also have two auxiliary batteries in the back, to run our fridge. There are a couple of reasons we had not used them up until now. Firstly these batteries are deep-cycle batteries, they are not made for cranking an engine, that could lead to damage. Secondly, to save space in the back I put the batteries in a location where they are very difficult to take out of. We would have to unload half of the car to get to it, It takes at least an hour to take them out. Not a fun thing to do in a car that has been standing all day in tropical heat. The idea of exposing all our belongings in this crowd is not really a good prospect either.
But we had no choice now, so we started unloading our car on the ferry. Josephine on guard, me sweating inside.
An hour later the ferry came to live again. It once again took a lot of turns of the startermotor before the engine would go.. these batteries too were now completely flat.
I did not really see anything of our crossing (shame, it was a beautiful river) as I was trying to bolt the batteries back into the back of our truck.
At 4 in the afternoon we reached the opposite side. With as much run-up as possible they pushed us of the ferry and I managed to get the Landcruiser started on my, rough, way down. We were greeted by a committee of officials. This was a province border (Kasai/Bandundu).
We have been on this ferry for over 4 hours now, and we have not really made any progress. Luckily we still have an ace up our sleeves. Our Landcruiser is a 24volt version. That means we have 2 batteries for the engine. (imagine you arrive here with only one battery?). But we also have two auxiliary batteries in the back, to run our fridge. There are a couple of reasons we had not used them up until now. Firstly these batteries are deep-cycle batteries, they are not made for cranking an engine, that could lead to damage. Secondly, to save space in the back I put the batteries in a location where they are very difficult to take out of. We would have to unload half of the car to get to it, It takes at least an hour to take them out. Not a fun thing to do in a car that has been standing all day in tropical heat. The idea of exposing all our belongings in this crowd is not really a good prospect either.
But we had no choice now, so we started unloading our car on the ferry. Josephine on guard, me sweating inside.
An hour later the ferry came to live again. It once again took a lot of turns of the startermotor before the engine would go.. these batteries too were now completely flat.
I did not really see anything of our crossing (shame, it was a beautiful river) as I was trying to bolt the batteries back into the back of our truck.
At 4 in the afternoon we reached the opposite side. With as much run-up as possible they pushed us of the ferry and I managed to get the Landcruiser started on my, rough, way down. We were greeted by a committee of officials. This was a province border (Kasai/Bandundu).
RadioBaobab
Adventurer
We were invited in the customs hut. It had a little table and a wooden bench. And a big book. They registered us, asked for our permit (was ok for them), our insurance, etc.. When they were done they asked if we "had something for them"
Time for the usual routine, this gets tiring after a while. So I silently count to 3, smile and with a very sweet voice reply that I give them my friendship and appreciation and give them a blessing from God.. And that I am so delighted that such a professional and efficient custom service is provided (for free!) by the Congolese government to us, humble tourists.
They ofcourse reply that they want something else. After which I put on a very sad face and ask why they do not want my friendship?
This confuses them. That is the right time to get up, thank and greet them with a lot of words (not allowing them to talk back) and walk out of the door.
But we were immediately redirected to another hut, the police hut. Same story there, same tricks.
When we were finally ready to go, the first customs officer comes to me. He brings me my hat. I had forgotten it in his hut. These guys aren't bad, they do what they have always seen and done (ref. corruption). We are glad we remained friendly with them. We felt very much out of place again.
Slowly we drove off, back into the bush. Our mood changed when we realized that we had just left Kasai behind. That was the hardest part of our trip. Once we reach Kikwit, we know there is a frequently used road to Kinshasa. And from the people on the ferry we learned that there is good track - maintained by Belgians - from Dibaya-Lubwe to Kikwit. A quick check on the map learned us that we would reach that 'real' road soon. Not today, but probably tomorrow, depending on the state of the roads.
The road was pretty bad and the going was slow. But it was not as bad as the roads from the last days. Most of the time we were still driving off-camber, driving in and out of huge pits, around or over obstacles. Slow, first gear movement. But we did not get stuck. It was pretty surreal that Josephine and I were having a very animated discussion while negotiating these serious obstacles.
We looked back to everything we have been trough in the last 4 weeks. pretty crazy stuff! We have litterally gotten ourselves stuck hundreds of times, but we always managed to get us out. We laughed at all the nonsense we talked when trying to avoid bribes. We felt really happy now, relieved. A great sense of satisfaction came over us. We congratulated eachother for helping eachother out when the going got tough. We congratulated our Landcruiser for being so tough.
Then a horrible, dreadful sound.
*BANG* tak-tak-tak
Time for the usual routine, this gets tiring after a while. So I silently count to 3, smile and with a very sweet voice reply that I give them my friendship and appreciation and give them a blessing from God.. And that I am so delighted that such a professional and efficient custom service is provided (for free!) by the Congolese government to us, humble tourists.
They ofcourse reply that they want something else. After which I put on a very sad face and ask why they do not want my friendship?
This confuses them. That is the right time to get up, thank and greet them with a lot of words (not allowing them to talk back) and walk out of the door.
But we were immediately redirected to another hut, the police hut. Same story there, same tricks.
When we were finally ready to go, the first customs officer comes to me. He brings me my hat. I had forgotten it in his hut. These guys aren't bad, they do what they have always seen and done (ref. corruption). We are glad we remained friendly with them. We felt very much out of place again.
Slowly we drove off, back into the bush. Our mood changed when we realized that we had just left Kasai behind. That was the hardest part of our trip. Once we reach Kikwit, we know there is a frequently used road to Kinshasa. And from the people on the ferry we learned that there is good track - maintained by Belgians - from Dibaya-Lubwe to Kikwit. A quick check on the map learned us that we would reach that 'real' road soon. Not today, but probably tomorrow, depending on the state of the roads.
The road was pretty bad and the going was slow. But it was not as bad as the roads from the last days. Most of the time we were still driving off-camber, driving in and out of huge pits, around or over obstacles. Slow, first gear movement. But we did not get stuck. It was pretty surreal that Josephine and I were having a very animated discussion while negotiating these serious obstacles.
We looked back to everything we have been trough in the last 4 weeks. pretty crazy stuff! We have litterally gotten ourselves stuck hundreds of times, but we always managed to get us out. We laughed at all the nonsense we talked when trying to avoid bribes. We felt really happy now, relieved. A great sense of satisfaction came over us. We congratulated eachother for helping eachother out when the going got tough. We congratulated our Landcruiser for being so tough.
Then a horrible, dreadful sound.
*BANG* tak-tak-tak
goodwoodweirdo
Adventurer
RadioBaobab
Adventurer
I stopped immediately. I was pretty sure I knew what that sound meant. I turned my head towards Josephine and saw a confused, questioning look on her face. "What was that?" she asked. I did not say a word and got out of the car, looked at the wheels and saw nothing special.I walked to the other side of the car and saw this
Everything seemed to pause for a minute. It was late afternoon and the worst heat had worn off, the sounds of the bush were omnipresent. We were alone. We were sweating.
"Josephine, I think we have problem"
Everything seemed to pause for a minute. It was late afternoon and the worst heat had worn off, the sounds of the bush were omnipresent. We were alone. We were sweating.
"Josephine, I think we have problem"
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Excellent trip report!
I just had to register to comment this. I've been following this report since page 1.
I would love to do a trip similar to this one, only thing stopping me is knowhow and funds. Oh, and the fact that I don't have a vehicle to travel in
Some day I will get me a Troopie and travel the world, maybe we will meet on the Savannah.
Now, Update!
I just had to register to comment this. I've been following this report since page 1.
I would love to do a trip similar to this one, only thing stopping me is knowhow and funds. Oh, and the fact that I don't have a vehicle to travel in
Some day I will get me a Troopie and travel the world, maybe we will meet on the Savannah.
Now, Update!
rfoubi
Observer
Amazing work guys, this has kept me on the edge of my seat, and made me long for the open road again. At least the fact that you havent finished the report yet means i have something to keep me going here in the office this week. And as others have said, top notch writing, i would buy the book as well. Cant wait for the next installment.