Crossing the Congo: Over Land and Water in a Hard Place

Having been to the photography exhibition in London in September, I bought the book as soon as it was available. The book is a very well written and highly personal account of a journey that had far more challenges than I had expected as a reader. This book also provided an incredible insight to a part of the world that is unimaginable to most, the utter chaos at times is hard to comprehend. The photography throughout is beautiful and tells as much of a story as the writing. The pictures in the book create a great atmosphere for the journey and show some of the more indescribable moments that the 3 of them went through. This book will remain on my coffee table long after ive finished reading itI would definitely recommend this book to anyone

Gripping, different read and very much a travel journal. Loved the book but wish it had maybe a bit more photos included consider they had a photographer with them. Very well worth a read.

An incredible story of the highs and lows of this epic journey through the DRC. I literally could not put this book down - superbly written and some truly stunning photographs that really capture the moments throughout their adventure. I highly recommend this book!

I really can not put this book down. Beautifully written and fantastic photographs. An amazing true life story of courage, adventure and friendship. The book has a real feel of quality about it and is the kind of thing you would keep forever on your bookshelf.

A great piece of travel writing - brutally honest but beautiful at the same time (the photos are stunning). A must for anyone planning an adventure or who wants to know what it would be like, without having to actually go!

WHAT A GREAT BOOK! I've bought 3 copies now for friends who have also loved it.Such a fascinating journey that the authors made. Sounds like it was incredibly physically and emotionally exhausting for all of them in different ways. It's definitely not your conventional roadtrip.I really recommend this incredible book.

WELL WRITTEN TRAVELREPORT:I WOULD HAVE TAKEN AN EARLY FLIGHT HOME!!RECOMMENDED READING FOR ALL PEOPLE MOANING ABOUT THEIR ON-THE-CHEAP HOLIDAYS NOT BEING WHAT THEY EXPECTED!

Crossing the Congo tells the remarkable story of a journey that many of us could not begin to comprehend. An 'adventure' begun in the spirit of romance is quickly beset by harsh realities. The authors' energetic prose bring to life the stresses, the strains and the sheer endurance required to take a clapped-out old Landrover 2,500 miles across the Congo River Basin. The book's potency is underlined by a series of breathtaking images that capture the jepordy of the terrain and the personalities of the people who live there.This is very much a traveller's book; it superbly depicts the challenges of traversing one of the most demanding regions in the world. An enthralling read!

in this book you learn all you must know on how to NOT travel and behave in other cultures, unprepared and ignorant

This book is hard to put down. It tells the brutally honest story of three friends who made the bold decision to drive across the Congo. It details how their personal relationships changed, their individual growth, and provides a window into a society that few outsiders have the privilege of experiencing. If the story wasn't gripping enough, the photos that are included really give you a glimpse of what they faced along their trip. I would definitely recommend this book.

In 2013, two well-educated Brits, a physician, and her fiancé, a former British Army officer with a PhD, and an Indonesian-born friend, an award-winning photographer and London kebob shop owner, set out on a 2,500-mile north-south crossing of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in an old 1986 Land Rover 90, which they called 9Bob (apparently from English slang "as bent as a 9 bob note," meaning something shady.The story of their journey is mostly written by Mike Martin, and the stunning photographs that help to make the book are by Charlie Hatch-Barnwell.Exactly why the three became so determined to make this two-month journey isn't completely clear, except that they saw it as an adventure. They also wanted to "improve their French," they say (French is the official language of the DRC, a former Belgian colony, although some 250 languages are spoken in the country, which has a population of more than 80 million and is about one-fourth the size of the continental U.S.) Martin and his fiancée, Chloe Baker already had driven some 20,000 miles in Africa and elsewhere, though Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire. They then recruit Charlie, an old friend and international travel mate of Mike's, to join them for the DRC part of the trip.What they found, and essentially what the book recounts, is a country with incredibly bad roads, corrupt officials, extreme poverty and a population that, in part due to the effects of its colonial past, to recent civil and guerrilla wars, was for the most part inhospitable (though it was only through the kindnesses of a number of people that they were able to complete the journey.)The journey also was a psychological as well as physical and mechanical test. Mike and Chloe break up during the trip, and at times their friendships unravel. More than anything, though, the success traversing of the DRG is a tribute to the ingenuity of the three travelers and to the engineering of the old English-built Land Rover. The three travelers were amazingly creative in building bridges and rafts to cross rivers and in making their way on roads that defy belief, often with pot holes deep enough to swallow a truck or with muddy ruts so high the Land Rover would fall over on its side.I have driven some bad roads in Central America, but none even begin to compare with what Martin, Baker and Hatch-Barnwell faced almost daily. The also were geniuses at finding parts and cobbling together repairs to the Land Rover 90. None of the three was particularly mechanically inclined. They learned how to repair the Land Rover by reading manuals and by just figuring things out.Although this is a true adventure story and a travelogue of a kind, it is not one that will make you want to travel to this part of Africa. Local people constantly try to charge the travelers 10 times the fair value of food and parts. The travelers have to be on constant guard against theft. Anytime they stop, crowds appear out of the jungle and persistently beg them for everything they are carrying. Even the missionaries in the Congo try to rip them off, once demanding $500 to spend the night at a mission (the travelers end bargaining the price down to $30). The adventurers are constantly ill from tropical diseases and the water, bitten or stung by insects and fearful of attacks by rebels or by illegal blood diamond and other miners.. Everyone is suspicious of them, partly because -- they find out too late -- that in referring to themselves "tourists" in the local French a tourist is "conservationist" -- someone in the DRG to exploit the local people and the country's resources.If there's a hero in the book, though, it has to be 9Bob. The diesel Land Rover 90, broken down by so many miles through impossible terrain, keeps plugging through places where other vehicles could never go, and somehow, miraculously, a fix is always found for the many broken springs, steering boxes, axles and wheels.One can only admire the three adventures and the Land Rover for making it through the Congo.

The story was good but at some point became a little drawn out. I also think that’s part of the story too, that this journey was far more taxing than they had initially expected. There are some great pictures in it and a collapsing relationship in the midst of their journey. The Land Rover is a mere supporting actor in the scheme of the story but still fun. I’d recommend it but if you’re a Land Rover aficionado looking for a story of the Defender accomplishing great feats it’s only about half way there.

Interesting read. Glimpse into some of the challenges facing a war torn country, and how they translate into tough times for these travelers. Some background into the history of the conflict is provided, enough that I was compelled to dig deeper on my own. At it's heart, the book is about the perseverance shown by this group of friends through some very tough sledding, and seemed to confirm what I thought I knew about the Congo, poverty, corruption, disorganization, extortion with pockets of hope and humor encountered occasionally. Quite something that there are still people in the world whom have never seen an automobile...seems fitting on this adventure that the first vehicle they see is a Land Rover.Well written and engaging, but little preamble on preparation for the journey or the final leg home once having exited the Congo. As a lover of all things Land Rover, there was enough technical goodies to keep me entertained, but the real story is in the journey. All in all, a good read.