2013 - DR Kongo, Ruanda, Burundi, Tansania

A three weeks trip crossing Africa from West to East. In contrast to Sir Henry Morton Stanley who did this trip in the opposite direction in 999 days in the late 19th cdentury, it only took us three weeks to get from the Congo estuary to Zanzibar Island. Admittedly, we skipped the Congo River part and directly took the flight from Kinshasa to Kigali in Rwanda. Please click through our slideshow. You find some explanations and comments in the tiny captions on top of each picture.

Eine dreiwöchige Durchquerung des afrikanischen Kontinents. Im Gegensatz zu Sir Henry Morton Stanley, der Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts in entgegengesetzter Richtung eine ähnliche Route wählte und dafür 999 Tage benötigte, gelang uns die Durchquerung in 3 Wochen. An dieser Stelle sei allerdings erwähnt, dass wir eine kleine Abkürzung mit dem Flugzeug vornahmen, anstatt per Schiff den Kongofluß hinaufzufahren. Weitere Info entnehmt ihr bitte den winzigen englischsprachigen Bildüberschriften.

Admittedly, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not a place "ordinary" tourists might rush for...

but a friend working at the German embassy in Kinshasa invited us for the trip

these were our first impressions on our way from the Kinshasa airport to our mates appartment

These are the cars your parents might have driven some 30 years ago. A lot of clunkers are exported to Africa before their well-deserved retirement

near the city center, some recently erected buildings appear. The Stade de Martyrs in the background was built with Chinese assistance in 1994

The Boulevard 30 Juin is Kinshasa's main road. The city is at peace since 2003. Meanwhile a lot of construction is going on in this part of the town.

Street vendors. You need an official permission to take pictures in the DRC. Therefore taking pictures is always a challenge

Kinshasa has a surprisingly vibrant art scene

Kinshasa's has experienced a dramatic population growth since its independence. Population rose to roughly 10 mio. people from a mere 400.000 in 1960

A German sawmill in Maluku, 80km from Kinshasa. This sawmill has a concession from the Congolese government and is obliged to cut only 1 tree per hectare but some other companies as the logging areas are located in very remote regions

The mighty Congo river. Ships leave irregularly and it takes several weeks to do the ferry cruise from Kinshasa to Kisangani in the east

Capitain fish, Pilipili and plantains. And a lot of BEER which does not appear in the picture

A clean and tidy place (especially when being compared to the Congo)

After a short 3 hours bush ride we left Rwanda again and reentered Congo again. These pictures show the city center of Goma

There are some surprisingly luxurious hotels and restaurants around which all charge skyrockting prices. Diplomats, diamond smugglers, aid workers stay here. But no tourists.

Goma has been something like the embodyment of evil in the western media, with a lot of reporting going on about civil war, volcanic eruptions, enormous refugee camps and poisonous methan gas leaking from Lake Kivu. But cynically speaking,

...it sure also boasts enormous tourist potential with dense tropical rain forest where mountain gorillas strive, impressive mountain ranges and beaches

We took the fast boat to Bukavu on the southern shore of the lake. Bukavu ows its reputation of being the most attractive city of the DRC to its attractive location on the hilly shores of Lake Kivu.

Since it was dry season these pictures appear very hazy

As with Goma, history has not been kind to Bukavu, and there had been frequent violent uprisings since the civil war broke out in 1996. Since a couple of years the situation has improved

The city has received a huge influx of refugees in the past years. Population has quintrupled from 200,000 to over 1 million

Not much reminded of the violent past, the people were polite and greeting us (I think they did not see a lot of foreigners in recent times except the odd Chinese construction workers in this area)

a lot of people, many colours, always something happening, that"s what I like about Africa

They had a pier. Swimming in Kivu lake is said to be safe

The nexyt day we decided to have a look at the mountain gorillas...

We passed through some small villages alon the way

Annoyingly, the gorillas did not show up to let us take some pictures. So it was a quite strenous 3 hours hike through dense tropical jungle

and here they finally are: our ancestors

These gorillas were surely THE highlight of our 3week trip. Their population has dropped dramatically since the civil war has broke off. Since the situation has calmed down their poulation has stabilized again albeit on a low level

Hiking trips to the gorillas come at a cost but the money is spent for their protection. Some jobs were also created for the local population

Deforestation is an issue outside the park borders....

Back at Lake Kivu, near the Rwandan border

The best place to have a flat tyre....and that's exactly what we had when I took this photo

such pictures are a must while travelling in Africa

some nice scenery en route. But "thanks" to the fertile soil a lot of forest has been logged by farmers in this area

Some more views from the market...very exotic and unique - at least for me, being used to shopping in supermarkets ;)

...had a decent stone building on its main street

same story again: second village, more kids

this village had the biggest and most colourful market. But of course, there is very little development and no wealth at all to report from this region

Uvira, the last stopover in the Congo before entering Burundi

there is no diamond smuggling in Uvira, thus, the town looks even more neglected than Bukau or Goma

last photo we took at the the Congolese-Burundian border

this is Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi

compared to the Rwandese capital, Kigali, it looks a bit neglected and you soon recognize there hasn't been in any economic growth in recent years

anyway, strolling across the city center and taking some pictures was real fun - something were not supposed to do in the DRC

on the next day we left Bujumbura. This is our last glimpse on Bujumbura

most roads were paved and in good condition except the last stretch to the Tanzanian border

Burundi is often nicknamed as "the land of 1000 hills"

the climate is temperate, the vegetation is lush. We saw some tea plantations on our way

...nevertheless, as its northern neighbour Rwanda, the country suffers from its high population density and deforestation

After a very long bus ride we reached the town of Arusha in Tanzania the next day

Arusha is the major tourist hub in Tanzania with several national parks nearby. Plus Africa's highest peak, the Kilimanjaro....

...but despite staying a couple of days there was no Kilimanjaro for us....because of the bad weather! These pictures were taken at the foothills of Mt. Kili

German football coaches spotting local talents....

Tarangire National Park, the first place we visited in Tanzania

So we were searching for the "big five game animals"....

...these include: African lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard, and rhinoceros

lion: check (but only if you look very, very sharp)

leopards and rhinoceros did not line up to be photographed but maybe there is not much to do and see for them in Tarangire NP and so they quickly go somewhere else

Traffic jam in the Tanzanian bush: the lion spotted in the distance was a great attraction.

these monkeys do not need a national park. They hang around at the park's entrance

we proudly present: the mighty Ngorongoro crater

the Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera, is about 600 meters deep and was formed about 3 million years ago by a volcanic explosion

it is now entitled to be one of "Africa's Seven Natural Wonders"

of course it's a very touristy area...during lunchtime, countless SUVs gather around the pool to take some pictures of hippoptamus

...but you can very easily escape the crowds if you want

finally....Daressaalam, Tanzania's largest city on the Indian Ocean coastline

A real metropolis, more bustling than Kigali, more cosmopolitic than Bujumbura and more safe than Kinshasa

we loved it. Besides an emerging skyline, they have an old city district where Indian merchants live and lovely beaches on display

another view of the beach. Locals and expats mix up here

that was our final destination during our trip: a paradise-like "hippie-style" resort in a remote, undeveloped corner on Zanzibar island

the rest of the island is touristically quite developed. The island has become a popular package tour destination especially among...

...Italian tourists (like Mallorca for Germans)

on our very last day we visited Stone Town, the old islamic part of Zanzibar city

...once a flourishing centre of the spice trade as well as the slave trade, it has now become one of Tanzania's main tourist attractions

So, that's also the end of our trip....a trip which started a bit bizarre in the big city-moloch of Kinshasa...

...and ended side by side with package tourists on a beach. A great experience nevertheless!