Farewell, Congo!

Dear Readers,

This is just to inform you that as of June 2016, the authors of this blog have all left the Congo. While this means that when you read this blog, the information may be a bit outdated, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do the many exciting adventures suggested here (security permitting). We’d be happy to update information if you find something has changed drastically, and we’ll also be happy to include guest posts for new adventures!

Happy Adventures!!!

Guest Post: Luki Biosphere Reserve

[Note from Crazy #3: we were contacted by a new adventurer who discovered what seems like an amazing place to visit! We hope you all get a chance to go, and who knows – maybe we’ll come back just to check it out ourselves 🙂 ]

We weren’t quite sure what a “Biosphere” entailed but we had heard good things about Luki from friends who had already made the trip on the way back from a beach trip to Muanda. Luki didn’t disappoint and we extended our planned one-night stay because we loved it so much.

We slithered up a steep hill to an
awesome view point overlooking
the biosphere

The reserve was created in 1976 and is 33k hectares (endless hiking opportunities here). Ernestine, the fabulous Cameroonian PhD researcher permanently based at the site, had already given the local guides a heads up that we wanted to do some hiking so they were all ready to roll when we staggered out of the car. After convincing them that we needed a break before hiking commenced, we settled down to our first delicious meal cooked by Mama Germaine who lives in the local village and served the BEST food we have had in DRC. It’s all local, she grinds her own coffee, makes her own peanut butter and served up the most delicious fresh fruit – she is basically my dream woman. We were also able to drink the water from the well on site after it had been through a basic stone filter with no ill effects!

We did one hike of about three hours each day we stayed, the rainforest was incredible and the guides from the local village were very knowledgeable and explained how areas were being reforested and which tree species was which. They ended up encouraging us to go and see a flying fox cave where it was necessary to pass within centimetres of a wild bee hive which was a good laugh (!).

A good place to enjoy a beer

We heard about a new (or recently re-discovered) chimpanzee family living 18km from the main Luki accommodation base and the team has ambitions to habituate the group and offer over night hikes and camping to visit them. We would definitely consider trying to get back and do this.

The accommodation was clean and peaceful, we had a double room for $20 per night and a shared basic bathroom with one other bedroom (there wasn’t anyone else there). There are at least four double bedrooms with two bathrooms so you could bring quite a big group if you wanted and you give them a heads up. One of our favourite bits was just relaxing in the evenings with a beer on the veranda and admiring the forest.

The peace and quiet, awesome local guides, exceptional local cook and the resident PhD researcher Ernestine made this the most memorable DRC trip we’ve done so far. It genuinely felt like good eco-tourism too as we paid lots of small amounts – to the guides ($10 per guide per walk), to the cook (circa $150 for three days full board and drinks for two people), to the reserve itself ($10 each), to the guy that runs the accommodation ($20 double room per night).  Hugely recommend going to support and relax in the forest. When else do you get to visit a “humid tropical rainforest biosphere”?

Our guides told us “He goes all the way up the tree to find food, if he doesn’t find it he comes all the way down then does it again!

A machete is only useful in the jungle if you know how to use it, otherwise it’s a liability!

Logistics:

What to bring: Lots of long-sleeved tops and trousers for hiking, getting sweaty, and avoiding small black flies in the evening (harmless but annoying and itchy). Bug spray.

When to go: We went at the end of the rainy season in April and the off-road section (7km) was easy for 4×4. Dry season should be fine even without 4×4

How to get there:

Turn right on the N12 at this sign

• (from Muanda) Turn north at Boma on the N1, instead of taking the turn off to Matadi take the N12 north to Luki. After about 7km on a good road, take a right at the sign pictured here. Double check with someone in the village if you are unsure, they will point you in the direction of a bit of rough track that heads sharply south again. The road is actually worse closest to the village, after about 1km it gets much better again as you head into Luki reserve.
• Follow this road for about 6 km, take the right fork at the first point you see a fork in the road (left fork looks disused anyway)
• Then there is a second fork point, here you need to take the left fork (again the right fork looks disused).
• Pass by a village on your left with a UniKin building, continue on for another 1km. Then you will reach the Luki site with lots of billboards where you turn left to get to accommodation and turn right to get to the main offices. You’re at the end of the road here so you can’t go past it.

Travel Time: About 8 hours from Kinshasa (depending on traffic) or 2.5 hours from Muanda

Risk assessment: Other drivers!

Contact: Ernestine: +243 818 628 735

Lubumbashi

I highly recommend Lubumbashi.  You can get there from Kinshasa by Congo Airways, which is about a two hour flight (though a bit pricey).  It’s a new airline, and I can’t get over the Christmas music that plays every time you board and disembark from the airplane, kind of like the Brazzaville bridge lights that wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year every evening.  Oh, and that someone’s phone went off mid flight.  How did that happen?  I’m still not sure.

Train to Kisantu and Mbuela Lodge

I had two goals for this trip – to take the Kinshasa to Matadi train and to ride a quad bike.  This trip was a success.  It took a few times going to Gare Centrale in Kinshasa to figure out the tickets and timing, but I will save you the effort by sharing all of that information here!  You purchase the tickets on Wednesday and the train leaves Saturday for Matadi (via Kisantu, where we got off) and returns to Kinshasa from Matadi on Sunday.  So you either go for a day…or for a week.  Instead of the 8 hour-ish ride to Matadi, we got off in Kisantu, which takes about three hours.  We happened to take it on the one year anniversary of train renovations, so there was a camera crew as well as some high-level officials.  I believe we purchased second-class tickets for about $10.  While there was not air conditioning in our car and sand/dirt blew into the train at various points, the seats and the interior felt brand new.  There’s even this AWESOME bar that blasts music at all times.  So if you want to drink beer and dance at 9am in a discotheque, this train is perfect for you.

África Park Aventure (Lac de Ma Vallée)

As of October 2016, Lac de Ma Vallée has transformed into an outdoor adventure park! This place is honestly amazing and pretty great for all ages. We arrived early, around 9am, which was perfect. We did not have to wait in line for any of the activities, which seem to form later in the day. It was just a blast. We raced each other in the treetops park (which is an obstacle course 20 feet up) as well as took turns on the Playclimb and zip line. It was very well-established, with the employees making sure we were following safety protocol each step of the way. The only drawback was that a sit down restaurant was the only option for food. It took forever to order and get the food, which prevented us from doing any other activities. I’d bring my own food next time, but could definitely envision going back many times. The activities available at this park are:

Menkao to Mayi-Ndombe

We decided we wanted a nice hike outside of Kinshasa for the weekend, since there are limited opportunities to walk in the city. Our tour guide picked us up from Kinshasa and drove us to Menkao, which is a city outside of central Kinshasa but still in Kinshasa Province. When we got out of the vehicle, we were met by many locals, curious why we were there in all our backpacking gear. Our tour guide handled our passport and visa information with DGM and organized motos to bring our tents and extra luggage to the camp site in Karo village (31 km from Menkao). Then we started our trek.

Volcano Trekking – Mt. Nyiragongo

Virunga Park, with Mt. Nyiragongo in the background.

I did it. I climbed a volcano.

You know, Congo has a lot going against it. There’s extreme violence, there’s severe corruption, there’s absolute poverty. But there is beauty. There are things you can’t even dream of doing in other places, like seeing gorillas, camping by the Congo River, or floating down rapids. And climbing a live volcano to see the pool of lava at the top.

It was a long trek, took us six and a half hours to get to the top, though a lot of the delay was a result of the rain storm that decided to grace us with its presence towards the top of the mountain. I seem to have a tendency of attracting said storms during hard hikes, such as in Kimpese [note to self – be better prepared for the rain in a rain-heavy country].

A Day at the Beach, on the River Congo

    \  Wait, where is Kinshasa?

Spending the day on a sandbank may be one of my favourite escapes from Kinshasa. Buy some drinks and make some food (or not, maybe bring some raw meat and just grill it there), get on a boat, arrive at a sandbank a nice distance upriver from the city, have the tents, chairs, tables and BBQ set up for you, and just enjoy the rest of the day. What’s not to love?

There are the typical Congolese adventure-inducing things such as getting stuck on sandbanks (how many expats does it take to push a boat?), hand print sunburns, running out of gas before making it back to shore and only having one paddle to make it back, etc, but really, what is Congo without those?

The Pagoda and Satellite

A view from inside the pagoda complex.

As you leave Kinshasa on the road to Kikwit (or Bombo Lumene), you pass two bizarre remains of the Mobutu era, the large pagoda and even more imposing satellite dish.

Mbanza Ngungu

Train yard

While most people visit Mbanza Ngungu for the caves, the town itself is incredibly interesting to explore, with its colonial architecture and train station and repair yard.