Reviews"Their success, as it unfolds in this lively narrative, reflects a unique combination of skills - an Army veteran of Afghanistan to deal with logistics, a doctor to look after medical issues and a photojournalist to set it down for the record in a splendid set of illustrations." - Geographical Magazine "Crossing the Congo gives you a deeply, brutally honest view of what it is like to complete a great journey. At times they were lucky to survive."--Robin Hanbury-Tenison, OBE, DL, Dsc, Dhc, MA, FLS, FRGS. President, Survival International "A remarkable story of psychological and physical endurance, and a compelling account of what pushes people to embark on impossible journeys."--Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE
Dewey Decimal916.7510434
Table Of ContentPreface, by Robin Hanbury-Tenison Introduction, by Chloe Chapter 1: Kinshasa Chapter 2: Kinshasa to Kananga Chapter 3: Kananga to Lomela Chapter 4: Lomela Chapter 5: Lomela to Kisangani Chapter 6: Kisangani to Juba Postscript
SynopsisCrossing the Congo is the story of three friends journeying across 2,500 miles of the toughest terrain on the planet in a very old Land Rover called 9Bob. ., In 2013, three friends set off on a journey that they had been told was impossible: the north-south crossing of the Congo River Basin, from Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Juba, in South Sudan.Traversing two and a half thousand miles of the toughest terrain on the planet in a twenty-five year old Land Rover, they faced repeated challenges, from kleptocracy and fire ants to non-existent roads and intense suspicion from local people. Through imagination and teamwork - including building rafts and bridges to cross rivers, conducting makeshift surgery in the jungle and playing tribal politics - they got through. But the Congo is raw, and the journey took an unexpected psychological toll on them all.Crossing the Congo is a story of friendship, what it takes to complete a great journey against tremendous odds, and an intimate look into one of the world's least-developed and most fragile states., *** Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award 2016 in the category of Adventure Travel *** In 2013, three friends set off on a journey that they had been told was impossible: the north-south crossing of the Congo River Basin, from Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Juba, in South Sudan. Traversing 2,500 miles of the toughest terrain on the planet in a twenty-five year-old Land Rover, they faced repeated challenges, from kleptocracy and fire ants to non-existent roads and intense suspicion from local people. Through imagination and teamwork -- including building rafts and bridges, conducting makeshift surgery in the jungle and playing tribal politics -- they got through. But the Congo is raw, and the journey took an unexpected psychological toll on them all. Crossing the Congo is an offbeat travelogue, a story of friendship and what it takes to complete a great journey against tremendous odds, and an intimate look into one of the world's least-developed and most fragile states, told with humor and sensitivity.