After Garry had cooked breakfast of porridge and toast, the little slave washed up and packed away. He then left me here to go to the bank to pay the hospital and collect my prescription. I sat inside the mission and joined the German eating his breakfast and listened to his tales of his trip - he really hasn’t had much luck. I then read The Times from cover to cover before Garry returned. My tablets cost £28 and taste revolting.

We had lunch outside with everyone else on the grass. The old chaps eating avocado camembert and sipping G&Ts. Garry surprised me with the most delicious cream slice I’ve ever had. Passed a pleasant afternoon chatting to them and then both of us became immersed in Dickens.

The Doctor popped over again in the evening to see how I was and the dear man refused any payment for his services, while the hospital doctor charged us £80 for his honorary capacity. The German joined us and cooked his dinner with us. He only had custard and as we had steak gave him some with potatoes. He’s a nice bloke and we had a laugh with him over beers and cigs. I had to go to bed early though and he and Garry talked for the rest of the evening.

Yesterday was Crispin’s 21st birthday so they went out on the town. Stupidly Richard came back to the mission alone at 12pm then as he was a long time Hugh went looking for him - he was mugged 200 yards away from the mission and although unhurt they took passport, travellers cheques, cash and credit cards. We were discussing all this after breakfast when Christian, Sylvia and Achim arrived, very pleased to see us but depressed about leaving Kribi, especially Sylvia who was taking it quite badly. Garry went out to buy bread for lunch and after we had eaten, produced a chocolate éclair! Whether its to do with my stomach complaint or just the fact that I’ve been inactive Garry has delighted in pointing out that I have quite a pod on me now.

In the afternoon I stayed here with Sylvia and Garry took the others to town. He unsuccessfully tried to find the office that would extend our visas as they expire tomorrow and then went with Richard to buy food for our communal dinner tonight. After many beers Garry cooked a great Spaghetti Bolognaise and the boys made a lovely salad with dressing. Achim and Christian joined us and provided Cigs and the finishing touch - a bar of chocolate. We didn’t go to bed until 12.

After breakfast Garry put some washing in the machine and then we sat around reading.

After chatting with the others over lunch, Garry and Christian went out to the Immigration Office. Christian found out that there isn’t much problem for them to stay here permanently but Garry didn’t have as much luck. In the morning they had given him the wrong forms and said come back tomorrow. Although the man was speaking perfect English to a girl in there, he refused to say a word of English to Garry, so when he went back in the afternoon armed with Christian’s good French they told him to go away until tomorrow. Next they did the circuit of the 5 banks to see if any would accept Amex - the hospital has left us short and the only Amex Office listed is in Douala, but none accepted it - however the BIAO said they would take MasterCard, as I have Access I’ll try that.

The only success they had was to buy some fresh fish - it was a LaBar and Christian prepared it just as they had it at the beach; fried in palm oil with a hot spicy tomato sauce, we did the potatoes and a plain tomato sauce. It was a good evening and they took a photo of us all to send to Robert on the beach. Again we didn’t turn in until 12pm.

I cooked porridge and then we packed away and went down the Immigration Office. The same man saw Garry and informed him that he should have gone to the Post Office to buy 5500 CFA worth of stamps each for the cost of the extension. This means that it cost more than the visa did in the first place. After getting the stamps he took our passports and said come back on Monday but Garry persuaded him to have them ready by tomorrow. We then went to another supermarket that had all the luxuries of home in it but all expensive. We stocked up on some more tins for the trip and bought some fresh ham and cheese. When we got back the German had his bike packed up and ready to leave. His bike looked well loaded and I can imagine its really hard work on the roads here with it.

After lunch Sylvia, Christian and Achim were also ready to leave and at the last minute agreed to take Huey, Duey and Louey with them to Banjui. So while they packed Garry and Achim and Christian went for a drink and they agreed to meet up with us at Banjui to drive through Zaire together. We swapped addresses and books and waved them off - leaving us at the mission alone. Garry did some washing and then cooked Burgers with baked beans and potatoes. I made some custard that we had with bananas. We played cards inside as it was raining and Garry got thrashed at Gin Rhummy again!

We got up at 8 and I put the washing out before porridge (again) then straight away we went to the Immigration Office to collect our passports. Garry had to wait an hour but they were in order so from there we went to the BIAO to get some money by MasterCard. Unfortunately they changed their minds overnight and wouldn’t accept it, so we decided to seek the assistance of the British Embassy. Garry had to wait over an hour for anyone to see him and then (as most European embassies do) they refused to transfer money for us. He asked Garry all sorts of obvious questions about doing this type of overland trip and didn’t even know what papers were needed. He did give us the name of an Amex Agent here but we didn’t get there until 12.30 and they were closing for the weekend!

From there we went back for lunch and I fell asleep until 3.30 when Garry woke me to go and find a welder. After some time driving around we found one, who made a good job, although ugly, of fixing both chairs for 2000 CFA. We then drove all over town asking people where we could buy canvas (to make a canopy), no luck, and to cap it all a stubbled policeman pulled us up for not indicating (nobody was) he took Garry’s driving licence and told us he had committed 3 offences, although he couldn’t name them!, and we would have to pay 15000 CFA (£30) on Monday at the station. Back at the mission, just as I was feeling rough, the Doctor came over to see me. He said I should normally have been in hospital for 7 - 10 days and I was doing too much, if there wasn’t an improvement by Monday, I should fly home! We gave him a token of our appreciation; a hard copy of Hardy’s “Far from the madding crowd”. Garry cooked a great stew and rice and nagged me rotten about not resting.

Didn’t wake up until 8.30, so quickly packed away and went down to the shop for some canvas. The man from the shop took us to another place that sole new tarpaulins but they were too expensive so we eventually bought an old car sheet that will do the trick. We then bought 2 poles and went back to the Mission. Some girls tried baton twirling with the poles so I showed them how to do it, but depression, I’ve still got pains from my bleeding bladder and am truly galled! We’ve been discussing plans if I have to fly home.

Our little home is now complete with veranda; all we need now are some window boxes.

Garry made avocado vinaigrette and bread and cheese for lunch. We spent the afternoon reading then played cards. For dinner Garry made Tomato soup with potatoes in and bread and marmite, followed by chocolate mousse.

The man from the foyer, with the big grin permanently fixed from ear to ear chatted to us for ages and much to Garry’s disgust most of the time was spent discussing the size of his waist!

I again gave Garry a thrashing at cards! Hee, Hee.

Didn’t have a very good start to the day. Garry understandably is getting peeved with having to do everything and I’m just as fed up with not having anything to do. To make matters worse, I woke up with quite some discomfort and I grizzled for a while till I realised that wasn’t doing anyone any good. I crawled in my pit and fell asleep for about 3 hours - which was an amazing feat as the Hallelujah’s were bursting from the church with much foot stamping and clapping. Also, during my oblivion Garry worked around me and did a huge pile of washing, washed up and woke me with a coffee, what a little gem!

After lunch I wrote out my medical claim and we still both felt miserable. We were cheered, however, by a middle-aged German couple and their 13 year old son who wanted to stay at the Foyer; as Maria wasn’t around we invited them to wait with us and made them a coffee, to which they supplied Danish Butter biscuits. We talked for several hours but still no sign of Maria, so we showed them around the Mission and that was sufficient to put them off! Then they surprised us with an invitation to the Chinese restaurant that we had been eyeing up. It was a lovely meal and conversation flowed until they brought us back at 9 and we exchanged addresses. He’s a university lecturer in chemistry and she worked as an Exchange Teacher for a Poly.

Got up at 8 then we packed away and went to town. Went to the café for coffee and croissants. Our first stop was the American Express office. Its actually a travel agents and I had to wait for nearly ????? to be seen as the old spinster type French woman chatted away to all and sundry when I eventually saw her, after filling out the numerous forms she told me I would have to come back at 3 after she had telexed Amex. This actually took most of the morning and as we didn’t have much money, bought some bread and went back to the Mission for lunch.

I still feel rough but it is a bit easier. We got back to the Amex Office early and again she made me wait ages. From there I went to the bank to collect the traveller’s cheques and change some to FF and some to CFA.

This being a complicated transaction for an African bank took over an hour. We then found the medical centre, where Des and Jackie’s doctor friend works, but he was on business up north, so we didn’t get our money back. We were driving round trying to find the Police station we happened to see the policeman who stopped us, he got in and took us to the station and helped Garry get his licence back. It cost 6000 CFA as he charged us with 2 offences! On the way back popped into the supermarket and managed to spend another £20! Garry made Chilli con Carne and then we played cards. I was actually freezing cold tonight after a cold shower and we tucked up under our quilt!

Woke up feeling better than I had in weeks and made grapefruit and bread and jam while Garry showered. Maria came and asked us for our camping money so we had to pay her 18000 CFA (we were hoping she was going to let us off some of it). We gave her a little glass vase for her kindness to me and she came back ½ hour later, embarrassed and gave me a little straw bag.

Listened to the funny whistling bird for the last time and then went to town. As we had spent so much money we had to change more travellers cheques and I had my patience stretched taut with the banking system here again (I should know better by now!). Bought some more antibiotics and then went to say goodbye to the Doctor but he was out so we left a letter. Had warm sausage rolls and chocolate croissants from the patisserie for lunch. As we drove out of the town with 7 hills on a good tarmac road but after 40kms it changed into a dirt track, but we missed the turning and my bad navigation sent us out of our way as I’m sure Garry will report. We drove for 170kms in all and stopped in Nanga-Eboko to find somewhere to stay. The 3 very basic hotels we asked at, all wanted at least 5000 CFA for a room and wouldn’t let us camp so we were just leaving town to camp in the bush when Garry spotted the Catholic Mission with the largest most beautiful church we’ve seen in Africa. They had lovely rooms, crispy clean for only 1500 CFA. We had a picnic in our room, then sat outside listening to the congregation sing their hearts out - it was a warm evening with a clear starry night and I said my prayers for getting this far and recovering from the Gall. We both went to bed with Dickens early.

Got up at 8 and went to the little restaurant the minister recommended in town. It was by the tiny market and we watched a heated argument going on. The Cafeteria Moderne was divided into tiny dining rooms and we were shown into the only one with easy chairs. The only thing on the menu was café but they didn’t have any so we provided our own and they made us lovely omelettes.

Drove about 190kms on a badly pot-holed dirt road and we about 20kms past Bertona with many police checks (one made us go with a policeman to the Gendarmerie to get a form filled in) when Garry noticed a funny smell. On inspection we were disappointed to see oil gushing from the suspension. It was the right hand front shock absorber and we didn’t have a spare, so we turned round and slowly made our way back to town. At the police check there had been a change of shift and we were told to go and get our passport stamps. We were then directed to a back street mechanic in an unsafe wooden shack. He immediately started work with less tools than we have and within ½ hour removed the offending item and went with Garry to buy a new one. After 4 shops, they got one but it was from UK and cost £70 plus £15 for his labour. He had it fitted within an hour but by this time it was 6 and we had no CFA left so were forced to stay at the expensive Novotel and use of Amex friend again. We had a lovely meal but were joined by a strange Italian man who treated the blacks like vermin and insisted on rattling on in very fast French/ Italian and after our traumatic day we couldn’t understand a word of it!

Had a beautiful hot shower before leaving this con of a hotel and I actually throw a wobbler at the receptionist, then called the manager and did the same to him. I wanted to change some money, either FF, £, or an Amex and they had a sign saying they did it, but this huge hotel didn’t have any CFA at all in it! This meant we had to go to a tiny bank where I had to see the Manager himself to get permission. He was in the middle of a meeting, which I joined and waited for him to honour me with an answer. Cameroumaise don’t have the slightest idea about customer relations. We left town without breakfast as there were far too many police and army about and had been stopped once already. Bumped along the bone rattling road until 11.30 when we pulled off to make sandwiches.

It took us until 3pm to do 165kms to Ndokayo, where we stopped at a tiny bar for a drink. We bought some bofi balls from the Mama there, admired the boys handmade wooden lorries, then a softly spoken man asked us if we wanted to buy an animal that we didn’t understand, so he went to get it; a frightened 6 month old baboon returned with him and Garry cuddled it like a baby for ages, much to the enjoyment of the crowd that had gathered as they were all terrified of it. We gave the man some milk for it then carried on. On the road we saw many squirrels and a bright green ribbon thin snake about 4ft long. The people round here are friendly and many are muslims fuleri with European features, the women in veils and rows of coloured beads. We found a clearing, were joined by a crowd of inquisitive kids and camped up just before the heavens opened. Sat under the canopy and ate lovely cheese omelettes and potatoes then went to bed at 7pm!

Woke up to the sound of giggling children - there were 5 of them playing but they didn’t come too close nor did they ask for anything. I cooked porridge then washed in the soft rain water we had collected from last night. The children nearly stepped on a deadly viper and started throwing well-aimed stones at it; they half killed it so Garry ended its misery and chopped its head off - My Rambo!

We were on the road by 9 and soon arrived at the border town of Garou-Boula. At a police check on entering town an astute officer noticed our insurance wasn’t valid for Cameroun, he started off saying we would have to go to Yaounde to get insured, then demanded 25000 CFA (£50), after a lot of hard work, I offered him the antiquated instamatic camera and 10000 CFA; they were over the moon and we were under it. At the border we pulled up behind 3 car loads of Italians on a rally (Africanon ball) (12 days Tunis to here)! Everything was going smoothly until the supposedly immigration officer told us we had to return to Yaounde for a 4000 stamp each on our visas - whereby I broke down in crocodile tears and we managed to pay him 8000 CFA (bent son of a gun). At the CAR border the Italians were giving out cadeaux like the last day of the sales (no wonder we had so many problems) we ended up having to give away 3 pens before they would see to us.

The children were begging for anything and everything. At the customs post he demanded 3 pens to write with! A little further on 3 police stopped us and tried to fine us for not indicating, when they stopped us although there wasn’t another car in sight. Fine started off at 6000 CFA but they accepted a bottle of beer. We were driving along a good dirt road after 2½ hours and admiring the rolling green countryside, freckled with large boulders, until we hit torrential rain and were stopped at a rain barrier; so we turned back and the other accessible flat land was next to a village so camped there. It was still pouring so waterproofs on, we set about camping up and cooking dinner. We were visited by the village welcoming committee and they got soaked talking and staring at us. What a mad day!

Oh yes, we flashed those greasy Italians to tell them about rain barrier and they didn’t even stop.

Woke up at 7 and it wasn’t raining but threatened to so we packed up quickly and set off by 8 with no breakfast! Arrived at the barrier du Pluie while the sun was shining and still the barrier was down, so I jumped out this time to try and charm the little creep. I asked him if it was a barrier de soleil today, but he just laughed and shook his head. I started to open the barrier (well, move the stick) and he stopped me, so he started having a tug-of-war until a huge man told him what to do and let us through.

The drive was lovely and it was sunny all day until we reached Bangui at about 1pm. To enter this capital for some reason you have to go through the same formalities as a border. It took ages for us and for some reason they had to make a phone call (Wow) about us and wait for a reply while everyone else was going straight through. Bangui has wide pot-holed roads and although we had good instructions to the campsite, got lost, and were cautious about this town as it has a bad reputation with thieves.

We went straight in the bar when we arrived and met 4 stranded people from an overland co. truck, that had been abandoned there because of the flooding in Sudan. Then once camped we started talking to Chris, the driver/co-owner of the stuck truck but he seemed too bothered and crashed out to spend the rest of the day with us. In the evening his crazy Greek co-driver, Sam, and one of the girls from the trip joined us for dinner - had a great laugh.

We woke up to the rain so stayed in bed another hour then dressed like plastic bags and rushed down to the café - we shared an omelette and a whole French stick buttered in the middle.

Set off in the rain and saw Chris as we were leaving, who changed up some more CFA for us, we bought a little diesel there at the most expensive price yet 56p per litre. Stopped at a little shack to buy some cigarettes and they were sitting down outside playing with a mother polecat and her 2 babies. They were really playful things with wiry fur. The drive out was through beautiful mountains and on a good tarmac road for a while. Then we found ourselves on a red dirt road pot-holed and rutted.

Unfortunately, one of the kamikaze chickens became dinner today. The goats are just as bad but a bit quicker. The road had one continuous row of huts along it. There seemed to be quite a lot of activity going on - weaving and tiny areas of crops. We couldn’t find anywhere to camp and pulled off in one of the gravel areas but we weren’t far off the road, so carried on until we found another one that was about ½ km off the road. By this time we were unpacking in the dark and there were thousands of bugs around. There was a Fuloni village on the other side of the mound and although they couldn’t speak French we acknowledged a few with sign language.

We were joined by the most beautiful children and a few adults who wanted medicine. We couldn’t communicate with them but all the while their chatter was like birds cheeping or the clangers. Had a lovely drive through the many tiny villages on a narrow rutted road to Mobaye. As today is a public holiday customs wanted extra money to clear us and it was outside there, that we met Achim, Sylvia and Christian. Decided to stay in this quiet town and get the ferry next day. Found an Auberge and then walked down to see the Femg - beautiful river. Then walked round the market, bought 2 live chickens and Sylvia prepared them, then I cooked them with rice. Had a great evening with much drink etc. We merrily started putting the bed us then POW! Everything has been stolen from the front seats, passports, money, traveller’s cheques, carnet, cameras, films, clothes, bedding, seat cushions. END OF TRIP

We all panicked, running here and there. Christian and Garry ran to the police but it took ages for them to get into action. They said its too late to do anything - they were professionals and are probably in Zaire by now. The other Germans in Unimog arrived and said they had been robbed 5 minutes ago at the bar but only minor. We had no music on and it was so quiet during the evening that we had commented on it. Landy was 10ft away with 2 doors in our view, the other was locked. It had to be the work of the devil. I had 7000 CFA in my pocket and that was our sum worth. Starting planning to try and go to Banjui to sell Rover and finish, then the guardians found my bag of cadeaux, toilet and a few bits. Then, Christmas, the Policeman found our document wallet with everything in, even CFA, pillows, clothes and tapes! We weren’t sure to laugh or cry and were all screaming and jumping around. We had everything back except large doc wallet, films and cameras, wooden vegetable box? Such a nasty shock - I don’t know if it was the worse day of my life or the luckiest. Its the 1st time this has happened on this scale and everyone was incredulous. This all took only 2 hours which seemed like 10. Had to have a smoke and sit up for hours to take it all in. WE CAN CONTINUE - ZAIRE, HERE WE COME.

Was woken up at 5.30 by people cutting down all the bushes around and got up to be greeted by a man with our other doc folder, quilt and vegetables. I initially asked myself if I was dreaming and then slowly the whole event began to sink in. What a nasty lesson to be learnt. We made reports in French then went to the police. They said they would prepare a letter for us and were all very shocked and kind. We gave a reward of pen knife and 10000 CFA to police and commissioner, then walked around the market and to crowds by the road, offered a reward for cameras and our whole pictorial memory of the trip! This was obviously the work of kids as so much had been abandoned but I still can’t believe how they managed it so quietly and neatly (the things they didn’t want were left in a neat pile on the seat). Still stunned, Christian who was physically ill by it, made a reward poster and we walked to the other market to post it - which had the desired effect of creating attention.

Garry and Sylvia and Christian went back to see the ferry man while I did a huge pile of washing by the well. Haven’t got the art of filling the bucket right up so it was hard work.

Sylvia showed some of the boys from the Auberge a Chinese game of torture and we were all getting frustrated trying to get it right. We couldn’t stop talking about last night and were totally paranoid about security. Garry and Christian kept walking about with big sticks and we moved Landy closer to theirs. 2 New Zealanders from the truck we met in Bangui arrived and Christian is going to take them to Lisala.

I don’t believe it - what a sickly old feeble. I got up in the night to go to the loo and ouch, I’ve got cystitis. Got up about another ½ dozen times, then got dressed properly and squatted until it was getting light. When it was bright enough I found out I was passing a lot of blood. I was sick and had diarrhoea as well. I panicked because we didn’t have anything with us to treat it. Later when the others got up at 6.30 Garry told Sylvi and she gave me a litre of camomile tea to drink then a bath with hot water and camomile in it. By the time I had done this and drank a litre of water I felt a bit better and we decided to continue to Mobaye as there is a big town. We left at 9 after Garry and Christian got back from the Police. Goodbye camera and films. The ferry was tricky to get on as it was steep and badly rutted and they had to reverse on. The modern ferry got us across in no time and cost 8000 for 5 minutes. What a scorcher of a day. We’re in Zaire. Between police and customs we were stopped for a roadwork’s explosion and the women and children squatted by the vans as they were frightened. The customs were friendly but very thorough and searched every inch of the van. It still took 2 hours to get through, then we drove to Ghadolihe and were amazed to see a dual carriageway tarmac road with flower beds being automatically watered. Garry and Christian changed some money then I went around the luxury supermarket. Drove to a piece of waste ground and a man paraded a sign saying in English: “Tourists, No Camping, its better for you to go in a hotel”. Just out of town, found a gravel area and camped. I felt much better thankfully.

Got up at 7 and had honey cake. By about 9 we were on the road which didn’t stay tarmac for long.

What a lovely country - everyone, even old ladies were waving. Stopped to buy some bread then pulled off for lunch about 1. Were surrounded at a distance by villagers. We started chatting to them and bought a massive bag of tomatoes from them. Sat inside their truck for lunch. Even with 7 of us it wasn’t crowded.

It was an incredibly hot day today and by 3 we were melting. Garry found a nice river and we all had a bath - never used such a luxurious bathroom. The kids didn’t take any notice of us. Garry stopped to buy some beers in a village and a boy said he would take him to buy some, so I walked. Waiting by the water pump with the children they didn’t know what to make of me as they had seen me arrive on foot.

The road got worse and we drove through some badly rutted soft mud in patches. As we looked for a place to camp a nasty black crowd hung over us. Soon though we stopped in a rough meadow and just got the canopies up before it fell down. After dinner it stopped but there were so many mossies I went inside to catch up with you, blessed diary.

We woke up at 7 and the others had already had breakfast, so we took our time and caught them up on the road. Although it didn’t rain for long yesterday, there were long stretches of water filled ruts. After only 1km a big tree had fallen across the path after the Germans went through but they were already chain sawing it into pieces. There were many sticky mud puddles and then the biggy: we all got out to survey it, and then I got in with Christian so I could take a photo of Garry coming through. The water was deep and there was a section that was so steep Garry nearly got stuck.

We found a nice rubber plantation to stop for lunch but the others weren’t behind us so Garry went back and some boys in a van said they were dead - poor taste joke! While we were eating there was quite a crowd and although this is the most fertile land so far, were trying their luck at begging for anything. When we pulled off after lunch, the people in a few villages showed resentment or else they are all totally crazy people. We found a lovely gravel area by a pond but attracted a lot of attention and there was a group of kids dancing like mad to us. When I went over for a bath there were ½ dozen girls washing and one was having a great time playing the drums, somehow with cupped hands in the water, while I share my soap with a cute little 8 year old. In the evening we tried our patience at the Chinese puzzle game while listening to the weird jungle noises.

In the morning we were joined by a whole football team of kids and we gave them a frisbee to play with while we had breakfast.

We had a strange drive through hostile and overwhelming friendliness at the same time! Some tried throwing fruit at the vans and others ran after us waving like crazy.

Had a heavy drive as it was incredibly hot and the track or main road through Zaire.

By 12 we arrived in Lisala and stopped at the first hotel for a drink. Garry and Christian then took our car to see the Catholic Mission for us to camp. Sylvi and I went to the Immigration Office, where we were first led to the back of the hotel - very dodgy. Joanne and Stuart went to find out about the ferry and came back with an English man who told us about a Motel, where Crispin, Hue and Richard were also staying. We walked down there and got African directions and walked miles. Although the Motel had no water or parking we decided to stay there for the company and not least the view of the great Zaire (Congo) River. We had a fantastic time sitting on top of the van drinking in the view.

Out evening was cut short by an incredible display of lightening. The spots of rain started and fell like pancakes.

This morning started badly. Achim had his tent stolen from under the van. This is terrible; the people of Niger and Burkinen Fasso have nothing and wouldn’t steal a thing. To make matters worse we had 3 men staring at us for ages and so I asked them what they wanted and could they please go - they said they wouldn’t and wanted to watch so Garry bawled at them and they scarpered. Garry did an oil change and then we discovered our spare top-up oil had been stolen along with the cameras. Christian had lent us his spare camera so I went for a walk taking photos of the river. On the way out of town we went to the market but there wasn’t much there, so we just bought eggs, onions, bread and beer.

There seemed to be a party atmosphere in most of the villages we passed and we saw large groups dancing and singing in quite a frenzy. A group of 6 men, blacked from head to foot with feather head-dresses and leaves stuck in their body ran by the side of the van.

The people got more friendly again the further we went, but the trouble was there was no gap between the dense forest and villages. We gave up looking for an ideal place and parked by the side of the road. There were hundreds of people walking or staggering up the road and saw us and immediately asked for the first cadeaux that came into their head. We found out that today there were big celebrations because Mobote had given them a new truck for their work with the coffee. We sat on top of the truck out of harms way, to eat our dinner.

Woke up early; at about 6.30 and packed up immediately as we were by the side of the track. There were initially only a few onlookers so they invited us in for breakfast, which we weren’t going to bother with, but by the time we went in, there were already 20 people asking for cadeaux’s of all descriptions. There was a man and a young girl still charcoaled all over and only wearing a loin cloth and feather head-dress from the fete last night. Sylvia stood with them and gave them sea shells which they really scrambled for. They were only alone for about 10 minutes and when we got out to leave our drivers door mirror was gone, the crowd was still there and still demanding cadeauxs. Needless to say we were furious but there’s nothing you can do. Drove off not waving to anyone but that soon wore off seeing the little children’s faces. Stopped further on where it was quiet to fill tank for Jerry cans, and a man on a bike asked us for a motorbike helmet - “of course Sir, what size and colour would you like” was Garry’s reply.

Arrived in Bumba at about 11 and we tried to buy diesel. They sold it in 5 litre containers and were quite cheap. Garry and Christian went off to buy bread and veg and beer and cigs. They were gone for ages while we melted watching the vehicles. There was a huge crowd of kids around us and they sensed we were not friendly today. Another cloudless blue sky with soaring heat made our visit to a river for batch delicious. As we drove along this semi-continuous village for about another 60kms, the people got friendlier again but there was no-where to camp. Eventually stopped by the side of the track again, but tonight there have been no people and the few took little notice of use. Watched transfixed with a pair of African greys singing and enjoying flying for flying sake.

In the morning we were blessed with a peaceful breakfast and so took our time in this tranquil spot among the animals of the jungle.

Villages were now spread out in this impenetrable place and the road was rough, driving through the archway of bamboo.

It wasn’t long before we came to a halt. A convoy of 3 overloaded lorries had lost their load of pepper corns on a badly rutted section. They warned us not to go on as it had taken them 8 days from Kisangani.

We resolved to have lunch and wait. Soon we were joined again by the white Unimog and they told us they had been robbed through a tiny window and they took his pillow and money from under his head while they slept. The astute convoy boss had 16 men working as slaves to repair the track and by 3.30 they were clear of the worse. At the bottom of this valley was a clear stream where we washed but there were so many people. Sylvi took their photo and gave it to them, as long as they went home and they were over the moon.

In the evening, 2 boys came down with the tamest bird I have seen. Bad drawing above. You could stroke him and although his feathers weren’t cut he didn’t want to fly anywhere. The boys also drew a sloth-like creature to describe the strange crying howls we had heard for several days.

Our worst fears; it rained for most of the night and continued until about 10am. We had a lie-in and got up with waterproofs on at 8am. By 8.30 we had attracted a crowd of about 50 and gentle persuasion, threats of violence wouldn’t move them. Then the second cavalry arrived; the deadly black fly, so we decided it was time to move on.

The sun was shining hard now so it helped the track a bit. We had our hardest drive so far and Landy looked and felt like a roller coaster car. I swapped places with Sylvi and it’s even tougher in their cab. After 2 hours we had covered 26kms and found our first gravel area for days but there was an army of people waiting even before we parked. So Sylvi put plan 1 into action. She told them that Achim’s wife had a serious contagious disease and its not safe to come close. This was quite effective for a while but they did start creeping closer after a while. Garry made a bamboo pipe which he throws away after one smoke.

As the sun went down there was the most incredible sky and Garry sat oohing and aahing for ages on top of the mound with the camera.

We had a nice surprise with a cheap tin of Cassoulet we bought and after ate a Papaya then had a game of Back-gammon.

After breakfast we bought onions and eggs from the locals and then set off, prepared for a rough drive.

The roads had huge muddy pot-holes filled with water, so most of the time we had a surprise to find out how deep they were. Drove over a railway bridge and along the track for a while.

We went through one nasty hole, and that was it, stuck in deep mud. But it didn’t take long before Christian pulled us out and we were trying again, water spraying everywhere.

We found a lovely spot, again on gravel but more or less hidden from the road. It was so hot that we took it in turns to walk along to a pretty bathroom. I went on my own and its a beautiful experience to bath in a stream surrounded by huge butterflies. When I got back I tried drawing them but they’re hard devils to study. Later, a few boys came over and Sylvi swapped a tee-shirt for a papaya. They were really gentle kids and didn’t outstay their welcome.

We woke up to the sound of rain so didn’t rush to get up and eventually surfaced at 7. Leisurely tucked into porridge followed by bread rolls, peanut butter and jam, still with camomile tea unfortunately. It rained heavily until 11 when it just drizzled so we played with the Chinese game and Achim and Garry played chess. Packed up slowly and chanced the road at about 12. Several times we had to stop to check the depth of puddles or cut down bamboo for the truck to pass.

Drove through Dulion and stopped for a beer at about 2, by this time the sun was shining. Crossed a road/train single track bridge and for a while drove along the lines until we crossed over. The track now had tall grass each side and it was brushing against both sides of the car - it was that narrow.

Then, while we were cutting bamboo down, a boy arrived with a baby chimpanzee on his arm. They had shot and eaten its parents and tried to sell us this 6 month old baby for 30000Z (£90). We all had a go at them for being so cruel but they just laughed. It happened so fast but we all decided to save his life and Sylvie game them some clothes in exchange and although they weren’t happy with the deal and tried to sit on the bonnet, we drove off with this terrified creature in my arms. We camped by the side of a coffee plantation and spent most of the evening talking about and studying this great animal. What trouble have we let ourselves in for? He curled up to sleep in a bucket after munching many bananas.

When we woke up this morning we heard the sound of little Donnez-moi noises and got up to find they were only 5ft away and ???? to be with us during breakfast. The chimp slept well all night and even poo’d and wee’d on the ground.

Had a strange drive with her asleep on my lap. We had to cross a nasty log bridge and it was real close with the truck. Here some boys saw chimp and said they had 2 more to sell!, and that the Kisangari zoo buy them from them. In Buta, we stopped to buy bread and then had a cold drink in a really nice little bar / restaurant overlooking the Heriki River with a mud village on the other side.

Went through some really big pot-holes today again, but at least we had perfect sun-shine all day to dry them out.

Found a perfect gravel dig out about 500m from the road so no-one saw us come in or will see us from the track. Christian and Garry chopped huge bamboo (4 inches diameter) and tied them to the front of the truck to try to push off the bamboo. As they had to do a lot of chopping today. Still had a great oohing time over our new friend. Sylvi’s gone a bit overboard, though and started carrying her tied round her stomach like the African women do.

This morning started badly; we ran out of water and we had an argument about it and Sylvi wouldn’t let anyone else touch the chimp. Then I was stung by a wasp. There were hundreds of tiny bees and wasps around.

We went through our deepest pot-hole yet this morning and from Buta they said the road should get better, stopped at a village to buy some eggs and a man was selling the skin of a black and white eagle, the talons were the size of my fist. We tried to explain that they were rare birds but it’s just food to them.

Stopped for lunch in the blistering sun and dripped while sharing the tiny space of shade by the van. Chimp, the sad little creature, has relaxed a bit more now and she came with us after lunch. She really is so cute and cleaver. After 24 hours she can drink from a cup and is clean. We looked for a good river all afternoon to get water from but they were all murky.

At 4.30 we found our camp and a few people arrived, as soon as the woman saw the chip she sent a boy off for papaya and she gave us 4 of them as a cadeaux! Then, we found out that they eat them here too. They kill the parents for food and sell the babies to the zoos for huge sums of money! What a bloody terrible situation - you can’t blame the people for wanting to make money. Walked up the road to a river for a bath with Achim and Garry. Then we ate omelettes just before a huge thunderstorm. Garry fed baby and I made stewed figs - much to everyone’s amusement.

Got up to the sound of voices - there were people selling bananas, papaya and pineapples. We’ve taken to lecturing everyone we meet about the wrong of eating and selling chimps. Mostly they just laugh and say they know its wrong but who’s going to stop them? We were on the road by 8 but the road still wasn’t improving and rattled our bones. We reached the ferry at 11.30 but it was on the other side of the river so we had a beer, bought bread and bananas for lunch and waited. We met the crazy balding Belgian priest who had zoomed past us already and he told us that he has lived in Buta for 26 years! We asked his advice about chimp, he laughed, told us we should have left her there and that he has eaten chimpanzee before. He also said keep her hidden because if an army officer sees her, they will fine us heavily and confiscate her to eat!

So, me and Chimp were stowaways on the ferry; the police told everyone to leave their vehicles but we stayed in the back of the truck. This ferry at Banalia should be free, but they charged us 5 litres of diesel each.

The road carried on like a river bed but it was nice on such a hot day (35+) to stop by a really fast flowing river for a bath or rather Jacuzzi and chatting to the jolly pygmies as they passed. Made a mistake with our campsite, we followed a muddy truck with deep potholes and the truck got stuck. The locals didn’t hesitate in helping but we eventually pulled it out in petite Landy!

That evening we were joined by a beautiful praying mantis and serenaded by the frogs.

We had to get up an hour earlier this morning as we’ve entered a new time zone. So we were all pretty groggy at 5.15am, especially Achim who has a fever of 41°C, but hasn’t complained once, not like someone, not too far away from the end of this pen! This is a weird place we’ve camped on. Strange insects everywhere and from the depths of the smelly mud holes lurks a lot of grizzly giant cockroach type creatures with long tails.

La petite bebe came with us until we neared Kisangani at about 4pm. We were paranoid about police seeing her so she wore a shawl and straw boater when we spotted one. At one stage the road was blocked by a truck that was so antiquated I thought it had found its grave right there but 10 minutes later it amazingly chugged off up the road with people scrambling to get on.

We found a nice stream where Garry and Christian used the water pump to clean the mud coated trucks. Meanwhile, I did some washing and took a bath to an audience of about 20. We then had to wait ½ hour for them to repair a bridge.

It’s a spectacular arrival in Kisangani as the road takes you over a bridge with crashing waterfalls on the Zaire River. We went straight to the Hotel Olympia, where the Germans in the Unimog were, with a rather bend truck. We had a special evening and ate a restaurant meal served to us in the truck so Chimp could join us! We were joined by a strange Brit, whose writing “Safe Sex in Africa” and won’t shut-up!

Got up at 8 - what a luxury to lie in. Then I handed over a huge pile of washing to the laundry men on the site for just 1000Z (£2), I took everything out of Landy, cushions and all, to try them in the sunshine as everything smells musty now. Garry’s got a nasty cold but he still helped Christian change 2 broken springs on the truck. Some bolts sheared so Garry and Sylvi went to get them repaired and Garry twice went to change money without success.

Bought loads of hand painted cards from one of the money sellers that stopped by and some delicious honeyed peanuts.

Achim was really ill today and he went with the Unimog misery, who is also quite sick, to the hospital for tests.

I managed to write a few letters at last and Sylvi took a few instamatic photos of me and chimp to send home. A tailor arrived who makes clothes from Zaire flour bags - we all ordered something and he said they would be ready in the morning.

Had a great set meal dinner from the hotel at 800Z (£1.75) for 3 course meal, it’s better than cooking for ourselves. Eugene has changed our money for 420Z to the £1.