Travel through/between the central african countries of Angola, DRC, Congo and Gabon is renown for being difficult and at times , due to the lack of good roads (especially during the wet season) almost impossible. The exception in most of these countries is the road linking the capital to the president’s home town. In Congo its the village of Oyo, about 400km north of Brazzaville. This is the direction we set off in, following the Congo river north.

We’d heard about a Catholic mission run by a Polish priest in the town of Gamboma and decided to drop in. We were treated like royalty. Not only did Fr.Thomas and the sisters, who help to run the local school, offer us accomodation and meals but they were also an invaluable source of information. They showed us around town, explained many of the local customs and took us to a remote village, almost totally cut off from civilisation and self-sufficient in every way.

From Gamboma most overlanders continue north to Oyo before diverting west towards Gabon. Looking at the map we saw a more direct route from Gamboma which saved us over 100km, but were not sure of the road conditions and whether the rivers along the way could be crossed. We decided to try it anyway. It turned out to be a tough two days in the saddle. We covered 120km of mud and sand, breaking our windshield along the way.

This is a good part of road….

Then, just as though we had made it the road ran into a wall of jungle. Only a narrow track continued, so we followed it pushing through dense bush finally coming to the edge of a river.

We could see our goal (the village of Okoyo) on the other side but with the only barge half submerged in water, getting there would prove a challenge.

We were determined not to relive the hell of the last two days and set about organising some river transport. The only things available however were hollow and unstable pirogues. It would be suicidal to just use one, so we decided to find at least two, tie them together and lay the bike across them. It wasn’t an appealing prospect but we had little choice. Just as we were figuring out how to tie the pirogues together, we heard the sound of a ferry. Unscheduled and uncommon for this part of the river, it was as if sent from heaven. Within half an hour we were across and “Mission Okoyo” was accomplished.

On the other side our luck continued when we were offered free accomodation at a road construction camp. Our French host Michel, promptly filled our bellies with food and beer, gave us our own room and told us we can stay as long as we like! Tired and with first signs of burn out since we started the trip, we took up the offer to chill out for a couple of days and recharge the batteries. And it was a good thing we did, as the road from Okoyo to the Gabon border improved only slighly, deep deep sand replacing the mud. This particular predicament took us almost two hours to get out of…

Before leaving Okoyo we’d filled up the bike with petrol sold at a local market (there was nothing else). It should have lasted until at least Franceville, but barely got us to Lekoni just over the borer, the consumption almost doubling! We’re not sure how much was due to the road conditions and how much was due to the ‘additives’ in our locally sold fuel…

After a quick border crossing, we followed a brand new road to Franceville, passing the town of Bongoville (home of the current president Omar Bongo). Not long after Bongoville the asphalt stopped and it was back to fun in the dirt, the road weaving its way through thick lush tropical rainforest. With a population of only 1.5 million, Gabon is sparsely populated and you often end up riding through long sections of secluded jungle, only on acccasion encountering a small village.

It was getting dark so we decided to set up camp in one of these roadside villages and get a taste of rural life in Gabon. The village seemed poor but happy (we’re sure the palm wine had something to do with it) After dinner everyone crowded around the only TV, singing and dancing along to the music videos. In the morning we gave the village chief some flour and cigarettes as thanks for his hospitality. In a village, we also been plagued by small flies and our body was covered in red itchy spots. We than headed for Libreville.

Along the way we saw a lot of people selling bush meat. It’s a tradition born from necessity that has turned into a delicassy. All sorts of wild animals can be bought (some still alive). Crocodile, antylope, porcupine, turtle, a kind of wild cat and the obligatory monkey, hang at roadside stalls enticing the passing motorists. Prices range between US$15 - US$20. Not bad but not appetizing enough for us. We were happy to just take some photos…

Before reaching Libreville we crossed the equator for the forth time and are again in the northern hemisphere. Once we get some onward visas we’ll continue north towards Cameroon. We also need change the front and rear wheel bearings, after the roads in Congo and Gabon.