Crossing the Congo – Alternative route in detail with map & GPS data

Well we made it from Gabon into Congo with no problems - just 100 miles of sand and a short drive down to the Capital, Brazzaville.  We had been in Brazzaville for a few days and began to think about options for crossing the Congo River. In summary, the Brazzaville Kinshasa ferry crossing is expensive and involves a fair degree of haggling, hanging about and hassle.  Some fellow travellers recently reported being held at the gates and missed their ferry, had to pay port entrance fees with others paying for expensive disinfection charges, cranes and various forms of “help” etc …  in all it seems that you will be lucky to pay less than $100 with most people being charged approx $150 for a 4x4 and 2 people (bikes obviously get charged less).

Vicki and I were very keen to try and look at other options and perhaps make the crossing a little more adventurous by trying an alternative route.  One of Martin’s recent posts caught our attention: Obstacle course through the Congo and Angola.  Inspired by this post we began to explore this option in more detail along with one other route we happened to find while staying at the Hippocampe Hotel in Brazzaville. 

We found some data on two alternative crossing points South West of Brazzaville which are both marked on the Michelin map (blue box with a number in it).  The first alternative crossing point is at Luozi DRC, this was completed by SnailTrails and the second was at Pioka and recently completed by www.toyota-adventure.com in August 2010.  We consulted their blogs and looked at the maps and decided that the Pioka crossing was the one to try for three main reasons;

-       Its closer to Brazzaville with good tar to Boko

-       The amount of time spent “off road” appeared to be less

-       Most of the locals we spoke to told us that if we left the Hippocampe Hotel at 8am we would be at the ferry “terminal” at 3pm that day

Over our last fantastic meal of fried beef with ginger & rice, and having informed Olivier (the owner of Hippocampe) of our plans, we left Brazzaville on the 19^th January at 8am and headed off to Boko.  The road is indeed tar all the way to Boko and you have to have a chat with a few police and security before you leave the tar and head for the village of Ntombe Manyanga (the border post where you formally leave Congo and get your papers stamped out).  The road is a mix of compacted sand with sandstone rock in places.  It twists and turns its way over small hills.  Before you get to Ntombo Manyanga you have to negotiate a steep descent / ascent which has been heavily eroded by rains and trucks.  

Part of the descent has a very bad camber that slopes down to the left making the risk of rolling your vehicle a real possibility.  We took it slowly in Low range 1^st with diff lock and used our waffle boards to help raise our vehicle over the storm gullies and rocks.  We made it though OK and reached the village as it was getting dark – having to get the border guard from the village to open the barrier.  It was approx 6:30pm.   The customs folk said we could camp in the village and do the paperwork in the morning.  They also confirmed that the ferry was working.  We learnt that this village is called Ndendanga.

The next day we completed the paperwork for entering DRC – both customs, immigration and security asked for 20$ each to complete basic forms and we managed to negotiate this away by saying we had paid for the visa already and had only enough money for the ferry.  We then set off for the ferry and descended the valley to the river over more tricky eroded sections and overgrown grass to reach the ferry “terminal”.  Now “terminal” is a bit of an overstatement as there is only a concrete slipway with a couple of huts, dugout canoes and trees - that’s about it. 

We were introduced to the ferry captain who said he had no diesel (oooppps) and so we set about a negotiation for the price of the crossing Vs the cost of them buying some of our diesel.  He seemed to want 20 litres of diesel and this equated to one of our emergency fuel jerry cans which had cost us approx €16.  He seemed happy that this was a fair trade and so I escorted them to the ferry to top up the John Deer powered tri-hulled craft that sat alone on the shores of the Congo.

After fuelling the boat with our emergency fuel and praying we would not need it at some point later in the route, he powered up the craft and said we had to drive onto the beach.  I asked about driving down the perfectly, well formed concrete slipway but it appeared that the “off road” option of mounting the ferry was the done thing in these parts.  I wondered off into the tall grass and bushes and checked out the ground it seemed firm and so Vicks gingerly drove the Landy onto the beach and then ascended the ramps until she snugly sat in the middle of the ferry.  It was only then that I vaguely remembered someone saying there are Crocodiles on the banks of the Congo!

The crossing was quick and you really got a feel for the power of the river.  Its narrow here (just 1 mile wide) and the vista are amazing!!  Rapids up stream can be seen and the boils that swirl in the middle of the river are pretty large, you could feel the boat being taken by the current and this made the Landy lurch forward!  My immediate instinct was to push the vehicle back as I genuinely thought the car was going!!  They had forgotten to chock the wheels and the play in the Land Rover handbrake meant the vehicle rolled forward a few inches.  Quickly one of the crew grabbed some wood blocks and placed them either side of one of the wheels.  It was at this point I realised I had just tried to stop a 3.5 ton car rolling off a ferry into the Congo river much to the amusement of the crew, I am sure that moment took at least 1 day off my life!!

As we approached the shore I was surprised to see that we were not heading to the other sandy beach, moreover we were actually heading to a heavily overgrown riverbank with no real road or area to disembark at all!!  This got the heart going and we gestured to the Captain to go to the beach.  As we got closer men with guns approached and greeted us.  Huuuuummm, this could be fun.  We had a brief look at the lie of the land; tall reeds, grass, mud and sand with some deep eroded channels…..!!!!  We prayed to the God of Diff-Lock that we would not get stuck as we left the ferry.

Vicks did a grand job of driving as I frantically walked (ran) ahead to bash a trail to the “road” and nearby the security hut….no sign of Crocodiles!  It was clear that not many people come this way by car but with a bit of wheel spin and a dab of throttle we were up and out of the tall grass and made it to the hut.  After a brief discussion as to why we were not going to pay $20 to a man with a gun that had clearly had a few beers we went off in search of the road.

Now we had no idea of what lay ahead and that the next 8 hours would be some of the hardest off road we had ever done!  The village you are heading to on the Michelin map is Gombe Matadi and the initial ascent out of the river valley is pretty steep.  Again, heavily eroded sections of road greeted us and it had to be negotiated with patience and a cool nerve.  Some of the sections were so eroded that the original drainage channels at the side of the track vary in depth from a few feet to 15+ feet and undercut the road.  The camber and angles you have to traverse mean your wheels are sometimes literally on crumbling soil that would result in the vehicle falling into one of these channels and getting seriously wedged in.  As we were on our own, this factor laid heavily on our minds and we used the waffle boards on several sections to help spread the load with only inches to spare.  There were also sections where we had to cross very water logged sand and mud. This was very hazardous as some of it looked hard packed and solid.  Walking the road and checking every inch of these sections was essential as one wrong move would mean getting very bogged down!  

 Then, out of nowhere a local village Chief appeared on a bike and we offered him a lift.  He was happy to help guide us to his village and also seemed keen to help with digging and waffle board “administration” which was good as around the next bend we got stuck in the sand crossing a small river.  We were able to talk to him in a mix of French and English and learnt that there had been recent heavy rains that had caused a great deal of new damage to the road during the 2011 wet season.  We dropped him off and made more slow progress – the road was no better and more and more eroded channels and tricky ascents awaited us around every bend.  

One last tricky section almost stopped us in our tracks – it was a gully that looked as though the rains had created a small waterfall on the right side of the road.  This presented us with a problem as we needed the waffle boards to stop us sinking into the wet sand but the camber was a steep drop to the right before having to mount a small step up onto a tricky ascent.  After a lot of checking and debate Vicks edged up as I ran on trying to see where the tyres would hit the step and give Vicks the nod to put the power on.  As I turned to get my next footing up the steep slope I heard Vicks screaming!!  I turned to see the van tilting to the right at an angle you only see in the Land Rover Owner’s Manual under the section entitled “Maximum Tilt Angle” (Vick’s face told me all I needed to know).  It was clear the sand was swallowing the waffle board and thus the van was sinking and tilting over.  I ran back to the van and braced myself between the Landy and the gully wall.  I shouted to Vicks to “dab the throttle” and she hit the accelerator.  The Landy lurched up the step and I motioned sideways - crab like - pushing the Landy sideways with what little strength I had left.   We made it!  The sun was starting to set and whilst the surroundings and vistas were amazing we were both exhausted.  Since the ferry crossing it had taken us 8 hours to go to 16 miles – it was time to stop. 

We pulled into a village (not realising we had actually left the main Gombe Matadi road) and 3 men greeted us.  All of them were teachers and we had pulled up alongside the school buildings.  We asked if we could camp up for the night and they said yes.  We had a great evening with them as nearly 50 people watched us cook our meal and go to bed.  As we climbed the ladder to the roof tent there was much laughter and merriment (we were to learn the next day that we were the first tourists to have ever visited their village) we must have looked like aliens to the children.  Deep sleep followed!

The next morning we headed off to Gombe Matadi with one of the villagers who wanted a lift / help us with navigation.  After some more tricky eroded sections, mud pools and some bridges in need of repair we made it to Gombe Matadi.  The road after here was “better” maintained and we made it to Mbanza Ngungu at 11am on the 3^rd day.  The road thereafter was tar to the Angola border turning at Songololo.

Screen shot of GPS Map and route we made

In summary

For the route GPS data & waypoints for the 3 days from Brazza to Songololo visit our website GPS page here

Watch a film of us on this route here 

This trip was a great experience on may levels.  Not only did we see some truly remarkable countryside we also met some truly remarkable people. We also saved approx $130 and it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip so far.  The remote villages that reside close to the Congo River are welcoming but their remoteness and the condition of the road mean you have to take your time and think about possible recovery options should things go wrong.  It’s no easy “day out” and once you cross the river you are actually more remote than you think.

If you fancy tackling this crossing think about the following before you set out;

-       The road was built during the zenith of The Belgian Congo and in its day would have been a nice flat, quick road.  The road now, esp. the section from Pioka to Gombe Matadi, is on its last legs and needs repairing. 

-       It took us 2.5 days to go from Brazza to reach the Kinshasa Matadi road in DRC.
-     You may wish to ask at Boko about the road to the ferry at Luozi - could be a better option than Pioka

-       Waffle boards, spade and walking the road ahead are essential esp. if you are doing this as 2x people 1x vehicle

-       The eroded gullies make progress at times very hazardous – its becoming 50:50 in places and more heavy rains / no repairs may make this crossing impractical in the future.

-       Pay careful attention to sandy sections, especially near reed and palms groves in the bottom of valleys as water logged sand that appears to be hard / solid can swallow you very quickly as it actually covers deep mud, esp. near the edges

-       Low range 1^st with diff lock is the gear of choice on the difficult sections and take your time – much of the driving is “blind” and you have to rely on had signals from a second person to negotiate big drops and deep channels.

-       We never saw a single car from Boko (Congo) until we reached Gombe Matadi (DRC). 

-       There is a real chance of getting stuck on this route, either by falling into a gully, mechanical damage to vehicle or simply having to sit it out if you got caught in the rain. 

-       People do pass by on foot / bicycle so if you really do get stuck help could be reached to assist with recovery.

-       We had a winch and there were some small trees near most sections (not all) that you could pull off – we never needed to use it.

-       Doing this road in the rain would be EXTREMELY hazardous!!  We checked the weather before hand and it was OK.  It was also the wet season when we did it (Jan 2011) luckily it did not rain. 

-       Had it been raining we would have turned back as the risk of slipping into one of the eroded channels and getting stuck would be all too easy.  The sandstone appears to be mixed with fine clay so when it rains it becomes very slippery.

-       We had back-to-back visas as far as the end of Angola with enough contingency if things went wrong.  If you damage your vehicle recovery and parts could add many days if not weeks onto the trip.

-       Our advice, given the state of the road, would be DON’T DO IT if you know it will rain or is raining on the day you set out and only attempt this route if you are confident at driving blind on steep / hazardous terrain.  

Nick

Stonehenge to Cape Town 2010/11
www.langebaan-sunset.com

We use Hi Lift  recovery products

     

240 Days….. Forests, more mud and the savanna plains of Congo

Countries visited – Cameroon, Gabon & Congo (Brazzaville)

Miles travelled – 1990 miles

Sunny days – 28

Coolest night – 20’C

Warmest day – 34’C Although this has been difficult as the humidity has been relatively high

Cheapest fuel – £0.63 in Gabon

Worst road travelled – The 2km from Campo Beach to Campo in southern Cameroon. We managed to do a staggering 500m in 4.5 hours on the way back to Campo after some heavy thunderstorms!!!! We ‘LOVE” orange mud!

Best food tasted – The Vietnamese buffet that we treated ourselves to at the Hotel Hippocampe in Brazzaville and the fish we bought from a boat that came ashore on a remote beach….  We cooked it that night on an open fire!

Best run of free camping – We managed not to pay for any camping all the way through Gabon & Congo equalling 15 days free camping – Get in!

Longest time without a shower – 6 days…. this went hand in hand with our free camping as there weren’t always facilities….  BTW we do flannel wash ;-)

 Most useful things

1. The faithful flannel and soap in times of need when there were no showers
2. Liberal use of deodorant (the classic “dry shower”)
3. WINCH – this came into its own in Cameroon! Allied to use of recovery ladders and rope….  All needed!!!
4. Nicks ability to drive the Landy like a God at a severe angle – two wheels in rut – two wheels on hump....Vicks was calm throughout !

Least useful things

1. DUST!
2. Wet clothes after being caught in some serious thunderstorms
3. Tyre compressor pipe that has succumbed to many days of heat – it has literally fallen apart into many pieces that resemble somebody cutting the pipe up with a pair of scissors.  Nick managed to fix this using 5 meters of fuel hose…..its what Ray Mears would have wanted!

 LOWLIGHTS…..

1) Being chased by a taxi driver that crashed into our friends on the outskirts of Doula, Cameroon. We crossed Cameroons second largest city film styleee with Vicks assuming the role of a female version of Bullet in a 3 Ton Land Rover and Nick delving deep into his Carrier Pigeon like navigation instincts to lead all 4 of us to safety……another great escape.

2) The rude man and foul facilities where we stayed at a mission in Younde, Cameroon. Nick continues his adventures in the French Language and managed to tell him in French that “his toilet was full of mothers” instead of S””T by accident but we think he got the message.

3) Seeing lots of bush meat for sale – whilst you feel for people who subsist on less than a dollar a day, seeing a live tortoise hanging by its foot or a dead monkey being held up by its tail lashed to its head by the side of the road makes you realise why there are less and less animals on the planet.

4) Logging – its difficult to drive through a National Park and be surrounded by logging trucks – this can only go on for so long as you cannot re-grow 400 year old, 70m hardwoods overnight folks!!!

 HIGHLIGHTS….

1) Xmas and New Years in Cameroon – we feasted like Gods and had a great time eating fish and relaxing in the sea.

2) Camping on an awesome remote beach where the rainforest met the sea and not an ounce of plastic rubbish lying around either. We whiled the afternoon away by teaching and playing Frisbee with some local boys.

3) Realising just how bad and at the same time, beautiful, the roads can be in Central Africa.  They take you into places you have only seen in books and films with truly spectacular vistas.

4) Nick finding the T55 Torx bit so that he could check the gear box oil…..  DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT ONE if you have the R380 gearbox!

5) Wild / free camping in some bizarre places – police stations could become the next Boutique rest stop for the discerning overlander who is seeking security, refined hosts and close proximity to some of life’s more “interesting” town folk.

6) Seeing real Army Ants at close quarters – they are VERY aggressive when poked with a stick!

7) Crossing the Equator and arriving at the Congo river….It’s BIG!

8) 100 miles of sandy road into Congo….. The Mother of all sandy roads!  Although I think we timed it well with the rain :-0

9) We’re famous!!!! Well almost, Vicki was interviewed for a radio programme in Brazzaville. A radio journalist who spotted our Land Rover came over to chat about what we were doing. Very kindly the interview was done in English and we also used the opportunity to promote Solar Sister. The journalist was very interested in where we had been and how we have found travelling in Africa and meeting locals.

 RANDOM FACTS….

1) Father Christmas (our Italian friends) brought us a new washing machine, yay!

2) Africans are very adept at travelling along the worst roads on motorbikes and still manage to look absolutely immaculate with not a splash of mud on them, we can learn from them.

3) We were so tired after our mud episode on New Years eve that we had to start our midnight celebrations with a lie down and several cups of espresso before steadily progressing to several Brandys and Baileys……we were a lot more “awake” at 4am.

4) Nick (for his birthday) purchased a very “fine” whisky called ‘Black Stallion’ (made in India 43% Vol).  He has it on good authority that this particular drop of Fire Water (a more apt description as it happens) is popular with Congo truckers and Chinese road construction gangs……. we think it might become a Cadeaux for a border post guard sometime soon or maybe simply as an aid to stripping tar from the chassis as and when required.

Nick & Vicki
Stonehenge to Cape Town 2010/11
www.langebaan-sunset.com

We use the Engel fridge products

   

210 Days….. A great escape and hundreds of potholes!

Countries visited – Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria & Cameroon

Miles travelled – 2186 miles

Sunny days – 29

Coolest night – 20’C

Warmest day – 37’C  in Togo & Nigeria

Cheapest fuel – £0.45 in Nigeria

Best food tasted – Freshly caught fish that was so tastily barbecued to order in Limbe, Cameroon (they could sell the recipie and make a million!)

Most interesting camps – Day 1 Cameroon outside a bar in Kumba – A GREAT night after a most amazing day in the Rain Forest.

Most scenic (muddy) drive – Through the forest in North Cameroon, we saw our first clear streams/rivers for the first time in West Africa – feels like the Africa you see in the films.

Easiest visa application – Congo(Brazzaville) Embassy in Abuja. Mary, the lady who deals with applications, was amazing and got us on our way with our visa’s in less than half an hour

 Most useful things

• Our whiteboard on the side of the van. We decorated this in support of the national football teams of Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon (Black Stars, Super Eagles & Lions) which was a real winner for all our police checks. 
• Oh, and the winch!  When the Landy fell into a soak-away pit at The Stumble Inn in Ghana

Least useful things

• Kelly Kettle! DON’T buy one of these – you will never use it
• DEET – does not stop you getting bitten by Fourous (we call them Hoover Flies) they are an absolute pain in the butt – literally!
• The lack of a T55 Torx bit to inspect the gearbox oil!!  Poor planning!

 LOWLIGHTS…..

1) Seeing a mangled, dead person on the road in Nigeria.

2) The crazy roads in Southern Nigeria, pothole & tanker heaven – 80% of the road traffic are fuel tankers that have yet to learn that the cargo they are carrying should not be driven at speed greater than 20 mph on potholed roads!!

3) Both Nick and I got the flu in Nigeria and only got better when we were at the sea in Cameroon. 

 HIGHLIGHTS….

1) Doing the gentle hour hike to see the lower Wli Falls in Ghana, they really were worth seeing (Nick took a swim in his pants …..“real man” swimwear)

2) Finding a little Swiss run hotel in Togo where the owner had two washing machines (we haven’t seen these since we left Europe) and allowed us to do a load of washing for free, filled the swimming pool for us and did not charge us anything to stay there!!

3) Getting in and out of Abuja in record time. We arrived on a Sunday evening and we proudly left before sunrise on the Friday morning with our Angolan, Cameroon & Congo visa’s.

4) Driving through amazing forests in Northern Cameroon – Cross River Park is amazing.

5) Meeting Sam, a 6 Foot 8” Cameroonian farmer, who took us on a tour of his Rubber and Cocoa farm which was preceded by him taking us to a local music night and dedicating a song to us (which he sang!).

6) Meeting up with our Italian friends and meeting some new fellow overlanders, Heike & Stefan going North – THANKS GUYS!!!

 RANDOM FACTS….

1) We visited the ‘birthplace’ of voodoo in Togoville and we had an official audience with the Prince of Togo (in Togoville), quite surreal really. We are not sure whether the king is still alive as we were told he is ill but they won’t publicise his death until two years have passed from his death….go figure.

2) Nigerians on a whole were extremely friendly and very welcoming. We only had one incident where we were stopped by ‘fake’ officials. They claimed that we had come into Nigeria near Lagos and as we had travelled this way so we had to pay ‘environmental tax’. We firmly stood our ground and told them where we had entered Nigeria as tourists but they wouldn’t believe us and so they then asked us to pay  ‘baggage drop off tax’. We firmly told them we had no baggage and the very alcoholic smelling man started to try and mumble some other taxes we would have to pay and that Nick should go with him to see what this was all about. Now we would normally just drive away but we had another man standing with a nail board under our front tyre so we couldn’t go forward. Clearly they still had hangovers and they didn’t anticipate us escaping. Nick saw two large lorries approaching (I might add that we were stopped on a very fast dual carriageway) and told me to put the car in reverse and GO GO GO. We escaped tyres intact and some very surprised ‘officials’ who just stood and watched us leave!!

3) The route around Abidan in Nigeria is chaos where the Abidan-Lagos expressway dumps all the traffic into the middle of a market. Fuel tanker mayhem and a huge fire risk as there are many leaking fuel tankers!!

Nick & Vicki
Stonehenge to Cape Town 2010/11
www.langebaan-sunset.com

We cook using the Trangia system

   

180 Days…..The real Tropics, great food & amazing music!

Countries visited – Burkina Faso & Ghana

Miles travelled – 1704 miles

Sunny days – 27

Coolest night – 21’C

Warmest day – 40’C Koubri in Burkina Faso and the days have got more humid coming South to Ghana

Cheapest fuel – £0.51 Ghana

Slip slop repairs – 2 more…..Reef SA if you want slip slops road tested you better send them my way!!

Best food tasted – Burkina Faso: Fab doughnuts  Ghana: Chicken Curry & Red Red (Deep-fried plantain with chilli sauce)

Best wild camp – Village corner under a tree on a junction at the “Rasta” Camp

Most useful things – Our spangly new solar panel to keep our fridge going when we stop for a few days

Least useful things – Our squashed beloved washing machine!

LOWLIGHTS…..

1) Getting an infected mosquito bite!  Although Nick’s Boy Scout first aid “training” came in handy here (so did a packet of Ciprofloxicin)

2) One more traffic fine* in Ouagadougou for not stopping at an amber/red light….Nick!

3) Not being able to find anywhere in Ouaga to watch the deciding Grand Prix.

4) Nick driving over our roofrack ‘washing machine’ tub!!!*  ^^

5) Realising what man is doing to the land in the tropics – not many hard woods left but also people “existing” on less than $1 a day – it’s a tough one.

6) Almost rolling the landy – Dassie decided to have a “sideways” moment but luckily Nick is such an amazing and gifted driver he managed to “wrestle” the car back into a straight line ….  Phew!!

*Comment by Nick: Vicki paints Nick in a bad light here – its NOT all his fault!!

^^ Comment by Vicki: It is if you put the tub under the wheel arch, forget that you have done this and then reverse over it!! 

HIGHLIGHTS….

1) Being invited to have some tea with villagers in a small village in Burkina Faso. Although the tea making was a long process, it was so worth the wait and the conversation.

2) Free camping at the Hotel Ok Inn, couldn’t be better in a capital city and meeting up with our mates from Gravel Roads (Eric and Dean)

3) Staying with our fellow Italian overlanders (Fab and El)  in a village in Burkina Faso and hosting Italian coffee mornings for one and all (including Rastas on donkeys)

4) Demonstrating 5 solar lamps for an evening school class and getting involved in a volunteer project at a local school in Koubri, Burkina Faso

5) Staying at the Green Turtle Lodge, Ghana…..  paradise!!

6) Vicki realising that Nick is better at map reading almost ALL of the time ;-)

7) The welcome we got when we came to Ghana – complex handshakes and a discussions about the world cup – GO BLACK STARS!!!

8) Ghana street food – It may well be fried in palm oil – but boy it tastes good!!

9) Greenery – palms, hardwoods and plants of tropical sizes

10) Music and dancing – amazing concerts and players – seen some proper African drumming along with some sexy bumpin and grindin!!

11) Trying to master several different African handshakes

RANDOM FACTS….

1) We gave two volunteers a lift in the back of Dassie and they said it was more comfortable than a tros-tros (local mini bus transport in Ghana), so much so that they both fell asleep!!! And it wasn’t even a tarred road!

2) We had our first proper bartering experience with a little girl in Burkina. She had spotted that we had an empty coke bottle so she came over with a bag of peanuts (they grow these themselves). I thought that she wanted to sell them to me so I got a little bit of money to pay her, when handing over the money she was clearly shocked and gasped. She then made it clear that she wanted our coke bottle. She then said goodbye and something else in the local language, which I clearly didn’t understand. About half an hour later she came back and had made me a little hand broom as a thank you for the money!

3) Meals in Ghana sometimes come on two plates…..  we are putting weight on!!!

4) Dassie was orange by the time we hit the coast in Ghana so we gave her a good clean – nice to see parts of the van that we had not seen for more than a month

5) West Africa has had some late rains – we had some great tropical storms with proper Hollywood style lightening, one of which required a complete drying session the next day.

6) Forgot to mention that even though Nick has lost his wedding ring – he still managed to get a marriage proposal from a lady at an egg stall – Nick thinks its because of his good looks and charm – Vicki belives it was because he was so dirty that she took pity on him and simply offered to scrub him clean and wash his clothes….  Could have been a “lost in translation” moment ;-)

Nick & Vicki
Stonehenge to Cape Town 2010/11
www.langebaan-sunset.com

We use the Shurflow pump & British Berkefeld Filters

   

On reflection, Rosso Border Crossing........

For overlander types familiar with traveling North South via West Africa, here is a summary (for the record) of what to expect if you go via Rosso into Senegal from Mauritania.  If you are just interested in reading about what one of the worst border crossings in Africa is like, read on.........

In May 2010, the wife and I left the UK to travel South to Cape Town and had the pleasure of going through Rosso a few weeks ago (Oct 2010). Rosso is one of the links between Mauritania and Senegal.  Its one of the crossings people dread on this kind of trip and really try to avoid.

1) The Rosso crossing is not as bad as people say as long as you "try" and stick to the following......You can avoid it and there is a better crossing at Diama that is reachable when the rains finish. West Africa had suffered some late / heavy rains in Sept / Oct 2010 and we found the route to Diama closed / flooded. Thus if you have no other option Rosso it is!

2) The border / crossing is true African experience and most of the blogs / posts on the topic are right, so if you have read up on it most of what happens is no surprise and you can arrive "prepared". Keeping your cool is key and take your time - dont get rushed and be firm but polite with the "masses" that "welcome" you.

3) Chaos starts way before you get to the border heading South from Mauri. We were "introduced" to a "guide" 15km North of the border who "chased" us in a Merc. When I say chased, I mean he and his 2 mates drove at speed to cut us up and stop us several times to make sure we "knew" that "they" were our "chosen" guides for the crossing and the people to buy insurance from etc..... These guys seriously intimidate the locals and offers of "free" help were jumped on quickly!!! Attempts to shake them off (changing direction, going back to previous police post etc....) simply resulted in them turning around and chasing us the other way. Easy to escape on motor bikes - less so in an aging Land Rover or push bike. These guys have a well rehearsed routine - with each of them fully understanding French and English they will stand right next to you and listen to your conversations. Try and be polite and talk in private when you are on the move.

4) As soon as you reach The Blue Gates (they have erected on both sides of the river) crowds gather..... you have no choice but to go through them to start the processing. This ensures that Westerners are "greeted" by the right "gang" that happens to have first pickings that day / time. Just ignore the idiots / kids / beggers / scammers and drive through the gates....drive and do not stop and a few inches from the gates they will miraculously open for you...... WELCOME TO ROSSO!

5) Parking is just down by the river. Park up and lock all doors etc... if you are on bikes..... leave your partner with the bikes and walk in with all your paperwork. If you were solo this would be hard work to secure your gear....pick pockets and thieves are ACTIVE and alert to all your moves, with young kids acting as distraction artists (singing, begging etc...) while older, more skilled Oliver Twist types try door handles, locks, bags etc.... etc.....

6) Police and customs are in on the scam..... they so not get involved in disputes and the "guides" are basically their slave / gimps that do their bidding (fetch tea, read out documents etc....) so kind of feel good about their position in the pecking order.

7) To avoid involvement of the "help" is a hard task..... even when (as we did) ignore all attempts of help, and handing our paperwork over to the police etc.... you realise that this gets given straight back to the "help". We accepted this and as we had not lost our cool with them things actually progressed quite smoothly and friendly.   A kind of Stockholm Syndrome begins to prevail !

8) While you keep your money in your pocket YOU hold slightly more power than them - its your cash they want - remember this and avoid handing money over in dribs and drabs. Make sure you state you will pay the "fees" when EVERYTHING is complete and all paperwork is back in your hands.

9) If you have more than 2 people in your group (we had 6 in our party) it helps to divvy up responsibilities. This helps create confusion for them and several people will stick with you to make sure where the "money is". Its kind of fun to keep this "show" going right to the end.

10) Ignore the B S""T info about needing insurance before you cross etc..... buy it on the other side. The "help" will cross the river with you and when you get to the other side a "handover" is made to "help" No. 2. Again, be friendly, don't loose your cool and work with the guy.

11) We bought a 6 month Carte Brun for 3rd party insurance for the Landy for West Africa Community Countries for 100 €. You will need to get this as its an easy bribe point at the numerous check points that exist on the way to St Louis. We got asked for it at least 6 times before St Louis along with a series of other items, like warning triangles, high vis jackets, fire extinguisher etc...etc....

12) When the helper gimps have finished with the paperwork the fun begins. There are some legit. fees to pay, ferry ticket, passivant etc...but the rest is fake. Here is what we paid as a guide (per couple / vehicle).

• Ferry ticket 23€
• Passivant, processing, tax 25€
• Insurance, 6 month Carte Brun 100€
• "Help" fee 21€

For sure we got ripped off but also we got off lightly compared to what other people have paid in the past. The insurance alone probably saved us at least a few fines on the way to St Louis.

13) Bear in mind we avoided all the smaller scams (parking fees etc...) and bar one of our mates getting his hat nicked and me getting my pocket felt (a kid stole my ferry ticket receipt HA HA HA), we were finally let out of the Blue Gates in Senegal side at approx 8pm (dark by now) having started the process at 3pm (way too late). We then had a 120km drive in the dark to St Louis.....It was dark and the crowd was intimidating but we stuck together and got through it.

What would we do different next time / advice we would offer:

• Go to Diama for sure - but we cut it too fine with the rains - check the weather situation in advance - ideally with Zebrabar people.
• Catch the earliest ferry - we made a bad choice because of the closed road to Diama and so ended up on the last ferry (fools)
• Unless you speak absolutely fluent French and insist on speaking with the Chefs at each post and probably use a line along the lines of reporting them when you get to Dakar, it is better to work with the "help" - I sensed that no one wants to rock the boat at Rosso so this is probably a futile strategy - so agree a price for the lot before you start and ONLY pay it when you get THROUGH the gates.
• You do hold some power and its your cash they want - withhold it for as long as you can - if you can go as a group it helps.
• You dont have to worry about your documents going missing as you can stick with the paper chain - just hold your nerve and keep your eyes peeled
• Dont do what one of the people in our group did (a traveler we met along the way) and tell them that you are "scared", this helps transfer power to them and probably a racking up of more fees on the "scam meter"
• Going there with a "I am going to not pay a single bribe" attitude is probably going to rock the boat. Softly, softly works best.

All in all - Rosso does exactly what it says on the tin! Its a sorry looking, poor place, full of people trying to make a quick buck. It looks like one or two main gangs hold control and they work with the officials - I am not sure how you could change this.

Its a real shame as Senegal is a nice country and this is "introduction" is just a let down which you quickly get over, especially over a bottle of wine discussing the revenge scenarios you might employ should you ever pass by on the river in an "Apocolypse Now" style gun boat and an unlimited amount of ammunition !! ;-)

Enjoy it and good luck !!

Nick & Vicki
Stonehenge to Cape Town 2010/11
www.langebaan-sunset.com

We use Chris Scott guides - Fantastic resources!