Congo

20/04/04

Thursday 15^th  April

The day begins with an amusing start for everyone except Slade.  He had noticed a group of men looking at our camp and had gone up to the road with Bayo to say hello and stop them coming any further. Whilst he was talking a bee flew up his shorts and stung him on the bum! The men told him to drop his trousers so they could retrieve the sting; Slade bared all and the men dazzled by the whiteness managed to shade their and eyes and help him out.  The men then left - laughing! Welcome to the Congo!

The piste is pretty good as it is built and maintained by the logging companies and we averaged about 30mph in between photograph spots and watching lines of soldier ants carry their eggs across the road.  The people here have been very friendly and look genuinely happy to see tourists.  Old ladies ran out of their wooden huts or smoky thatched kitchens with toothless grins, waving both hands! No one has really come through since before the civil war which started in 1997 and went until 1999. 

It took 3 hours to drive to Mossendjo where we made the mistake of stopping for lunch.  There is not much to eat here manioc, bananas and bushmeat.  On the menu at the local restaurant was gazelle and porcupine.  Urs enjoyed the latter.  Word soon got around that we were in town and we spent the next 3 hours registering with the police, immigration and the gendarmerie. Apparantly you have to register in every district in Congo. Again the printed forms came in handy.

We drove to Foralac Matalila a logging company just north of Makabana.  We had been given the name and address of the place by Mr Cassanova in Libreville who had assured us the owners would be more than happy to put us up. The mill was huge. Massive tree trunks piled up, heavy machinery, piles of planks and lots of workers gave the impression that tree felling was big business.  The surprised looks on Alain and Frederic faces on seeing 9 people waiting on their office steps, luckily turned into smiles and they invited us to stay in their guest house.  This was good news as a massive rainstorm suddenly started and it was impossible to open the tents.  They also invited us for dinner and to spend the following day in the forest with them.

The day in the forest was very interesting and will make us double check where our wood comes from when we eventually move out of the landy and into a house.  They have 300,000 hectares of forest on concession from the government and they take out one tree per hectare.  The wood they take out, mostly hardwoods is bound for Europe. Their company has been running for 50 odd years and the intensity of their logging is much lower than that of other companies operating in Congo.  Apparently Chinese companies are working there but instead of selective tree cutting they operate clear fell policies which means that all the wood is taken out.   This, Alain told us will devastate the Congolese forests. 

We were taken into the forest to watch a tree being felled. It was beautiful, tall and straight and over 100 years old. It was cut down in less than an half an hour , crashing down through other trees and flooding light into the forest.  It was sad to watch.   We soon found out how the trunks were  removed from the forest.  Alain put us into a Caterpillar clearing machine which roared off pushing down everything in its way and turning what was once dense jungle into a muddy track.  Half an hour on the machine was more than enough.  We pulled a 3 tonne trunk up a steep hill, the Caterpillar clawing its way upwards.  It was powerful stuff. Alain told  us that the paths quickly close up again and from the air you cannot see where they work.

As we drove back to the mill 2 Gendarms were waiting for us, probably all day. They wanted to register us. Alain kindly fed us and accompanied us to the Local Prefect to field he Gendarms questions.  They were so suspicious of us that they wanted to accompany us to the Blue Lake where Alain had recommended we spend the night.

It was a great recommendation.  We spent the morning of the next day swimming in crystal clear water with our masks and flippers watching hundreds of tropical fish.  A peaceful contrast to the day before.

The drive south from Makabana to Point Noire was very beautiful. In total it is about an 8 hour drive.  From Makabana it is 35 km to the turnoff at Mila Mila, left for Dolisie and right for Point Noire.  There is no piste to PN as depicted on the Michelin 955, the Michelin man needs a good kicking.  There is a new piste to PN, not on the map and involves only a few police checks before getting to the town. 

Again, thanks to Mr Cassanova and his list of contacts we phoned up an unsuspecting lady, Evelyn who kindly organized for us to stay at the sailing club. No more yachting for us though just a camping spot overlooking the harbour, which is great.

We tried to get another Transit visa for Angola but they refused and told us to go to Matadi.  That our plan for tomorrow 20^th April..

Congo Summary

Border Crossing

Border at Mbinda - seldom used but very pleased to see tourists.

Piste Information

Mbinda to Mokolo - 25 km It is rough going but all Land rover drivers enjoy the mud and gullys. We complete it in 2 hours.

Mokolo to Mossendjo - 3 hour drive

Makabana to Point Noire - an 8 hour drive.  From Makabana it is 35 km to the turnoff at Mila Mila, left for Dolisie and right for Point Noire.  There is no piste to PN as depicted on the Michelin 955.  There is a new piste to PN, not on the map and involves only a few police checks before getting to the town. 

Bush Camps

After Makolo

S 2.21.924 E 12.46.251

Blue Lake

S 3º33.428 E 12º28.858

Yacht Club in Pointe Noire

S 4º47.372 E 11º50.866