Alternative to Lambarene > Dolisie > Brazzaville
 

Will be in this area in a week or so, curently in Limbe. Best tar road in Africa so far down from Bamenda today :-)

I've heard rumours of a "new" (maybe a few years old now) half-decent logging road (= not on Michelin Map) running South or SSE, and crossing the Lambarene > Dolisie road maybe at Kibangou or just south and continuing to Point-Noire? Anyone have knowledge of this?

And anyone been Cabinda > Matadi route of late? My Angolan visa's 5-day double entry, so I assume that means I can go that way.

And can I enter DRC at Soyo (is there a ferry across the mouth of the Congo?)? Or even, is there a ferry from Cabinda to Angola mainland, thereby saving a DRC visa for just a few miles?

T4A certainly show one, also on the Michelin Map, coming down from Moanda.

But the bit the Mich doesn't show (so maybe the only new bit) is going SW to Pointe Noire after crossing the red Dolisie road about 33km south of Kibangou. So maybe my best bet is to go south from Lamabarene towards Dolisise, and if the weather/road is v bad/impassable Dolisie > Braz I can shoot off to Pointe Noire?

Is there any particular problem with Cabinda now - I know it was regarded as bad, and the Togo thing, but otherwise?

Well I arrived in Pointe Noire this afternoon. Took the direct road SW from the logging community/crossroads of Mila Mila (S3.71613 E12.44991), which is next stop south after Kibangou (and like the road, not on Michelin map). Took me longer than I thought at 6 hours (but not riding hard as I bent the torsion arm on my rear end a couple of days before, hitting the exit of a bridge too hard. Straightened it, but I want it to stay that way!).

125 miles, and a very interesting ride. Medium-rough, over very interesting terrain/scenery, certainly at the Mila Mila end. Up and down quite a lot, a lot of dust and stones sticking up - certainly not nicely-graded piste on the whole - but the logging lorries are doing it. Think a 2WD would struggle not to damage sump etc. But no mud, although I could see evidence that there had been a lot of slurry about, so probably I was lucky with the weather.

I asked a lot of people on the way down, and this seemed to get the vote over going via Dolisie, though not unanimously! And I dare say easier than going to Brazzaville - I was told it's not good now.

Came down main route via Ndende etc, first, as if towards Dolisie. Worst sections (mud) were from border to Kibangou, but not all the way, and not bad, just a few mud holes and pretty slippery when it rains (and it DID!). Think it all depends on the weather at the time more than anyone's past experiences.