Gael warning in the Congo

[simondippenhall]

This is the next leg of my random trip through Africa and follows on from 'Gael Warnings in West Africa'.

I have continued my unfortunate knack of losing travel buddies. Keen readers (and there a few of you judging from the 27,000+ views of the last report, to Jim and my amazement since we together only viewed it 26,500 times ) will remember I callously abandoned a rather ill

Jim in the Sahara on the road from Nouakchott to Mali.

And just today my Austrian buddy Tom has had to bail as he cannot extract his passport from the Congo embassy in time to make his flight from Vienna.

So it's back to Billy No Mates again!

Anyway time for a munch of my Melton Mowbray as I sit in Heathrow Terminal 2 awaiting my flight to Cameroon (via Addis and Libreville)

It will be the last for a while.

I got to T2 early as I was fearful of check in problems, remembering my last flight experience with that lot....and doubly so as I have a pair of TKC80 tyres in my luggage.

In fact it was a breeze and took about 5 minutes (I find it helps to pretend to be flying Business Class!). I am also hoping there are a few empty seats around me in the depths of steerage where I am actually travelling overnight.


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[simondippenhall]

This report has started well with a picture of my luggage misplaced in the text ...hope it's the only luggage misplacing that happens!

Although, once Tom suggested this trip, I was very diligent in trying to get visas it still became a race to the line with the DRC visa taking over 6 weeks and bagged only yesterday after lots of chasing and wheedling, needing a special trip up to the embassy, whilst the second TKC got to me only 5 hours before planned departure!

So it's good to be sat at the airport, in good time and hopefully with nothing major forgotten.....


Anyway time to find something to drink, over to youse for the usual banter (and I know Jockser is on his way*

And BTW this is me being a London luvvie yesterday morning whilst my passport takes a stroll around the Congolese embassy...

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[crumbles]

In for the long report....
We will all be here waiting for the next installment..

 

[Ash]

In for the long report....
We will all be here waiting for the next installment..

We certainly will...

Travel safe..

 

[barak666]

Been looking forward to this. Simon.... have a safe trip.

 

[Sandtribe]

Looking forward to this!
Safe travels!


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[simondippenhall]

Thanks guys for your interest and wishes!

Stopped for a refill in Addis

And bought a small package of coffee for my Jetboil coffee press on the road. ️

Next leg (Libreville then Yaoundé in a couple of hours...where I hope to be reunited with the yellow peril


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[albatross]

Hey Simon
Best of luck,safe riding and have fun, will follow your great travel story as usual....
Albert

 

[simondippenhall]

Thanks Albert
Today was more a day of aviation, making my way to Cameroon for the off, so a few photos for the plane buffs

Besides the Addis runway is a bit of a plane graveyard:
Biggles last seen in Addis?

along with a few of his mates (Casablanca, anyone?)

As we approached the equator, the weather got more threatening. That's a lot of clouds over Congo and S Gabon

And from this threatening look it duly poured

Not auspicious for my ride South as the rainy season gets underway

But my trip to Yaoundé was very smooth and we arrived early. I had been dreading the customs processing with my 2 new tyres etc....and I was duly invited to a back room where all my baggages were taken apart. This turned out to be drug smuggling checks, from which I was released so I made haste to leave until I heard a loud 'Monsieur!'. Even my feigned deafness did not work and I was duly examined again. However, whether the gift of the Blarney or sheer good luck, I persuaded the customs officer that these tyres were 'in transit' and I would be leaving shortly for Gabon.

So she sent me on my way with a smile (on her part) and a song in my heart, rather than a hole in my wallet

I had a taximan I knew waiting for me and we took the crowded road north to Yaoundé

School was out

Roadside furniture sales were slow, perhaps because of the impending 7 October election?

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[simondippenhall]

Things seem to be hotting up in the North West of Cameroon:
https://www.journalducameroun.com/e...d-after-separatist-stage-prison-break-in-wum/

It was very tense when I rode through there from Nigeria in February so glad to be in the calmer centre and south.




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[gspod]

Safe and enjoyable travels Simon - I really enjoy your ride reports, thank goodness the bike didn’t sell

 

[simondippenhall]

Thanks gspod. Decided to celebrate a successful day with a bevvy at the local shebeen.... Nice to be recognised by a few people after nearly 7 months!

Tomorrow I need to reactivate my local sim card and put money on it so I have data on the road.... Normally roadside stalls do that but my 7 month non-use seems to have rendered it inoperable, so I need to go to the telecom centre.

And then get the new tyres on the GS!

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[tuftywhite]

Great RR as usual.

Have a superb journey. Looking forward to following you.

 

[(RIP) andrewgsadv]

Looking forward to your trip report as usual
Safe Journey.

 

[Rich C]

Woop woop

Another superb and interesting RR to get stuck into. A lovely ray of sunshine at the start of the day for those of us desk bound and as yet unable to unlock the shackles...

 

[simondippenhall]

Thanks RichC...... although 'ray of sunshine' may not be the first meteorological comparison that comes to my mind:

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[simondippenhall]

So day 2 is drawing to a close, and in the famous football phrase it's been a game of two halves.

I started the day with a civilised breakfast

To this I added an omelette, and was glad I did as it was to be 5 pm before I ate again!

First stop was the mobile phone office where , frustratingly, Thier computer was down and so they could not process my application! Then on to MotoPassion Yamaha where (eventually) I was reunited with the yellow peril

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[Edventure]

Excellent!!
Very much looking forward to following your journey Simon

 

[simondippenhall]

It was great to be reunited! The bike was certainly cleaner than I left it and had had oil and filter change, drive shaft oil change, new Bosch plugs (so the oil filter and plugs I brought will go in my Spares stash).

So the tyres were next:

Wheel removal by committee:

Bit of a balancing act, while the wheels and tyres went 150 metres down the road for a high tech tyre change:

I had been chatting with a police motorcyclist (a friend of Yves) who told me they run BMW 800s, BMW 1200s and Yamaha 1300s...he was a fan of shaft drive

Despite the low tech, they had the essential of a big bead breaker (and even a BMW Motorrad observer):

Whilst all this was going on, I was looking at Yves' stock and wondering whether something like this would be better for the Congo:

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[simondippenhall]

Yaoundé is reportedly built on 7 hills. Earlier today I went up Mont Febe to enjoy the view:

I was driven up by Christian, a taxi driver I met in February. Turns out his taxi came from Ireland and had a conversion from RHD to LHD

So technically I was in the driving seat as evidenced by the gear box markings

At the top we met some people working on the road improvements, who were so amazed I had ridden to Cameroon that made me an honorary member of the National Topography institute (hence the green coat!):

Next stop was insurance. I will spare you all the tedium and detail of arranging this but I can now report I have possibly the most highly insured low value GS in the world. It now has:

Comprehensive UK insurance
Carte Brune til 2019 for West Africa
Carte Rose for a year for Central Africa

By the end of the day I was so knackered I decided to leave the bike and took a taxi through the rush hour back to my hotel, just before a massive thunderstorm and torrential rain broke. Good call

Plus you get to take photos of stuff you see by the roadside:

So now off for a beer and some grub as through all of this I didn't get time to eat.... perhaps why I felt so knackered - and a good reminder for me to ensure I eat during the day.




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