18/02/2017
We crossed the Angolan border at Matadi / Noqui in the belief that the hardest part of the journey was behind us.
Angola fought one of the most brutal civil wars in modern history which dragged in neighbouring countries which ultimately became a proxy war between the Americans and the Soviet Union - peace was only declared in 2002. The country is ruled by the same president for 40 years so it's no wonder they are a little suspicious and most often limit visas to five days. Five days is tight, especially as we decided to pass through its northern enclave of Cabinda and DRC.
We were looking forward to Angola. The government may be suspicious but the we were told the people are really friendly and welcoming and they have a curious mix of traditional and modern Africa. On paper it's one of the most expensive countries in Africa, however since dollars are exchanging at almost three times the official rate and we were lucky to come across some dollars (top man Ed), this made Angola significantly cheaper ..... Beers were about 40 cent and fuel 30 cent per litre, the two most important considerations for us 😂.
We were met by some of the friendliest border and custom officials. We picked up some fuel from unofficial sources (they smuggle this over the Congo border for big profits.) We had to pay three times the price however since it was only 25 litres at Angolan prices and considering we were running low, it was better to be safer rather than sorry.
The next town was only 150 Kms on tarred (and potholed) roads.
We stopped for a quick refreshing coke and made friends with some locals taking a 4x4 taxi along the same route. It was a good deal for us as we followed their path on the road and avoided all the large potholes.
En route, a truck carrying too many tonnes of cement slid back down the hill and blocked the road. They seemed to have been there for most of the day and far fewer vehicles than the 20 people that were stuck with no where to go as the sun beat down.
As we waited we rationed our water with the locals. We gave the one chair we had to the mother and baby. She was definitely surprised with this. It made us think about the signs we have on buses reminding us to take care of our elderly , expectant mothers and people with extra needs. We can safely say we haven't seen this signs on our trip.
We went to put on dinner for ourselves knowing what it would mean. We cooked a large pot of rice and some tinned sauce. When it was done we had about 15 faces looking at us. It was a case of loaves and fish. The best way to resolve this was to give what utensils we had, take our own food and let them fend for themselves from the pot. They were very grateful and we earned us some Angolan goodwill.
The police came with a big Russian truck (they boasted). The driver lined the truck up facing the cement truck and attempted and failed to pull the truck backing up the hill. Surprisingly they left the scene, telling us to take the other route. If there's another road, why are we still here?
Not knowing what we were getting ourselves in for, we agreed with the taxi driver to accompany them on the secondary route. We discussed diesel levels before hitting the 120km detour.
We were in for a shock. These weren't roads. It was once a road that had been washed away over the years and some sections were just exposed rock.... and it was now dark. The terrain wasn't doing our fuel consumption any favours and we watched worriedly as the gage moved closer and closer to 'E' . We weren't as panicked as the taxi driver though -so he sussed out diesel in one of the many un electrified villages. We asked could we also buy some fuel but were confusingly told that 'it's not really for sale'. A few minutes later we watched 40litres get poured from drum to 20 litre bucket to small 1 litre can and then into the our car. Not knowing what this was going to cost, we took a deep breath. The hushed operation was carried out with the lights from mobile phones in the absence of electricity and wasn't disturbed even when two policemen turned up.
After a while the sense of mystery and uneasiness was lifted as we were finally told what was happening. One of the guys traveling in the taxi and whom we befriended was a fuel smuggler. After hearing of the extortionate prices we paid at the border he wanted to give the fuel for free. We were in disbelief and a little blown away by this gesture. Before we left there was a quick check of our passports by the police and we were off.
The night went with no sign of ending. I can safely say David is a great driver as he was definitely tested here. tilted to one side In the car, traversing crevasses or dropping from one level to the next. It was easily the worst road we encountered in all our trip..... And we've seen some really bad ones 😩.
Around 12 o clock the path improved (after about 5 hours). My hat was proudly off to David this night for his heroic and safe driving. And to the guys in the taxi who we befriended, it was a real team effort and we always felt safe in their company. They were determined that we get to our destination.
The following days we got deeper into Angola and unfortunately for us we began take a real liking to Angola. We had just 3 days left now. We ventured to Luanda ( got some repairs done after that road) and found a beautiful city. Then headed south, stopping at the most beautiful landscaped places, the cleanest beach resort and finally heading for the border where we bumped Into Thomas and his two cousins at the petrol station.
We had missed the border crossing so decided to have a few beers with these sound guys. Thomas kindly invited us to pitch our tent at his place. After meeting Thomas's extended family, including his mum Jackie and daughter Patrica.
Although our time was brief, we remember them fondly.
Thomas accompanied us to the border as we were now 4 days over, oops! We slipped through with his charm and his border contacts and celebrated with a beer in Namibia.
