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D.R.Congo: Kisangani-Kinshasa possible? D.R.Congo: Kisangani-Kinshasa possible?
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  #1  
Old 25 Jun 2011
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Question D.R.Congo: Kisangani-Kinshasa possible?
From the recent 'DRC - West to East' thread here in the forum I was surprised to find people travelling not just the road between Lubumbashi and Kinshasa but also between Zongo and Bukavu.

The Michelin maps and Lonely Planet Guide show quite a lot of roads crisscrossing the DRC but I'm just not sure which ones still exist.
For our soon to begin Africa Trip we will travel on our motorbikes through the DRC as well. The optimal route for us would be to enter DRC from Burundi at Bukavu and then follow the route Kisangani - Kananga - Kinshasa. Both, Michelin maps and Lonely Planet show a road there and we know from others that near Kananga there is a signposted turnoff to Kisangani. Does anyone know if there is a usable road between Kisangani and Kananga??? And what quality rating would it be compared to - lets say - the Kinshasa -Lubumbashi road?

Also we are aware that DRC is not the safest of places and the border region to Rwanda/Burundi is particularly out of control. Has anyone been there lately and can confirm to us that it is actually not too bad (crossing fingers)?

Your experience is heaps appreciated!!!
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Old 23 Jul 2011
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we are looking at a 4x4 trip from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa starting 2nd week October.
what is your direction & timing?
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Old 26 Jul 2011
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We will start our tour from South Africa in September this year, taking our time heading north. The plan is then to later cross the DRC from East to West with the route Lubumbashi - Kinshasa certainly one option. That would be around late December / Early January.
If you are there in October I guess we can read some up-to-date info about the DRC from you before we get there
In another HUBB post there is talk about changed Visa regulations for the DRC. Have got your visa organised yet?
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Old 26 Jul 2011
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We are planning to get the visas in Pretoria. I have heard that if you have a hotel booking then there is a 24 hour turn around.
Have a look at this blog, it seems to be the most up to date.

Tour d'Afrique - and then some - Page 9 - ADVrider

I am not sure about the rain in December?? It might make the trip more difficult
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Old 27 Jul 2011
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Yeah I know, the rain makes it heaps more difficult. For that reason we would rather travel north further and explore the East coast more and then cross the DRC at a later (=dryer) stage coming in from Rwanda/Burundi. The biggest concern there is the unknown road conditions between Kisangani and Kinshasa (if that road still exists...) and this is the main reason for starting this thread.

In terms of visa - apparently you need to get it in your home country now and they wont let you through with a visa obtained from an embassy in any other than your home country!?!? That's the latest info from other HUBB users in this HUBB category. Do you think a visa obtained in Pretoria will work?
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Old 27 Jul 2011
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Thanks. I will need to check. There is no DRC embassy in Australia and the French do not cover DRC here.
The following thread is from the Lonely Planet site
DRC visa from Pretoria, South Africa - Lonely Planet travel forum
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Old 1 Sep 2011
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I was in the DRC in May and June, we ended up doing a funky route via Angola from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi. While waiting for our Angolan visas we gathered a lot of intel from friends in Kinshasa trying to make a plan B if we couldn't get the visas. This was during the rains, so things could possibly be easier in the dry season. I didn't see any of this myself, but that's the info I got: Kin-Lubum is impossible by car in the rainy season. Really tough but possible by bike. In the dry season it can be done in a 4x4. (But definitely no walk in the park) Forget the road from Kin to Kisangani. The river is an option. It's a huge hassle to get it done, but the barges do go back and forth all the time. It takes about 3 weeks. Kisangani-Goma should be doable by motorcycle as well as by 4x4.
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