8-6-11
Today we are heading for Yaoundé, to get some more visas. Amazingly the roads in Cameroon are in excellent condition - after the first bad bits.
Got to the Gabonese embassy, but were just too late to apply today.
So we have found another presbyterian mission, where we can camp. The place is nice - at night there are fireflies all over. We play some cards over a beer then hit the sack.
Today we are heading for Yaoundé, to get some more visas. Amazingly the roads in Cameroon are in excellent condition - after the first bad bits.
Got to the Gabonese embassy, but were just too late to apply today.
So we have found another presbyterian mission, where we can camp. The place is nice - at night there are fireflies all over. We play some cards over a beer then hit the sack.
9-6-11
Today we applied for the Gabonese visa, for Simone. South African citizen's dont require a visa. YAY
Security wont allow Kevin into the embassy as he is wearing shorts. Its pretty chaotic here, and they dont allow anyone into the compund. Everything is done at the gate. Customer services is not a strong point at embassies we have found. No surprise there.
10-6-11
Days are spent looking around the city, catching up on email's, reading, and drinking beer. We found a great cafe serving excellent food and drinks for a decent price.
We met our first overlanders of the trip. Dave & Donna from Ireland. They have just arrived from DRC and are a little shaken, and it seems they are keen to get back to Europe as soon as possible. They were attacked in a small village and their 80 series Land Cruiser has the back window smashed. They were arrested and threatened and overall didnt have a great time. They had come down the east coast route and were heading north.
13-6-11
Go to Gabon embassy, but its a public holiday there so they are CLOSED. More waiting.
14-6-11
Simone gets her visa today. But not after we have to wait the entire day outside the embassy. Not so bad, as we chat the whole time with a Swiss couple. Wero & Tera. They are travelling in a Mercedes camper. Check out their website: http://werotera.ch . Wero cannot believe how long we are taking for our trip. I say "3-4 months to get to SA from England" He almost falls over at the thought! They have been travelling all over the world and are fortunate enough to take their time. He also cannot believe the number of punctures we've had so far. (zero). They have had 46 so far!
We ask their plans for Angola. They plan on heading to Lubumbashi from Kinshasa. We later find out this will likely be impossible in their van. From what I can make out on their site, they are currently in Kinshasa and are contemplating heading to Lubumbashi. Yikes!
15-6-11
Today we head to Gabon. The roads are amazing! Just as I'm thinking how great they would be on a bike, we spot a BMW GS overlander heading the opposite way. He must be having a great time..
We spend the night in an auberge.
Today we applied for the Gabonese visa, for Simone. South African citizen's dont require a visa. YAY
Security wont allow Kevin into the embassy as he is wearing shorts. Its pretty chaotic here, and they dont allow anyone into the compund. Everything is done at the gate. Customer services is not a strong point at embassies we have found. No surprise there.
10-6-11
Days are spent looking around the city, catching up on email's, reading, and drinking beer. We found a great cafe serving excellent food and drinks for a decent price.
We met our first overlanders of the trip. Dave & Donna from Ireland. They have just arrived from DRC and are a little shaken, and it seems they are keen to get back to Europe as soon as possible. They were attacked in a small village and their 80 series Land Cruiser has the back window smashed. They were arrested and threatened and overall didnt have a great time. They had come down the east coast route and were heading north.
13-6-11
Go to Gabon embassy, but its a public holiday there so they are CLOSED. More waiting.
14-6-11
Simone gets her visa today. But not after we have to wait the entire day outside the embassy. Not so bad, as we chat the whole time with a Swiss couple. Wero & Tera. They are travelling in a Mercedes camper. Check out their website: http://werotera.ch . Wero cannot believe how long we are taking for our trip. I say "3-4 months to get to SA from England" He almost falls over at the thought! They have been travelling all over the world and are fortunate enough to take their time. He also cannot believe the number of punctures we've had so far. (zero). They have had 46 so far!
We ask their plans for Angola. They plan on heading to Lubumbashi from Kinshasa. We later find out this will likely be impossible in their van. From what I can make out on their site, they are currently in Kinshasa and are contemplating heading to Lubumbashi. Yikes!
15-6-11
Today we head to Gabon. The roads are amazing! Just as I'm thinking how great they would be on a bike, we spot a BMW GS overlander heading the opposite way. He must be having a great time..
We spend the night in an auberge.
16-6-11
Well we didnt get much sleep last night. The owner of the auberge was cranking out the music all night. We head for Libreville. We find a place called La Maree. The owner is eccentric to say the least but very kind - they let us camp on their grounds free. We will try get the Angolan visa here .
Well we didnt get much sleep last night. The owner of the auberge was cranking out the music all night. We head for Libreville. We find a place called La Maree. The owner is eccentric to say the least but very kind - they let us camp on their grounds free. We will try get the Angolan visa here .
17-6-11
Angolan embassy says sorry, no visa's here - only in your home country - or at country before you enter, i.e DRC. Well it was worth a try.
Tonight we are wild camping near the Lope National park. We are heading east towards Congo Brazzaville, via Franceville.
Gabon is pretty. We see that bush meat is very popular here. In Libreville a restaurant has a live crocodile sitting on the pavement. I read that eating bushmeat is legal for personal consumption only, but that's not what is happening. Monkeys, everything is ready for you to eat.
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