I’ve come back from my first weekend outside of Kinshasa and boy what a weekend it has been! K, H and I went to the Chutes de Zongo, a waterfall about 100kms away from Kinshasa.
We jumped up early on Saturday morning to hit the road in the 4x4 which as we closed the doors realised stank. It was at that moment H decided to tell us that when he used the car for a work trip the week before, had bought raw meat with our Congolese colleagues that had sat in the boot for a good 5 hours. Not the best of starts.
Nevertheless we headed out of familiar Gombé and slowly snaked our way out of the city in Kins terrible traffic, by the time we made it out of the city and out to the road that heads west towards the Atlantic we’d already been in the car an hour. But the view of the country rolling on and on made it all worthwhile.
Now for those of you that haven’t been to Africa, driving along the main, thankfully tarmac roads is quite a spectacle. You will never cease to be surprised, entertained and downright scared silly of inventive (and sometimes stupid) ways in which people get themselves from A to B. I add below just a couple of examples below, for you all to make up your own minds.
None of these are photo shopped. Sometimes I couldn’t bear to watch as the guys on the outside of the car happily hanging on at 80km/hr going around a corner s the G’s start to hit.
The Congolese also know how to pack car. These poor little peugots get a thorough work out.
The drive into Bas Congo- the region where the Chutes are was truly beautiful, and after another 2 hours we turned off the main road onto the 40km track to the hotel. The ‘road’ the richest red earth you’ve ever seen, had been re excavated by the Chinese so was in surprisingly good condition.
We made it to the Zongo without incident, and checked into the hotel, Seli Safari (there are no real animals of note there so not sure quite why they named it safari- very Congolese.) Aside from the bizarre name of the place, by Congolese standards this was the Ritz; large rooms right on the river by the falls, powerful shower, running water, 24/7 electricity. Ok so there were ants in the bathroom, and the mosquito screen was missing. This was as good as it gets in Congo –if only it had AC. Shame.
After 5 hours in the car, we freshened up and went with our guide out to the top of the waterfall. Standing on the edge looking down, with the water roaring, it’s quite the sight. We went at the beginning of the rainy season with the river comparatively low, but this didn’t take away from its magnificence at all, studying the cauldrons carved into the rock faces that the water had pummelled away, I think it made it rather magical.
Next we hike around the valley to view the falls face on rather than from above they were stunning and I felt like I was in Jurassic park....until I noticed the stupid power lines that ran down the valley. In a continent where millions live without power they put power lines down through this beautiful area. Although I was at least glad they were making use of the natural resource that Congo is most blessed with- Water.
But nothing could ruin my mood on the next part of the excursion, always a fan of getting wet. We hiked down towards the base of valley on the opposite side to the falls to ‘shower’ in the spray that is kicked up. My favourite part of the day, we ran in and got a thorough soaking.
The guides started to cry out and encourages us to do the same, which seemed a little odd at first but felt wonderfully primal, apparently it’s to attract the little river crabs that then come out, but I have a sneaking suspicion the guides just like to watch the mundelli, shouting like a goon as they get soaked.
It was a wonderful, wonderful way to escape the city.
We ate dinner in a little paiotte, a terrace right on the river, with a bottle of wine, with the thundering of the falls in the background. After dinner we when to the bar, and I took much glee in ordering a turbo king. The face on the bar man was priceless! Equality in Congo, one beer at a time.
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