mischiefjay
Race Dog
You go Jo.
:thumleft:
:thumleft:
Right Around Africa
- Thread starter jorust
- Start date
Shaun
Grey Hound
It would be so Awesome if there was a video feed, that we could see. Nice to see how well you are doing Jo :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
Keep it up & enjoy every minute of your journey. :thumleft:
Keep it up & enjoy every minute of your journey. :thumleft:
schalk vd merwe
Race Dog
Daar is nie ooral internet cafe's in Africa nie, sy sal OK wees moenie worry nie, groete.
jorust
Race Dog
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
- Messages
- 735
- Reaction score
- 0
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS
Helloooooo from the Northern Hemisphere!!! :mink:
I'm busy working on a update, so will post that soon.
Am currently in Libreville. Got my Nigeria visa yesterday and will leave Gabon on Sunday. :ricky:
So should reach Nigeria by Wednesday or so. :thumleft:
Have had some beautiful roads and some hectic roads. And one idiot from Czech Republic. And then I also couldn't get to the Equator sign. It's all in the update.
Cheers vir eers.
I'm busy working on a update, so will post that soon.
Am currently in Libreville. Got my Nigeria visa yesterday and will leave Gabon on Sunday. :ricky:
So should reach Nigeria by Wednesday or so. :thumleft:
Have had some beautiful roads and some hectic roads. And one idiot from Czech Republic. And then I also couldn't get to the Equator sign. It's all in the update.
Cheers vir eers.
Shaun
Grey Hound
jorust said:Helloooooo from the Northern Hemisphere!!! :mink:
I'm busy working on a update, so will post that soon.
Am currently in Libreville. Got my Nigeria visa yesterday and will leave Gabon on Sunday. :ricky:
So should reach Nigeria by Wednesday or so. :thumleft:
Have had some beautiful roads and some hectic roads. And one idiot from Czech Republic. And then I also couldn't get to the Equator sign. It's all in the update.
Cheers vir eers.
Looking forward to the update. A lot of us have been looking out for any news. Glad to hear things are still on track & going OK :thumleft:
Keep it up Jo.
jorust
Race Dog
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
- Messages
- 735
- Reaction score
- 0
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS
Congo to Gabon
Current Location: Libreville
Have crossed the Equator into the Northern Hemisphere! Woohoo!
I got up at 05:00am to have a shower and load the bike to leave Pointe Noire for Gabon. It’s a bit of a push to reach Gabon in one day, but we would try. I would not be riding alone though. I met up with Allan from the Czech Republic. He left Johannesburg to ride up the West African coast to Prague. Friends in Angola had been updating me on his progress and I received him in Pointe Noire when he arrived.
We agreed to ride together for a bit. At first the idea was to ride together up until Ghana. From there I would carry on to Cote D’Ivoire and he would go to Burkina Faso as his route takes him through Mali. I am used to doing my own thing…but thought I’d give it a try.
By 06:00am the entire household was up to wish Allan and I a safe journey. We had a quick coffee and filled up with water for the road. Gave the bikes a last check and then we said our goodbyes. I had come to love my family in Pointe Noire. Fernando and his wife Stephanie and their children. They took me in as one of their own and looked after me when I was sick. Just before we left Fernando looked at Allan and said: “You look after my sister! Otherwise I will come and visit you in Prague!”. Little did I know it would be me who would have to do the ‘looking after’.
We pushed the bikes out of the driveway and slowly rolled out of Pointe Noire. We had been told that the road between Pointe Noire and Dolisie is a great tar road. So we could look forward to some speedy progress. From Dolisie we did not really know what to expect. Nobody was really sure what the road looked like apart from the fact that it is not a tar road.
The tar road to Dolisie is absolutely beautiful. Both the actual road and the surroundings. For about 160 kilometers you have this winding tar road and you are surrounded by sub-tropical jungle all the way. It is one of the most beautiful riding experiences I’ve had to date. The first couple of kilometers out of town went a bit slower because of the traffic. Loads of taxi’s loading up to take people into town for their day’s work. Early morning hustle and bustle in the city. Thereafter we hit some thick mist, which provided me with a feeling of really being in the wilderness. With the smells and sounds of the jungle and the giant trees surrounding me. Beautiful!
We made it to Dolisie by 09:00am. We would just ride into town to fill up with fuel and then head out toward the Gabon border via Fugamou and Mila-Mila. After filling up with fuel we stopped at a little market to have something to eat and drink. We bought 3 bananas and a liter of Coca-Cola, which we shared. We sat chatting with some locals who were very eager to practice the little English they know. They informed us that the road up to the border is excellent and we have nothing to worry about. It’s the national road!
With this new information we were eager to hit the road to try and reach the town of Ndende just after the border before dark. We also did not know what time the border would close. I suspected it would be around 17:00.
The fabulous national road turned out to be a sandy and very dusty track. Not too bad though, just incredibly dusty. Especially with big trucks making their way up and down between Congo and Gabon. Every time a truck passes you by, you have to stop because you are thrown into a dust cloud so intense you cannot see anything.
Allan did not do a lot of ‘communicating’ with me. It was obvious that he had decided to take the lead and shot on ahead. So I thought to myself, okay that’s fine. We’ll ride together but still each just do our own thing. I hung back as to not have to ride in his dust trail the whole time. Every 100 kilometers or so we would meet up again where he has stopped to take a break. We made pretty good progress and could manage speeds ranging between 40 km p/h and 70 km p/h. The first 50 kilometers or so was quite sandy. Thereafter just a lot of holes to negotiate through and around.
There are MANY small villages all along the road up to the Gabon border. So one has to be very careful when you enter these villages as there are loads of animals and people crossing the road. We stopped at a few of these villages to take a break every now and then and would chat to the locals. Well…more sign language than actual chat. Not everybody can speak French in these small villages up North, so they speak local languages like Lingala and Kikongo. But one can always communicate, even if you cannot speak the language.
The road started to get wetter the further North we progressed. We were lucky we didn’t have rain on the road, because that would’ve made it impossible to reach the border in one day. We were afraid we might not reach the border in time and pushed hard to make good time. I still hung back because I felt it too dangerous to fly through the villages, with so many people and animals on the road. I found Allan where he had fallen in the much just outside one of the villages. By the time I got to him there were many villagers surrounding him, checking to see whether he is okay and to help him get going again.
My GPS was not giving me the correct info. This started on our way to Dolisie. The new road between Pointe Noire and Dolisie does not show on my GPS. I have Tracks for Africa loaded but it would seem this part of Africa is not mapped out well on the new software. I guess I would have to load individual maps. Even the coordinates to the Gabon border are not showing correctly on my GPS. According to my GPS I had crossed into Gabon a long time before I actually reached the actual border. This is not really an issue for me. It’s just when I enter a town and have to navigate my way around that the GPS comes in really handy. But even this is not REALLY a problem as one can always ask around.
Anyway, so I had no idea where the actual border would be and was still hoping we would reach it in time to cross over into Gabon. The plan was to spend the night in Ndende which is about 45 kilometers from the border.
500 meters from the actual border I found Allan again. He had fallen stuck in mud. Again. This time he was REALLY stuck. I left my bike to help him. When I got to him I could see that he is really agitated and he was shouting and cursing in Czech. It was 16:30 now and we are right in front of the border, but cannot reach it.
I went in search of some wood and rocks to wedge under his rear wheel as it had no traction and would be impossible to get out any other way. I tried to push him out but there was just no way the bike would budge. I was covered in mud from head to toe. Standing in the mud it would come up almost halfway to my knees and trying to move around is a mission as the mud just sucks you in. We tried to drag the bike out and actually managed to pull out the rear of the bike. Allan then tried to maneuver the bike out but just rode it back into the same spot.
Two men came past and we asked them for help. They were very kind and did indeed pitch in to help. At this point I was so tired, covered in mud and sweat dripping off my face. The two guys had the same idea I had and started piling rocks and pieces of wood under the rear wheel. With three of us pushing now we were able to make more progress. It took us about an hour in total to get the bike out. Allan was in a bad way. Dehydrated and still cursing and shouting. Even at the local guys. He said: “I have just ridden from Pointe Noire to here in one day. It’s not easy you know”!! And I looked at him and thought to myself: what a wimp! I had done exactly the same and you don’t hear me complaining do you? This is a journey. You have to take the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult. The two local guys asked Allan for remuneration for their help which he refused. So I gave them CFA5000 each.
Nevertheless, we reached the border around 17:30. The border is like a tiny village in the jungle with a small road running through it. Not many people. A few houses and the customs offices (read huts). The people were very friendly and helpful and we had out passports and Carnets stamped in no time. We sat down to have a beer to celebrate having reached the border in time. Allan now smiled for the first time. We sat chatting to the people around us and maybe got a bit too relaxed. As it started to get dark the Chief came to tell us that the Gabon side had closed and we would have to spend the night. We begged him to please let us through and said we would leave immediately. He eventually gave in and gave us permission to go.
When we reached the Gabon side though they told us we could not proceed as the border had already closed. Allan cannot speak or understand any French so the Chief on the Gabon side spoke to me and explained that we need written consent from the Chief that had said we could proceed. So I told Allan to wait there and I would go back to ask for the written consent. I duly went back to the Congo side to where the Chief was sitting enjoying his beer and explained the situation to him. He said he would finish his beer and then accompany me to the other side. So I sat back down waiting for him to finish. I guess he did not really feel like going anywhere because after about 10 minutes he gave me the written consent and I was on my way again.
Back on the Gabon side I showed them the piece of paper they had given me and they let us through. 10 Kilometers further ahead you find the Gabon customs offices where they would have to stamp our passports and Carnets. On our way to this control point Allan lost his sleeping back, which I picked up. When we reached the control boom I gave him the sleeping back and we realized that his sleeping mattress had also fallen off somewhere along the way. I didn’t see it. So I took Allan’s passport and Carnet to have it stamped as he went back to look for his mattress. With the letter the Chief gave me everything went smoothly. No hassles. Quick and easy. I waited for Allan to return and gave him his documents, stamped and ready to go. It was pitch black dark by now and I was getting a little nervous. Never a good idea to be out riding at night.
About 500 meters on the other side into Gabon…he fell stuck in mud….again!!
Same story…all over again. Only difference being now it’s dark and we are both extremely tired. We’ve been on the road for about 11 hours now.
We unloaded his bike and tried to drag it out at first. It would not budge of course. Way too heavy!! And with this fall his gear lever had bent back completely. Another issue. So we decided that I would try to tow him out with my bike. I positioned my bike in front of his, where I had traction and I tied a towing rope between his bike and mine. This worked like a charm and my super bike was able to pull his out. Woohooo. Okay…then we reload his bike and head off once again to try and reach Ndende. It’s so dark I cannot see anything except for the dirt track in front of me and the dust trail of Allan in front of me. The dust hurts my eyes but I cannot ride with my visor closed because it’s too dark. I know Ndende is about 45 Kilometers away but I have no idea what lies in between and or what the road looks like.
*** To be continued***
Current Location: Libreville
Have crossed the Equator into the Northern Hemisphere! Woohoo!
I got up at 05:00am to have a shower and load the bike to leave Pointe Noire for Gabon. It’s a bit of a push to reach Gabon in one day, but we would try. I would not be riding alone though. I met up with Allan from the Czech Republic. He left Johannesburg to ride up the West African coast to Prague. Friends in Angola had been updating me on his progress and I received him in Pointe Noire when he arrived.
We agreed to ride together for a bit. At first the idea was to ride together up until Ghana. From there I would carry on to Cote D’Ivoire and he would go to Burkina Faso as his route takes him through Mali. I am used to doing my own thing…but thought I’d give it a try.
By 06:00am the entire household was up to wish Allan and I a safe journey. We had a quick coffee and filled up with water for the road. Gave the bikes a last check and then we said our goodbyes. I had come to love my family in Pointe Noire. Fernando and his wife Stephanie and their children. They took me in as one of their own and looked after me when I was sick. Just before we left Fernando looked at Allan and said: “You look after my sister! Otherwise I will come and visit you in Prague!”. Little did I know it would be me who would have to do the ‘looking after’.
We pushed the bikes out of the driveway and slowly rolled out of Pointe Noire. We had been told that the road between Pointe Noire and Dolisie is a great tar road. So we could look forward to some speedy progress. From Dolisie we did not really know what to expect. Nobody was really sure what the road looked like apart from the fact that it is not a tar road.
The tar road to Dolisie is absolutely beautiful. Both the actual road and the surroundings. For about 160 kilometers you have this winding tar road and you are surrounded by sub-tropical jungle all the way. It is one of the most beautiful riding experiences I’ve had to date. The first couple of kilometers out of town went a bit slower because of the traffic. Loads of taxi’s loading up to take people into town for their day’s work. Early morning hustle and bustle in the city. Thereafter we hit some thick mist, which provided me with a feeling of really being in the wilderness. With the smells and sounds of the jungle and the giant trees surrounding me. Beautiful!
We made it to Dolisie by 09:00am. We would just ride into town to fill up with fuel and then head out toward the Gabon border via Fugamou and Mila-Mila. After filling up with fuel we stopped at a little market to have something to eat and drink. We bought 3 bananas and a liter of Coca-Cola, which we shared. We sat chatting with some locals who were very eager to practice the little English they know. They informed us that the road up to the border is excellent and we have nothing to worry about. It’s the national road!
With this new information we were eager to hit the road to try and reach the town of Ndende just after the border before dark. We also did not know what time the border would close. I suspected it would be around 17:00.
The fabulous national road turned out to be a sandy and very dusty track. Not too bad though, just incredibly dusty. Especially with big trucks making their way up and down between Congo and Gabon. Every time a truck passes you by, you have to stop because you are thrown into a dust cloud so intense you cannot see anything.
Allan did not do a lot of ‘communicating’ with me. It was obvious that he had decided to take the lead and shot on ahead. So I thought to myself, okay that’s fine. We’ll ride together but still each just do our own thing. I hung back as to not have to ride in his dust trail the whole time. Every 100 kilometers or so we would meet up again where he has stopped to take a break. We made pretty good progress and could manage speeds ranging between 40 km p/h and 70 km p/h. The first 50 kilometers or so was quite sandy. Thereafter just a lot of holes to negotiate through and around.
There are MANY small villages all along the road up to the Gabon border. So one has to be very careful when you enter these villages as there are loads of animals and people crossing the road. We stopped at a few of these villages to take a break every now and then and would chat to the locals. Well…more sign language than actual chat. Not everybody can speak French in these small villages up North, so they speak local languages like Lingala and Kikongo. But one can always communicate, even if you cannot speak the language.
The road started to get wetter the further North we progressed. We were lucky we didn’t have rain on the road, because that would’ve made it impossible to reach the border in one day. We were afraid we might not reach the border in time and pushed hard to make good time. I still hung back because I felt it too dangerous to fly through the villages, with so many people and animals on the road. I found Allan where he had fallen in the much just outside one of the villages. By the time I got to him there were many villagers surrounding him, checking to see whether he is okay and to help him get going again.
My GPS was not giving me the correct info. This started on our way to Dolisie. The new road between Pointe Noire and Dolisie does not show on my GPS. I have Tracks for Africa loaded but it would seem this part of Africa is not mapped out well on the new software. I guess I would have to load individual maps. Even the coordinates to the Gabon border are not showing correctly on my GPS. According to my GPS I had crossed into Gabon a long time before I actually reached the actual border. This is not really an issue for me. It’s just when I enter a town and have to navigate my way around that the GPS comes in really handy. But even this is not REALLY a problem as one can always ask around.
Anyway, so I had no idea where the actual border would be and was still hoping we would reach it in time to cross over into Gabon. The plan was to spend the night in Ndende which is about 45 kilometers from the border.
500 meters from the actual border I found Allan again. He had fallen stuck in mud. Again. This time he was REALLY stuck. I left my bike to help him. When I got to him I could see that he is really agitated and he was shouting and cursing in Czech. It was 16:30 now and we are right in front of the border, but cannot reach it.
I went in search of some wood and rocks to wedge under his rear wheel as it had no traction and would be impossible to get out any other way. I tried to push him out but there was just no way the bike would budge. I was covered in mud from head to toe. Standing in the mud it would come up almost halfway to my knees and trying to move around is a mission as the mud just sucks you in. We tried to drag the bike out and actually managed to pull out the rear of the bike. Allan then tried to maneuver the bike out but just rode it back into the same spot.
Two men came past and we asked them for help. They were very kind and did indeed pitch in to help. At this point I was so tired, covered in mud and sweat dripping off my face. The two guys had the same idea I had and started piling rocks and pieces of wood under the rear wheel. With three of us pushing now we were able to make more progress. It took us about an hour in total to get the bike out. Allan was in a bad way. Dehydrated and still cursing and shouting. Even at the local guys. He said: “I have just ridden from Pointe Noire to here in one day. It’s not easy you know”!! And I looked at him and thought to myself: what a wimp! I had done exactly the same and you don’t hear me complaining do you? This is a journey. You have to take the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult. The two local guys asked Allan for remuneration for their help which he refused. So I gave them CFA5000 each.
Nevertheless, we reached the border around 17:30. The border is like a tiny village in the jungle with a small road running through it. Not many people. A few houses and the customs offices (read huts). The people were very friendly and helpful and we had out passports and Carnets stamped in no time. We sat down to have a beer to celebrate having reached the border in time. Allan now smiled for the first time. We sat chatting to the people around us and maybe got a bit too relaxed. As it started to get dark the Chief came to tell us that the Gabon side had closed and we would have to spend the night. We begged him to please let us through and said we would leave immediately. He eventually gave in and gave us permission to go.
When we reached the Gabon side though they told us we could not proceed as the border had already closed. Allan cannot speak or understand any French so the Chief on the Gabon side spoke to me and explained that we need written consent from the Chief that had said we could proceed. So I told Allan to wait there and I would go back to ask for the written consent. I duly went back to the Congo side to where the Chief was sitting enjoying his beer and explained the situation to him. He said he would finish his beer and then accompany me to the other side. So I sat back down waiting for him to finish. I guess he did not really feel like going anywhere because after about 10 minutes he gave me the written consent and I was on my way again.
Back on the Gabon side I showed them the piece of paper they had given me and they let us through. 10 Kilometers further ahead you find the Gabon customs offices where they would have to stamp our passports and Carnets. On our way to this control point Allan lost his sleeping back, which I picked up. When we reached the control boom I gave him the sleeping back and we realized that his sleeping mattress had also fallen off somewhere along the way. I didn’t see it. So I took Allan’s passport and Carnet to have it stamped as he went back to look for his mattress. With the letter the Chief gave me everything went smoothly. No hassles. Quick and easy. I waited for Allan to return and gave him his documents, stamped and ready to go. It was pitch black dark by now and I was getting a little nervous. Never a good idea to be out riding at night.
About 500 meters on the other side into Gabon…he fell stuck in mud….again!!
Same story…all over again. Only difference being now it’s dark and we are both extremely tired. We’ve been on the road for about 11 hours now.
We unloaded his bike and tried to drag it out at first. It would not budge of course. Way too heavy!! And with this fall his gear lever had bent back completely. Another issue. So we decided that I would try to tow him out with my bike. I positioned my bike in front of his, where I had traction and I tied a towing rope between his bike and mine. This worked like a charm and my super bike was able to pull his out. Woohooo. Okay…then we reload his bike and head off once again to try and reach Ndende. It’s so dark I cannot see anything except for the dirt track in front of me and the dust trail of Allan in front of me. The dust hurts my eyes but I cannot ride with my visor closed because it’s too dark. I know Ndende is about 45 Kilometers away but I have no idea what lies in between and or what the road looks like.
*** To be continued***
:thumleft:
EASIEST WAY OUT OF THE MUD - Remove panniers, and push bike onto it's side, then pull out sideways :thumleft:
EASIEST WAY OUT OF THE MUD - Remove panniers, and push bike onto it's side, then pull out sideways :thumleft:
Shaun
Grey Hound
Damit Jo,... after reading through this update post of yours,... it sure is very clear that this is one hell of an Awesome journey you have taken on.
Each I read an update from you, so my respect for you grows even bigger. Glad you mannaged to get out of the mud & accroos the Border,,,, eventually. :thumleft: :thumleft:
Looking forward to the rest... :drif: :drif:
Each I read an update from you, so my respect for you grows even bigger. Glad you mannaged to get out of the mud & accroos the Border,,,, eventually. :thumleft: :thumleft:
Looking forward to the rest... :drif: :drif:
Mzee
Grey Hound
I never rode in the night. If darkness falls, I pitched my tent at the nearest chief's home. Bikes lights are not the most powerful and it is good to avoid riding in the dark if you can afford it. It will spare you a million problems. You are making superb progress though. God bless!
White Rhino
Race Dog
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2009
- Messages
- 3,931
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- Location
- Johannesburg *South Africa*
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- BMW R1200GS
Brill !! Your biggest baggage sounds like a Czech :ricky:
Dogboxelectric
Race Dog
Sounds to me "There is no male in that Czech"
looks like things are starting to get interesting . dump the czech, it must be beneficial to you if you ride with a man not other way round. he is even costing you money !!!! anyway, exiting report was dissapointed when it came to an end . cant wait for the rest . Be safe
cloudgazer
Grey Hound
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
- Messages
- 5,135
- Reaction score
- 7
- Bike
- BMW F650GS / Dakar
Good advice, take the good and the bad.... sounds like your new travel mate needs to learn a few lessons.
Don't let him be a drag.
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