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Saturday 28 January 2012

Chad, part 1

We forgot to give our ratings for Cameroon: the Bradt Guide = 4/10. It was only published in late 2011 but is in the style of the joke books travel guides put out a few years ago. They like to write lots about travelling by local transport, waiting days at towns for a truck, asking locals to stay in their houses etc. They also seem to have no idea of the actual conditions in many places e.g. Dja NP. On basic things like ATMs they are way out e.g. many of the Total service stations have ATMs and very good shops.

The Riese Know How maps – they rate a negative. Basically they give a bit of an idea, but totally lack accuracy.

That said, the French map we have for Chad puts a major region/feature on the wrong side of the country – sort of like putting the Great Dividing Range in Western Australia.

Day 1 – 24/1/12
As we drove over the single lane bridge into Chad, we were pulled to one side by a customs official. A guide in Roumsiki had put us in touch with a local Chad guide, Adjid and he was there to meet us as well. Off we went to the customs office and the Chief there seemed to be very superior (as things turn out, we think it was a cover for the fact he did not know what to do with a carnet). We left the carnet with him and went to immigration (where the officer spoke perfect English). We completed the immigration formalities and then police came into the office and got our passport to do their thing. Then back to the customs people. They passed us up the line, so we drove and walked to where the big chief hangs out. We are not sure he knew what to do either, but in Rays gentle style (for Avril fans read grovelling) he explained what was needed and the carnet was stamped.

No one asked for any bribes or money. The poor junior customs official who originally stopped us had to walk a long way and do a lot of work (we did give him a bit of a tip for a great effort).

Then we followed Adjid to the hotel. He then arranged to have the required police registration carried out whilst we had a bit of lunch in air conditioned comfort.

Lunch was an interesting experience. Ray opted for the buffet. Avril decided on a la carte. It seems that the menu was either aspirational or an indication of a glorious past. Pizza – not available; hamburger – not available; sandwich – not available etc. After a gluttonous lunch Ray decided to give dinner a miss; Avril had a similar experience to lunch with the menu.

Ray driving. N 120 06’ 85.4’’ E 0150 01’ 90.2’’ 

 Day 2 – 25/1/12

A rest day. N’Djamena is a very well laid out city, with predominantly paved roads which are clean as they are swept by women (a la Hanoi). We are very near the business centre which is kinda like Casterton on a lazy winters Sunday afternoon – very quiet, not much traffic. There is none of the large crowds and hassle and bustle of other African cities we have been through.

We walked around in the morning, as the afternoons are very hot, way into the high 30s C – and this is the cold season. We found the important things; restaurants, patisseries, super market (singular) and importantly a travel company that runs trips into the northern desert.

The northern areas are very remote and we would not do this by our selves, plus with the shortage of gasoil, we prefer to let others worry about fuel.

For dinner we went to a very nice Lebanese restaurant

 Day 3 – 26/1/12

We took a tour to Lake Chad – again preferring to let others worry about fuel.

The road to just south of a river port is all paved and an easy run. The river port is quite small, but there are many natural rough berthing places along the shore. After some considerable negotiation re a pirogue (the proprietor of the Lebanese restaurant says the Tchadians are harder negotiators than the Lebanese, a hell of an admission from one of the trading Phoenician stock) we agreed a price and set off.

It took ~ 45 minutes in a motorised pirogue to reach the lake, most of this through reed beds and narrow channels. Whilst we only saw the start of the lake you can at least get an idea of the size – one of the great lakes of the world. Truly huge (you cannot see the shores when you get out a bit) and an amazing sight.

On the way back we stopped at a fishing village to have a look – we think the guide wanted to buy the larger fish cheaply to on sell later. The village was on an island and as you can imagine very poor. No school for the kids. Most of the fish are ~ 100 mm long and smoked to preserve them.

After the pirogue trip we went to the local expat weekend haunt at Dougia. Bit of a disappointment. Reminded Ray of Zambia in the mid 1970s.

Day 4 – 27/1/12; our 33rd wedding anniversary.
Being our wedding anniversary, we had a late start to the day.

With the luxury of A/C and satellite TV, we watched a bit of the Australian open and the 4th test.

We needed to replace the trusty Dunlops on the front of the vehicle. Ray chatted to one of the drivers in the hotel car park and they immediately got onto the case. A “supplier” from the market came over and after some intense negotiations we bought 3 new Bridgestone Duellers. The new Michelin is unfortunately totally u/s.  Ray then drove over to the place that actually installs the tyres and the fitting took place. Unfortunately, this is where a lack of French hurts. We had insisted that the fitting and importantly balancing should be included in the price. The fitting was not an issue, but they did not have a balancing machine. So, we will see how we go. When we get back to N’Djamena from Zakouma NP we will need a Toyota service anyway, so we can do the balancing then – but it could be an interesting trip to Zakouma.

We had recently fitted the new Bridgestone we had purchased in Angola. So, we now basically have 4 new tyres of the same make on the car. Lets see how that goes.

An unfortunate aside was that whilst Ray was absent from the car (to change some money) the 3 piece spade (in a canvas cover) was stolen from the roof rack – it was secured with octopus straps. There were plenty of local men sitting around – including some with more years than us (or at least they look that way). So, the disappointing part of this is the implicit acceptance that theft from a white person is OK. With a lack of language it is hard to get people to understand what has happened – but they knew anyway we suppose. In addition our wheel wrench which was lying on the ground during the change over process was stolen. The blokes who had sold us the tyres were so embarrassed by this they gave us their wheel wrench.

In the afternoon we filled the water tank – via our filter system. The water seems to have developed a bit of an odour, it seems to be OK to drink as we are not getting sick, so we are not sure what has happened. We may need to empty the tank, flush it, change all the filters and start again.

In the evening we went to a very nice French/Italian restaurant to celebrate.

 Day 5 – 28/1/12

A day to relax. We watched more of the Australian open and the highlights of the 4th test. We took a short drive to find the Catholic Mission where we hope to stay when we return and to buy some provisions for the trip to Zakouma.

More Lebanese for dinner!




Tuesday 24 January 2012

Cameroon, part 7, cont

Day 42 – 16/1/12

We started the day with chores. Avril cooked up the great batch of vegetables we had bought from a gardener in Gamboula. Ray had the car serviced. Buy the filter from one shop, purchase the oil at the service station (A$ 100) and use the service station pit to change the oil. The air filter was cleaned by a person at a tyre repair shop and we went to the bus station to get someone to grease the car (A$ 10). All done in 90 min.

Then we drove the horrible road to Bertoua. It is as bad as we were warned and the guide book says. Very bad corrugations that travelling at speed does not make any better. Really awful.

We drew money from an auto teller in Bertoua and filled up with gasoil. Then we drove on a wonderful tar road to Garoua Boulai. We arrived at a decent hour and stayed at the Lutheran mission. No camping, we have a large flat.

We are well and truly out of the rainforest now. As we drove north the vegetation changed to woody savannah and as we drove further north the trees were sparser and smaller. The country side was mainly flat with the exception of one area that was sort of like the Pentland Hills.

The local houses in the south and west tend to be a light weight timber frame, closely spaced to allow mud to be packed into the spaces or alternatively sun dried mud bricks, generally with a corrugated iron roof or grass thatch. As we approached Garoua Boulai we started to see some traditional round houses with either mud or grass walls. We have been told this becomes more prevalent in the north.

There were not too many road blocks which made the day more pleasant.

 Avril driving. 6 hours. 332 km. N 050 53’ 02.8’’ E 0140 32’ 87.9’’ 

 Day 43 – 17/1/12

After buying our baguettes and talking to the kids, we set out on the journey to Ngaoundere. The 270 km took 5 hours and was a mixture of “the agony and the ecstasy”. The best part was the new ~ 150 km tar in a few sections. The agony was the rest of the trip. Ray reckons as a former bush boy used to dirt roads and he knows about dust. But we have never seen dust like this, in places it is many cm’s deep. At one point a vehicle decided to overtake us, we had a dust fall down on us like a rain storm for a few minutes. For the 1st time when we arrived at our destination we had a lot of dust on the accommodation unit.

We stopped at Ngaoundere over lunch, had the car washed (essential after all the dust) and got refuelled – diet cokes & gasoil. The town is very clean for an African town. There are also a lot of ATMs which is handy. We both had salad for lunch – Avril thinks we will get some fatal bug, but lets see.

We decided to drive onto the Benoue Mational Park and to be honest with quite low expectations. We did the 126 km in 90 min (Bradt 165 km, Reise Know how 110 km). The road was all tar, but badly pot holed in sections. As we descended down from Ngaoundere it got noticeably hotter. There was a very thick haze. The locals say this is due to the dust from the Sahara, we think the heat and grass fires (there are lots of them) may have something to contribute as well.

It must be the time of the year to re-thatch. We see big piles of new thatch in the villages along the way. Folks seem to be working hard putting up the thatch. The houses are set in small kraals with thatch or woven rattan (?) fences. The woven fences have a chevron design woven into them.  

Avril thinks the country side is like the northern Transvaal (we do not know new name).

We had thought that there would be a shortage of fresh fruit & veg, but the folks up here seem to be quite industrious and where there was water there were market gardens. We bought up big. We also bought some local honey from kids at one of the police stops, lets see what it tastes like.

The drive into the park started as expected, little game. But as dusk started to fall we saw lots of game (and this is only a single road in – no game drives). We saw some large monkeys, giant eland (unfortunately too slow to get good pictures, however there were ~ 6 and it was a magnificent sight), small antelope (grey duiker ?) and what looked like a large Impala -the horns were those of an impala but it seemed a bit bigger, lighter in colour and its coat seemed to have more fur. We are at a bit of a loss on identification as we only have a southern Africa mammal guide. As the guide book notes there are lots of birds.

We arrived at the Campment de Buffel Noir around dusk. We camped in the small camping area and were given the keys to one of the rondawels for ablutions. The facilities are in need of modernisation, but are very clean and well maintained. Importantly, they have cold beer!!!

Ray driving. 10 hours. 414 km. N 080 07’ 02.2’’ E 0130 32’ 49.6’’ 

Day 44 – 18/1/12

We decided to spend the day at Campment de Buffel Noir. After a bit of a sleep in we set about doing some chores. In the afternoon we went for a game drive. We were fortunate to see quite a lot of game; lots of the buck similar to Impala, grey duiker, what we assumed to be red duiker (very red, large body and short legs with black socks), Bush Buck, Water Buck, baboons and a couple of enormous northern ground hornbills. At the river we saw hippos and crocodiles. Quite a successful drive.

The days are now quite hot but we need the doona at nights.

Day 45 – 19/1/12

May you live in interesting times! We left Campment de Buffel Noir early in the hope of seeing some game. We were not disappointed. We saw a herd of + 25 giant eland on the move and managed to get some reasonable snaps (very exciting), bush buck, the impala like antelope which we think in the local lingo is Cob de Buffon, baboons, monkeys, red duikers (?) and hartebeest (excited about as well) all with in ~ 10 km of the camp. We decided to take the track that follows the park boundary north. The track was quite bad in spots and we only saw a couple of Cob de Buffon, baboons and some monkeys.

We re-joined the main N1 road north which is tar but badly potholed in sections – vehicles weaving like Angola to miss the bad places. We stopped off at Garoua to do some quick internet, refuel (diet coke & gasoil), fresh fruit & veg, bread etc. Again we were impressed by a town in the north. They seem to be much better organised, cleaner and have some civic pride, for example there are large trees along the road into most towns.

After we left the National Park the country got quite barren, sort of like the pastoral plains north of Adelaide. Then it got even drier, very little in the way of trees, mostly grass lands. Avril still reckons like the northern Transvaal.

The road to Guider is tar. We stopped off the see the Kola Gorge just before Guider. The EU (bless their little hearts, they seem determined to do a Kensyian pump priming exersize all over Africa) has erected some picnic facilities. There were a large number of guides all wanting some work. Unfortunately, the gorge is not really that impressive. It is in the middle of a river bed in black granite with white stripes,  ~ 20 m deep and 5 m wide. It runs for ~ 100 m.

At Guider we turned towards the Nigeria border. The road was tar up until you head north at the town of Dourbeye. The road north is Green on the Michelin map and runs along north along the Nigerian border, with mountains all the way. It is very bad road/dirth track.  At one town there was a donkey was aggressively chasing another donkey and they crossed the road a few times, unfortunately just as we drove passed they decided to cross the road again – you know the rest. The 1st donkey ran straight into the drivers side door. Bugger, fortunately there was no damage to the car. As per SOPs we continued on and did not stop.

Later we had our first puncture of the trip. As seems to be the norm on our trip, a motor bike with two chaps on it stopped and immediately took over the tyre change exersize – no point in Ray getting his hands dirty. Absolutely amazing how they just see an issue and get on and fix it. At the end we just could not seem to be able to get the tyre up to pressure. Turns out the ARB inflation tool pressure gauge is U/S, fortunately we have a manual spare.

Slowly the road got worse and the light faded. We got to our destination, Roumsiki and asked a local chap where Camp Roumsiki was, he proceeded to jog along the road and we followed. Then < 100 m from the lodge the draw under the vehicle tray fell out. Seems that both the latches decided to give up (also gives an indication of the rough treatment the roads have given us). Immediately there were many people around helping to lift the draw and put it back (which took some time) and then tie rope around to keep it in place. Again, folks came up and assisted, unasked. We always give some money at the end.

There was some discussion at the lodge, they prefer not to have campers (there is a camp ground up the road) but at the end they let us camp.

After Ray had a shower we had some cold beer or G&T and dined at the restaurant.

Ray driving. 11.5 hours. 402 km. N 100 30’ 57.0’’ E 0130 35’ 16.5’’

Day 46 – 20/1/12

What with donkeys, “mad dogs”, chooks and general animal noises, we had a poor nights sleep. Village life is definitely not for us! Still we had a bit of a sleep in.

The previous evening Avril had chatted up one of the local lads whilst inspecting the alternative camping accommodation. This chap showed up at a respectable time to assist with any repairs. With another by-stander they look at the latches and within 30 minutes had replaced the 2 broken ones – with a new spare and by using another one that was not really needed. Ray chipped in occasionally with some management advice!

Then, they took the punctured tyre to be repaired. We settled down for a late breakfast. Turns out they did not have the glue in this village, so off the assistant went on a motor bike to get glue from the next village. We relaxed and read a bit. After some time the tyre was returned, sort of repaired. Looks like the puncture is more of a rip so we may need to buy a new tyre. Bit of nuisance as this was the new tyre we had just bought in Yaounde.

At around 12:30 (mad dogs and Englishman) we went out for a trek. Roumsiki is renowned for its spectacular scenery. There is a large basin with a number of dramatic volcanic plugs. We took a guided walk around the perimeter of the basin for a bit, then down to the basin floor before returning to the village. We had asked for a 2 hour walk but it turned out to be 4 hours. But it was well worth it for the great scenery. We also went with in meters of entering Nigeria.

On return, after the normal hassle with guide payment, Ray went for a swim in the artic temperature swimming pool. Avril watched!

Then we had an early dinner and went to the bar for some drinks.

Day 47 – 21/1/12

Knowing we only had a short distance to drive, we made a leisurely start to the day. The local guides had assured us that the road north was better than the road from the south into Roumsiki. Mmm, no it isn’t. The road is horrible all the way to Mokolo and on to Koza (we never got out of 2nd gear), after that it improves marginally. At Mora we rejoined the N1 north – as per the guide book it is terribly potholed. At times we wish we were back on the bad secondary road.

The dramatic Roumsiki scenery continued on the way north, more volcanic plugs. After Mokolo we drove through some very interesting mountains. The locals here have the back breaking task of terracing the hillsides and clearing them of rocks. The terracing is extensive and with the family compounds seemingly growing from the rocks it makes quite an impressive scene. We then understood and appreciated that the guides had insisted we take this route.

At Koza the mountains stop and the industrious people of the north start irrigating the lowlands. We think we see sorghum, lots of onions and cotton. We stopped for lunch at the edge of the Mogozo-Gokoro National Park, which is not nearly as interesting as it sounds.

Back on the N1, the scene is more arid, very dry. The huts here are made of grass. Again along the route the locals have made an effort to plant trees at the entrances to the villages/Towns.

We are camped at the gate to the Waza National Park.



Avril driving. 7 hours (and we did not have many stops!) 180 km. N 110 23’ 30.5’’ E 0140 33’ 48.2’’
 
Day 48 – 22/1/12

The day started rather badly. Ray went to get the (compulsory) guide for Waza National Park and Avril started the vehicle and drove to the camp ground gate – with oil pouring from the engine! In typical Cameroon/Africa style we soon had a number of helpers. Initially we looked for the bottom drain plug, then one of the keen observers saw that the oil filter was not screwed in properly. Mmm, so the mechanic in Batouri had not properly installed the filter and the very rough roads it had shaken it loose (may have had something to do with the hang over he was suffering from??). Luckily we had the tool needed to re-tighten the filter and one of the helpers tightened to filter. Lucky as well we had a 5 l container of oil bought from Australia. The manager of the park had another 3 l, so together we had enough.

So, we set of for our game drive at 08:00, with all systems go, Ray on the roof rack. We saw a few large groups of giraffe (the signature animal of Waza), lots of herds of Topi, our 1st ever Roan Antelope, Cob de Buffon, wart hogs and the most exciting sighing for many a day, a serval cat. We followed the serval for some time and got a lot of glimpses, but not a photo. Very, very exciting. We also saw lots of interesting birds; blue roller, vultures, ostrich, grey crane, caribou stork, eagles etc.

Whilst we were relaxing at camp from the hot afternoon sun a French overlander couple drove up – also very exciting. In broken English and Rays pretend French we managed to swap information. They had recently come via Chad, Niger & Mali and were very positive about these countries.

We went for an afternoon drive and were fortunate to have Ross McLeod along on the roof rack with Ray. Ross has been travelling around Cameroon after teaching life saving courses in Kribi, we had met him in Roumsiki. We saw a lot of the same animals on this drive (but no further serval) plus a large group of small mongooses and near the park exit a couple of jackal.

After pitching camp, we had the French overlander couple and Ross over for some drinks and snacks. A very pleasant evening.

 Day 49 – 23/1/12

Another leisurely start to the day. The road to the Kalamaloue NP was tar, but badly potholed, so we took it slowly. The only trees along the route now are those planted in towns. The landscape is quite bleak - very short if any grass and there is a long way between villages. The huts are circular and made of the locally available grey mud with a thatched roof.

The National Park was established to protect the elephant migration routes and is situated on the banks of the Chari River.  

We arrived ~ midday, but decided to wait until it cooled (the thermometer was at 38oC, and it is only January) a bit before going viewing. We went on a game drive in the afternoon and saw the promised elephants, a large group of > 50. The park is pretty run down so there was not a lot else; 2 different kinds of monkey, a mongoose, hippopotamus and crocodile.

It appears that the camp facilities are not yet open, but we camped there anyway; sans loo & shower. All the staff went home for the evening, so we were left to ourselves and the not too distant sounds of elephants.

Avril driving. 2.5 hours. 122 km. N 120 08’ 85.2’’ E 0140 52’ 97.9’’

Day 50 – 24/1/12

As it was only a short drive to the border, we had a bit of a sleep in. We breakfasted with the elephants! About 100 m from our camp site, through some thin bushes there was a parade of elephants probably on their way to the water hole. They seemed to pass by single file for about 60 minutes. To be honest, this also involved a little bit of fear on our part, we made sure we could pack up very quickly.

On the way out, almost at the park gate, we saw a jackal.

We stopped before the town centre at Koussari to complete customs formalities. It turns out there is no gasoil in N’Djamena and maybe in all of Chad, hence as well the border town of Koussari theoretically had no diesel. At the customs post Ray asks one of the assembled locals about the possibility of getting fuel. Yes, we can buy it at a price. So we purchase ~ 47 l from the road side at ~ A$2/l. Still we would rather have the fuel.

We drew some money from a “hole in the wall” (lots of theme here) and bought some engine oil – but from the Total station.

Then we were off to the border. We have not seen chaos like this for many a day. They are building a new bridge, but in the mean time traffic is restricted to one direction for a time, then the reverse direction. Through the great mass of motor cycles we manage to work out where immigration was and get our passports stamped. No bribes asked for by any official.

Then we wait for the Chad direction to have its turn to cross. Of course the motor cycles at our end pack the entrance, so folks coming from the other direction cannot get off the bridge. Avril finds it frustrating (particularly as the cattle get top priority), Ray enjoys the carnival.

Finally after 1st arriving in Cameroon on 18th November 2011 and spending 50 days in the country we finally leave to the north.

Cameroon Summary

First the good points; Cameroon in general has wonderful people. Always ready to assist. We have always felt safe the whole time. Despite our whinging, there is quite good infrastructure; even remote villages have electricity and the road system is better than a lot of other countries.

We were fortunate to leave from the North as the folks here cannot help but leave a positive impression with their industrious nature and quiet and pleasant temperament. The national parks in the north were also good from our perspective as we saw lots of animals we had not seen before.

The customs people in Yogaduma to one side, requests for bribes were for the most part implied and not pushed too hard. However, the number of road blocks really did start to get annoying.

The east of the country is clearly the poor cousin. This may impact the local people as they do not seem as keen to get on with stuff as other places.

Our trip with the kids was coloured by the very poor experience in Dja NP and the large distances (and hence time in the car) we had to drive. The low point was the Seme beach hotel – a complete dive.

Maybe we spent too much time here, but Cameroon does not really have the tourist infrastructure or attractions to keep you engaged.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Central African Republic – Part 2

Day 2 – 10/1/12

A 06:30 start as we had been told it was a 10 hour drive to Sangha Lodge. The road was awful to start with, and generally through the day. In some places it was almost as bad as Angola. At one point there was a road crew and the road improved for a while but deteriorated the further from the road crew you drove. We stopped at Berberati to buy some fresh bread and Ray bought an omelette from a wayside stall.

At one point we pass an overturned truck with a large crown around it. A passing Frenchman told us there were 13 dead 33 injured. Terrible!

As usual, there were road blocks and checks along the way. At the 1st Road block they asked for CFA 2,000 p.p for the Police and Gendarme for registration. Ray let them know that we had paid in the town, so we proceeded without incident. Rod Cassidy, the owner/manager of Sangha Lodge had provided us with a “Mission Statement”. This was a simple document giving our passport numbers and vehicle registration with a statement that we were going to the lodge. We quickly developed a system; Avril parked a careful 5 m from the barrier and Ray got out with the Mission Statement walked over and greeted the officials. The Mission Statement together with the “we only speak English” & “Australian tourists” did the job (Avril claims this is grovelling!). We were not held up unduly and were not asked for any bribes during the day. Again, it all seemed to be very professional.

Along the way we passed a Fulani clan on the move. Brightly dressed women (all carrying something on their heads) with pack donkeys at the rear and the men driving their cattle at the front. They do not like photos, so memories will have to do.

The vegetation continued to be scrubby for most of the day. ~ 60 km from the lodge it surprisingly went into open savannah for a time and then quite suddenly the rain forest started. ~ 30 min from the lodge some local villagers waved us down; there were 2 elephant ~ 30 m in the bush. That bodes well for the park.

You can see the real poverty in the villages along the way. We noticed that the villages do not have bars that you see in such numbers in other African countries. Maybe this is an indication there is not the excess income to buy beer. The people are really friendly; we get lots of waves and genuine smiles. When we wave back they shout “merci”. Closer to the park we start to enter pygmy villages, here the smiles, laughter and waves are even bigger.

We arrived at the lodge at 16:30 and were greeted by Rad and the staff. After a hot days driving, Rod welcomed us with a cold beer – very nice. We had a delicious curry for dinner.

Avril driving. 10 hours (the projections were very accurate). 300 km. N 020 59’ 04.3’’ E 0160 13’ 59.8’’ 

Day 3 – 11/1/12

After breakfast we went by boat some distance up stream and visited 3 different water falls. These are not really on the tourist trail and one of them was only recently “discovered” by Rod. All 3 were gorgeous. They were set in the forest, with some very tall trees on the walk. Not a lot of water, but the spray/film more than made up for that. At the 2nd fall Ray climbed to the top and was rewarded with a grand vista across the Sangha River valley.

We then went to the National Park office to book for the next day, but there was no one there. They had gone to meet the president who was in town.

So back to the lodge, as we arrived Rod said “we have a problem”, the President stays at his lodge and Rod had given us the best room. So, we had to give up the “best room” for one equally as good.

We then met Dave Robertson (pom) & Julie Samuel (Dutch doctor) who run a micro NGO – Drive Against Malaria. Basically this is just the two of them. Dave has been doing this for many years and has been around Africa 5 times. They test local people and the provide cure if they test positive. In this area >90% of the children < 5 test positive. Dave is a fantastic bloke, with a great sense of humour (that means it is a bit like Rays). This is even more extraordinary given he lost his right arm and leg to a drunken driver in the late 1970’s.

We then lined up to shake hands with the President. He took time to sit with us in the common area, and as a gentleman ensured that we were all included in the conversation. We noticed he was dressed very humbly – no designer labels. We also noticed that his entourage and security contingent were very small.

He was particularly interested in Dave & Julie’s work and submitted himself to a test. He tested positive and was they gave him a course of tablets. Great effort from Dave & Julie and really commendable from the President.

If you want to make a donation to an NGO with NO overheads, where every cent goes into the activities (Dave even badgers the hotels to give free accommodation and gets the test kits and drugs for cost) I can recommend Drive Against Malaria: www.driveagainstmalaria.org. Please give a lot!!

Day 4 – 12/1/12

Today we went to the globally significant Dzangha Bai. Given this is the reason we had driven this far, we elected to get up early and maximise our time at the bai.

Before we left, we had photos with the President. Again he was impressive asking Avril (who was taking pictures) to also come over and be part of the photos and one of the soldiers took photos for us.

When we arrived at the Bai there were > 45 elephants there. Over the day the numbers grew and in the mid afternoon there were more than 110 elephants at the bai. We spent the day watching the comings and goings, the antics of the groups, the tests of strength between elephants etc. We were also fortunate to see a group of 7 giant forest hogs (the biggest pigs in the world), a sititunga, Colobus monkey, squirrels and on the walk out some very small monkeys. 

We were very happy we had made the effort to come to Dzangha.

Day 6 – 13/1/12

Sangha Lodge is run by Rod Cassidy a renowned “birder”. It is a beautiful location set high on the Sangha River. The rooms are big and he provides hot water – which is luxury here. Rod provides all the useful information for the area and great contacts in other areas.

We decided to not to go on another gorilla encounter – the cost is really prohibitive.

We had an unfortunate day as our camera is “lost or stolen or strayed”. Unfortunately all our CAR pictures were on the camera, so we have lost this bit of the trip. We have offered a reward for its return, so hopefully it will show up.

Otherwise – it was a slow day. Lots of resting, chatting etc

Day 7 – 14/1/12

We drove back to Gamboula in convey with Dave & Julia. Julia rode in the luxury of a Landcruiser. Ray slummed it in the Land Rover. No A/C! lots of dust, but the end of the day both Dave & Ray were red heads. We are very, very happy with our choice of a Landcruiser.

To give some idea of the state of the road, we lost 2 items from the vehicle along the way. The towing attachment on the tow bar vibrated off and one of the gas struts that assist with erecting roof of the accommodation unit also vibrated off. In addition, the mount for one of the Garmin GPS units broke. The road is very corrugated and rough.

We stopped at Berberati to buy fresh vegetables (they are hard to come by at Bayanga) and Avril made a lovely vegetables stew & rice for dinner. Dave & Julia dined with us.

Avril driving. 10 hours again. 300 km. Stayed with the wonderful people at the mission again.

Day 8 – 15/1/12

Kim Cone at the mission assisted both Dave & I with some running repairs to our vehicles. Dave needed new bushes and washes (the washers manufactured from an old weight used to weigh babies!) on rear shockers and to reset his spring. Kim also made modifications to make his high lift jack more secure. For us, we needed assistance in installing the spare gas strut (Peter Mitchley: please note that I had a spare strut!! But only one).

We were asked for money on both sides of the border, but with some assistance from Julie, we managed to avoid this. We did show the border guards some pictures of us with the President and that did wonders. Fortunately we copied Dave’s pictures onto the computer.

CAR Summary

We found the people in CAR very friendly. In the small area we travelled we did not see any security issues. The corruption seemed to be low key and non threatening. We were impressed by the humility of the President. Dzangha Bai was everything it was made out to be.

Big negatives were having our camera stolen and the appalling state of the roads.



Cameroon, part 7

Day 41 – 15/1/12

After the border we had the drive back to Batouri. After a quite ale, we said our goodbyes to Dave & Julia and proceeded to the mission.

Ray driving. 4.5 hours. 124 km. Again we are staying in the Bishop Fosters compound.

Monday 9 January 2012

Cameroon, part 6 & Central African Republic, Part 1

Day 28 – 28/12/11:

Today is a relatively quiet day as we are staying in the same place tonight as well. We slept in and had a lazy breakfast before Ray took the car down to the local mechanic to have the door to the accommodation module mended, after the accident on the way to Ouesso. Hayley and Peter decided to stay at the hotel for the day.

Avril, Gabrielle, Ray and the tour guide went to Bafut and visited the famous chefferie of Bafut (Unesco World Heritage site). One of the queens of the palace guided them around the museum and some of the palace. Of particular interest was the various places virgins (both male & female) were sacrificed and where adulterers and fornicators were tied and forced to eat parts of their bodies as they were cut off day after day. We then watched a traditional dance. The dance was very active and given that it was done in with bare feet on dirt, the dust caused us guests to get very dirty. The queen is one of the Fons 8 wives that he selected. The Fon  also inherited 48 wives from his father. Also of interest to Ray was the implement used by the Fon to beat his wives, it was a mini whip that was appropriately decorated.

We all enjoyed a very nice dinner at the guest house.


Day 29 – 29/12/11

After a leisurely start to the day we had a short drive to the Zwinkles trekking camp at Belo. We lazed around whilst the rooms were made ready, then checked into the cabins.

In the afternoon we (sans Hayley who was not 100%) went for a walk through some local villages.

In the evening we chatted to some other campers, had a few beers, dinner and bed.

The scenery is spectacular, a series of ridge lines (rather than rolling hills) fade into the distance. The camp is at 1,700 m and at a guess it would be over 1,000 m from valley floor to the crest of a hill. Unfortunately there is a constant haze, from when we get up in the morning into the evening. This makes photography almost impossible – Angola all over again.

Avril driving. 2 hours. 50 km. N 060 11’ 28.1’’  E 0100 22’ 57.1’’ 

Day 30 – 30/12/11

We had another lazy start then set off for a four hour return walk to a crater lake, beautiful scenery along the way. We stopped for a while to eat our packed lunch, we packed bathers hoping for a swim, however the water was far too cold. We arrived back at camp early afternoon then spent the afternoon playing travel Scrabble. Hayley was educated on the Betros way of winning, let’s just say that she won’t be so naïve in future games.

The novelty of the day was a hot shower, the past few days have been mediocre.  

Day 31 – 31/12/11

Early start to the day, we set off at 7am in order to get to our New Year’s Eve camp in Melong before dark. We stopped in Bamenda, the main town of the North-West region. As today is Saturday, market day and NYE, the streets were heaving with shoppers getting their produce for the New Year’s Day feast. We saw ladies dressed in their best carrying live chickens by their wings and butchers hacking up meat with their huge cleavers. We collected our standard lunch items (baguette, avocado, tomato, cheese) and continued the drive.

Along the way we stopped at Ekom Waterfalls, infamous for their role in the Tarzan movie. We were nearly eaten alive by little flies, they just hang about in the humidity.

The hotel for the night were traditional circular mud huts with thatched roofing, they were lovely and cool inside. We spent a few hours in the afternoon reading by the small river that flowed past the site and chatting to a group of German tourists, they were all very interesting. The hotel was full for the night so there were about 20 of us for the special NYE buffet dinner, all very tasty food. We sat with a South African family who have done a great deal of travelling. The parents have four adult children who all live in different places around the world, they have spent most of their life in Asia.

After we were treated to some theatrical sketches by some of the local youngsters, although it was all in French we could get the gist of what was happening, was very funny. We then watched some traditional dancing with very loud drum beats and a few other traditional instruments. None of us made it to midnight!

Avril driving. 243 km. N 050 04’ 16.1’’  E 0090 53’ 08.3’’

Day 32 – 1/1/12

We had a reasonably early start, left the hotel at 8.30am, followed by a relatively short drive (approx. 3.5 hours) from Belong to Buea. As we approached the coast the weather became very humid and a lot hotter than what we have experienced for the last few days. Along the way we passed a few more road blocks (no surprises there), however this time they are checking driver’s licence for exporting to Nigeria. The usual story at the road blocks, they let the tour company car past then they see that our car has the steering wheel on the wrong side and because we are white they stop us. We explain that we are tourists, they insist on seeing the registration papers, we hand them over one of our fifty copies, they try to hide their confusion because they are Australian papers and they have no idea what they’re looking at, then to save their embarrassment they let us through. This happens approximately 2 – 5 times each day, sometimes more. For about two hours of the drive the road is lined with huge plantations of bananas, rubber trees, papaya and pineapples. As far as the eye can see from the road it is healthy trees, irrigation and perfect rows of plantations. We understand that they are mostly exported, a good thing to see.

We arrive in Buea at 12.30pm, Ray, Gabrielle and Peter check into the hotel as they will stay here for the night before they start the climbing trek of Mount Cameroon. We all say our goodbyes and Avril and Hayley drive to Limbe to the beach resort where they will stay for the next few days.

Avril and Hayley arrived at the Seme Beach hotel at 4pm, there are cars and people everywhere. It is New Year’s Day and everyone is on holiday at the beach for the day. We are told it’s the nicest beach along this coast line and it appears that some people are just here to be seen. We weren’t able to check into our rooms until after 6pm, we had to arrange for the rooms to be cleaned as the previous occupants had only just left at 5pm (knowing that check out time was 11.30am), however they hadn’t paid for the extra time. Avril whipped them into line then we checked in.

Peter, Gabrielle & Ray relax in the hotel and at dinner use the excuse of a long trek to do some “carb loading” – solid and liquid (beer having all the essential nutrients needed for life).

Avril driving. 243 km. N 040 03’ 41.6’’  E 0090 03’ 25.6’’  .

Day 33 – 2/1/12

After a slow start to the day for Hayley and Avril, they did the washing (by hand) then spent the afternoon at an animal park. We now know where all the animals from the Dja Reserve are!! There are a few large families of gorillas, including four silverbacks (grown male), monkeys, chimps, drills, mandrills and baboons. We understand that they confiscate animals from illegal export and markets where they are tied up for people to look at. Most of the time the animals are severely dehydrated and traumatised, so the park spends a lot of time rehabilitating them into their new environment. The enclosures are well kept and are a reasonable size. They seem to be doing something right as every enclosure has young offspring or animals that are pregnant. We could watch all the different groups for hours, watching the young ones wrestling with their young friends or siblings, the mothers carrying their young either underneath their belly or on their back. There is always some sort of action, Billy is bossing Mary around, Benji stole some food from Jane etc. We were quietly standing watching the large group of drills and all of a sudden one of the teenager equivalents is out of the enclosure hunting for food just outside. It appears that he has done this before! He scurries along the outside of the enclosure, looks for food, finds a banana in the grass, peels it, gobbles it up, makes sure there aren’t any other morsels he has missed then promptly jumps back into the enclosure under the electric fence. The rest of the group get a bit cross with him, probably just jealous that he has the courage to get out of his enclosure, risking an electric shock or trouble from the keepers and gets extra food. The keepers probably know that he gets out, but as long as he gets back into the enclosure they probably don’t mind, what a smart little guy, just bending the rules!

After breakfast, Gabrielle, Peter & Ray are ready at the nominated time, 07:00. They go to the Ecco Tourism office and wait & wait & wait (Peter quotes Leonardo DiCaprio from Blood Diamonds – TIA; This is Africa). Ray says every minute we have to wait reduces the tip, so with in 5 minutes we are on the way! Later it turns out that our guide & porters had to come from a village far, far away. And, this being the day after New Years Day, everyone is hungover and there is no transport. Still, we fare better than the large German group we have been shadowing for a few days; they had to find new guides & porters.

We started the walk at ~ 09:30. Through agricultural areas and rain forest to hut 1. We are powering at this point and feeling pretty good about our progress. Then comes hut 1 to hut 2 where we will camp the night. Peter powers ahead and Gabrielle is not far behind. Towards the end of the day Gabrielle gets her 2nd wind and goes ahead of Peter. Meanwhile down the rear end the guide is encouraging Ray who is huffing & puffing. 2 steps then a break. It is not the altitude, rather the relentless incline up. Ray reckons this is the hardest day trekking he has done, but eventually arrives at hut 2 at ~ 15:00, 30 minutes after the kids, but still well ahead of the guide book times.

The wind is howling and it is freezing at the site. The porters are late in arriving (turns out they had to go back and buy their food etc). Still, our porters are 1st to arrive and we can pitch our tents in the light. Then our cook prepared a nice meal of spaghetti followed by pineapple. We are better off than the German group whose porters arrive after dark. We assisted them in pitching their tents. A very windy night means lots of tent flapping and Gabrielle got little sleep.

Day 34 – 3/1/12

As Hayley and Avril were walking to breakfast there was a group of eight policemen with the biggest guns we have ever seen walking past us. We asked one of the cleaners what was going on and it appears that a group of American tourists are here for two days to learn where their ancestors left for American as slaves from Cameroon. Not sure why they need to have the huge group of police as their entourage, unless the hotel is insisting on it.

Hayley and Avril went to the Limbe Botanical Gardens, some of the trees are so huge. They have tried to represent all the provinces of Cameroon and the typical trees that would be in that area. The garden are flanked by a beautiful river that flows to the see about 200m away. The afternoon was spent at the beach, lapping up the sun and the waves. Due the beach being close to the bottom of Mount Cameroon, which is a volcanic mountain, the sand on the beach is dark brown and is fine like dirt, however doesn’t discolour the water. When the waves flow over it there is a sheen left on top that makes it look like fine chocolate, it is the exact colour of Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate…you can imagine how Avril reacts, I think she wish she could scoop up handfuls of it.

Gabrielle, Peter and Ray are up early and get everything packed up very quickly. Breakfast was some of yesterdays baguette with laughing cow cheese. Then we are on the road. Gabrielle had a cold so it is hard going for her. However, we all made it to the peak of 4095 m between 11:00 and 11:30.

Then we started the decent – the part Ray fears most. Long story, short – we all made it to Mann Springs. But it was a hard long trip down and we were all very sore at the end. We set off down steep slope with deep scree, then a long way across the 1989 lava flow, past the 1999 craters, more scree and finally to the tents.

Ray had set some expectations for the porters in the morning and they had pitched our tents (in the best spot) and had hot tea waiting. Very nice. Dinner was rice with a tomato sauce. The overall site was super crowded with us, the German group, French family group (6) and two other couples all with guides & porters squeezed into a small space. And no arrangements for toilet – you can imagine. The highlight of the evening, based on the chatter in the morning, was Rays RSM scream at ~ 21:30 “shut up! We are trying to sleep”. The yell did work.

Day 35 – 4/1/12

After another breakfast of baguette (3 day old, but Ray toasted it) & laughing cow cheese, Peter, Gabrielle & Ray were on the track by 07:15. It was a quite tedious trek mainly through rain forest. The highlight of the day was crossing the 2000 lava flow. It really did look like a river running down off the mountain. We arrived at the car park at ~ 14:00 and our trusty driver was waiting. We had a beer with the porters, went to the Ecco management office – more faffing to get some certificates (Peter;  “TIA”) and finally to Limbe for a shower, salad prepared by Avril and some rest.

Avril & Hayley worked hard to make sure every thing was super nice for when the trekkers arrived.

Day 36 – 5/1/12

The trekkers were very, very sore. So, it was a late start for all. As Hayley & Avril had had such a great time at the Animal Sanctuary we all decided to pay a visit. We were all entertained by the shenanigans of the primates. Then we went to a fish restaurant – fresh grilled sea food, eaten with our hands. We did wash our hands very well before & after eating.

We all went to the beach for a swim and then had (final) drinks and dinner.

The hotel proved to be more ludicrous than Fawlty Towers. We lost water twice during the day, the rooms were in an advanced state of dilapidation and as Trip Advisor had stated, the staff were rude. Anyway… Ray & Avril went up to pay the bill so we could leave early the next morning. The Manager was there (and knew Avrils wrath from previous encounters) with one clerk, trying to check in a very large number of people and more kept arriving. Mmm, we wanted our bill and did not want to wait for ever for all the other folks to be checked in – Ray is not known for his patience! So, the old contractor discussion, I am not interested in your problems, I have enough of my own. As a guest I want you to concentrate on my problems and not try and make your problems mine etc etc (decades of practice at this). So, in a fit of pique the manager says we do not have to pay. Ray;” no we really want to pay”, Manager now more bolshi than ever, no need to pay (he must be very scared of Avril). Alright then, if you insist, we will not pay.

Day 37 – 6/1/12

A sad day as the kids left to return back to Australia. We hope you have enjoyed the guest blogger, it is now back to the drudgery of Ray & Avril.

An early start to the day, and yes the water was off so Ray rushed around to fill empty bottles from the vehicle so everyone could have a bit of a wash.

Avril had been in communication with the Kenya Airways head office re the kids treatment over the late arrival of their bags. On arrival at Douala airport, she spotted the Kenya Airways office and went up to talk to the (very chastened) manager. The airline had done the right thing. The manager apologised for all the hassle (head office had also been embarrassed and apologised) and the kids were upgraded to Business Class for the Kenya Airlines part of the trip to Nairobi and then Bangkok. A very nice gesture and much appreciated. So, many thanks to Kenya Airlines a good recovery.

With sad hearts we headed back to Yaounde. We had a good run except for the last road block where we were held up for 20 min. The cop clearly wanting a bribe but could find no reason to demand it. We were treated like friends at the mission, checked into “our” room then went off to do some shopping. Ray managed to get a decent hair cut albeit at Aussie prices this time. Then we had a delicious Turkish meal (Andrew: sorry, there are NO Greek restaurants here!).

Ray driving. 4 hours. 328 km. Back at the Catholic guest house.  

Day 38 – 7/1/12

A day of shopping and catching up with friends. We spent the morning tidying up the vehicle and then shopping for the next period. We are unsure of when we will see a large supermarket again, so we stocked up on cheese, meat (in the freezer), toiletries (in addition to those left by the kids), tinned veggies (cause fresh is in very short supply), lots of chocolate (for Avril) etc.

We had lunch with Bridgette & Iain from WWF, a couple we had met whilst traveling around the ring road. Then afternoon drinks with Mark & Karin (also from WWF) who had recently been to CAR and the Sangha lodge. They were able to give us some good tips e.g. park 5 m from the police barriers or else an official fine will be imposed.

Day 39 – 8/1/12

On the road again! We made an early start to Batouri and after driving through the normal end of city markets (which were very lively on an early Sunday morning) made good time over good tar and then reasonable gravel until ~ 30 km from Batouri. We stopped to assist a vehicle that had a flat tyre – they had a spare but used our compressor to inflate it. Then we noticed a large amount of fuel dripping from our vehicle. Bugger! Fortunately we had filled the tanks ~ 60 km before, so we had sufficient fuel to get to Batouri.

We drove straight to see our good friend Fr Patrick and he organised a mechanic, immediately. Not bad for a Sunday. The mechanic seemed to find a number of leaks where rubber tubes joined onto steel pipes, and set about using jubilee clips to get a better seal. We are not sure why the fuel system should develop multiple leaks; maybe there is a deeper problem or there was only one leak and we tightened up a lot of other stuff anyway. The repair seemed to work, however we noticed a leak when we parked the car for the evening – so further repairs are needed tomorrow.

Fr Patrick took us to see the hospital they are building etc. Plenty of work for skilled volunteers there!

We had dinner with the sisters, who were also entertaining a group of Dutch folks from an NGO

Avril driving. 7 hours. 411 km. Back at the Bishops residence in Batouri.

Day 40 – 9/1/12

After a poor night’s sleep (lots of noise) we were up early to get the vehicle sorted out. The mechanic turned up at 07:30 and we started to fix the remaining leaks. After about 2 hours work the leaking seemed to have stopped. Ray also contacted home office technical aka Peter (the knowledgeable) Mitchley. We agreed there may be a blockage and after some research Peter suggested it may be the solenoid that transfers fuel supply from the main to the sub tank. As a precaution we switched tanks a few times in the day and the leaking seemed to be gone – fingers crossed.

For those keen readers with a good memory, you will recall the road out of Batouri is described in the Rough Guide as the worst in Cameroon, and again, we found the description accurate. Very corrugated and rough gravel with the added hazard of logging trucks travelling at speed and demanding all the road. We normally go to the very edge of the road and stop whilst a truck passes.

The vegetation was more like a dense scrub rather than rain forest. Along the roads the plants are coated with red dust which is kinda like a science fiction view, driving along a dusty road with red vegetation. Also today we noticed that it was a lot hotter than it has been recently.

Cameroon immigration and customs is at Kentzou, ~ 13 km before the frontier. This was seamless with no demands for money.

Central African Republic – Part 1

Day 1 – 9/1/12

We approached Central African Republic (CAR) formalities with some trepidation, given the reputation of CAR. However, these were completed very professionally, with no demands for money. You do most of the formalities, including a health check at the border, but immigration is stamped in Gamboula town.

We stayed at the Baptist mission ~ 3 km out of Gamboula. A real oasis, very clean and with great gardens. A lovely American couple, Tim (doctor) and Ann (teacher) welcomed us and very nicely asked us to dinner.

Ray driving. 4 hours. 143 km. N 040 05’ 50.7’’  E 0150 09’ 09.8’’.