February
28 1953 (Saturday) Land Mileage 5012
In
the morning we drove for an hour until we reached Poko, where we filled up with
petrol. We then went on for another 155 miles into the
village of Paulis, where there was a garage. Here we could attend to
a few odd jobs on the Land Rover which needed seeing to. Dad
managed to purchase a new Dodge spring which fitted the back of our vehicle
and he welded the one which came off, to again use as our spare. The
manager took us for iced drinks and although he agreed to payment for the new
spring, he would not let us pay for the labour in helping Dad replace it, or
repairing the spare! We were very grateful for the new spring, as we
had been running on repaired ones for quite a distance now!
We
finally left there at 14h30 and after a short distance, saw our first train
pulled by a wood-burning locomotive! It was quite exciting
for us to see all these changes in civilisation as we carried on further into
Africa. We crossed a river on yet another ferry just as
it started to rain, but nothing like the previous storm we had
experienced. The rain did not last long, but it was decided that we
should push on as far as possible while we could.
We
saw lots of the locals walking along the road; they were now mostly dressed in
pantaloons and small straw hats. They were all carrying dead
chickens and we presumed that they were all on their way to a feast of some
kind, this being a Saturday.
We
carried on until 21h00 with very little change in scenery at this stage; we
then found a good place to pull off of the road and settled down to the usual
evening routine.
March
1 1953 (Sunday) Land Mileage 5235
A
new month was upon us and we were back on the road at 08h00. We had
not gone far when we came across a tree that had fallen across the
road. Luckily we had an axe with us so David and Dad got to
work to make enough room for us to get by.
 |
| Dad removing the tree in our way. Apologies for the poor quality but it is all I have! |
We
were soon on our travels again and arrived at Nia Nia at 10h00. Here
we found yet another Hotel Vicicongo, in very thick forest, and thankfully also a
petrol station. We topped up the fuel tanks while we could, had
some cold drinks and we were soon under way once more.
After
finding a small brook, we stopped and did some washing and as usual a
group of locals appeared to see what we were up to! The people in
this area were completely different, of a shorter, thicker build and far more
pygmy like. There was one who had some pineapples with him and we
bought two from him, for the equivalent of one shilling and five pence!
 |
| It seems like we were not the only people around doing our washing! |
On our way yet again and at 15h15 we
arrived at Mambasa, where we took a one way road to Beni. This
road is very narrow and open on alternate days in opposite directions, over a
distance of 23 miles! Luckily for us, the road was open that day in
the direction we were going or it would have meant a long delay, which we
could really not afford. Five miles
along this road we found two trucks that were stuck in front of another fallen tree
barring the way. Fortunately, most of the
hard work had been done, and with a little help from Dad and David, the tree was
soon moved out of the way. The weather here was very much cooler
and the road very narrow and twisting. We kept going until we found a small clearing on the other side of Beni and around
21h30, we made camp for the night.
To be continued :-)
I have put this section of my life story on Kindle if you should be interested:-
See
While children were in school at their desks, you were having adventures like Indiana Jones, you're very lucky to have had a childhood full of emotions and a courageous and brave parents.
ReplyDeleteI'm expecting for the next chapter and interesting pictures.
Araceli García thank you so much for your visit and comment. I do not know if you have a blog but I hit a brick wall when I found you on Google +!! I think I was very lucky to have such an interesting life, not only as a child but also as an adult, but nothing comes close to this trip across Africa. Take care Diane
DeleteDiane, I haven't got a blog, I have not patience to keep one and do it well,so I prefer to read a wonderful and interesting blog like yours which I really enjoy and sure, Iam going to learn about places unknown for me and even is going to help me to improve my English. Araceli.
DeleteIt is interesting to here how the landscape and the people changed as you drove further south.
ReplyDeletediane from desert and dry conditions to thick jungle and storms, it could have been a much bigger contrast. The people also changed colour, they were much darker in the Congo, and from wearing skins to European clothing was a huge difference. Enjoy all your parties and don't over do it :-) Diane
DeleteI really love these old photos you are sharing to us, it is like I am watching a documentary on TV..
ReplyDeleteThanks Rose, I am enjoying going through all the photos that I have not looked at for some time. Diane
DeleteI'm in awe at the giant euphorbias on the bottom shot. Fantastic! I remember seeing them in Kenya.
ReplyDeleteJm they were huge all through that area, I remember them well :-) Diane
DeleteReading about your experience confirms my belief that traveling is one of the best ways to learn. As it brings you so much in terms of knowledge, understanding of cultures, wisdom, acceptance...What a fascinating adventure you had, despite the tough times.
ReplyDeleteAwena I could not agree more travel certainly improves the mind. I would love to do the trip again but politically now it would be very difficult! Diane
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