Potentially the worlds greatest wildlife destination, but I wasn’t going to find out…..

May 9, Royal Palm Hotel, Libreville, Gabon In the next of a series of mad dictatorships – welcome to Gabon.  Omar Bongo was president for 42 years from 1967 until he died in 2009.  The reins were taken up by his son Ali Bongo who has been in power since, ‘winning’ the 2009 election with 42% […]

Potentially the worlds greatest wildlife destination, but I wasn’t going to find out….. Read More »

The other Congo!

May 8,  Mikhail’s Hotel, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo A lovely day wandering around Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo – the formerly french one, a.ka. Congo Brazzaville (not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo – the formerly Belgian one, historically called Zaire). It was weird arriving here yesterday, the flight was 40

The other Congo! Read More »

Border Bullsh!t

May 5, La Grande Barrier, Goma Gisenyi I struggle to understand what turns reasonable human beings into dictatorial a-holes when given a uniform, a badge and a position of power.   Upon arriving at the Rwandan border this morning, the guard threw my NZ passport across the desk when I said that I hadn’t requested

Border Bullsh!t Read More »

The gates of hell

May 4, Nyiragongo Summit Shelters – Democratic Republic of Congo After a relaxing couple of nights doing precisely nada at Mikeno lodge in the heart of the Virunga National Park, we roused ourselves early this morning to prep our gear for the climb up Nyiragongo summit (3470m), home of Africa’s largest lava lake.  The volcano

The gates of hell Read More »

Scroll to Top