November and December are the height of the rainy season in the Lomami Park and this has been a wet rainy season. A trip into the park is more complicated. BUT, with good porters and adequate audacity, it is still possible.
The porters are checking their loads before leaving the last village.
All the streams are overflowing…
Only “mayi nyeupe” is not flooded. It is a clear spring and our best drinking water. Junior, thuraya in one hand, is filling up for the rest of the walk.
… the biggest challenge is the Loidjo: not only is the river channel over its banks, the whole west riverside is flooded for a kilometer and some deep bayous are brimming over.
The Loidjo’s left bank is low. The river seems to go on and on.
Loidjo is 20 km from the nearest village and our attempts at bridge making are not quite up to the challenge.
We start across the main river bed and strongest current.
Usually the current is more than six feet below us. Okonda and Heritier, in the lead, found some of the major poles were washed away.
Balanced on one pole Okonda and Heritier try to reposition another one.
Junior took the pictures. We were travelling with Karsten who manages the Obenge base camp.
Once across the main channel the water kept going.
The bridge trellis is out and left does not look good, how about right?
Okonda says to go right…by the upturned root mass…
You’re taller than me, why don’t you carry this?
Besides I end up swimming…
Last deep bayou and disintegrated bridge, Okonda carried the loads of several of the less “stable” travelers…
With someone else carrying my camera, what is there to worry about?
We had dried out a bit when we stopped before the Boha savanna.
But flooded savanna, where the mud is a suction to every step, is no easier than a flooded stream…
It was good to get to Katopa camp for a hot bucket bath and a cup of hot sugared tea.
5 Comments
WOW Mama! You are one tough lady.
Don’t make it look too easy!
Unfortunately the real challenge is not getting across during one more rainy season, but preparing for all the future rainy seasons. We have been cutting forest poles to maintain our Loidjo bridge at the crossing for so many years (since 2008) that the right size class is not even present in the forest over a large area. Poles and the lianas we use as “hand rail” have become scarce. We are just beginning to discuss the costs and structural possibility of two or three metal suspension bridges….. More later.
“Adequate audacity,” indeed! The TL2 crew rocks. Thanks for posting photos.
Some fond memories of floating our bikes over these rivers (a little less engorged) during the cyclo-tour du parque in 2011. Are you sure that there are no lurking “monster fish” in these flooded areas? We are “ice-less” and “snow-less” here on Lake Superior (WI, USA). Out fishing on the lake last week. (Unheard of!)