A globetrotting couple attempting to drive from South Africa’s Dundee to our own City of Discovery have hit a road block.
Adventurers Kevin and Donna Krummeck were born in Dundee, South Africa, and Dundee, Scotland, respectively. They decided to celebrate 30 years of marriage by travelling between their birthplaces in a custom-made Land Rover Defender.
However, mean-spirited border guards and embassy workers for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have scuppered the couple’s plans to travel through the central African country, meaning they will have to turn back.
At one point, the pair tried to argue the fiasco could look bad for the DRC’s image, to which a border official replied: “We don’t need tourists.”
Country officials are making them travel back to speak to DRC officials at the country’s embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
Their trip, which would have seen the pair travel through DRC, towards Morocco, cross into Europe and then on to Scotland has been drastically changed.
The Krummecks will now head to Zambia, then Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana, in the African continent’s southern hemisphere.
The couple, who decided to embark on their continent-spanning drive at the start of the year, have been keeping fans across the globe updated on their social media pages.
They have received outpourings of support during their adventure, as well as advice as how best to travel across Africa.
In a Facebook post, the Krummecks said: “Due the the incredibly unbelievable attitude and decision of the DRC Embassy in Angola and after exhausting every possible avenue, they are refusing to give visas of any type to any foreigners travelling from Angola to DRC and are insisting that we can only apply for such from South Africa.
“Even the South African embassy in Angola are stunned by this decision and attitude and after another session with them today, the DRC embassy literally closed the window in our face and asked security to remove us, after telling them that we have international newspapers following our trip.
“He said he does not care and the DRC does not need tourists.
“So, the plan has changed…
“We will head to Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and then back to South Africa and will enjoy our son’s wedding and the birth of our first grandchild by our daughter and then will head off again for Dundee, Scotland, possibly via the east coast of Africa this time.”
