I am lying awake at ridiculous o’clock in the town of Tsumeb (pronounced Sue-meb) just west of Etosha national park in northern Namibia. Having already had the pleasure of visiting this truly incredible park I am not too sure if it is the excitement that has woken me or the fact that it is the first night in nearly three weeks that I have slept on the ground (the body gets used to sleeping in beds very quickly and going back to the ground is a bit of a shock). Lying here, I am sorting through some photos and reflecting on our time in Central Africa.
Unfortunately for Katie, myself, and half a dozen others our journey through Central Africa was cut short at Pointe-Noire by the Angolan embassy; thus we did not spend anywhere enough time in the region, which could not be more disappointing. The other disappointing thing was that we did not get to see the two great cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, or the legendary Congo river… some of the main reasons for travelling this route!
According to guide books, political commentators or just about anyone; Central Africa (on the west coast at least) starts at the border of Cameroon and Gabon. Having reviewed our photos and looked back on our experiences, in our opinion, Central Africa in fact starts somewhere south-west of Abuja in Nigeria and extends at least to the DRC-Angolan border. This observation is based on both the dramatic (and almost immediate) change in vegetation and the peoples who reside here.
On passing through this wonderful region it is clear that the rainforest that blankets the landscape is the predominant feature. The words of Joseph Conrad , Henry Morton Stanley and Tim Butcher have really been brought to life for us now and we both feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced this. The density of the rainforest and the ferocity of the rivers that run like arteries through it provide vivid images of how it is virtually impossible to live here; more a matter of survival; yet people go about their daily business with a joy that we have not seen since Burkina Faso. It is a credit to those who toil to survive here that roads, towns, villages, cities, football grounds and schools exist in one state or another at all! An interesting example of the struggle to keep the jungle at bay and life moving forward happened to us in the Afi Mountains (that straddle the border of Nigeria and Cameroon). We set up camp in a purpose built clearing in the jungle where we resided for roughly 36 hours whilst visiting the endangered Drill Monkeys. On packing up the campsite at the end of our stay, we discovered that our tent had been taken prisoner by a single vine, snaking its way up one of the tent pegs… this was in almost no time at all, highlighting the perseverance required to survive in this extreme climate.
Katie and I thoroughly enjoyed our time here even with the oppressive heat and humidity, which made it almost impossible to get comfortable. This is definitely an area of the world that I will be coming back to at some point to explore some more… hopefully sooner rather than later.
Click here for the few photos we took of the region.
Overland to Cape Town 