The drive to the border of the Congo took us a few hours and we planned to bush camp somewhere near the border to get an early start the following morning. We stopped in Mouila, which is a busy town, and washed off the red dirt covering Proper Job that had accumulated from our trip from Loango on the coast of Gabon. We also filled up with diesel, replenished the water tank and bought some basic food items.
We found an excellent bush camp a 
couple of kilometres from the border town of Ndende and set up camp, cooked dinner and crashed for the night. Border crossings always take time, so we intended to be at the Gabon immigration at 7.30am so that we could cover as many kilometres as possible along the notorious rough Congo forest roads the following day.
The Gabon and Congo border crossings were very efficient and we were through within 90 minutes. We set off down the dirt track which was reasonable to start with, but got progressively worse. We knew that this road would be one of the roughest we would encounter and that we would need to bush camp for a couple of nights before we got to Pointe Noir on the Congo coast. The narrow road certainly lived up to its reputation and we had to be extremely vigilant when driving to ensure we did not do any damage. The rain forest did not seem as thick up in the north of Congo as it was in Gabon, although the area is sparsely populated. There were no signs of logging either, which was not surprising as if there the Chinese would be building 
a good road. We continued through the forest and hills until about 4pm when we started looking for a place to pull over and camp. Finding places to pull off along forest roads to camp is not as easy as it sounds. Eventually we found an earth quarry just past a village which was far enough from the road to avoid being seen by the rare passing vehicle and also to avoid the thick dust kicked up from those vehicles. The problem with this site was there was a large bush fire burning around the quarry. I checked it out carefully, and, as the prevailing wind was blowing it away from us, decided it was safe enough to camp......provided the wind didn’t change direction.
The people in the Congo are incredibly friendly and the children scream with enthusiasm as you pass by the villages. Within a few minutes of arrival a few kids from the local village came along to see what we were up to. They patiently sat there and watched our routine unfold. An elderly man came along with a cutlass and 
seeing ours was blunt he leant us his to cut some wood. As we were still out of gas, having resigned ourselves to replenishing it only in Namibia, we relied on a supply of wood for cooking. There was little readily available wood in the area as bush fires seem to have burnt most of it. One of the onlookers saw we were struggling so he went off and found a source for us. I was impressed with his foresight so made sure he got a bowl of food from our cooking pot. After dinner, and just before it got too dark, they all disappeared and we called it a night.
Our plan was to take a route, shown as a significant road on Tracks4Africa, off the north-south route to Dolisie. The turn off was approximately 100km before Dolisie. The following morning we left the camp and headed southwards towards the turn off. After about four hours driving we reached the turnoff and made our way to a police check point. We enquired whether this was a good road to Pointe Noir and were assured it was. As we drove down the road the alarm bells should have rung as I noticed a logging yard with some loaded trucks. We proceeded and after a twenty kilometres the road turned into a complete mess. This was the worst we had encountered on the trip so far and would have been unimaginable to drive along in the rainy season. The road seemed only to be 
used by logging trucks and the ruts and holes were huge. It was a hilly area and we wound away up and down through the forest, which strangely enough had become thicker. The forest however was coated in red and yellow dust and looked sick. We also noticed that there was very little bird life around which was probably due to the clouds of dust thrown up by the passing trucks. The worst thing about the road was the dust which reached a depth of four feet and hid numerous rocks. Driving through this was not much fun and Proper Job was covered, inside and outside. The dust filled craters were also potentially dangerous and I was concerned that we would do some major damage by hitting hidden rocks obscured by the thick dust. We persevered hoping that the conditions would improve. Alas it did not, and after 60 kilometres I decided the risk of damage was too high and decided to turn around and head back to the turnoff on the road to Dolisie. In hindsight, I should have made the decision 40 kilometres before and it was painful to retrace our steps. By the time we got back to the turnoff we had wasted three hours. I would strongly advise others to not take that route and Tracks4Africa should remove it or mark it as a minor road.
Once we reached the turnoff, we headed down the original dirt road that was, in comparison to what we had just been on, a pleasure to drive on. We knew that somewhere ahead the Chinese were working on the roads around Dolisie and after another two hours driving we started seeing signs of the works. They are working in multiple areas so you come across an improved section and then a poor section. The project is a big one and the Chinese are 
here in numbers. They are constructing numerous bridges, installing proper drainage systems and cutting their way through the forested hills in an effort to connect inland Congo to the coast. At first I was sceptical about the presence of the Chinese but have decided that at least they are doing something for the country.....whilst the West sits on the side lines. It is a bit surreal alternating from nicely graded modern road to the old national highway, which is just a single lane road with wooden bridges that seem hardly able to support your vehicle.
As we neared Dolisie we came across more and more road workings. It was getting to that 4pm trigger again, which is the time we start looking for a site to bush camp. After searching for almost an hour we found a fairly 
large cleared area that the Chinese had created right against the forest. It was not a perfect spot as it was quite exposed but it was away from the road. A couple of curious Chinese workers drove up and looked over Proper Job with some enthusiasm. They were friendly and wished us well on our travels. The road construction went on until about 9pm and it suddenly all went deathly quiet. Later that night the forest came to life and I personally find the cacophony of forest noise to be very relaxing.
The following morning we made our way westwards towards Pointe Noir along a mainly good quality graded road. We had a very busy day ahead of us in Pointe Noir as we needed to give Proper Job his 5000km service and then thoroughly clean inside and outside. Besides that, we needed
to do a load of personal washing as after a few days of bush camping and driving on dusty dirt roads we were a sight for sore eyes. I wonder sometimes what the Africans think of travellers in such a state. We planned to camp at the Pointe Noir Yacht Club, which we found fairly easily. As we pulled in we met up with fellow Brits, David and Jane – of the ‘Lizzy Bus’ Land Rover - whom we had first met at the Angola Embassy in Abuja. We went to the Toyota garage and were warmly received by the manager Mr Paul. He gave us priority and within 90 minutes Proper Job was serviced and fully greased up. We then did our washing and, as this area has a reputation for poor security, paid a worker to keep an eye on it whilst it dried.
That evening we ate dinner at a Total affiliated restaurant just down the road from the yacht club. The food was excellent and the location provides a pleasing view of the harbour with all the lit up boats. We returned to the yacht club and made sure everything was packed away. Early the following morning at 3am the Lizzy Bus had some unwelcome visitors who clamoured on top to try and steal items. Luckily David woke up and scared them off. We were only a few yards away and worryingly heard nothing; I guess we were so tired from the strenuous past few days travel.
The following morning we left early and, although it was indicated that there was a charge for camping, no one came and requested any payment. Frankly with the poor security it would not be fair to charge anything. The Cabinda border crossing at Nzassi was about 50 km away and once we had left Pointe Noir we made good progress, arriving at the border at 8am. The Congo and Angola formalities were straightforward and efficient. The Congo border police were great guys and even arranged for a money changer to convert all my remaining CFA’s into Angolan Kwanza. The money changer couldn’t even think about ripping me off as he was surrounded by five police. Arriving at the Angolan side, I was surprised to see they had a passport scanner which was the first we had seen in any country so far.
We entered Cabinda with objectives; to get through as quickly as possible and fill up with cheap diesel. There were a lot of 
military on the roads but we were not stopped once. The people were all very friendly and the roads were excellent. We made good progress until we got to the city of Cabinda, where we hit traffic and were held up for an hour whilst filing up with cheap diesel. Once through Cabinda we shot to the border and exited into the DRC.
The DRC immigration was painfully slow and we were required to provide a passport photo for a lengthy fiche to be filled in. It seemed ironic as the DRC Embassy in Togo had issued the visa in an hour and yet it took us two hours to get through the DRC border. Once we entered the DRC we were confronted with a sandy track which led us to Muanda. The track was single lane and smooth with roller coaster undulations. It wound its way through a scenic savannah like landscape all the way to Muanda. Once we approached Muanda we came across a Toll Barrier where the charge for using the road was US$20. It seemed somewhat extortionate but no amount of arguing would change their minds. They even had an official form printed out which showed all the various charges. Anyway I paid up and got my official receipt, promising to report them to the next policeman I came across. This did not deter them and they were happy to give me all their personal details....so I guess it was legitimate
From Muanda the road took a turn for the 
worse and was a tough slog all the way to Boma. When we reached Boma the magnificent Congo River came into view. Boma itself is a hectic trading town and we were pleased to get through. We knew by now that we would not reach Matadi that afternoon so decided to push on until late afternoon. After another two hours driving along a mixture of rough dirt and broken tar roads we started looking for a camp site. Again we were surprised how few spots were around, but eventually found one that would do for the night. We gathered some fire wood, made dinner and went to bed early as we had another early start. We were still two hours from Matadi and had to get to the DRC/Angola border for 8am so we could give ourselves a chance of making it to Nzeto on the Angolan coast that same day.
We awoke at day break and after a quick cup of coffee hit the road again. The road continued to be poor but two hours later we arrived at Matadi and made the border post at 8.30am. The DRC immigration 
was open but the customs was not. Again the officials were very friendly but the processing of our papers was slow. When the customs official arrived the Carnet De Passage was done super quickly and after a small delay at the barrier we were let through into Angola. The Angolan officials in general seemed much more serious and there is noticeably a significant amount of military around its borders. I had started learning a few words of Portuguese but found surprisingly that many Angolans can speak some English. Both borders took us in total two hours to get across so we were pleased with our progress....and headed off towards Nzeto, which lay about 200km away.
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