Driving in Congo

We are very blessed to have a fleet of vehicles to support the work we do in Africa. These are a mix of Landrovers and Toyota Land Cruisers. They are very ably managed by another Australian onboard - Andrew Rothwell - who is here as long term crew with his wife, Jodie, and daughter, Jessica.

The road leading out of the port

To drive you must have a current licence from your home country and an International Drivers Permit, generally also issued by your home country Automobile Association - mine is from the NRMA. You must also sit a driving test with Andrew.

Toyota 70 Series Land Cruiser

They are all left hand drive and manual transmissions or "stick shift" if you are from the US. For most Aussies, Kiwis and Brits the biggest challenge is the left hand drive initially though I am now finding after almost a year of driving on the right sitting in the left hand seat that I am quite used to it. For the Americans the "stick shift" is often a bigger hurdle as most seem to have limited experience with manual transmissions.

On the road to Dolisie in a Land Cruiser

Having driven manuals most of my adult life the biggest adjustment has been using my right hand to shift rather than my left. And it has taken me some time to feel natural shifting, particularly 2nd to 3rd without finding 5th. The other trick is finding reverse as the different models have reverse in different positions so you need to pay attention to which vehicle you have signed out.

Harry, showing who we are.

Landrovers have been synonymous with Africa and NGOs for over 50 years but in recent years have been displaced by Toyota Land Cruisers as the 4WD of choice. Mercy Ships is following the trend and the Landys are being gradually replaced by Toyotas at the rate of about 3 a year so the process is going to take about 6 more years.. The Toyotas are more comfortable and seat 10 verses the Land Rovers that seat a maximum of 9. And I find the Toyotas a bit under geared. There have been plenty of times when travelling at 80 kph I have shifted out of 5th looking for 6th only to remember there isn't a sixth.

Whilst the vehicles are primarily used to support our work, we may use them for private use for a per km cost on the weekends and after hours if they are not being used for official purposes. This is a real blessing and we have visited the beach, gone camping and taken a trip to Dolisie.

Out at Baptism Beach where a few people have got stuck - but not us!

Cook out at Baptism Beach.

The road conditions and driving etiquette are something else. Overtaking can happen anywhere, crests, intersections, the inside, the outside - I have seen and experienced it all. The use of the horn is prolific. Taxi's use it continually to tout for fares, it is used to encourage one to move and on rare occasions to warn you of impending danger. Flashing lights is not a courtesy to let one in; it is a warning that the approaching vehicle on collision course with you intends to keep coming....so move out of the way. 

During the dry season the roads are fairly good. Pot holed with soft edges but not too bad. This changed drastically during the wet season when some sections of road became muddy lakes. The main concern is you never know how deep the potholes under the muddy brown water are. They can be shallow or deep enough to strand a vehicle on the chassis. Not so much an issue with our 4WDs but when it happens to others it causes chaos with the traffic

Main North road into town during the wet season

Wet season driving.

Main road going south out of town.

Out towards the Ngoyo Plains Orphanage

The challenge - how deep is that water?

The answer - wait and watch someone else drive through first.

The road to Dolisie was fabulous, even in the rain.

Off the main road near Cabinda border. Chinese grader was working here but not making much improvement.

I am grateful that I did a 4WD endorsement in the Navy years ago with Chief Truckie (Motor Transport Driver), Annie Short, who taught me a little about driving a 4WD off road and in challenging conditions plus the basics of vehicle recovery. At the time I had no idea that I would be putting this into practice in Africa as a volunteer missionary.