Senegal, Part 1 and The Gambia

Senegal, Part 1

Day 1 – 21/4/12

Our original idea was to go from Guinea to Guinea Bissau, however with a coup a few days earlier, we decided to give this country a miss. There was a question as to whether the borders were re-opened. With the coup, we did not bother to get a visa in Freetown.

It was with fear and apprehension we approached the Senegalese crossing – some distance after the border. Their reputation for corruption and aggressive behaviours to get their money is, apparently, legendary. The immigration man was polite and joked that Betros rhymed with boss and Avril was the boss’ boss! No hint of aggression or a bribe.

The customs man was out to lunch, so we had to wait ~ 15 min. Again, he was very professional, considerate and polite. No hint of a bribe – long may this last! Avril reckons it is because Ray has white hair, Ray reckons it is because of his great inter-personal skills. Others say, it is much easier going south to north than the reverse.

We drove on an excellent tar road to Tambacounda (herein after referred to as Tamba) to refuel, purchase fruit & veg (a friendly passer-by assisted Avril with language and purchase decisions – she seems to attract a lot of blokes here) and get SIM cards.

We then drove on good tar to Dar Salam, the entrance of the Niokola Koba National Park and camped “at the gate”.  The good news was the campment had very cold beer, oh and tonic and ananas/pineapple drink, which Avril mixes into a secret cocktail.

The vegetation thinned considerably during the day and was basically thin, low scrub by the end. It is mega hot; our thermometer says + 40^oC

Ray driving. 527 km. 11 hrs.  N  13⁰ 15’ 38.1’’ W 013⁰ 12’ 09.5’’

Day 2 – 22/4/12

We were up at sparrows to de-camp and be at the gate ready to pick up our (compulsory) guide and enter the park at 07:00. The guide had to sit on the roof rack.

The park roads are very rough and with all the rattle and shaking our large under tray drawer broke yet another latch (the 3^rd now) and unknown to us we drove some distance with the draw hanging out. Fortunately we only lost our spare set of wiper blades. We then had to fix the drawer and wash all the kit in the heat of the day. Fortunately we did this at the lodge and the folks there allowed Ray to have a shower at the end of the job.

Zakouma, this park is not; there is an OK variety of game but not large numbers. We saw: Red Duiker; warthog;  jackal; bush buck (lots); Roan Antelope; water buck; our old friend, Cob du Buffon; Oribi and hippopotamus.  The conditions were not ideal for photography but the viewing was nice.

It was super hot, + 42^oC and still 41^oC at sunset ~ 19:00 hrs.

We camped at Lion Camp, which is very basic. When we arrived there was no water for the bucket showers and the toilet was, well you can imagine. We had a wee chat to the folks there and it was soon remedied.

Day 3 – 23/4/12

Again, we were up early. In part due to the heat and our inability to sleep, but mainly to see the animals.

We drove around for a while doing some further game viewing and then left the park just before midday. We saw a variety of game again, but nothing new on the previous day.

We drove back to Tamba to refuel and get some vital supplies i.e. new sunglasses for Avril.

We then drove to the Senegal border. On the way to the border there was an absolutely massive amount of traffic coming in the opposite direction; buses, mini buses, lorries etc end to end and all packed with people. The driving was very dangerous and we were forced off the road on a number of occasions. We discovered later that this was the end of a 2- week program with a renowned marabout and these were all the pilgrims going home. Seemed like life was not all that important to them or rather their lives to the drivers.

Again we crossed the border without any hassles nor hint of a bribe. The customs bloke wanted to know about binoculars, but this was out of interest, not from a corruption perspective.

The road from Sinanian Doulde to Velingara is badly potholed and from Velingara to the border and onto Basse Santa Su (Bassa) is basically a quite bad dirt track.

The Gambia

Day 1 – 23/4/12

The Gambian authorities have a reputation for corruption, so we approached the border with a little dread. In addition, this was our 1^st border since Namibia where we did not have a visa. The guide books said that Commonwealth countries did not need a visa. The police (immigration) were asleep and Ray had to gently and subtly let them know he was waiting. Our passports were stamped with no hassle. No need for a visa – very cheap considering the costs associated with other visas.

Ray then had to roam the border post to find the customs folks. Again, the carnet was signed without any hassle.

We then proceeded to Bassa. Another customs stop, no worries. Then a military stop. The poor bugger was in full combat kit and it was + 40^oC, so we dived into the Mitchley (now working again, promoting Peter to Avri’ls very best friend) and gave the soldier a bottle of cold water.

We then needed to find the Immigration office to get a Tourist Stamp. At the 1^st police road block we asked directions. One of the officers jumped into a vehicle and led us there. The stamp was applied without any hint of a bribe.

Long may our experiences with officialdom be this nice. We wonder what the folks in the blogs did wrong?? Still, our turn maybe waiting!

We then went in search of the Medical Research Centre, recommended by the French couple in Labe (we owe them a beer!). At the MRC the security folks were not really allowed to do all that much, and the guest house managers initial response was no. But Ray chatted to a chap, Malik, leaving the centre, and he took it upon himself to assist us. So we went in search of the next accommodation option, but the ferry needed to get there was broken, so Malik “begged” the manager of the guest house to let us stay. We got a positive response – fantastic! We went out with Malik for a chicken dinner.

To put this in perspective, we were preoccupied all day with the temperature, our measurement of the maximum, in the shade, was 44.5^oC. We were very, very (let’s also add a few more very) keen to get a place with a/c and get a decent night’s sleep. We drank a huge amount of water in the day (it seemed impossible to quench ones thirst. Well, anyway, not before 17:00 hrs when beer is allowed under SOPs). We relented at some points and turned on the vehicle a/c.

 Avril driving. 251 km. ~ 5 hours from the park to the MRC accommodation including 2 border crossings.  N  13⁰ 18’ 46.4’’ W 014⁰ 13’ 28.9’’

 Day 2 – 24/4/12

A wonderful night’s sleep with the a/c!!! We went into town to change some money and tried to sort out our Senegal SIM card, which was not working in The Gambia. Seems like the Senegal card will not work here (mmmmm…., not so friendly with the neighbours) so after some frustration, we purchased a Gambian SIM. The bank could not change our forex, so the nice man at the bank took Ray to another shop to change some funds – unfortunately all in large denominations.

In the market, Ray hopped out of the vehicle to purchase a couple of bread sticks. A motorised tricycle with a large container on the rear, loaded with bread had followed us through the market and stopped at a road side stall. The trike driver would not go the final 3 m to unload his bread until a couple of donkey carts had cleared out of the way. The driver made it very clear they needed to shift “NOW”. After the bread was off- loaded, Ray selected a couple of bread sticks and handed over a large denomination note. A lady standing near by, also waiting for bread, calmly took the 100 note and gave Ray a 50 and a 50 to the bread vendor. But, a 50 was still too high, so other folks in the area clubbed in to break the note. All this done proactively and just as a matter of course.

Note: after 22 countries and > 36,000 km, we are yet to find an African vendor who has change. Even after you have just given them some small money but then decided on another purchase, they will not have change.

We then set off for Georgetown (which has a new longer name). When we got there we were immediately surrounded & harassed by “bumsters”. These young lads are on the look out for tourists and will demand money for any minor task e.g. giving directions. This is the reverse (not so pleasant side) of the normally nice experiences typical of our journey. Unfortunately, only one thing works with these lads, immediate and forceful rejection, which of course makes us feel bad. But, that is what they prey on.

Georgetown was a waste of time. The guide book helpfully suggested you spend a couple of hours watching people get off & on the ferry. In error we went to the opposite bank of the Gambia River and had to wait for the ferry to fill up on the opposite bank before it would make its return trip to collect us. We can assure you that even 15 minutes people watching was way too long - get a life.

After Georgetown we went in search of The Gambia River National Park (RGNP). Asking local folks, we tried to bracket the turn off from the main road but to no avail. We then tried a couple of different side tracks, but they did not lead to the NP. Finally, in a very remote location, we noticed a couple of young English ladies at a stable near the road and they directed us in the right direction. So, after 4 hours searching, we finally arrived at RGNP. Mathew greeted us and gave us a bit of an intro to the park. He suggested we return the next day for a morning cruise.

We then returned to Jen & Laura, the English roses we had seen before. They volunteer at the Horse & Donkey Shelter. They kindly invited us to stay, gave us some nice digs and showed us around the facilities. They warned it would be a noisy night.

Ray did some anti pasta to go with pre-dinner drinks and Avril cooked up some spaghetti. The company was wonderful. Super nice people.

During the day we passed a large number of police, army, customs and immigration road blocks. The blogs had suggested that we would be asked for a bribe or wrongly accused of some road infringement. This was not our experience. We were not asked for any money. We were not stopped at all at a number of the blocks and most of the officials were pleasant.

Avril driving. 209 km. 8 hrs . N  13⁰ 39’ 52.0’’ W 014⁰ 57’ 30.9’’

Day 3 – 25/4/12

We sweltered through the night, but the animal noises were not as bad as we were warned about. After a fruit breakfast we drove back to the RGNP. We had a very nice (but expensive) 3 hour trip on the Gambia River, cruising around the National Park islands. We were fortunate to get a good look at some small chimps playing near the water, hippos, red Colobus and Vervet monkeys. The weather on the water was a lot cooler than the area further away.

After the cruise we drove to Sakuta camp ground ~ 25 km south west of Banjul. The road was good to Soma and then deteriorated to ok (ish) gravel for ~ 100 km  before going back to new tar.

The number of road blocks: military & police & customs & immigration is quite farcical. At some points there are a number of road blocks one after the other. Still, we took the time to chat to the officials and we not once asked for a serious bribe, of course they always want pens etc.

We had some minor difficulty in locating the camp ground so a kind, local chap who was driving by, went out of his way to take us there.

Ray driving. 263 km. 5 hrs . N  13⁰ 25’ 09.7’’ W 016⁰ 42’ 56.6’’

Day 4 – 26/4/12

After a chilly night (but not whinging): < 20^oC, we had porridge for breakfast. Then we set off to get our Mauritanian visas. We were fortunate to get them in a few hours. However, there was some confusion on the money side. The official letter on the notice board said the cost was Mauritanian Ouguiyas 30,000 (~ Euro 90 each – ouch!!) but when we got our receipt it was for only Mauritanian Ouguiyas 15,000. Avril wanted to know what the difference was about, so we went back to enquire – with no real satisfactory response ??!!

The area we are in is a haven for British package holiday makers, with all the trappings that go with that; including some clean and western food – very nice.

Otherwise we lazed all day. It was not really possible to get to the beach as all the resorts take the beach frontage.

Day 5 – 27/4/12

We rose super early to try and get an early ferry. The blogs had spoken of + 8 hrs wait. We got to the ferry terminal at 07:00 and already the 1^st ferry was full. You needed a ticket to enter the queue and we had to be advised where to get a ticket. Of course for such information you pay – but we did get the # 4 spot on the next ferry so figured it was worth it. In the process we nearly caused a fight, one of the waiting mini bus drivers got very agro that we had been allowed through. TIA!!! We waited for the next ferry to dock, unloading took a long time; initially a huge number of people streamed out, it must have been much more than the legal number. Then came the cars and lorries, then the larger men hauled carts and finally a herd of goats. Avril asked one of her male escorts how much the goats paid and it turned out they pay the same as a person.

Then the ferry had to be cleaned – which we appreciated, but not the time it took. Then the frenetic loading took place. People who have waited patiently for hours suddenly become combat-ready and fierce warriors to gain an extra mm at the front of the ferry.

At 09:15 we were on our way and the trip took ~ 50 min.

We passed Gambia Immigration & Customs quickly and with no hint of any additional payments.

The Gambia Summary

The country was OK. We really appreciated the little bit of familiar western environment in the British tourist area. It was great to meet the girls at the Horse & Donkey refuge. The roads in general are OK. The people in the main were very friendly and helpful. There were no security issues.

The negative was the enormous number of road blocks - they really did become a drag. The weather away from the coast was very hot. We found it a bit expensive – but maybe we are cheap.

Senegal, part 2.

Immigration and customs were completed quickly and efficiently – no hint of a bribe. So fast, Avril thought we had only done one border.

We had our first interaction with a cop trying to extract something. We passed the road block with Ray (in the left hand passenger seat) on the phone. The cop thought he had us on that one, until we pointed out Ray was not driving. Then he tried speeding (with- out radar or such). Ray showed him a recent moving average on the GPS (we are not sure what it was) and this was < 31 km/hr. The poor bloke was buggered.

We then drove to Toubakouta one of the tourist centers for the Satoum river delta. With the “assistance” of a bumpster we found a place to camp the night; Campment Coquillages, very clean and CFA 6,000 (=$ 12.00).

In the evening we went for a “cruise” to see the mangroves and islands the area is famous for, including the ancient baobab and another with lots of birds.

Avril driving. ~ 80 km.  N  13⁰ 47’ 13.5’’ W 016⁰ 28’ 34.7’’

Guinea, part 2.

Day 3 – 18/4/12

As per our experience thus far, the Guinea formalities were completed quickly, efficiently  and with a minimum of fuss. The immigration bloke even completed Avril’s form whilst Ray did his. Avril sat in the car chatting to all the local boys whilst Ray did the hard yards. No request for a bribe.

We asked all the officials along the way for a good hotel in Forecariah and there was general agreement.

The road to Forecariah was OK, but there were some pot holes and some wash aways. The EU had funded the Sierra Leone side, but clearly not the Guinea side.

We found our way to the nominated hotel only to find that Rio Tinto & Fluor had taken it over. The security guard was not too helpful, but eventually one of the chaps went with Avril to show her the next possible hotel. She discovered that it did not pass the hygiene test. Meanwhile Ray had managed to talk his way up the food chain at the hotel and got to chat to  the chief. He said that the hotel they had taken Avril to was no so good, so he made a phone call and got us into a clean guest house.

We cooked up some curry & rice.

An MSF vehicle showed up a bit later; as per our general experience, the local drivers chatted to us, but the more important imported folks seemed to be much too important to chat to the rif-raf.

Ray driving. 299 km. hrs, not relevant!  N  09⁰ 25’ 52.9’’ W 013⁰ 04’ 43.7’’

Day 4 – 19/4/12

Mountains & Waterfalls. We made a reasonably efficient start to the day and motored to Coyah, where the mountains start. The joy!!!  This is the start of the Fouta Djallon region, famed for its dramatic scenery. All the day we drove through some wonderful scenes. Unfortunately the conditions were not ideal for photography; the vistas too expansive and the heat haze added to the thick smoke from fires, making photography hard. Still, we enjoyed the scenery. There were a lot of beautiful river crossings, each worthy of a photo.

We first stopped at the Voilee de la Marie (Bridal Veil) falls. These are a very broad series of falls with a number of small cascades creating an even, misty fall – hence the name. There were good facilities there and we decided to have an early lunch under the falls. As we were back in a Francophone country we had crusty baguettes with camembert and pate.

The next falls we stopped at were the Koundoure. At a village close to the falls we asked the way and after getting directions, we asked the chap if he would take us there. Such a change from other countries where you are harassed by guides all the time. Here you have to actually ask – people are too polite to push themselves! We were followed by a large number of kids to the falls. Our guide, sensing this was not pleasant, laid out a branch on the ground and instructed the kids not to cross it – and they did not! Unfortunately as it was the dry season, the falls were dry but we got an excellent impression of them. They would be great in the rainy season.

We stopped at a road block near Mamou and one of the officers noticed we were leaking fuel – again! So we went into town and asked at a service station for a mechanic; fortunately there was one just behind the service station. They immediately got onto the job. The return fuel line had split. They shortened the line and ensured it could not be squeezed again and we were on our way. $15 the poorer!

We decided to go all the way to Labe and spend 2 nights there. We stayed at the Tata hotel

Avril driving. 299 km. hrs, not relevant!  N  09⁰ 25’ 52.9’’ W 013⁰ 04’ 43.7’’

Day 4 – 20/4/12

Waterfalls!! A late start to the day. We drove to the Kambadaga Falls. Again, we stopped to ask directions and then asked the chap to be our guide. Along the way we picked up a walker who then also came along to the falls. The falls were fantastic; actually different sets of falls. To get a view we crossed an ancient swing bridge that would not pass any safety check. But we did it! We walked around the top of the main (?) middle falls to get different views. Not being all that keen on steep ascents, Avril decided to retreat a bit earlier than Ray. Ray walked to the top of the bottom falls and then along the river to get a wonderful view of the larger middle falls from the bottom. As we had given the “walker” a lift we were fortunate to have 2 guides! Unfortunately our camera decided to stop working at the critical moment. Ray tried all the known solutions (i.e. turn it off and turn it on – many times), but nothing worked. Then ignoring Dad’s # 1 rule, “never force anything mechanical”, Ray (gently) belted the camera on the ground and voilà it worked again!

We lunched at the falls and fed the full guiding crew & some spurious hanger-ons. It was ~ 15 km and 45 min to get to the falls.

Then, a bit later than we wanted, we drove to the Dittin falls. To get there we needed to bracket the turnoff, asking a person, then driving a bit far, coming back and asking again. It was quite a distance to get to the falls. Along the way we stopped and pick up a “guide”. Eventually we got to Dittin village and chatted to the chief who allocated a near-by person to come along as our guide. From there it was ~ 7 km to the falls. These falls are (apparently) a 80 m drop down a cliff. Again, they were spectacular but we did not have time to really appreciate them.

All in all a great day. The bonus is the very temperate weather, high 20s and the humidity was not too high.

Avril driving. 211 km. hrs; not relevant! But the odometer did pass 111,111 km: very exciting. We dined out on the milestone; Avril pizza and Ray spaghetti. 

Day 5 – 21/4/12

Up very early. It was with some trepidation we approached the day’s drive. Blogs & guide books had spoken of a horror stretch of road, a river crossing impassable in the rains and minimum 10 hours and up to 16 hours drive. Apparently the terrible road was legendary with hardy/experienced travellers. This was the stretch of road that caused us to rush other areas a bit.

The reality; a wonderful drive across mountains/hills with some great vistas. The road was mainly good, if corrugated, gravel. The bad sections were over the hills and this is where you want to go slow anyway to appreciate the view. The vegetation changed from reasonably close bush to more of a savannah outlook. The 1^st 175 km from Labe took 4 hours; there the excellent tar road started. The 248 km from Labe to Koundara took 5 hours. There was a manual ferry crossing, Guinea money 50,000 (fortunately a lovely French couple had warned us of the cost the previous night), but no river to ford.

As expected, the Guinea side immigration and customs were completed quickly. No hint of a bribe.

Guinea Summary

We loved Guinea. It is a no hassle country. Folks are very friendly and so laid-back. There were no security issues. At the road blocks the officials were very friendly and we enjoyed the chat. If you needed to pass through the same road block twice, they would remember you and ask how things were.

The scenery is stunning. The roads in the main are very good.

We struggle to think of a negative for the report.

Lonely Planet: 5/10, Rough Guide: 5/10. IGN map: 5/10.

Sierra Leone

Day 1 – 15/4/12

The Sierra Leone administrative requirements took a little time. Overall we spent ~ 1.5 hours getting through both border posts and the SL police post ~ 2 from the border. We had to pay L 50,000 for an additional travel permit – all proper and receipted with a sticker on our windscreen. The SL officers were very thorough, but we had all the necessary paper work, so they could only ask for a present, not demand a bribe.

We had been warned that the road from the border to Kenema was bad. The police along the way were very nice (and articulate when we asked questions on the country). They all stressed how bad the road was and the need to be careful. It took us ~5.5 hrs to do 135 km. The road was bad and there were a lot of large pot holes filled with water – here large means up to 60 cm deep and ~ 3 car lengths. The route was basically along a number of low hills – the valleys had mega pot holes, the hills had deep gashes where the rain had eroded the surface and the plateaux  were just potholed or corrugated.

Along the way, we passed a vehicle with “Funded by the Australian Govt” marked on the side. We excitedly stopped for a chat only to find that the passengers were Italian NGO’s working on a food program!! Not quite sure of the logic – your taxes at work?!

At Kenema we stayed at the Ericson Guesthouse. Nice & Clean; $ 50. We drove around a bit trying to find the accommodation and after going around in circles for a while, got a motor bike to lead us there.

Interestingly, the locals here use miles for distance. Again, the Riese Know How & Michelin regional maps were very inaccurate. The ITBM map has no distances marked, so is practically useless.

Ray driving. 306 km. 9.5 hrs N  07⁰ 53’ 24.7’’ W 011⁰ 11’ 18.5’’

Day 2 – 16/4/12

We had a leisurely start to the day. The road to Freetown is excellent tar. There was the green tropical vegetation to start with, but just after Bo there seemed to be a sudden change to scrub. There were a few interesting mountains/hills and at one point we had an excellent view over the plain to the sea. A nice drive.

At one of the police road blocks they asked if we can leave anything; Avril said a smile to the chap at her window. Ray (following advice from a blog) said, a prayer. The police man agreed and bowed his head and we said a prayer together. However, as you can imagine we will not use that helpful hint again. The next road block was better; Ray managed to buy some decent chicken kebabs. Avril still does not eat street food.

We decided to go immediately to the beaches on the west side of the peninsular rather than going to Freetown.

The 1^st beach we tried, described in the Lonely Planet guide as “arguably  the best in west Africa” (and we would probably dispute this claim), had a lot of litter, so we gave it a miss (the dog doing his business on the beach did not help the decision). We found out later that there was a big beach party there last night.

The next beach was John Obey.  There is a resort there, Tribe Wanted, based on a Fiji concept. All ecco and you muck in and help with the chores. There was/is a group of English volunteers there completing their induction to Sierra Leone. We are camped under some large trees, 20 m from the sea. Very nice. $50/night/couple including 3 meals a day.

Avril driving. 308 km. 5 hrs N  08⁰ 14’ 25.6’’ W 013⁰ 09’ 45.7’’

Day 3 – 17/4/12

A very lazy day. Lounging around, relaxing, swimming etc. Not even any chores!

We had a great time chatting to the British Volunteers at the resort. This was their base for in country familiarisation.

Day 4 – 18/4/12

After a lazy start we set off to have a look at Freetown. The road was OK for a few kms, but then deteriorated to a rough gravel track, with lots of dust.

We had been warned about the Freetown traffic and a bit before Freetown a traffic jam stopped all movement. Correction, all movement stopped for the few polite drivers. The more anxious and all taxi drivers believe that normal queuing rule do not apply to them, so they race up the opposite traffic lane, blocking the oncoming traffic and creating a worse traffic jam as they try and squeeze back into the correct lane.  Avil is just about apoplexic. TIA. After 2 hours and < 300 m, we decided enough is enough. We have seen lots of African capital cities and we can let this one pass. We decided to head straight for Guinea.

We had a good run on great tar to the border. It is now just before the rainy season and the burn part of “slash & burn” agriculture is in full swing. There are a great number of fires and the black areas from recent fires make a terrible scar on the land.

The Sierra Leone formalities were reasonable smooth, but we had the now almost inevitable search for the man with the key to unlock the stamp. TIA. 

No hint of a bribe.

Sierra Leone Summary.

Again, it is hard to say too much about a country after only a few days. There did not seem to be any security issues. The roads were either very good or terrible!

We thought it relatively expensive, you need to add 15% GST to any quoted price.

The folks were pleasant, and as we said above for us they had a quite neutral accent and seemed to be very articulate.

The beaches are great, but litter appeared to be a problem.

Formalities seemed to be straight forward but took a long time.

Guinea, Part 1 and Liberia

Guinea, Part 1

Day 1 – 10/4/12

The bridge that connects Ivory Coast and Guinea is broken. So, we had to ford a river to enter Guinea.

The border formalities were completed professionally, no hint of a bribe. The officers there were delighted that tourists were visiting – and this was common at all the road blocks. The customs formalities were completed at Nzoo, ~ 9 km from the border. But before that we came to a river where the bridge was being worked on and there was a large truck stuck in the major ford. We had noticed a number of trucks stopped ~ 500 m before the river, with the drivers having a sleep. At this point you get that “oh shit” feeling. We did not have a visa to return to Ivory Coast and this truck was firmly stuck. Then, Ray noticed a track to the side. The local chaps had set up a mini business. After a bit of a chat, we can use the small crossing for a small present. Ray establishes the rules, crossing 1^st, present 2^nd and this is agreed. Ray then walks the track. The river crossing is fast flowing, but only ~ 1ft deep. However the exit bank is very, very steep. We drive the approach in 1^st gear, low range and try to ford the stream – Ray driving. The 1^st attempt is unsuccessful. We cannot get up the exit. We reverse and try again, same result. Avril says; “you need a bigger run up” (translation; you are being a girl, stop messing about and go hard at it!). Following instructions, we make the exit on the 3^rd attempt. We then pay; we start with GF 10,000 (~ $ 1.40), but the looks of disapproval show this is not enough. We add another GF 10,000 and every one is happy.

The road after the border is poor for ~ 5 km, but then improves to an OK gravel standard. From Lola on the road is high standard tar.

The drive is delightful, small hills and in the distance, mountains. In places there are grand stands of rain forest. We are glad we made the decision to take this route.

We stopped for the night at the Hotel Rougui, which the Rough Guide says is the up-market hotel in town. Bucket shower, no loo paper (the reason this is a Muslim area???) but we have our own. The folks are very nice and we BBQ some pork (from Ghana) and have a nice dinner.

Ray driving. 265 km. 8 hrs N  08⁰ 31’ 27.8’’ W 009⁰ 28’ 05.8’’

Day 2 – 11/4/12

De ja vu, all over again. The day started relatively OK. Ray got boiled eggs in a baguette for breakfast and we were on our way. The road to Liberia was clearly marked. We had been assured many times that this road was “good” and in fact the road all the way to Monrovia was “flat”/”good”.

The road in Guinea is not good and we went slowly along, still positive. ~ 15 km outside Macenta we reached the 1^st road block. After a bit of chatter, it turns out that we were meant to get the carnet stamped in Macenta. The customs folks offered to come back and show us the way, but did not want to sit on the roof rack, also we did not want to drive back, so Ray got on a motor bike with the senior customs bloke driving. It turned out the bike does not have a good clutch and when it stalls the customs bloke grabs the nearest, very scrawny, kid to give us a push start. Still, we made it to town. The customs office is very hard to find, so it is just as well we had an official showing the way. The carnet was signed very quickly. Then we had to look for fuel. But there was none in Macenta!! So, we rode ~ 10 km out of town to get fuel. As Ray is a tourist, we went to the front of the queue – and everyone thoght this was proper (wonder how this would go down in a western country?). So far so good. Then we headed back to the roadblock and the car. But, ~ 2/3rds of the way to the car, the bike chain snapped. Bugger. Ray paid for the chain to be fixed (they were doing us a favour). The customs bloke stopped another bike coming past and asked the passenger to wait whilst the rider took Ray to the car, he is in a rush and so refused. The customs bloke gave him a serve! Then he stopped another bike who took Ray to the car. The officials at the car were very appreciative that we had paid to have the bike fixed.

Meanwhile, Avril formed an ad hoc Save the Kids branch. She had taken some bread and fruit and divided it up to feed the kids. One of the mums sat the kids down and the had a bit of a feed.

The road to the border was very bad. We passed through another roadblock where all the vehicle papers were checked and an officer asked for some money, but the issue was not pushed. At the border the police stamped our passports.

Liberia

 Day 1 – 11/4/12

TIA!!! The drive to the Liberia post was bad, but we made reasonable progress and felt like pioneers and a bit pleased with ourselves. Then, along came an ancient small sedan, loaded to a much greater degree than us. It made us feel good that the vehicle had made it, but it put our efforts into perspective.

At the Liberian post they insisted that Avril also came into the office. Then the officers claimed that, as we came from Guinea, we needed to have a Liberian visa issued in Guinea! This went on for ~ 30 min, then one of the immigration officers rang his boss. Yes, a Liberian visa issued in Accra is OK. Where is Forrest when you need someone clever?

Then we went to the customs office, they took down the particulars of the vehicle and for the 2^nd time in Africa and the 1^st time since entering Angola from Namibia, a vehicle inspection was carried out. All of this took time. But we had been assured that the road to Monrovia was good, so we were not too worried. They did not have the customs stamp at this office (or one suspects the authority to stamp anything) so we needed to take a customs officer, on our roof rack, and drive ~ 20 km out of our way to another post. The senior man here was very nice and it took some time to realise that he did not have the stamp. His boss had the stamp. The boss was away on some personal business, but will be back “soon”. So 45 min later, the boss showed up, the stamp was unlocked and the carnet stamped. But, they assured us maximum 6 hours to Monrovia.

We stopped in Voinjama to get a sim card. The company is Lonestar, but as we inspected the documents, we saw it was really MTN, and we got that sinking feeling. We departed on our journey and sure enough, the phone did not work. You needed to register the SIM, which includes having photo taken. Later that night, MTN redeemed themselves; a registration agent came to our hotel and registered the card.

We were really looking forward to the flat road from Voinjama. We know you have guessed by now, the road was very bad. Average speed was ~ 25 – 30 km/hr and even at these speeds the suspension got a good work over.

Immediately we saw that Liberia is UN/NGO heaven. They seemed to comprise most of the road traffic and one suspects a good percentage of the GNP (one wonders what will happen to the economy if they ever leave. Maybe another war so they come back and get the economy going again?). Given their superior status in the country, the UN/NGO drivers are quite aggressive. A UN truck came up behind us and blasted their mega horn. Trying to get past. Yeah, they wanted to go ~ 300 m past us to turn into their camp! Later a huge Red Cross vehicle did the same thing, right up on our tail, horn blasting. We pulled over to let them past. Then they slowed so that we had to eat their dust, so we slowed more. This went on for a bit, so we passed the Red Cross truck, again we were subjected to the tail-gating and mega horn blasting. We reached a road block, Ray, fed up with the driving, decided to have a wee chat to the NGO driver. We also let the police know they are driving dangerously. This seemed to do the trick and they backed off.

Another aspect of the trip was the road blocks. These are generally run by the immigration service. At these points they insisted on copying down our passport  details; they would not take a copy and let us go on.

We realised that, keeping to our rule of no night driving, we were not going to make Monrovia., so we took a room at the Crystal Hotel in Gbarnga. They did not have a restaurant, so for only maybe the 2^nd time on the trip we had a cold snack in our room – not too bad – bread, cheese, pate, a bit of salad and fruit.  But, the hotel had TV, so we got to watch some sport.

On any other day, this would have been a very pleasant drive. We had unfortunately given our selves an objective based on the assurances that the road was good. We probably should have chilled out, enjoyed the scenery (nice green vegetation and some mountains in the distance) and camped at a village on the way.

Avril driving. 246 km. 12 hrs N  007⁰ 00’ 24.6’’ W 009⁰ 29’ 04.8’’

Day 2 –12/4/12

Luxury.  We had been in touch with James Castiau from BHPBilliton and he had forewarned us about the road conditions on the road from Gbarnga to Monrovia. BHPB take 4 hours for this < 200 km. We took ~ this time for the journey. The road was badly potholed with some impressive, deep potholes (no, not as bad as Angola!). Along the way we saw 2 vehicles with their front axles broken and wheels twisted at tortured angles.

The immigration service again stopped us at a number of points. They were not impressed when we pointed out that we had been in Liberia < 24 hrs and that ~ 20% of our time had been taken up by immigration stops. Nor were they impressed when we pointed out that only white people were being stopped!

After arriving in Monrovia, we dropped into the Senegal Embassy near the domestic airport but the consulate is down town (the embassy is actually the honorary consul’s house). So, we quickly drove down town and the Consul issued the visa on the spot. A very nice man, who looked after us, took Ray to change some money and made sure we felt comfortable. On the way out of town we were stopped by a traffic cop, wearing a Canadian baseball hat. Ray immediately demanded to know who he was; he then showed his very big & obvious police tag. Mmm. Then we had a very interesting exchange, us saying we were pretty annoyed with the continual stopping at checkpoints and the copper lecturing us on Liberian traffic laws. So backwards and forwards until we all settled down, had a bit of a natter, exchanged phone # and email and ended up best of mates!

We had lunch at an Indian restaurant. Our 1^st Indian since Australia.  

The friendly folks at BHPB had invited us to stay at their compound. For them this is their home away from home and probably the minimum standard to keep young professionals happy. For us it was luxury - hot showers, internet that works, nice food and great company.

We spent the evening having a natter to the folks in the compound and were probably the last ones to go to bed.

Avril driving. 224 km. 4.5 hrs N  06⁰ 15’ 33.1’’ W 010⁰ 42’ 51.0’’

Day 3 – 13/4/12

A day of chores and relaxation – Avril managed to check out all 14 sports’ channels!  We were able to download the travel guides from Amazon and put them onto Avril’s Kindle. So we are up and running again.

Day 4 – 14/4/12

Another day of catching up on chores e.g. getting our pictures backed up onto a hard drive. We took another drive into Monrovia. It seems to be a caricature of a seedy, run down 1950s banana republic city, ideal for a movie set. However, the traffic flows quite well.

We stopped off at an expatriate style supermarket and were shocked at how high the prices were. Seems like the UN & NGOs have lots of money to splash around.

We filled up with Diesel (same as Gasoil!) and it was quoted at US$ 4.75/gal. We do not know if this is a US gal or Imperial and whether or not this is a good price.

Day 5 – 15/4/12

For the hard working BHPB folks, every 2^nd Saturday is BBQ night (They get 1 day off a fortnight). The evening was fantastic, chatting to the folks based in Liberia in a very relaxed social environment.

After a bit of breakfast, we set off for the border. The road is high standard tar and we made good progress. In our eagerness to pass quickly through an immigration road block on the tail of a local car, we missed the only turn and the mega sign indicating the way we should have gone! 12 km down the road, we realised our mistake and doubled back.

Even with the diversion we are at the border in < 3 hrs.

Immigration and customs were completed with no effort. No hint of a bribe. Everyone was helpful.

Liberia Summary

We obviously had a great time with the BHPB folks. A very big thanks to Dave and all the crew. We are indebted to James for making this happen. The R&R was fantastic and the BHPB people super friendly and very helpful.

The positive of Liberia is the positive security environment.

However, we really did not have a great time outside the BHPB compound. The continual road blocks and administrative requirements were a real drag. The roads from the north into Monrovia were bad. The prices were high.

Ivory Coast

Day 1 – 7/4/12

The Ivory Coast border crossing was a little more chaotic than some others. A lot of the officials/soldiers were very interested in camper, so we opened the door a number of times to satisfy their curiosity. It took Ray a little time to find the customs office. He was then directed upstairs to the Chief’s office, apparently he is the only one who can sign the Carnet. No problems, it was done quickly. Then to the immigration, again it took Ray a little time to find, but the passports were stamped promptly and we were on our way. No hint of a bribe. At the border crossing we spent our last Ghana money on some drinks and then bought a SIM card, on the spot.

The road to Abidjan is generally of high standard and in very good condition with only a few pot holes. Almost immediately we seemed to be in industrial scale agriculture with massive palm, pineapple, rubber and banana plantations.

The Lonely Planet guide book has Grand Bassam as a highlight, so we diverted off the road to have a look. There is some remnant colonial buildings, though generally in poor condition and not as impressive as, say, Hanoi. It is very difficult to get to the beach as hotels have been built along the foreshore. We suppose you need to pay for access? Makes us very appreciative of the Australian approach of beaches being for all the people. The road from Grand Bassam basically follows the beach to Abidjan and there are lots of cafes and places to stop and relax.

Most of the police road blocks do not bother to stop us and where we stop the police are very polite (we hope this continues). In the towns the road side stalls have a good variety of seasonal fruit & veg - better than we have seen for some time. Also, there seems to be a café culture with small cafes and restaurants in the towns. At least on this day, the traffic seems to be organised, no road rage etc. 

We had organised to meet Didier Ricard, who had looked after us in Mayumba, Gabon, in Abidjan (where he is resident). We stopped in the car park of a large shopping complex with a huge supermarket – it would rival the best in most countries, but clearly the best so far in Africa (strange the things that excite us, hey?). We followed Didier to the accommodation he had kindly booked for us. Le Refuge, sort of a boutique hotel, with pool and a/c. a bit expensive, but nice.

After a bit of a rest we joined Didier & his lovely wife, Corinne at a local restaurant for pizza and some Lebanese food. Yum

Avril driving. 154 km. 7 hrs N  05⁰ 16’ 16.1’’ W 003⁰ 58’ 38.5’’

Day 2 – 8/4/12

In the morning, we went back to the Sud Coast shopping centre for a bit of retail therapy. It is a bit like home and it was nice to have something that felt even a bit familiar for a short time. Ray took the opportunity to have a haircut at another equally impressive shopping centre.

Didier and Corinne, had invited us over for lunch and we spend a very pleasant few hours with them. Corinne had cooked up a storm. They have a beautiful 2-year old daughter, Mathilde – how appropriate for Aussie visitors. She is absolutely gorgeous and really took a shine to Ray!!!????

We relaxed in the evening.

Day 3 – 9/4/12

Wow, what a building!!! After a peaceful nights sleep in a/c and having our vehicle washed inside and out, we filled up with fuel and went to the great supermarket to get some fridge items. We were then on our way to Yamoussoukro, the capital of Ivory Coast. On the way we drove past Abidjan’s city centre. Lots of sky scrapers. Abidjan has the reputation of being quite western in appearance and approach and the city with its good road and freeway system gives that impression.

The drive out of the city is all freeway and continues as a high standard divided highway for 140 km. The local lore is that after this it deteriorates to a bad state with poor drivers. Our impression was different, it was Easter Sunday and so the road was not that busy and sometimes there were more repaired road than original, but at least they repair the road. The potholes are very small and inconsequential compared to our past experience – long may this continue. With the easy traffic, nice road, tropical vegetation and the occasional hill, we had a very pleasant drive.

When we reached Yamoussoukro we drove straight to the Basilica. It is an awesome, totally impressive, magnificent building. Forget the negative comments re the money etc, we loved this church. It is taller & larger than St Peters, Notre Dame would fit inside it etc – lots of very impressive statistics. But the whole thing comes together magnificently. 24 massive stained glass windows, soaring columns and a colour scheme that delights. Avril thinks it is the best church that she ever seen and she has seen hundreds! Please could someone let us know when a church becomes a cathedral and when a cathedral becomes a Basilica? And, for Rafik, it was designed by a Fahkary, living in Abidjan. Any relation??

After sitting in the church in awe, we drove to the Catholic Mission to see if we could camp. After shouting us a beer, initially, they said yes and we set up. However…

We had met Charles, a Cameroonian UN peace worker at the Basilica (who could speak English) and he came around to check we were OK. Mmm, problem. Actually, it is not OK to camp, a bit embarrassing all around. So we packed up and Charles took us to a new hotel, Hotel Fondy. Brand new, with a/c, internet etc and all for CFA 15,000. A very good deal.

We went for a chicken and chips dinner with Charles and a friend.

Ray driving. 254 km. 3.25 hrs N  06⁰ 49’ 59.7’’ W 005⁰ 15’ 36.2’’

Day 4 – 10/4/12

 It looked like it had rained overnight. This makes us a bit worried. The day started rather badly, Rays Kindle had frozen – looks like this might be a common problem as there are instructions on how to fix this on the Kindle site. Our problem is that our West Africa Travel guides are on the Kindle. So now we are “guideless”. Ray spent a lot of time on the phone to Amazon and it seemed we might be able to sort out a solution to transfer the material to Avril’s Kindle. But, despite the call to the UK supposedly being “free”, we ran out of credit at the critical point.

We got more credit, but when we rang back, go a very ineffectual person. Ray asked for the supervisor, but we were cut off; mmm, wonder how that happened. So, it could be an interesting time until we get to a high speed internet connection.

Amazon will replace the unit for GBP 50. But we need to select a place to get the Kindle delivered to.

Charles was kind enough to lead us out of the capital and we then drove to Man. The road is generally in good condition, however there are some badly degraded sections of pot holes and wash-aways. The good road runs out as you hit the main street of Man, which makes for a wild-west town sort of appearance. To assist matters, there were road works on the main through-road, so we had to drive through the very narrow lanes of the local market.

After a bit of a drive around, a local lad attached himself to us and we made our way to the only “decent” hotel in town – the Hotel CAA; CFA 8,000/night. We then took a tour of the local attractions, monkeys, water falls (very dry, but life is full of choices dry water fall or rainy season?) and scenic view from what will be the president’s house when he is in town (renovations are underway).

Ray then had the frustration of trying to sort out the Kindle books again (no success).

Avril driving. 333 km. 6 hrs N  07⁰ 24’ 20.3’’ W 007⁰ 32’ 45.1’’

Day 5 – 11/4/12

A bit of adventure and a pleasant drive. We had a choice of driving directly to Liberia or taking a Michelin green/scenic route into Guinea. After ignoring some pessimistic weather reports we elected to go the scenic route. It did not rain all day, so that was good.

After a relaxed start we drove to the turn off to Danane and the Guinea border. At the turn off one of the soldiers assisted Ray in finding a store selling his omelette in a baguette breakfast. The road it Danane is good tar and the tropical vegetation continues. We notice that folks are a lot poorer in this region than down south.

At Danane the road becomes a reasonable quality gravel road and then 10 km before the border it deteriorates quite a bit. But, they are working on it at the moment. ~ 50 km to the border took 1.5 hours including a couple of road blocks.

We completed the customs formalities at Danane and the immigration at the border. They inspected out inoculation books, seemingly/maybe looking for something wrong. Ray did not have his passport number on his (BHP issued) book and they began to question this. Quick as a flash, Ray grabbed a pen and wrote the number on the book, the police laughed and the problem was solved. No request for a bribe.

 Ivory Coast Summary

We really enjoyed our brief stay in Cote d’Ivore. It seemed to be a very organised country. Despite some negative reports, we had no security concerns and walked around the streets where we were staying in Abidjan. The roads are generally in good condition. We had no issues at the road blocks. We enjoyed the shopping & restaurants in Abidjan. There was generally a good selection of fresh fruit & veg.

The Basilica is wonderful.

Ghana, Part 3

Day 12 – 5/4/12

We woke to a howling gale. Probably the strongest winds we have seen thus far. Given that the kit had not been subjected to these forces before, we decided it would be prudent to pack up. After breakfast Avril chatted to Maurice (who had been to RMIT & lived in Richmond) & Julie – not a couple as we said yesterday, but cousins. Sorry!! Ray copied way points and tracks from Jan & Mariska.

Just as a by-the-by, we have noticed that there does not seem to be any traditional housing in Ghana, at least on the route we have taken. This is not to say the housing is of a high standard. It seems to be a basic rectangle made out of either bricks or mud with a corrugated iron roof.

We thought Stumble Inn, was a nice place to stop and the management super friendly.

We headed off ~ lunch time and following the advice of others did some shopping in Takoradi. The central market is in the middle of a giant round- about, so for one of the shopping stops, Ray drove around and around the circle whilst Avril shopped. We then drove to Dixcove and on to the Green Turtle lodge. The ~ 10 km track from Dixcove to the lodge is atrocious. It took us ~ 40/45 min. The lodge would probably be a nice stop over, however we decided to push on. We did not want to start the drive to Ivory Coast on such a bad road, the lodge facilities are basic and there is no telephone or internet.

We had met Michael, a trainee working at Ankobra Beach whilst shopping in Takoradi and he suggested we stay at “his” lodge, which is close to Axim.

The Bradt guide says this beach is the best in Ghana, the owners say the best in the world! And even for an Aussie it is pretty good. We camped “right on the beach”, with all the essential elements of a post card; palm trees, ocean, sand, small island off shore with a couple of trees to make any photo wonderful. We were treated to a magnificent crimson red sunset and finished off the day with a couple of cold ones and an excellent dinner.

The road was good tar to ~ the Dixcove turn off, but deteriorated from there. Whilst not very bad, there are an increasing number of potholes. The vegetation was very green and tropical; lots of palms, creepers and tall trees, for us reminiscent of far north Queensland.

It had spotted rain most of the day and this makes us more nervous about the oncoming rainy season.

The very bad news is that mum’s Christmas cake, which the kids had brought to Cameroon is now finally finished.

Ray driving. 187 km. 6 hrs N  04⁰ 53’ 28.2’’ W 002⁰ 15’ 54.5’’

Day 13 – 6/4/12

Picture perfect day. We woke up to clear skies for the 1^st time in weeks. The beach scene still impressed us. Unfortunately we needed to do some chores in the morning, but enjoyed the facilities in the afternoon; swimming and chilling out on the beach. The solar panels worked well with the sun directly on them. Avril says the best vista she has ever washed clothes in!

Day 14 – 7/4/12

After settling the bill, we set off for the border. The road became increasingly worse, with lots of pot holes and some wash- aways in places.

We completed the immigration and customs formalities with a minimum of fuss. No hint of a bribe.

Ghana Summary

We had a wonderful time in Ghana, mainly because we met up with friends. Also, this is the first time we have seen a lot of western tourists and other overlanders we could chat to. Being able to do daily tasks in English is a big plus for us!!

There are lots of positives about Ghana: nice restaurants, no hassle at the road blocks, some interesting attractions and some great beaches. There is no shortage of churches and advertisements for preachers etc

However, we found the Ghanaians were not such a happy mob - no friendly waves and smiles. The behaviours in the traffic are very harsh even for a Melbournian or Adelaidian.

The road along the coast is OK up until ~ Takoradi, however after that it is bad and once you leave this road, other roads are quite badly potholed. There had been a stabbing of a tourist at Big Millie’s Backyard beach a couple of weeks earlier, so security is a bit of an issue.

The costs are very high and compared to other countries we have experienced thus far, very poor value for money.

A bit of a nuisance was the build up of rubbish in the drains leading to some very bad odours along the way. We had not really noticed this to such an extent before.

Garmap served us well. Guides: Bradt = 7/10, Rough Guide = 6/10, Lonely Planet: 6/10.

We used the International Travel map, which is basically useless as it does not have mileages on it!