Tanzania - Parting Ways

Saturday 9th February

We arrived back from our ‘cruise’ slightly jaded but having had a good time. Don and Ian were particularly enthralled by all the goings on, especially since this ship has a relevance going back to their childhood readings. The more I learned about its history the more I also became intrigued by it. Imagine this: the ship was built in Germany in 1913, then totally dismantled to enable it to be shipped to Dar es Salam (to support Germany’s World War I effort) and from there put on a train heading towards Lake Tankanyika, some 800 km away.  The railway line ended about 100 km short of the Lake so from there on it was transported via ox wagons to be finally reassembled on the Lake. Amazing!

It now serves as the main transport system for the entire population on the Tanzanian side of the Lake from Zambia to Kigoma  (the very north of Tanzania) and for most people living along its shore, it is the only way to access the outside world. The ship leaves the northern part of the Lake on a Wednesday and arrives back on a Sunday, so a four day round trip to cover approximately 1,000 km. As mentioned already it is too large to dock along most of the settlements along the way, so as it approaches a village it blows its fog horn to let people know that it is around the corner.

Local villagers will then approach it in their fishing boats, loaded with passengers, livestock and goods as it stops about 200 m out on the lake.

The loading onto the boat happens over a period lasting anything from ten minutes to several hours. Cargo is loaded onto the deck via a crane but passengers have to make their way up from the fishing boat towards ‘the hole on the boat’  and are helped on board by being pulled up by other passengers or sometimes ropes.  Children, babies, chickens and other small animals are passed from person to person until safely inside the ship.

Because everybody relies on the Liemba’s fog horn to be alerted to it approaching (rather than a timetable) the four of us went to sleep on the evening but were woken up close to midnight and were then taken out to the ship on a small motorboat. To see this nearly 100 year old ship all lit up in the distance, mostly with oil lanterns, was simply beautiful.

I was slightly concerned how I was going to reach the “hole” to get on board but as soon as I lifted my arms up I was grabbed by several people and pulled up without any problems.

Once inside there is total chaos, or organised chaos would be a better description. Traders start selling their wares almost immediately (bananas, pineapples, cigarettes etc), families below deck spread themselves out on the floor and start cooking on little portable stoves. Chickens are on the loose and everybody is shouting on top of each other but there is a great buzz about the place and a real party-like atmosphere.

When you finally reach your cabin (yes, we really did book one VIP cabin and one first class cabin so we could have at least one private bathroom between us) it is halfway through the night and within what feels like a few minutes of sleeping you are woken by the ship’s horn, approaching another ‘stop’ along the way. Then the whole spectacle starts again.

Don and Ian were so captured by it all that they spent most of the night on the bridge of the ship watching on.  

Here is a picture of us having breakfast the next morning at the ‘Captain’s Table’:

Tuesday, 12^th February Zambia

We left Lakeside Lodge yesterday morning and are now on our way back to SA in earnest.

Sunday was spent tightening all the nuts and bolts on the two vehicles, cleaning, exchanging our photos, dividing up our cutlery and generally getting ready for the long journey ahead, all the while acutely aware that  this was our last day together, having spent nine months non-stop in each other’s company. Don and Ian did what boys do when they are a bit’ heart sore’: checking the nuts and bolts yet again.

Unfortunately, swimming in the lake was out of bounds due to a fatal crocodile attack on a teenager in the nearby village, a stark reminder that we are in Africa. The boy had made the  mistake of going swimming at dusk when the crocodile struck. When this happens (the last attack was seven years ago) the hunt is on to find the crocodile but so far it has proved to be elusive so everyone is cautious.

We celebrated Don’s birthday Sunday night (one day early) and were given a lovely surprise by Louise and Chris (the lodge owners) who had made a chocolate birthday cake.

This is Heather waiting for her piece of chocolate cake, first chocolate in many months!

'Happy Birthday Brother'

Chris and Louise had a further surprise installed for us when we came back from the cruise and that was to upgrade us to one of their luxury cottages for two nights, at no extra cost.

Sorry but this will make you sick!

This is the view of Lake Tankanyika from our bed. Tony and Mel, we have finally found a place that would be up to your standard if you ever joined us on another Africa trip!

Thank you Chris and Louise!

So the four of set off  yesterday morning for our last joined stretch of about 150 km before Don and I headed south and Ian and Heather east, towards the Tanzanian coast. We were naturally sad to say ‘good bye’ but also happy to have spent such a great time together. For the rest of the day we couldn’t bring ourselves to switch off the car radio phone (our way of communicating with each other whilst on the road) in case Ian and Heather had changed their minds and were coming south with us.

We had an uneventful crossing into Zambia (always a good thing in Africa!) although when we got to the Tanzanian border post, the border guard had gone home for a sleep and took us about half an hour to locate him.

We found a deserted camp in Zambia on the most southern point of Lake Tankanyika where we celebrated Don’s birthday  with a T-bone steak that the woman in charge managed to rustle up and it was totally delicious. Tomorrow we are hoping to make Lusaka, some 800 km south. But tonight we are missing Ian and Heather...