TRIP TO ZONGO FALLS

Unpaved portion of 56 km to Zongo Falls that took 1.5 hrs of the total 4 hour trip to the resort.

A dump truck  had evidently slid off the road and just been pulled out by a huge end-loader and these Chinese workers with the cable.

We saw many of these dwellings along the road. Others were wattle and daub. No pictures of those though.

There were numerous loaded bicycles laboriously pushed along the road.

We crossed the power dam a kilometer above the falls.

The entrance to the Zongo Safari Resort.

The contrast to the village dwellings we saw on the way to the resort, and the torturous road was stark upon entering the resort.

Rental units, such as these individual cabins, and also tents, or hotel rooms provide a variety of accommodations for guests. Most stay over at least one night in order to enjoy the sights.

Brother Moon in the lobby.

Individual rental units.

Indoor dining area.

Rapids above the falls.

View of the entrance to the main facility, and restaurant.

Path to the falls.

Sue descending, and our guide driver, James.

River view.

Fisherman with net and small catch.

Casting his net.

Drawing in the net.

Touring Belgians. The man with the bill hat is a Belgian professor who consults with Congolese Universities throughout the country, advising them on improving their teaching. The white haired man with the mustache is Mac Coleman, our friend, fellow Mormon, retired Air Force officer, who consults with the Congolese Military. He brought his driver and guide to accompany us on our trip.

Us by a tree.

Zongo Falls.

An impressive tree on the brink of the precipice where we observed the falls.

Sue and others at the observation site overlooking the falls.

In the forest on the path to the falls.

All of us waiting for lunch. The food was good but expensive. Most had chicken, steak, or brochette. I decided to eat Congolese and had goat in vegetable sauce, fu fu, and pondu (steamed chopped Cassava leaves) eaten with the fu fu and the sauce. Pondu is bitter; fu fu is made of corn meal and cassava flour and is tasteless. I am happy to have had the experience.  Sue let me eat some of her french fries, and green beans and a taste of her steak. 

On the way in the morning we passed a burning wrecked truck, and a line of trucks backed up a mile behind. The heat was instantly felt through the windows. This photo was taken on our return, hours later, and it was still burning. It was loaded with charcoal and burned all day. Barely visible through the superstructure is the mangled wreck of another vehicle. A sad affair. Most of these large trucks carry passengers on top. Many have no brakes and are in bad repair. The road is littered with their carcasses. When one breaks down, the drivers and passengers dig up clumps of grass and place them in the road in either direction, instead of cones, to warn approaching vehicles that they are about to encounter a stalled truck in the road.