Charlie,
it's a bit of 'each to their own', so if your "cup of tea" is riding along a nice road at a sensible pace on a sunny day then you'll never really understand the motivation for heading into these places.


In any case imo the risk of injury from a fall is magnitudes higher than the risk presented by the people or politics you encounter along the way. So if you love to ride in challenging terrain then I don’t really see much difference in where you choose to do that (within limits of course).

For me, the bigger the obstacles, the better the memory. I cant remember what i ate for breakfast, but will take my memories from that ride in the congo to the grave and beyond. hope to get back there one day :))

yes they do, although at the time we didnt know what it was. I think that when travelling from Lubombashi you technically dont need one for the reasons you give, but the local authorities dont know that, so will ask you anyway. we got around it, but sometimes had to pay a small bribe.

Oh I understand the motivation, I have it myself. I would really really like to see the Tibesti in Chad for instance. Some people think I was crazy for going to the Caprivi Strip in 1993 though the war with Angola had been over for several years. I just think I may never get to the Tibesti in my own vehicle at the rate things are going in the Sahara/Sahel. And it's not the bad roads that concern me; they are in a way a blessing.
The analogy with a bad fall in a bike for a 4x4 is a bad mechanical problem. IMHO the human hassle factor for countries like Chad (and from what I read Congo also) exceeds the road hazard factor. Though maybe more for a 4x4 than a bike. And since Kalashnikovs are frequently encountered in the former hazard(in Chad and maybe at least in eastern Congo), that tends to slow one down a bit.
The encounter with the "Smiling Assassin" is instructive at least to me!
Though I won't disagree at all that customs officials and cops the world over can always be a huge hassle, including especially the USA.

Charlie

full of detail :biggrin3: makes a good read

2 questions you may be well placed to answer

1 is Angola more feasible for North-South in a 4wd? I seem to think that Angola ends up costing a pretty penny as a result of visa fees, high priced accomodation, etc; are the roads better than DRC?

2 Is there an East-West / West-East feasible way of crossing DRC? roads similar condition I suppose - even worse in the North-East; that's providing there's an open border / unrestricted travel area in North-Eastern / Eastern DRC

just found this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VbmR...has_verified=1

might make interesting watching for some

Yes

Diesel in the interior of DRC is > 2€/liter and of inferior quality. You will not spent anything else as there is nothing to buy. It will cost you dear in damages to the car. I think it is impossible to cross DRC(Lubum-Kin) without damaging your car. Crossing from Kinshasa to Matadi is no problem at all (perfect asphalt road)

Diesel in Angola was 0,1€/liter last time I was there. Food & lodging is cheap and good. Roads are definately better.

You need more paperwork for DRC then for Angola.

Yes, you can drive from the CAR to Ugunda. The ferry at the CAR border no longer exists, you have to put the on a canoe to get past. Shorter road, probably equally difficult. Keep a very close eye on what is happening in North-east Congo (Goma/Kisangani) as it can get dirty very quickly.

Or boat from Kinshasa to Kisangani

I have just come upon this site. we are planning a 4x4 trip from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa ~ 2nd week of October 2011.
we are looking for any information on the route, contacts along the way, and a travelling companion (for mutual support!!).
Jef ex Lubumbashi, could you please make contact??

I've just completed this trip, on bike. It's pretty hard work, slow-going. The first half, Lubumbashi - Kananga is mostly very bad gravel. The 2nd half, Kananga - Kinshasa is mostly deep sand.

Most of the traffic - apart from bicycles - is 6x6 trucks with very high clearance. I've crossed only a handful of 4x4, mostly ONGs like MSF.

I haven't paid attention to the passability with 4x4, I'd expect that there would many places that would require careful reconnoissance to find a suitable way. Maybe use of shovels and axes to fix some parts.

But that was during the dry season! in the wet, you an expect a different planet, and much, much more work! So by all means go for it and post here to tell us how it went :thumbup1:

My own RR is on advrider. I'll send my tracks to T4A for inclusion in the next version. I could PM them also if you're interested.

Laurent

PS: I've had absolutely no issue with corruption dealing with the officials, unlike what most people think; it's all a matter of attitude I guess, the overwhelming majority of Congolese are very friendly and helpful

+1 I have to agree here. I did find that many people asked me for money etc but if you say no then that's the end of it and then they are like your best friend!

Thanks for this. I have read the trip report, very informative.
I have T4A. It would be great to get the track & waypoints soon to help in planning.
We have an Angola visa, so will go there 1st. Then drive into DRC via Kolwazi.
good news on the officials - very different to some other reports.

Every time I come back to HU there seems to be some interesting info again about DRC :)

I think the most important thing about the corrupt officials is indeed what Laurent says: it's your attitude that counts... they will try, but if you know that your papers and documents are all in order, and just remain polite, smiling, with a bit of humour but firm, you should not have a lot of problems. The most important is that you don't let them lose face, and even saying something like "next time I'll buy you a coffee" can be sufficient to pass through without problems. If it starts to become problematic, try to get some bystanders involved - they will usually support the visitor, as long as you stay polite, friendly - and again, if you know that everything is in order...

Anyways, everybody passing through Lubumbashi, or having to go through the indeed quite interesting border post of Kasumbalese, let me know - but I unfortunately don't regularly check the HU mail enough, so you might need some patience... but it might be worth to rest a few days at our pool after all the Congolese dust :)

Safe travels...