banner zaire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

(formerly Zaire)

 

Chapter extract from the first draft

 

Years ago I had read about the Zaire River in old National Geographics, and now those childhood dreams of adventure would soon be reality - I too would be travelling on this famous river. One of the world's most exciting river journeys lay before me.


...Halfway to Kinshasa, space was now a premium on the eight 30 metre-long barges carrying rainforest timber destined for Europe and all pushed by an enormous tug boat. With my three-man tent, shaded area and my motorcycle, I took up far too much room for one person. To move out of this area I had to climb over bags of dried manioc and bundles of smoked fish and bushmeat.


My neighbour – a mama and her four children aged between eight and sixteen years were employed by another more important mama to shell peanuts, but in the heat of the afternoon the four kids would lie with me under the shade I had strung up in front of my tent.
We would play snap, make rag dolls out of my old sarong, eat juicy pineapples or chew on sticks of sugar cane, spitting the pulp over the side, and finally sleep out the heat of the day. In Lisala I had bought a big bundle of sugar cane and had told the kids to help themselves; it was the Zaire equivalent to a big bag of sweets.


My other neighbour was the money changer and his young wife. Against a stack of timber they had set up a few lengths of cloth for shade. On a stool he had stacks of one, five, and ten nouveaus zaire notes which he would sell, forty nouveaux zaires worth of change for a fifty nouveaux zaire note. Small change was scarce, and he was doing a roaring trade with the passengers who needed small denominations to buy produce from the villagers in their pirogues (french for dug-out canoe).

 

For a few days the barges travelled close to the bank. I gazed in awe at the thick green forest which mirrored itself in the calm waters of the river as we floated by. In some places, mud and grass roof huts were dotted all along the river. I had been sitting with Eric, a young African who spoke good English and was on his way to stay with his uncle in Kinshasa where he would continue his high school education and hoped one day to go to university.

 

‘What a peaceful, carefree life the villagers must lead’, I commented to Eric, as we glided past a little boy and girl in a tiny pirogue while on the river bank a man sat reclining in a cane chair.
‘No worries of money. No crime. Plenty of fresh food and clean air. It would be so uncomplicated; get married, have children and live a simple happy life with family and friends’, I said.
‘Ah, but what about the mostiques, the malaria, getting sick and having no doctor, and all the babies that die’, he replied to my idealised comments.
‘It is a tough life living in the forest’, he said.

 

As we neared Kinshasa the forests gave way to low hills and flat lands covered with long golden green grass that wavered in the gentle wind. I sat on one of the steel rope pillars at the very front of the barges, enjoying the novelty of gazing out over wide open spaces after nearly three weeks of rainforest. The river was now choppy, water washed onto the decks; the crocodiles revelled in the cool spray and opened their jaws as much as the vines that bound them would allow.

 

I reflected over the journey that was coming to an end. It had been a very long voyage on a very long river. The barges had taken 23 days to cover 2500kms to reach the capital of Kinshasa. It had been an amazing adventure that I would never forget.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

zaire barges Photo: 'The floating village'. Travelling on the barges carrying timber to Kinshasa were more than 3000 people... and one toilet!

 

zaire caterpillas

Photo: A sack of dried caterpillers (packed with vitamins and minerals). Just one of the many kinds of river produce bought from the villagers and sold in Kinshasa for a high profit.

zaire dried monkeys

Photo: Dried bush meat (monkey) purchased from the river villagers.



zaire river village

Photo: Villagers wave to the passing barges which provide them with trading opportunites and access to western goods such as medicines, clothing and soap.