We’re currently in Windhoek, Namibia relaxing after a few long days on the road! We arrived a coupla days ago to sighs of contentment as many of us felt we had returned to home comforts. Infact Namibia is often referred to, by West African travellers, as ‘The Promised Land‘! And in some ways it is. There’s all the trappings of home we recognise – Shopping Malls, Paved Sidewalks, KFC, not to mention other comforts. We must admit, it’s not that we have long desired all these reminders of home, however it is a nice surprise sometimes to indulge in that which you know!

Well, where do we start with the continuing saga…

We last left you in Brazzaville, Congo where we were preparing for 1 week of continuous travel – or so we thought at the time. Brazzaville was a treat, as we never expected to visit this city! You marvel at this city, which has experienced much trauma over the last few years, evident in the bullet holes in buildings. It is trying very hard to re-invent itself, and is doing a good job, however it will take time. The people of the city were astounded to see us in many ways, as Brazza is no longer a favoured destination???!!! We were welcomed mostly with generous smiles & energetic greetings whenever we engaged in conversation. The street markets were an eclectic array of various stalls selling anything you want, providing you negotiate! As with many African markets a assault of the senses with noise, sights & the invariable smells!!! I don’t believe I can do Brazzaville justice with description, other than to say we would love to return here again someday!

We left Brazza via spending about half a day at the port which links it to Kinshasa. Now hears a wee fact for you, Brazza & Kinshasa are the closest capital cities in the World, they are literally about 3kms from each other. For us Kinshasa was a FANTASTIC surprise. We had only hoped to visit this Amazing City, and at last we had the opportunity! However, as you may appreciate this city is reknowned for the unexpected, and we were treated with exactly that. We were required as part of our entry into the DRC to say where we were staying, and as there are no recognised ‘safe’ places to camp in Kinshasa, we had contacted a local gentleman to help us. He was unable to offer us a similar arrangement that we had in Abuja, Nigeria (re: our Sheraton experience), but him and his wife allowed us to park up inside there home compound. And what a compound it was to! They allowed us the use of a one bedroom flat they had at the back of their compound, which had a small kitchen, power shower, and cable TV!!! We all indulged ourselves with a small treat of comfort before the roads of Angola! We cooked a meal in a kitchen, watched a movie on TV, & had a soothing shower with warm/hot water, not to mention cold milk for breakfast!!! In the morning we departed early for Matadi, & the border of Angola! And as described earlier, this city left us with an unexpected memory, it looked absolutely stunning spread over its many hills, with the mighty Congo river gliding past in the early morning sun!

Matadi was our jumping point into Angola, and it was a day that started for most of us with a few nerves. We had spent the night at a convent in the city, having also marvelled at its markets & again admired the powerful but unassuming Congo. We spent a few hours on the DRC side of the border, only to cross with limited hassle to Angola. There we were subjected to awaiting for the relevant officials to arrive and sign the appropriate documents. By early afternoon we were on our way with 5 days to cross the 1900kms of Angola! And how interesting a task that proved to be. By the end of the 3rd day we had only covered about a third of the distance due to road conditions. Time was not on our side! The roads started to improve, & we thought our luck had turned only to be consistently snatched away, as conditions kept changing. We were unlucky with our time, as we arrived at the border 2 days late. But the country is remarkably beautiful! The vistas around the central plateau were some of the best views we’ve seen all trip! The people were genuinely glad to see us travelling through their country, and as for the excitement of the children – their smiles & laughter is something we’ll never forget. Despite our late arrival at the border, we were eventually excused from the fine we expected to pay – another example of African generosity!

We have only been in Namibia for a short time, but this country is already proving to be something special. We are only visiting briefly before heading off to South Africa. We are due to come back on our return leg back up the continent, so we well indulge in explaning more about this expansive and awe inspiring country in a few weeks!

Until then our Avid Adventure Listeners, we bid you farewell, as we are off discover many more African Experiences!!!