Cabinda to the 'rest' of Angola
 

Hi,

I'm planning a motorcycle trip back to South Africa from the UK via the West Coast. My current route takes me from the Republic of Congo to the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, and from there across a teeny bit of DRC to Angola 'proper'.

Firstly, I wonder if the 50kms or so of DRC between Cabinda and Angola has developed into something of a 'rat run' for overlanders and traffic in general and, if so, whether this is a good or bad thing for indivudal security? Also, I wonder if there are any other feasible route options from Gabon to Angola, perhaps further east in Congo/DRC that might offer so interest without being needlessly risky?

Thanks - Andy

Ferry
 

You can avoid DRCongo by using the ferry from Cabinda to Soyo-Luanda that allow to bring aboard motorbike although I still don't know schedule,I hope at least once a week.Look also to my thread "down"and the reply I got about same subject.

Bas Congo is cool
 

The Bas congo (that tiny bit between Cabinda and Angola) was fine 2004. I don't believe the flow of overlanders trough that part of Africa is of a high enough density to bring all the nasty tourist corner things.

You could go from Braza to Kinchasa is you stay east enough in Congo-B.

Hi guys - thanks for the info. I don't so much want to avoid DRC (by using the ferry) as try to see a bit of this pretty fascinating area without taking too many daft risks. Has anyone here done the Brazzaville/Kinshasa crossing recently? If so, how did they find it?

Cheers - Andy

How about visas for Angola? Apparently it's easier to get them in Gabon, any recent experience with this (especially from Aussies)?
Andybee, what's your itinerary? I should be heading south starting in January, taking 6 or more months.
Sean

Hi Sean,

I'm certainly looking at Gabon as a favoured option for getting the notorious Angola visa. Apparently though, Gabon visa's can be a bit of a pain in thne jacksie sometimes! Generally, I'm going for the 'get all visas en route option'. With a 25 page carnet and a bit of ingenuity there should always be a way.

Re routes, I'm looking at a more or less 'standard' West Africa route, except that I plan to head straight into Mali from Mauri (probably at Nema) and from there go to Burkina before picking up Togo/Benin. The only other deviation I was thinking about was going Niger/Chad/Cameroon rather than going through Nigeria - but that doesn't look too clever, from what I can gather.

I'm leaving at the beginning of March (possibly a little sooner if I can wangle it) and hope to make it down to SA in 4-5 months. Depending on how much time you spend drinking beer and doing other fun things, I might catch you up!

Cheers for now,
Andy