Well rested team Lipstick set off to proceed to the southern parts of Angola possibly reaching Lubango today and then the following day further on to Namibe on the coast.
The traffic was very dense and it took Lipstick about one hour to get out of Luanda going in a southerly direction. Luanda seems to be growing that way too as more and more modern buildings became visible and Lipstick filled up at with Diesel at one of many petrol stations found along the way.
Surprisingly the price for Diesel is extremely cheap in this otherwise very expensive town with a litre costing around 4 Rand only (0, 30 Euros)
After another quick stop at PEP stores team Lipstick was on route to the south when all of a sudden a loss of power appeared and the maximum speed came down to about 80km/h. At first the team thought that this could be caused by a clocked up air filter and stopped at a bush mechanic with a compressor to blow out all accumulated dust from the filter but this did not have the required results and Lipstick still refused to go to triple digit speeds.
A roadsite mechanic is trying to dedust Lipsticks airfilter….
Next in mind was the possibility of having obtained dirty fuel at the otherwise modern looking fuel station earlier on and the team decided that it would be best to just limb on and empty the tank before putting more fuel in.
Having reached the town of Quibala some 4hours later the team stopped at a petrol station as the fuel filter system now also crossed their mind. The main fuel filter showed signs of having become loose and was tightened up and the team enquired where the next best place for a repair would be.
The team also realised that the front left suspension must have a problem as Lipstick was hanging down on the left hand site and that this would also require some repair work
The advice by another motorist to travel to a town called Waku-Kungo was taken and after 8km and 1.5 hours later sunset took place just as Lipstick arrived in Waku-Kungo with a good looking motel also appearing in this otherwise smallish African village…
Of course nobody at reception or other hotel staff could speak another language then Portuguese but the team was able to use sign language with the man at the reception and showed him Lipsticks problem with the left hand front suspension.
With a mixture of French, English and Portuguese language the receptionist informed the team that he will be trying to get a mechanic to the motel to have a look.
Only 30minutes later the mechanic arrived and could speak French in addition to Portuguese. After inspecting the car he told team Lipstick that the shocks seem to be ok but that the torsion bar must be bent pulling the suspension down. He made it clear that he could source a torsion bar in town and would be coming back the next day at 7.30h to replace the tension bar and also change the airfilter with the spare one in Lipsticks store.
A great relief for the team and the result of this encounter had to be celebrated with some local beer and a red label sundowner. In this part of the world the whiskey is poured free hand and a double shot looked more than 2 double so the team decided soon to proceed to the restaurant and get some food whilst this is still possible.
A wedding reception was now in full go with a lot of photographers and the bride’s father insisted on a picture with Willy which was duly taken.
A wedding in Waku-Kungo
A short while later 2 army officials arrived and surprisingly one of them could speak perfect English and the team could now communicate their dilemma to hotel staff.
Lucan and Willy meet in Waku-Kungu
The 2 army guys ( both lieutenant cornels) invited the team members for some more beer and informed them that they are busy preparing the infrastructure for a military exercise with the southern African defence forces( Sadec) inclusive of South Africa ,Namibia, Zimbabwe ,Swaziland, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Team lipstick with members of the Angolan army…
This exercise will take place from the 5th of August onwards and they are confident of a successful venture. Lucan Lukebakio Jeannot and Jose Pedro Mendes de Carvallo was their name and again contact details were exchanged and pictures taken with very very friendly Angolans. Lucan was trained in Russia some 25 years ago and took part in the fight with the SA troops but holds no crutch against SA saying – we Africans are all one big family– so true!
Team Lipstick then proceeded to have a good sleep after another eventful day in Africa