Douala to Sangmelima

Brake pads fitted, Congo visa received, ready to continue. We planned to go to Yaounde and see how far we could get. As it turned out the roads were good, the town traffic was slow but kept moving and we made good time. At Yaounde, we decided to continue to Sangmelima. It's a long way but there were only two corrupt cop roadblocks on the way. One just wanted money, the other wanted our boots. Not sure what he thought we would ride away in if we gave away our boots!

Some lovely stretches of road and the first time for a long time we could just ride without constantly being stopped. It did rain but being hot and humid it wasn't worth putting on rain gear until it really started to pelt down. It didn't last long and by then we were boiling in the rain gear. Sangmelima is quite a big town and finding a hotel and fuel was easy. There was no electricity but the hotel used a generator at night so there was light and some AC.

Attached Thumbnails

 

 

 

 

Congratulations! After all the drama with panniers, carnets, leaks and whatever else must have come up! Fantastic achievement, very jealous!

Again Congratulations and thank you for spending the time to share your experiences with us all.

Well done Gordon! And Richard.

Thanks tjmouse, alandob & Chris. It was an adventure.

Extra mention to Richard as he has had his ankle checked and it turns out he has a fracture. He rode from Northern Angola to Cape Agulhas like that. Well hard!

The bikes are with African Overlanders and will hopefully be shipped back asap. I'm looking forward to giving my bike the TLC it certainly deserves. The bikes took a pounding.

Apart from regular maintenance items there are a few things that need replacing on my bike. The blown fork seal will mean the forks have to be rebuilt, the screen is broken, an exhaust shield went awol somewhere in Africa and the rear rim has a dent in it. Pretty sure that was from a pot hole in Angola.

The front brake discs are worn with the left one below minimum thickness. I'm guessing that was due to the left one doing all the work while the right brake disc was covered in fork oil.

Then there is the cleaning. There isn't a part of the bike which isn't covered in African sand and dust.

The water pump is an odd issue. It leaked, covering my boot and the engine case in coolant. It lost most of the coolant in the reservoir but then stopped leaking. Not sure how this can happen but the water pump is an expensive part so to change it or not to change it? Maybe see how it goes on local rides but I wouldn't go to a remote area without fitting a new pump first.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Gordon

Congratulations to you both on completing this epic ride… and well done on documentation of the legions of paperwork you had to deploy!

Glad to see the ferry now actually exists across the Congo river and the (breath stopping, for me) loading of a big bike onto a pirogue on the beach is a thing of the past.

Simon

Just came across this thread and I wanted to congratulate you on the trip. Fantastic achievement. I have a brother in Cape Town, and I have a dream of getting on my bike in London and riding to Cape Town to have a couple of s with him. Yes, I could fly, but where is the adventure in that?
I was thinking of doing it by myself, but security issues do scare me. It just makes sense to have someone else with you in case you lose your panniers etc.
Am I being too cautious? Guess that's a personal question.
Again, congrats.

Thanks Sunset.

Security is something to be aware of, however, we didn't have any issues while riding. In fact, I lost all my bike security equipment when I lost my panniers and didn't lock my bike at all from then on. That's all the way from Guinea to South Africa!

I doubt you could ride across the UK and leave your bike unlocked without it being stolen or vandalised.

The main worries for me were with the authorities as they have power and no accountability. Corruption is rife and you certainly don't want to end up in a cell on a trumped up (fake) charge. Again, it's not all of them and the vast majority in all countries were very friendly, helpful and accommodating.

I wouldn't let the perceived security issues put you off taking the plunge and going on what will certainly be a great adventure.

I also have a brother in SA and my motivation for the trip was the same. Sure you can fly, but where is the fun in that!

If you're in the UK and want more detailed information on planning etc. let me know through the forum or a PM. I'd be happy to help.

Hi Sunset. I think Gordon (PostTree) has already said this but travel in Africa on a motorcycle can be a wonderful experience, especially if you can take the time to meet with and chat to people. If you are solo (as I was from Mauri to Pointe Noire, Congo and from Namibia to Khartoum) then there are usually more people who will interact with you. And if you break down or have another problem, people pop up before you know it. At least, that was my experience and I did a fair bit of breaking down in remote places on my elderly BMW.