13-14 May 2019: Mount Moco to Kumbira Forest

This day underlined the statement that: ”Africa is a tough country”. The 15 km of 4x4 track from Mount Moco to the main road went relatively well, notwithstanding the fact that the grass on the sides of the track was higher than Daai Dêng. The grass growing in the centre of the track was not much lower. It sometimes felt as if I was feeling my way through a tunnel of grass. At one place a local villager had cut down a tree which had fallen over the track, and I had to wait for it to be cleared. It remains one of the sad sights of Africa – a beautiful giant of the veldt lying in the dust to become charcoal.

Conda, Angola.

My Tracks-4-Africa route took me on a dubious track which previous birders had taken on their way to the Kumbira Forest. Large sections had been destroyed by stormwater, and I had to use heart-felt prayers and 4x4 to make my way. Another 15 km further, the track came to a dead end at a village where a bridge had been washed away. It took some hours to work my way back to the tar road, and by mid-afternoon I was back where I started. On the way, I did however manage to tick three Angolan endemics: the Angola Lark, the Black-collared Bulbul and the Golden-backed Bishop. So, the road less travelled has its compensation.

Short-winged Cisticola, Condo

That evening, as the sun set over the Luanda main road, I stopped at a Chinese construction site to ask if I could camp in their compound, but was denied permission. A few kilometres further I used sign language to ask a Portuguese farmer if I could sleep on his farm, and with a large smile he introduced me to his family and friends. He then showed me where I could camp in his yard. Be blessed, Oscar!