Democratic Republic of Congo: Lubumbashi to Kinshasa
- Thread starter RadioBaobab
- Start date
F&J,
Add me to the long list of people who registered just to say thank you for the engrossing story.
I have never done a motorized expedition like this but I have hiked the Appalachian Trail among other similar journeys. I remember meeting one through-hiker who aborted his journey because he damaged his special hiking boots and couldn't find another pair. I was wearing $10 army surplus boots at the time. When they became damaged I bought a pair of jogging shoes. They are just shoes. Fancy or not, you hike. Winch or not, you move forward. A convenience is not a necessity. This (along with your natural writing talent) is why your story reads as a true adventure when so many others read like a nice vacation.
Cheers!
Add me to the long list of people who registered just to say thank you for the engrossing story.
I have never done a motorized expedition like this but I have hiked the Appalachian Trail among other similar journeys. I remember meeting one through-hiker who aborted his journey because he damaged his special hiking boots and couldn't find another pair. I was wearing $10 army surplus boots at the time. When they became damaged I bought a pair of jogging shoes. They are just shoes. Fancy or not, you hike. Winch or not, you move forward. A convenience is not a necessity. This (along with your natural writing talent) is why your story reads as a true adventure when so many others read like a nice vacation.
Cheers!
amateurninja
New member
This is just epic. Thanks for taking the time to write this out so patiently and beautifully.
RockTaco02
New member
Reading this Odyssey a few nights ago changed my perception of a great many things. It was a pleasure to come along on the journey. You guys have the strength and will of which I have never seen. The excitement, the irrational, the terror, serenity, disappointment, triumph, all contribute to a sense of humanity that most of us have never experienced in a lifetime let alone in the course of just a few years span. This narration changed me in the way that I no longer find myself asking why, or how but look forward to the possibility of putting foot to terra and embracing something that i cannot fully understand until it has gone full circle. There is no doubt in my mind that you guys left a lasting impression on everyone you encountered. Even as the days go by the excitement still hasn't subsided, and I struggle to find the words to describe the way I feel, stories like this give hope to young people such as myself who are constantly reminded everyday how grim and unforgiving the world is. Thank you for sharing...
Amazing story, thank you. I read it from beginning to end over a two day period, this after having done a Google search on the road conditions between Lumbumbashi to Kinshasa. I will be doing the trip to Kinshasa in May next year and am undecided as to whether the best route to follow is the one you guys did or to go via Angola... I must admit that I am now leaning towards the Angolan route (travelling from Cape Town), especially given the level of aggression you guys faced between Lumbumbashi and Kin - I intend to spend at least a month on the Congo River and would hate to face this on the water or when stopping for the night.
I took some time off from reading this morning to order a winch, and fully inflatable boat (as opposed to a trailer based rig) and some decent sand/mud tracks. I also went past my Land Rover guys with an additional list of spares - I was stranded for a couple of days in Northern Mozambique a few years ago when the oil pump went which resulted in complete engine failure and a very expensive tow home, not something I would like to repeat.
Please keep on updating.
I took some time off from reading this morning to order a winch, and fully inflatable boat (as opposed to a trailer based rig) and some decent sand/mud tracks. I also went past my Land Rover guys with an additional list of spares - I was stranded for a couple of days in Northern Mozambique a few years ago when the oil pump went which resulted in complete engine failure and a very expensive tow home, not something I would like to repeat.
Please keep on updating.
epicxcrider
Observer
I'm blown away by this trip, thank you so much for sharing. Describing the mood and how you interacted with the people got me excited, disappointed, angry, sad, happy, and stressed out! I feel like I was there.
Thanks again
-N
Thanks again
-N
Realsweden
New member
Sorry for bringing this up again, but I just finished reading the topic.
I have to say that this is the most amazing trip report I have ever read, and I'm glad you managed to finish your adventure unharmed.
Thank you very much! This report has been an inspiration for me!
(And I guess everyone's still waiting for the final wrap-ups
)
Thanks again!
Marco
I have to say that this is the most amazing trip report I have ever read, and I'm glad you managed to finish your adventure unharmed.
Thank you very much! This report has been an inspiration for me!
(And I guess everyone's still waiting for the final wrap-ups
)Thanks again!
Marco
I'm in awe!
Dear Frederik & Josephine,
I know it's been almost a year since your last post (you still owe us the vehicle details btw :ylsmoke, but I was referred here by an American gentleman who joined our Hilux forum in South Africa to gather further information regarding cannibalism in Africa.
I am one of the hordes who just had to join to express my gratitude to an excellent writer for bringing us such a raw account of the real Arfrica. Rarely have I read a travel account so accurate and at the same time so enthralling! You have the gift of the gab, Sir, but above all for your courage and honesty I salute you!
For all the naysayers and negative commenters, I would like to put certain things in perspective from an African point of view (mine that is!). I am a white male living, working and raising my kids in a country and on a continent I love. My ancestors settled here almost 300 years ago and although white, I consider myself an African - and nothing else! Frederik, your staunch stance on corruption and extortion is to be lauded and I wish more tourists would think about the broader impact of just giving.
Even a prosperous African country such as ours is starting to see the negative effect of this general attitude of " helping the locals". A simple example: my wife is German and we recently had the joy of the inlaws' company for 3 weeks. We travelled quite a bit through our beautiful country, but I was struct hard by how suddenly prices for curios have shot through the roof after the Soccer World Cup of last year. The prices for "tourists" are now comparable to the prices charged in Europe by specialist retailers selling "African art". Locals rarely buy these objects and their trade relies almost 100% on the tourism industry. I refused that my inlaws pays these exorbitant prices and haggled it down to acceptable, albeit still high prices. What was my reward for standing up against extortion? I was called something I have NEVER been... A racist!
These curio sellers are literally starting to starve, as even the "stupid" tourists (as you are all called behind your back for paying these prices) are starting to realize that prices are ludicrous. You still buy, because you feel you have to, instead of buying because you like it. Bottom line? You still buy, you just buy less. The cycle has begun... But the cycle in Africa works differently. Instead of lowering prices to increase demand, a stupid tourist every now and then pay the ridiculous prices and dreams of wealth take over logic and reason. They now have to make the same profit on a single item that they made on 5 or 6 befor, so prices keep on rising. In Africa, when demand drops, prices INCREASE. They are destroying their own industry! Why? Because they are not schooled in economics? Probably. Because they they don't know better? Definitely. But most of all, because you encouraged it!
I can cite hundreds of examples, but I will end my rant here. All I ask, as a humble 3rd world citizen, is think about the broader impact of just giving before you justify to yourself that you are " uplifting" someone. You are in actual fact destroying fragile lives and economies and creating tension between locals that a country with a recent history like ours (and most of Africa) can ill afford...
Frederik & Josephine, God speed in your travels and never give up your morals and integrity. The world (especially the 3rd World) need more people like you!
Mooi Bly!
Dear Frederik & Josephine,
I know it's been almost a year since your last post (you still owe us the vehicle details btw :ylsmoke
, but I was referred here by an American gentleman who joined our Hilux forum in South Africa to gather further information regarding cannibalism in Africa. I am one of the hordes who just had to join to express my gratitude to an excellent writer for bringing us such a raw account of the real Arfrica. Rarely have I read a travel account so accurate and at the same time so enthralling! You have the gift of the gab, Sir, but above all for your courage and honesty I salute you!
For all the naysayers and negative commenters, I would like to put certain things in perspective from an African point of view (mine that is!). I am a white male living, working and raising my kids in a country and on a continent I love. My ancestors settled here almost 300 years ago and although white, I consider myself an African - and nothing else! Frederik, your staunch stance on corruption and extortion is to be lauded and I wish more tourists would think about the broader impact of just giving.
Even a prosperous African country such as ours is starting to see the negative effect of this general attitude of " helping the locals". A simple example: my wife is German and we recently had the joy of the inlaws' company for 3 weeks. We travelled quite a bit through our beautiful country, but I was struct hard by how suddenly prices for curios have shot through the roof after the Soccer World Cup of last year. The prices for "tourists" are now comparable to the prices charged in Europe by specialist retailers selling "African art". Locals rarely buy these objects and their trade relies almost 100% on the tourism industry. I refused that my inlaws pays these exorbitant prices and haggled it down to acceptable, albeit still high prices. What was my reward for standing up against extortion? I was called something I have NEVER been... A racist!
These curio sellers are literally starting to starve, as even the "stupid" tourists (as you are all called behind your back for paying these prices) are starting to realize that prices are ludicrous. You still buy, because you feel you have to, instead of buying because you like it. Bottom line? You still buy, you just buy less. The cycle has begun... But the cycle in Africa works differently. Instead of lowering prices to increase demand, a stupid tourist every now and then pay the ridiculous prices and dreams of wealth take over logic and reason. They now have to make the same profit on a single item that they made on 5 or 6 befor, so prices keep on rising. In Africa, when demand drops, prices INCREASE. They are destroying their own industry! Why? Because they are not schooled in economics? Probably. Because they they don't know better? Definitely. But most of all, because you encouraged it!
I can cite hundreds of examples, but I will end my rant here. All I ask, as a humble 3rd world citizen, is think about the broader impact of just giving before you justify to yourself that you are " uplifting" someone. You are in actual fact destroying fragile lives and economies and creating tension between locals that a country with a recent history like ours (and most of Africa) can ill afford...
Frederik & Josephine, God speed in your travels and never give up your morals and integrity. The world (especially the 3rd World) need more people like you!
Mooi Bly!
Hello Frederik and Josephine,
I found your trip report yesterday and finished it today. WOW, what a journey! There have been so many glowing thanks in this thread that I don't think I can add anything. I can say that as I read portions of the report I sat at my computer just shaking my head in disbelief. I am in total admiration of you two. The crew waiting for 1 year to repair their truck probably caused the most severe head shaking. Amazing. Obviously, those in the Congo reckon time differently.
Last, you two have the rare human qualities of courage and honesty. I would like to know you two. I think it would be something to experience.
Thank You Very Much,
Sparky
I found your trip report yesterday and finished it today. WOW, what a journey! There have been so many glowing thanks in this thread that I don't think I can add anything. I can say that as I read portions of the report I sat at my computer just shaking my head in disbelief. I am in total admiration of you two. The crew waiting for 1 year to repair their truck probably caused the most severe head shaking. Amazing. Obviously, those in the Congo reckon time differently.
Last, you two have the rare human qualities of courage and honesty. I would like to know you two. I think it would be something to experience.
Thank You Very Much,
Sparky
RMP&O
Expedition Leader
Yup I can wrap my head around that. The DRC happens to be one of the top 10 most dangerous countries in the world, or at the least the top 20 list.
Which is why I am in no hurry to go there and overland through the country. I am also not exactly intrested in doing it in a truck that I have to recover over and over again with a high lift jack. Recovering a vehicle with a high lift jack is not very much fun in the firts place let alone with dozens of people standing around shouting "give me money". Running from whole villages wielding machetes yelling "give me money white people" is also not exactly my idea of a good time. Beating my truck to death because I went unprepared is also not on my list of things to do.
I have been to war torn countries plenty of times such as;
Colombia
Guatemala
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Honduras
Mexico
On a trip to Colombia in 2008 a very large bomb went off just a few blocks from me. People were killed and property was destroyed, thanks to FARC. On another trip to Colombia in 2004 I saw several people shot on the streets of Bogota. I have sat on the streets in El Salvador talking with MS13 gang members, members of the most dangerous gang in the world. I driven past cars burned up and shot full of bullets in Mexico, as recent as a day before I was there. So assuming I am only an armchair traveler is well, assuming. I advocated safe travel through dangerous lands in this thread just like I do on most of this forum. That is responsible and I feel me being at least a little experienced with travel (by vehicle too) there is absolutely nothing wrong with me saying this to people on a forum of this type. I am not speaking from a point of no experience, ie the armchair traveler. Have I been to the DRC? Of course not and never said I have. Do I offer advice to people traveling to the places I have been. Yup I sure do, why wouldn't I? Do I respond to constructive criticism in my trip reports or in replies to my own threads/posts? Yes I do and I don't get bent out of shape about it. I have things to learn just like everybody else. Did I attack the OP at all? Nope I didn't. Did I put down their trip? Nope I did not. If I had a moderator would have not only pm'ed me but also edited my posts.
This trip report like most things on this forum are public. As long as I stick to the rules of the forum there is nothing wrong with me pointing out things I think are irresponsible. There is also nothing wrong with any one saying I am out of line. You see this is public, open for discussion and we are all free to say what we like, again if we stick to the rules of the forum. Nobody has to agree with me and I don't have to agree with anybody else. We also all have opinions. That is what makes a public forum great. Why people can't see this is beyond me.
People have a hard time with constructive criticism, obviously. They also like selective reading, where they take what they want from what somebody says or posts insted of taking into account the bigger picture of what a person is saying. All I was saying from my posts over a year ago is travel to dangerous lands becomes more dangerous when you go unprepared. Is that such a hard thing to accept and wrap your head around?
And to all the people who joined just to say thanks in this trip report....welcome to the forum!!
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