We are in Point Noir at the moment and have learned that the Angolan embassy here won't give us another visa (we're going through the enclave (cabinda) then into drc, then back into angola. We already have one visa) They told us to go through cabinda, then enter the big part of angola at Matadi where we can get a visa at the border. We'll post here with the results. We're leaving Point Noir tomorrow.

Ended up in Pointe-Noire after trying to reach Brazaville via Dolisie, Madingo, ... .

In Loutété we learned that: there are rebels on the road between Loutété and Braza, and it is not wise to continue (if you want, seek advise in Nkayes with the medicins sans frontieres), the local customs officer is no fun to deal with (make sure to have a passavant, don't tell him you took foto's outside a private environment,...).

Apparently, there's a safe road to Braza via Dolisie, Sibiti, Zanaga, Djambala. The stretch between Zanaga and Djambala is not depicted on the Michelin map.

If you can, avoid getting a transit visum for Angola in Pointe-Noire.

Greetz,

Rob

This route is quite possible. We just completed it and arrived in Namibia from Angola. I can give details and GPS coords to those interested, or check our website at www.africaoverland.org for an account.
Main problem is getting an Angolan visa.

cheers

Graham

Some info on an alternative way through Congo.

Coming from Makokou-Mekongo, we crossed the Congolian border at Oloba. At both sides of the border there are no customs, but we got our carnet stamped without any problem at the Embassy of Gabon and the customs here in Brazzaville.
From Oloba up to Etoumbi via Mbomo is an extremely difficult route, consisting of eroded tracks, mud pools, tricky bridges, overhanging leaves of trees, steep slippery hills, a.s.o. Nevertheless it is passable and there is some Ecofac traffic too.

From Etoumbi to Ewo the road is in much better condition and the bridges are scary but fine.
After that the road is a piece of cake, but the police may give some hazzle. We managed to get an Ordre Mission from Ecofac; as we visited Parc National Odzala. This proved to be very helpful and we can highly recommend this to anybody travelling through Congo by car/motorbike.
As soon as we get our Angolian visa here in Brazza, we hope to continue through Congo Kinshasa-Angola.
May we meet you somewhere on the road!

Good luck,

Ike and Susan

Hello Ike,

Sounds like an adventerous route, we crossed a litte further south at Franceville > Lekoni.

Did you see lots of things in d'ozala (correct spelling?), any action shots of road / etc would be cool...

grtz

Hello,

We planned to do the western route this year but we had a major mechanical problem with our truck so we had to ship it back to Europe! We will try again leaving in December.
We have a 18 ton truck, do you think it will be possible to cross the bridges whith that vehicle, is there a particular part of the route that seems difficult to pass?

Have a safe trip and enjoy your time
Albert

ok, the thread originates from way back, but obviously there is still a lot of interest in the topic.

i travelled the stretch in 2002 on a motorbike and had no problems.

nigeria was surprisingly nice, had no problems ever. if you come from benin take the idiroko border, 100 kilometres north from the coast.

avoid the rainy season when entering cameroon from nigeria - unless you love mud.

there is a road from yokaduma to pokola in congo which is not indicated on the michelling map. it's in good condition.

congo - they said they were building a new road from pokola to brazzaville in sept 2002, could be finished by now. if not take the ATC boat. contact the CIB (logging company) if you have problems.

kinshasa was not pleasant. stay at the centre d'accueil protestante on rue kalemie 8. they have rooms for 25 dollars. you can also sleep in your car for 3 dollars per person. it's in the city centre, close to the US embassy. (ask for the way). try to get a reservation, as it's often full: jean-robert: 0 812 502 426

angola was great! best surprise in africa.

more info on my website. for specific questions and contacts don't hesitate to write me!

cheers,

steven


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online diary and travel info from the road in africa:

west coast to cape town
east coast to zurich

www.contrast.cx

Some news from Brazza.

We are stuck in Brazza for three weeks. The main reason is the Angolean embassy does want to give a visa. Apparantly they have a new consul whick is very though. Even with a phonecall and a letter of recommendation from the friendly French consul, they find new excuses not to do anything. It is a nightmare.
Furthermore the water is low, which means the ferry does cross to Kinshasa. In Kinshasa the situation is under control. However the road to Matadi is supposed to be dangerous because of tensions in the south. Therefore if you manage to get there (by expensive Antonov 12 e.g.), they advised us to join a military convoi.

As we are fed up waiting here for the ferry and the Angolean embassy; we will try to leave for Pointe Noire via the Zagata road to avoid rebels in the Pool region (see for details Robbert's message). But we first need to prolonge our visa in Congo...

Brazzaville is nice and quiet, but if don't like waiting for nothing, I really recommend to get your Angolean visa in Libreville and take the road through Pointe Noire straight away.

Furthermore we got informed (by a guy that visited the road works by plane!) that the new road from Ouesso to Brazzaville is not yet finished and not passable. So do not count on this option.

Good luck,

Ike and Susan

ps Parc National d'Odzala is extremely wild and beautiful. Apart from this sceneray, we saw gorillas, chimpansees and a lot of other forest animals, however we did not see as many as we expected. Contact Ecofac in Libreville to arrange a trip.

The road from Point Noire to Matadi is fine, but if you are going to go through Cabinda you will need either a multiple entry Angolan visa or two visas. You can get Angolan visas in Matadi, but it takes time.

Graham
www.africaoverland.org

There is a lot of talk North of Congo about it being impossible to cross the Congo River. We got that info as far South as Point Noire. But at Matadi there is a huge suspension bridge across the river. Cost is about US$2.00 per vehicle. Should be no problem for an 18 ton truck.

cheers

Graham
www.africaoverland.org

Hello!

See that the question above is quite old but.. we are on our way from the Netherlands to South Africa, in Ghana now, and planning to take the west route down (Niger,Chad,Cameroon,Gabon, Congo,Cabinda,DRC,Angola...).
From other reports we heard there is a suspension bridge over the Congo River at Matadi.
Is there anyone who wants to join for this part?

Julian & HJ

I can't join, unfortunatly, but I can confirm that the Bridge is there, and that, in Pointe-Noir, this could not be confirmed.

I'd like to recommend you no to skip on Nigeria. It's a very pleazant country to travel trough.

Rob

In Cameroon at the moment. Good thread. Got some useful stuff from it. Another question though...Can anyone confirm (recently) the existence of a ferry running from Cabinda (Angola) to Soyo and Luanda (both Angola) thereby missing out the DRC? Strikes me as a good relaxing alternative, and it would also mean one less visa to get. If there is such a ferry, will it take our bikes?

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My website
Africa Trip web journal

Don't know about a ferry, but we joined up with a couple who got on a military transport from Cabinda to Luanda. Cost them ~600 euros. Just showed up at the airbase in Cabinda and found an officer willing to take the money and get them and their Land Cruiser onboard.

Easy, but a bit expensive. I can give you their contact info via email if you want to try the same.

Cheers

Graham Jackson
www.africaoverland.org

Hi again Graham !
Yes we flew from Cabinda to Luanda in a military cargo airplane. It's of course non official. The flight is just one hour long but we had to wait for 4 days the plane big enough to contain our Toyota Land Cruiser. But if i have well understood you've got bikes and i think you will wait less than we did because there are several flights a day in normal cargo planes.
We went to the harbour to check for the ferry (beginning of may 2004). It was still working to Soyo and then Luanda. We know that the road from Soyo to Luanda is now safe so you can stop there. We didn't have an exact price but it seems that it was the same price as the plane !
If you want to try the flight (too funny), you just have to go to the airport. The military airbase is on the left. Ask someone on the airport or on the military base and follow your instinct. Prepare some words in Portuguese (and after in Russian because the crew is russian) as the commandant only speaks that language !

Good luck !

Bye




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