AFRICAN ENCOUNTER

Overland Safari Blog

January – May 1973

Part Eight  – Into the Central African Republic

The Insanitary Edition (that's not insane but it might well be) 

Farewell Zaire - The Truck awaiting the Ferry to cross the Oubangi River  

A first sighting of RCA as we crossed to Bangassou. 

The Republic of Central Africa (RCA) is a relatively small country in terms of its population, it is about the size of France and is one of the World's poorest countries despite the wealth of natural resouces that it is said to possess. 

It is probably one of the countries that we travellers knew least about before we reached it, so here is some historical information and something about events that were current at the time our transit.  

"Approximately 10,000 years ago, desertification forced hunter-gatherer societies south into the Sahel regions of northern Central Africa, where some groups settled. Farming began as part of the Neolithic Revolution. Initial farming of white yam progressed into millet and sorghum, and before 3000 BCE the domestication of African oil palm improved the groups' nutrition and allowed for expansion of the local populations. This Agricultural Revolution, combined with a "Fish-stew Revolution", in which fishing began to take place, and the use of boats, allowed for the transportation of goods. Products were often moved in ceramic pots, which are the first known examples of artistic expression from the region's inhabitants.

The Ubangian people settled along the Ubangi River in what is today the Central and East Central African Republic while some Bantu peoples migrated from the southwest from Cameroon.

Bananas arrived in the region during the first millennium BCE and added an important source of carbohydrates to the diet; they were also used in the production of alcoholic beverages. Production of copper, salt, dried fish, and textiles dominated the economic trade in the Central African region!".

How do I know all this you ask, to which I say I must acknowledge my gratitude to Wikipedia  

"What is today the RCA has been inhabited since at least 8,000 BCE. The country's borders were established by France, which ruled the country as a colony starting in the late 19th century. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic was ruled by a series of autocratic leaders, including an abortive attempt at a monarchy".

"Despite (or arguably because of) its significant mineral deposits and other resources, such as uranium reserves, crude oil, gold, diamonds, cobalt, lumber, and hydropower, as well as significant quantities of arable land, the Central African Republic is among the ten poorest countries in the world, with the lowest GDP per capita at purchasing power parity in the world"

Here is a current map of the RCA with the advice of the UK Foreign Office, not to travel there. We were fortunate to have an unhindered 5 days as we travelled though the Country. 

We arrived at Bangassou (in the southern centre of the Map) and travellled west through the capital Bangui and then to Bouar and north to the border with Cameroon which has no marked settlement on this map.  

3 -7 April 1973

Our entry inot RCA was somewhat inauspicious; first we had trees to remove which had fallen across "our" road. It was intereting to see how one would approach the task - with an Axe or a Saw and initially with great enthusiasm which stedily decreased, as the nature of the task became apparent.  Also, there was trouble with the Truck's engine, which our resident engineers we able to fix - (what a place to have mehanical problems!) On one day, whilst in the RCA, we managed to travel 50 miles, depite the issues that we faced. On another day we managed to travel a mere 10 miles. 

At this stage of our journey I think that we all thought that we knew each other pretty well, which in itself is an interesting thought. I believe that the fact that the other members of the trip can still be remembered even without reference to  photos of them says something, i.e. maybe that they are stored in that great memory bank in the.... (other answers on a Postcard please), or possibly just that one seldom  if ever stops to remember the people and events of ones life....? For most of us this was the first such journey which meant, or should have meant, that we were alert and alive most of the time,and thus our memories would be clearly defined.

During the trip I must have spent most of my time standing on one of the seats watching the passing scene and exchanging greetings with the folk that we saw. Other members of the crew approached the trip in their own way - for example one member seemed to take on the personality of a Doormouse (or should that be a Cat?), and spent a considerable amount of travelling time curled up asleep. I don't think that anyone kept a Journal of the trip, and despite advice from one of our earlier passengers, I only managed to record the names of the places that we passed in my little 1973 Dagboekie (Diary) which I still treasure, (sorry Kate).  

 It has become apparent from the comments that I am seeing on Facebook and emails that I receive that each trip had its unique experiences, some of which soiund pretty hairy, some sadly were tragic.  I particularly enjoyed the one about passing another EO trip which was down to its last loo paper and was rationing it, to one sheet per person. 

It might seem rather basic to be writing about "toilet experiences" but they were all part of the daily experience of an EO trip. For a start - there were no Loos in many places, and where they did exist they were of the long-drop variety where a good aim was vital. However, so many were lacking in any form of flushing and smelled vile.

The usual "toilet" experience was to head for the trees or bushes, armed with a Trowel and a roll of Loo Paper - a good position and aim was still important as most of "the business" was carried out in a squatting position. - perhaps had I done Natoinal Service this would have been more familiar - but, more of this anon.

But, back to the journey itself;  the crossing of the Oubangi River by ferry took us from Zaire into the Republic of Central Africa (RCA); (see the top pictures). This was another example of an international border which seemed to be clearly defined by a geographical feature - the Oubangi flowed on and eventually joined with ths Congo (Zaire) River on its journey to the Atlantic. 

Having crossed the river we landed at Bangassou, which looked very much like the  picture in the brochure which had brought all together to do this expedition.
We had approached our exit from Zaire with some anxiety given our concerns on entering the country – would we be asked to prove that we had spent the stipulated amount while we were in the country – and what would happen if we hadn’t – maybe back to Kisangan, and jail, or worse - I can't think what!

However, we need not have worried, the “Customs Official” at the border was quite relaxed – I expect that he might have seen some other truck loads like ours and knew what to expect and learned to turn the proverbial “blind eye”, though what the authorities in Kinshasa would think of his performance goodness knows, but we would never find out!. 

Once in the RCA we next encountered some significant Chutes, or rapids / waterfalls, at Kembe and on the River Ketto, and on other rivers which joined with the Oubangi, fortunately these rivers did not have to be crossed by ferry and we were able content ourselves with some photography.

“Chutes” in the Central African Republic, difficult to Photograph - it looks as if  someone has dropped a large pack of Persil into the River - above the falls the river looks to be quite placid .

It seems impossible to write about tour time in the RCA without a mention of the man who was its President at the time of our journey, one Jean Bedel Bokassa, a Dictator who had risen to such heights through the Army, in much the same way as other African dictators (although he had yet to declare himself “Emperor”). There were many stories about him some of which formed the basis of charges which were laid against him, sometime later, these stories are well documented - so @I will refrain from including them in this Blog! 

Much of our effort in the following days was taken up in negotiating the roads, and in some cases mending, clearing or rebuilding them, all of which meant that on some days we were only moving forward by some 20 miles.

 One night we camped by a Coffee Plantation, which I imagine had been planted by he former French residents, although what happened with the Beans now was not clear; it seemed most unlikely that they would reach the international market. 

Eventually we reached the capital of the RCA, Bangui, where we found a good market. We had not eaten much meat, but at Bangui market we saw what looked like good meat, though what animal it came from I know not (I suspect it might have been Cow).  Once we found a place to stop that evening we had a "Barbecue"  which had seemed to be a great idea, I think that we also had some Beer. Where we stopped was a wooded area, rather similar to those we had driven through in Rhodesia, and given that it was warm and dry most of us felt we did not need to erect our tents, but.... 

That night was probably the most uncomfortable of the whole trip for most of us. I recall lying in my sleeping bag, not quite sure what was happening "down-below", when I became aware that every few minutes a light could be seen heading deeper into the woods, only to return a few minutes later. Eventually I began to realise what was happening and collecting a trowel I also tramped off into the trees.  (We did not see any wild animals in RCA, something that we were thankful for on such a night!) 

John and Gerry go to market - for what looks like a bucket full of Potatoes -  John holds the kitty! 

RCA's version of a Bummaree - who's for Steak 

Towns and villages came and went including: Bossembele with its market, Yalobe and Bossemtele II - presumably so named because there was nothing more appropriate. At Bossemtele II we came across signs of real commercial organisation as cotton had obviously been picked and was laid out to dry and was stacked into bales.

Cotton bales signify a substantial RCA industry 

Who was watching whom … Is this what spinning a yarn really means?

April 8 1973

The largest town we encountered was Bouar with its shops and shoppers and market and inevitably children and others who probably found us to be the most interesting thing they had seen for many a year, well since the last EO Truck had passed this way.

We had long ago established a rota for who would do the shopping then cooking the cleaning the dishes. This was a system that worked well - see the picture above of Gerry and John buying what look like Potatoes at he Market. 

Another thing in the food line was Oranges; having come from a Country which was the home of Outspan Oranges (South Africa), which was, of course the right name and colour for an Orange. It therfore came as something of a surprise to find that in the Central African countries the skins of Oranges were Green; the taste was much the same although they were a bit tougher and consquently difficult to peel - but we got used to them, and most importantly they didn't affect the "rhythm of life"

    

Everywhere we stopped a crowd would gather, usually children. This is what we saw, one wonders what they saw? 

A varied display of emotions and expressions, would one of them go on to become the President, and where are they now?

Another “spectator” – I wonder if anyone recognises the Face type, or indeed the Woman on the Skirt; for about here the faces began to change from having been Negroid / Bantu to Arab? Is that a Banana I see - evidence of a change in the food that was available.