Leaving Gomo; discovering the Congo's one way road systems!

March 6 1953 (Friday) Land Mileage 5756

Off on our travels once more, after a final hot bath and an excellent cooked breakfast at the guesthouse!

Departing from Gomo, we found ourselves driving on a narrow track though lava fields; the surface was not too bad at all and not at all dusty, quite a change from what we had become used to!  We passed "Lac Vert", which, true to its name, was a small crater lake and very green! Leaving the lava fields behind,  the road became very slippery and muddy due to the recent rains, while it remained very narrow and winding.   

We passed through Sake and on to the Bobandana mission; here the road became much steeper, narrow and winding.   It was very mountainous country, the highest point being Col Nyabibwe at 6,500 feet!  In places it was a one way road, so there were several waits along the way, checking that the road was clear to proceed.   It was very pretty scenery, but again, Dad never got to appreciate the countryside, as it was taking all his driving skills to remain on the road, and not to slide off into the forest. We drove through some hilly areas which we understood to be coffee plantations, before eventually arriving at Costermansville in the rain.    Dad went to the Belgian Tourist Office for maps, as we wanted to take a different road from the one in the Trans-African Highways book.   We filled up with petrol, then continued over some high mountain ranges, the track again being operated on a one way system. 

Waiting at the barrier to be given the all clear

When we reached the start of the one way system, an African with a drum beat out a message to another one further along the route.   He would in turn reply by way of the drums, letting the other know where we were and if the road was clear.  The system worked very well up until 18h00, when it was time for the drummers to knock off work, and then it was a case of taking a chance and praying that you did not have to reverse  too far if you met another vehicle !!  We were fine, as it happened, and managed to get through before knocking off time!!    While driving  down the other side of the mountain, we were lucky enough to see a mountain leopard in the headlights.   It crossed over the road in front of us and we were all able to see it quite clearly.  An amazing sight!  As soon as we found a place to pull off the road, we stopped for the night and by then it was just on 19h00.

African huts in the Congo

March 7 1953 Land Mileage 5895

We left our camp at around 07h00 and after travelling for only a few miles, we came up to a bridge that had been washed away.   Luckily we only had to do a small detour before we regained our route. We went through a couple of small villages and then found ourselves travelling along the banks of Lake Tanganyika.

The view was wonderful; the water was crystal clear and looked very refreshing!   With the golden light of the sun shining across the water, it was certainly a stunning sight after the rains.  We then reached another drum barrier on the road through the mountains, as we climbed up and away from the lake.   We arrived at Fizi at 12h15 where we were able to top up the petrol tanks again and then on through even more mountainous country.   This was gorilla country, but unfortunately, although we were scanning the countryside for any movement, we saw only smaller monkeys at intervals, swinging through the trees.   At 15h30 we came to more drum barriers, where we had to wait for a while for an oncoming vehicle.

This was taken at almost the same time, I see, as the photo above; just the young boy has gone missing!

Everyone came out from their huts to take a look at us, so we gave the children some sweets that we had with us.   Dad turned on the radio and managed to pick up some music; meanwhile the oldest lady of the group started to dance and obviously had a lot of rhythm in her soul!  Never a dull moment on this trip!     The vehicle that we were waiting for had still not appeared, so they suggested that it must have pulled off somewhere in the middle and we should proceed with caution!    We really had to be careful, as it was a very twisting, narrow and hazardous road.   We drove into each and every corner blasting the horn, in the hopes that if anyone was coming they would hear us first!   After a while we passed a broken down lorry, so we then knew that the remainder of the road should be safe.    We found a good place to camp around 18h00, so decided that it was not worth pushing on any further.

To be continued :-) 

 

I have put this section of my life story on Kindle if you should be interested:-

 

See

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-GREAT-1953-TREK-ebook/dp/B008KK0KHU/ref=pd_ys_iyr1

The stop over at Gomo and a jigger.

March 3 (Tuesday)1953

What a wonderful night's sleep we all had; it was terrific to be back in real beds again. Coffee was brought to our suite at 07h00 and we made a slow start to a relaxing day, but making it in time to the dining room for breakfast. Afterwards we went into Gomo, had a look around the shops and bought some new films for the camera. We were told that it was completely safe bathing in Lake Kivu, with a total absence of hippo or crocodiles. We were also told that there were no mosquitoes at all in that area. David and I went for a swim on our return, while Mum and Dad walked down to watch us; during this time something bit Mum on her foot. There was nothing visible, but it started itching and irritating soon afterwards. Mum said not to worry too much, so life went on!

Bugoyi guest house, Gomo.

This tropical part of the country was a fairly new experience and almost incredible to us, so recently living in the English winter and having been on the move for so long. The weather was the near perfect temperature for us and the surroundings  very quiet and peaceful. After an excellent lunch, we bought a few postcards and decided that we should let friends and family know how we were getting on and where we had got to. Afterwards Mum had a really lazy afternoon while Dad, David and I went off for a walk before returning for the luxury of tea. It was the most relaxing day we had spent for some time and none of us felt particularly energetic. After dinner, (which we did not have to cook!) we played cards for a while and had a fairly early night. We were enjoying this place so much,  it was planned that at some stage in the future, we would return here for a real holiday.

Tea time!!

March 4 (Wednesday) 1953 

David and I wanted to stay at the lake, while Mum and Dad decided they would like to go into Gomo to do some shopping. Dad needed to go to the bank and  they wanted to buy a lens hood for the camera, if such was available. They also needed to replenish our stores for the next part of the journey. At mid-day, there was a brief storm, which we sat and watched from the covered guest house verandah. Once the rain had stopped, the sky quickly cleared and David and I were back off to the lake again. Mum and Dad emptied the Land Rover and cleaned the inside, packing everything back in as tidily as possible. We all sat and watched the magnificent sunset from the verandah before dinner; it was very unusual and spectacular for us, as all around, the horizon was red, reflected from glowing volcanoes. Mum then had a terrible night; her foot was red, swelling and itching madly. We put some "Milton" (sterilizing liquid, still available today, I think!)  on it, hoping that it would help, and she kept putting her foot out of the bed, onto the cold floor to try to revieve the burning sensation. Nothing seemed to help and the itching got worse and worse during the night. 

An African fishing canoe.

March 5 (Thursday) 1953 

The next morning, the guesthouse manageress asked us if everything was all right, and luckily Mum mentioned to her about her foot and the terrible night that she had had. She told us to wait right there and she went off, returning with a very elderly African who had a look at her toe. He fetched a sterilised needle and with a small prod, produced what seemed to be a small bag of eggs!   They had been laid there by a jigger; Mum remembered having read about them in one of her books, many years before. They lay their eggs in a tiny sac which is embedded into the toe. This obviously was what had happened when she thought she had been bitten. If the eggs are allowed to hatch, the result is that the foot itself is actually eaten in small amounts during the life cycle of the jigger!    We had seen several people in that area with what looked like deformed feet, so we now guessed what the reason was. It was almost instantaneous relief for Mum; once the eggs were removed, the itching stopped. By this time, it had started raining again and we went to our rooms for Mum to have a rest, while the rest of us did some reading. Not pleasant to see, but if you really want to know more about jiggers read here ! 

Having my own private game of water polo!

We had a late lunch and at 15h00, when the sky had cleared up again, David and I went off to the lake and hired a pedalo. This struck us as quite strange; pedalos for hire in the centre of Africa (!!), but as it was, we both thoroughly enjoyed it, while Mum and Dad kept a watchful eye on us having fun. 

I had to laugh when I saw this photo enlarged. I see we are both fully clothed and David even has a tie on I think!

Dad joined me in the boat later for a short time, but came out remarking that all the pedalling was very leg aching! We walked along the beach, before returning to the guest house to tidy up and pack, ready for moving off the next morning. After dinner, we met some Americans who had just arrived; they were travelling from Cape Town to Kenya, so we swopped a few stories until it was time to go to bed. 

Myself, David and Mum on the shores of the lake. Looks like we have bathing costumes on this time!

I have already mentioned the 1977 eruption, but it is worth noting here that the Nyragongo volcano in eastern Congo began erupting again on 17 January, 2002, with lava flows burning their way through towns and villages the next day, killing an estimated 147 people. Hundreds of thousands of people were fleeing across the border into Rwanda. News reports said that a 35-70-metre (115-230 feet) swath of lava, in some places 2 metres (6.5 feet) high, advanced to the outskirts of the city of Gomo and poured into Lake Kivu. Gomo has a population of 400,000. Many people evacuated on foot. At least 15% of Goma, comprising 4,500 buildings were destroyed, including part of the airport, leaving about 120,000 people homeless. Lava flows created fires in the commercial centre. There were audible explosions, possibly as cars and petrol stations exploded. Six months later, the volcano erupted yet again, but it was confined to the crater. Reports are conflicting on numbers killed so I have no idea how accurate this is. 

The four of us sitting by Lake Kivu.

To be continued :-) 

 

I have put this section of my life story on Kindle if you should be interested:-

 

See

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-GREAT-1953-TREK-ebook/dp/B008KK0KHU/ref=pd_ys_iyr1

Chased by an elephant and a stop-over at Gomo.

March 2 1953 (Monday) Land Mileage 5491

We got moving early, at 06h30, then driving through the small village of Butembo before a climb to 7,000 feet, where we crossed the Equator!   We got out of the Land Rover and took some photographs (none of which seem to have come out!), but it was too cold to stay long. This was the coldest we had felt since leaving Marseilles, and here we were at the Equator, which we had believed to be one of the hottest places in the world!  It is  certainly hot in many places, but certainly not at 7,000 feet! Further on, we reached the village of Lubero, where we managed to buy some strawberries for one shilling and four pence; what a feast we would have with pineapples and strawberries!

Forty three miles later, we reached the top of the Kabasha Escarpment; from this high point, the road takes a long and very tricky descent, with the road cut into the cliff face for 12 miles!   The view was quite incredible and we could see right across the Albert National Park. The park was founded in 1925 by King Albert I of Belgium and is now known as Virunga National Park, it was the first national park on the continent of Africa.  It was first started to protect the mountain gorillas, but later was extended further north to cover a much greater area.   Although not easily identifiable from such a distance, we could see huge herds of wild animals roaming over the vast expanse of land before us. Dad unfortunately could not appreciate this magnificent sight, as he had his work cut out concentrating on staying on the very winding, narrow road. It was certainly a sight that the rest of us would never forget. On reaching flat land again, we drove along the edge of the park and saw many types of antelope, buffalo, hippopotami and herds of elephant. While on one very narrow stretch of road with trees on either side, going towards Rutshuru, a very large bull elephant suddenly blocked our path. He walked slowly towards us flapping his gigantic ears and before we knew what was happening, Dad had the vehicle in reverse and we were shooting back down the road from where we had just come. I doubt if anyone has ever been so fast in reverse gear before, or since for that matter! David and Mum were both ready with their cameras, but neither of them managed to get a shot in all the haste. Watching from a distance, the bull stayed in the middle of the road for some time eating from the trees, before having a good rub and a scratch against a tree trunk. Finally he decided to walk off into the bush and barely had his back foot disappeared, Dad was in first gear and racing past the disappearing elephant!

We drove through Rutshuru into some hilly passes, through stunning scenery. The road crosses the watershed between Lakes Edward (Nile catchment area) and Kivu (Congo catchment area). It passes through a chain of volcanoes, the Virunga Range comprising of Nyamlagira (10,025 feet), Nyragongo (11,380 feet), Rukoma or Kateruzi (10,850 feet), Karisimbi (14,785 feet) and Mokeno (14,560 feet). 

Volcano Nyragongo at Lake Kivu

We drove through Gomo, which at about 4,800 feet above sea level is on the shore of Lake Kivu; we arrived at the Kisenyi settlement about 2 miles out of Gomo and pulled up at the Bugoyi Guest House at around 18h30. Dad booked us into a suite of rooms  and we all had the pleasure of hot baths and a really good clean up. After a good meal, we went to sit outside to watch the volcanoes, several of which were showing signs of quiet activity. The sky above them had taken on a glowing red colour; very exciting, in the darkness that surrounded them!   We decided that this was a lovely spot to have a break and Dad extended our stay for another three days.

I am unsure, but I think this guest house may have been wiped out in the 1977 eruption of Nyragongo. A lot of people were killed in this display of Nature's fury, but as the  reported figures vary from hundreds to thousands, the exact loss of life probably can never be determined.

Having a cuppa at the Rest House.  How civilised can you get in wildest Africa?

Writing home. No I was not, and I am still not, short sighted; must be the concentration required!  Note my pith helmet by my side for sun protection!

To be continued :-) 

 

I have put this section of my life story on Kindle if you should be interested:-

 

See

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-GREAT-1953-TREK-ebook/dp/B008KK0KHU/ref=pd_ys_iyr1