INTRODUCTION For as
long as I can remember, I've always dreamt of making six Transcontinental
journeys, and when I write journeys I do not mean jumping from one spot to
another by aeroplane - I mean travelling. The first one was to go by the
TransSiberian Railway to Vladivostok and from there to Japan. The second one
was to take a steamer to North America and go by the "Canadian" from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. The third one was to go to Beijing, through Mongolia
one way and Manchuria the other. The fourth one was to go all the way through
Africa down to Cape Town, including riding the famous "Blue Train". The fifth
one was to go to Alaska and the sixth one was to go to Singapore
overland.
Like
Cecil Rhodes I had the dream of going by rail, or at least overland, from Cairo
to the Cape. That has never been possible in my lifetime; border crossings
between African countries has always been tricky, with several ones closed at
any time and there has never been public transport across the Sudanese/Ugandan
border. The Sudanese Civil War makes it less advisable to travel through the
country. But with the help of freight ships, my fourth dream journey became my
sixth and last to fulfil (counting my South America trip in 1999 as a
substitute for an Alaska journey). As in 2001 I went by a freighter from Lisbon
to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, by train around in South Africa, to Maputo and
all the way from Cape Town to Dar-es-Salaam and the Victoria Lake, by boat to
Zanzibar and Mombasa, by train again to Nairobi and then by freighter from
Mombasa to Fos-sur-Mer in France.
Just
like when going to South America in 1999 the ships agent, Kapitän Peter
Zylmann, nearly ruined my journey, as he booked me on a ship leaving Lisbon
18th April and scheduled to arrive Cape Town approximately at 3rd or 4th May,
and not telling me until very late, although I one year in advance had told him
I absolutely had to be in Cape Town not later than 5th May. Luckily enough the
passenger (owner's) cabin on the ship ahead was free and I could board the m.v.
"Grey Fox" in Lisbon 4th April. The ship I originally was booked on, the "Amber
Lagoon", was late and did not arrive to Cape Town before I left by "The Blue
Train" 7th May!!
THE BEGINNING My train
trip from Oslo to Lisbon was my first journey ever from the Scandinavian
peninsular to the Continent of Europe without using a ferry on any part. Ten
years earlier I could have travelled by train from Oslo to Lisbon only changing
trains in Copenhagen and Paris. But that journey would have lasted four nights
and three days. Now I had to change at seven stations; Hallsberg, Mjölby,
Malmö, Copenhagen, Cologne, Paris and Irun, but was able to make the trip
in 52 hours.
The
journey on "Grey Fox" was the most enjoyable freight ship journey I have made
so far; the cabin being the biggest and nicest I've ever met on a ship and the
Polish captain and crew extremely nice and friendly. On board we celebrated
Polish Easter, which is nearly as special as Scandinavian Yule. The weather on
the Canary Islands, which we passed between, was surprisingly bad in
April.
The ship called into Walvis Bay in
Namibia, where I went off and strolled around and wouldn't have needed the visa
I had got in advance. Wednesday 18th April the ship got an order to call into
Port Elizabeth after Cape Town, to take some empty containers to Richardsbay. I
thought it could be fun to have rounded the Cape of Good Hope and asked if I
could prolong my journey.
The immigration authorities in South Africa
didn't mind that, however stamped my entrance in Cape Town and regarded the
Cape Town - Port Elizabeth journey as a domestic one, and the ships company
macs let me continue without extra costs.
However we arrived in Cape Town
Thursday 19th and I went off with my main luggage and stayed one night at
Breakwater Lodge, where I also kept my main luggage during my two weeks round
trip in South Africa. I had a lovely Friday visiting Table Mountain - which was
impossible to do when I came back to Cape Town two weeks later. Friday night I
went to town together with some of the crew members, and Saturday we left Cape
Town for Port Elizabeth, docking Sunday evening. Next day I took the train to
Johannesburg, the commuter train to Pretoria, where I found a lovely hotel, in
which I pre-booked a room for my visit two weeks later and then went by the
night train to Komatipoort.
South African trains are not very
comfortable but have mostly excellent dining cars. My train to Komatipoort was
six hours late, which enabled me to see and photograph the spectacular
mountainous landscape that the train normally passes through in the middle of
the night. According to the Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable there was supposed
to be 1st and 2nd class air-conditioned coaches to the Mozambique capital
Maputo. There were only 3rd class cars. I was definitely the only non-local
passenger on that train. As the train from Johannesburg was six hours late
nobody really knew when the Maputo train was supposed to depart. Suddenly the
Mozambique engine driver blew the horn and went off. Passengers outside the
train yelled and tried to run after and on the train but he just accelerated
and they never got on.
Maputo railway station
At the Mozambique border the
immigration officer demanded ZAR 12 (around US$ 1.60) from everybody to stamp
their passports (I had already paid US$ 65 for my Mozambique visa in Lisbon).
This was enough for some passengers not to have the fare (also ZAR 12) for the
train journey to Maputo. It was a fascinating journey through remote villages
on an extremely bad railway track, where 40 km/h felt dangerously fast. Maputo
has the most beautiful railway station in Africa, but the railyard reminded me
of Sarajevo's half a year earlier. Both railyards were filled with damaged rail
coaches out of use. In Maputo I stayed at the Hotel Avenida, which charged US$
120 for a single room. You get a better room for ZAR 300 (US$ 40) in South
Africa.
Next day I went back the same way and by the night train from
Komatipoort to Johannesburg, from where I went to East London. The drunken Boer
(Afrikaner) that was in my compartment had a gun inside his trousers' waist,
luckily enough he left the train the same evening.
Just as Chile and Argentina in 1999 had surprised me by being much
more European and much less North American than I had expected, South Africa
disappointed me by being the opposite. It is nearly impossible to be a
pedestrian in the country, and a lot of towns are as ugly as American towns.
East London is one of them. However standard is extremely high and prices very
low on lodging, food and drinks in South Africa. After having spent the weekend
in East London I went to Johannesburg again - spent the day at the Johannesburg
railway station, as the city is regarded one of the most dangerous in Africa
and has little to offer the tourist - and then caught the night train to
Durban. Durban is a fascinating city, a melting pot of different cultures, and
the only South African city I really liked, besides Cape Town.
From Durban I took the 36 hours through train to Cape Town. Again a
drunken Boer in my compartment made the first night unpleasant, so I changed
compartment the next morning. The two drunken Boers I met on South African
trains were the only persons on my entire African journey that were
unpleasant.
Back in Cape Town Friday 4th May it rained cats and dogs. Saturday I
took a tour of the city on my own and Sunday I participated on a tour to the
Cape of Good Hope, also watching wild penguins, ostriches and baboons. I really
liked Cape Town and had some marvellous food there, as elsewhere in South
Africa, like venison, ostrich, crocodile, calamari and lobster.
LUXURY ON THE BLUE
TRAIN Monday 7th May I boarded "The Blue Train"; the world's
most comfortable train, running after schedule. It lived up to it's reputation
- Excellent service, comfortable sleeping compartments with bath tubs,
comfortable lounge cars, excellent dining car and everything included. "Even
the cigars?", I asked. "Yes." "Do you have Havana cigars?" "We have nothing
less, Sir." But it is amazing how the South African railways have managed to
make this train into the worldwide known and popular train it is, as it runs
from Cape town to Pretoria, which is not a very exciting city although being
the country's capital and through a landscape that is not nearly as spectacular
as neither the North American, the Norwegian nor the West Chinese.
I
arrived Pretoria 26 hours later where I stayed at the wonderful Victoria Hotel,
a very cozy and fine, old hotel opposite to the railway station, where you
however should not walk outside after dark (which applies to most African towns
and cities). In Pretoria I took out the money for my onward journey, so from
there I carried US$ 6 600 in cash on my body, as I had got the information that
cards were more or less impossible to use in Zambia or Tanzania. As it is so
totally unwise to run around with that amount of money in cash on yourself
nobody expects you to do it, and I didn't loose a cent of it, having hidden it
in three different bags under my clothes and in my wrist belt. Next day I went
to Pilasenberg
National Park, where I saw lions, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, baboons
and zebras.
Thursday I went on "The Blue Train" again, this time taking a two day
journey to Victoria Falls. In Bulawayo we went on an excursion and picnic. When
we returned we were given the news that "The Blue Train" had derailed, trying
to turn at the railyard. For a short while it looked like they would substitute
the rail trip for a bus journey already that night and I panicked. But we were
put at the Holiday Inn Hotel, hoping that "The Blue Train" could continue the
next morning. It couldn't, and the rest of the passengers were taken by bus to
Victoria Falls in the morning. I spent the entire day on "The Blue Train" at
Bulawayo station, being served an excellent lunch, drinks and Havana cigars
when I was not photographing the "NRZ Garrat" engine, that was shifting on the
railyard, until the ordinary train from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls left that
evening. Boarding that train I was followed by four of "The Blue Train" staff
carrying my luggage and bringing a plate with cheese and fruit, a bottle of
white wine, a bottle of sect and two Havana cigars. At Bulawayo station I was
asked by a local for South African newspapers; press freedom was not highly
valued in Zimbabwe at the time. In the papers on the train we could read that
the Western embassies had decided not to evacuate their citizens yet! At the
petrol stations long queues could be seen.
My biggest worry about the derailment
of "The Blue Train" was that I had prepaid more than US$ 700- for two nights
stay at the Victoria Falls Hotel, and now I turned up 24 hours late without
having cancelled the first night. It was, to my relief, no problem - I still
stayed two nights without any extra costs. Neither was it a problem to postpone
my steam journey from Victoria Falls to Livingstone. Through Eve Chamboko at
Zambezi Safari and Travel
Co. I had made an agreement that a steam train would run from Victoria
Falls to Livingstone the day I intended to go, and as normally six passengers
was a minimum for the tour, I guaranteed tickets, if less than five fellow
passengers were on board the train.
Victoria Falls
Visiting the Victoria Falls National
Park is partly like walking in a very heavy rain storm. The falls had unusually
high water and it was certainly an impressive sight. Victoria Falls is one of
the five most spectacular landscapes I have ever seen so far! (The other ones
being the Geiranger fjord in Norway, Grand Canyon in the USA, the Three Gorges
of the Chang Jiang river in China and the mountains just south of the Argentine
town San Carlos de Bariloche.) Walking on the path between the hotel and the
national park one was followed by an armed guard, not to protect you against
criminals but against elephants and buffaloes! In the evening on the second day
I participated on a boat tour on the Zambezi river. However the only wildlife
we saw on the tour was one crocodile.
Tuesday 15th May I went as the only passenger by "Steam Africa
Express", one Zambian steam engine and a lounge car, from Victoria Falls to
Livingstone. The red carpet was rolled out from the hotel entrance of the
platform, champagne and soft drinks were served, the Zimbabwean immigration was
passed and then we halted at the famous bridge between the two countries, so
that I could take pictures, drinking more champagne. Then came the Zambian
immigration - at none of the border posts I had to turn up in person. After 10
km we arrived at Livingstone station where the engine was put in the other end
and we headed for the railway museum, where I was given a guided tour, before
the train went back to Livingstone station. It left for Victoria Falls without
me, as this was my way of continuing my journey northwards.
The "Steam Africa Express" on the Victoria Falls
Bridge
I was met in Livingstone by a man from the SAE, and he drove me around, to the
money exchange, to Wild Side Tours & Safaris, where I could book my train
ticket New Kapiri Mposhi - Dar-es-Salaam TAZARA, and to the Maramba River
Lodge, which meant that I didn't have to go to Lusaka to do it.
Next
day I visited Livingstone town, a sleepy little town which is difficult to
believe it had once been the country's capital, and went on a private Zambezi
river tour, where I came very close to giraffes and elephants. At Maramba River
Lodge, hippos were only 10 metres from the outdoors restaurant and waked you up
at 4 a.m. and a sign asked you to "Beware of crocodiles". Every night the
incredible sound carpet of jungle noises was turned on, a competition between
birds, insects, frogs and monkeys. The African jungle is bloody noisy!
Both the two following days I visited the
Mosi-o-Tunya
National Park; the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls, maybe even more
spectacular than the Zimbabwean side. Friday I went in to Livingstone town
again and visited the Livingstone museum.
Elephant in Chobe National Park
I spent the weekend doing a two day Safari to
Chobe National Park in
Botswana. The first day we were four tourists in a small boat on the river
shore, when 50-100 elephants walked straight ahead towards us and the biggest
elephant stopped only five metres from our boat. Behind us we had plenty of
hippos. We also saw a lot of antelopes on that tour.
Next day I went
both by car and boat to the same park, but did not see much I hadn't seen the
first day, neither giraffes nor lions.
On my return to the Maramba River Lodge my chalet had been given to
somebody else, but the owner drove me into town and got me a hotel room, for
which he also paid. That was just fine to me, as I next morning was leaving
Livingstone by a train, to which it had not been possible to buy tickets in
advance.
The train left Livingstone half an hour late, at 9.30 a.m.. I
have never seen a less maintained train. The sleeping compartment door was
difficult to close and just as difficult to open, the windows were partly
crashed, the fans and light did not work, there was no water in the sleeping
car and the toilet was a hole in the floor. We were supposed to arrive Kapiri
Mposhi at 2.50 a.m. At 11 a.m. the next day I started to loose hope of reaching
my train to Dar-es-Salaam, as our engine had been detached from the train to be
repaired and we still were quite some distance from Kapiri Mposhi. At 14.30, 11
hours and 40 minutes late, we arrived Kapiri Mposhi and I still didn't know
exactly when the TAZARA train for Tanzania was supposed to leave. Kapiri Mposhi
on the ZR line is no station, just some tracks out in the field, but the train
staff got me a taxi, and the taxi driver knew the TAZARA train would leave at
14.54, and it was only 2 km to New Kapiri Mposhi station, from where these
trains leave.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF SOUTHERN
AFRICA So what is my impression of Southern Africa? South
Africa undergoes an exciting change, but all (or nearly all) parties seem to
have an honest wish to build a future together. Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and
Zambia seem to suffer from a post-colonial complex, where most business is run
by people of European origin, however often born in one of the four countries
or South Africa, not really belonging to any of them, constantly complaining
about their lazy staff of African origin and the government taxes, treating the
natives in a rather arrogant way and charging high prices for rather mediocre
services with the words "That's Africa".
At the New Kapiri Mposhi station I was
approached by a guy who wanted to sell a berth in a compartment which he held
tickets for four, but only needed three. So I shared compartment with him and
his two Congolese friends, one of them being a Chief of a land larger than
Belgium. They two only spoke French and Swahili, while the first guy, who was
Zambian, spoke English and Swahili only. The funny thing was that when counting
high numbers they did that in French and English respectively, not
understanding each other, so I had to translate the numbers without knowing
anything about was the conversation was all about.
Rather ironically, the Chinese
fulfilled an essential part of the dream of Cecil Rhodes by building the TAZARA
railway to Dar-es-Salaam, to enable Zambia to export its copper without using
South Rhodesia and South Africa. It runs through a beautiful landscape, and in
Tanzania I saw a lot of antelopes, buffaloes and giraffes. Upon leaving New
Kapiri Mposhi, the "Mukuba Express" (Copper in the Bemba language) was two
hours late, we were due to arrive Dar-es-Salaam Thursday morning. In the
afternoon the engine broke down, one station from Dar-es-Salaam. Everybody,
except a young Bermudan-English couple with two small children and a lot of
luggage and I, went the last 10 km or so by minibus. Finally a new engine
arrived and pulled us in to Dar-es-Salaam TAZARA at 6. p.m. I took a taxi to
Durban Hotel, basic but cheap. The restaurant lacked atmosphere but the food
was marvellous.
I stayed in Dar-es-Salaam for five days. I liked the city and to just
stroll around in it lazily. East Africa gave me quite another impression than
Southern Africa. The natives seem to have much more control themselves over
their countries, although a lot of business are run by people of Arab and
Indian origin. Both Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar and Mombasa are old cultural
melting pots, partly with pretty old buildings. In Tanzania I nearly only ate
seafood, which they served of all sorts, deliciously prepared, while the
quality of beef was much poorer than in Southern Africa. After five days in Dar
I took the train to Mwanza at the Victoria Lake, a 36 hours fascinating train
ride through a spectacular landscape and picturesque villages. Just as before
on the train to Maputo and from Livingstone to Kapiri Mposhi, I was the only
passenger of European origin, which obviously worried the railway staff, who
even commanded a fellow passenger into my compartment, so that the "Muzunga"
(white man) should not have to sleep alone(!). On that train I made the mistake
of taking the Malaria prophylax Lariam on empty stomach, which caused me a
terrible headache the next day and even worse, my eyesight changed temporarily.
In
Mwanza the streets were such that you cannot even talk
about pot holes, as pot holes have to be in something, which didn't exist here.
I stayed at a fairly good hotel; The New Mwanza Hotel, not as overpriced to
foreigners as most accommodation and transport are in Tanzania. The landscape
at the lake is really beautiful. Several passenger ships and train ferries run
to Uganda but none to Kenya. According to the Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable
there was supposed to be a passenger service from Mwanza to Kenyan Kisumu,
which I planned to use as I booked my freight ship journey home, from Mombasa
to Europe. It didn't exist (which I knew by the time I left Europe - what I
didn't know was that no trains had run from Kisumu to Nairobi since December
2000, due to a lot of train accidents!)
Mwanza
I went back to Dar-es-Salaam, again by
train, and stayed another two nights, this time at Peacock Hotel, at US$ 70 (55
for residents). The reception was fancy, but the room hardly better than at the
much cheaper Durban Hotel and the restaurant a catastrophe. Both nights some
Muslim gathering performed in the park opposite the hotel, yelling
non-musically prayers in loudspeakers, making it totally impossible to
sleep.
I boarded a passenger boat to Zanzibar,
to which I arrived Tuesday evening 5th June, and moved in at Mazsons Hotel in
the Stone Town, a most charming hotel. One thing I discovered about Zanzibar
was that everybody (or should I rather write every male) on the island
constantly was lying and misinforming about absolutely everything. The taxi
driver who told you the hotel you wanted to go to was closed, the guys in the
street who wanted to show you where to go to to get this and this, and then
wanted money for it; although they unnecessarily had taken you through the
entire town and still you hadn't got what you wanted, the price of a tour, the
tour company who claimed it was not allowed for foreigners to go by "dhow" to
Mombasa etc. etc. I liked the Stone Town in Zanzibar very much, and spent a
week there. Though it was annoying to have the same conversation five times a
day, where you first were asked about everything concerning yourself and your
trip, then told that the person in question had no education and no job but a
family to support and finally asked to pay him 1000 TSh or buy him a drink or a
cigarette. On Zanzibar I went on a "Spice tour" and visited the National
Museum.
My main problem was how to get to Mombasa. I had hoped there
would be passenger boats. There weren't, not even to Tanga, which is far closer
to Mombasa than Dar-es-Salaam. At some time I was fooled to believe I could not
go by "dhow". There are no more passenger trains from Tanzania to Kenya. I had
seen the buses from Dar-es-Salaam to Mombasa and could not imagine going 470 km
by anyone of those. I knew there was a bus company called "Scandinavian
Express", with fairly decent buses the 900 km from Dar-es-Salaam to Nairobi,
but I didn't fancy going 900 km by any bus and wanted to avoid Nairobi - at
least arriving Nairobi with all my luggage at 9 p.m.
mv. "Al Husein", the
dhow that took me to Mombasa
I
was nearly considering taking the flight from Zanzibar to Mombasa! Then
suddenly I met somebody who knew of a "dhow" (a small wooden cargo boat) that
was going to Mombasa, and I could leave Zanzibar by that Tuesday 12th - I
hardly dared to believe it! So off we went at 5 p.m. The sea wasn't too bad,
but as the small boat was empty I experienced the worst rolling ever, and a
couple of hours west of the sound between Zanzibar and Pemba I really had to
use force to keep myself at one place on the boat. What I did not know then was
that several of these "dhows" never reach their destination in the winter
months of June and July. But thankfully we arrived Mombasa at 9. a.m.
Wednesday.
As the Norwegian embassy in Nairobi had
sent me an e-mail just before I left Europe that I now would need a visa at US$
50 to enter Kenya I had tried to apply for one at the Kenyan embassy in
Dar-es-Salaam. There they claimed I didn't need one as a Norwegian citizen. And
that seemed to be correct - the immigration officer stamped my passport, giving
me one month permit to stay with the words "I assume you have the necessary
funds to support yourself"
In Mombasa I stayed at the Oceanic Hotel,
once a very fancy hotel with several restaurants, now rather declining, but it
still had decent rooms with balconies, overlooking the sea and the port
entrance, and very cheap. Saturday I took a guided old town tour, pretty
overpriced as most tours are on the East African mainland and Sunday I boarded
the night train to Nairobi.
Of ordinary trains in Southern and East
Africa it was the most comfortable but also most expensive, still very good
value for money; Ksh 3500 for a berth in a 1st class 2-berth compartment,
including three course dinner and breakfast. Everything in the compartment was
working, there was even drinking water in addition to washing water and the
compartments were guarded during meal times.
Mombasa old town
Giraffe in Nairobi National Park
Nairobi had a nice railway museum and a good restaurant; "Travellers'
Café" at Hilton Hotel, but was otherwise the worst city I have ever
visited; air-polluted, noisy, ugly, crowded, unfriendly and dangerous.
I visited the Nairobi
National Park but did not see any lions, and rhinos and zebras (all three
animals I would see "for sure" according to the tour company) - I saw at such
far a distance there was no point in trying to take pictures of them. I did
however get some really close shots of giraffes and marabou
storks.
Wednesday I went back by the train
to Mombasa, just to get a message from my ships agent that my freighter to
Europe now was, not three, but six days delayed. So I had another week at the
Oceanic Hotel. I took a very nice picture of the ship from my balcony as it
entered the port.
LEAVING AFRICA BEHIND - TAKING GOOD MEMORIES WITH
ME Fortunately I had two very nice German fellow passengers on
the ship, unfortunately, the German officers tried to pretend there were no
passengers on board the "CMA CGM La Bourdonnais". The first time the captain
spoke to me, was after six days when he needed my passport and health
declaration for the Egyptian authorities! We left Mombasa Friday 29th June,
passed the Gulf of Aden, where we heard other ships talking to each other about
being attacked by pirates, and reached El Suweis Friday 6th July. Saturday we
went through the Canal - two bridges had been or was being built since I passed
through four years earlier - and in the evening we were put to anchor in the
port of Bur Sa'id. Next morning we docked, and the captain was furious about
all the Marlboro cigarettes he had to bribe everybody with, just to dock. He
got even more furious when we left. At least my fellow passengers and I could
spend a lovely Sunday in Bur Sa'id.
Wednesday morning we got the message that there was a strike in the
port of Marseille, our destination, so we had to go to Fos-sur-Mer, 50 km west
of Marseille. But the ships company paid my taxi from there to Marseille (FF
900) and I boarded a high speed train from Marseille to Brussels, travelling in
up to 350 km/h(!) on a brand new railway line and only using 5¼ hours on
the distance. Unfortunately the high speed train from Brussels to Cologne
enabling me to reach the night train for Copenhagen was fully booked, so I had
to take the night train to Hamburg. Now, there are worse places than Brussels
to spend a Friday evening with all the restaurants in the city! From Hamburg I
went to Travemünde to try to catch the morning ferry to Trelleborg, but on
Saturdays it of course suddenly had left at 8 a.m. instead of normally 10 a.m.,
so I just made it back to Lübeck to reach the Copenhagen train. After a
short visit at my parents in Scania I went home to Oslo by trains from
Malmö via Gothenburg Sunday evening, and came home after 107 days, full of
impressions!
