Zambia - On Lake Tanganyika, a sizable vessel, the Liemba, steams weekly from Mpulungu in northern Zambia to Kigoma, Tanzania, a distance of 500km.
This cruise was to be the highlight of our journey into one of the remotest parts of Africa. A couple of phone calls to Tanzania Rail in Kigoma and we were booked on tboard. The girls (Jane, 17, Kate, 16, and Sarah, 12) were aghast: all their friends were going to Ballito.
Our greatest limitation was time: we had less than four weeks and had to dash through places, especially as we had a boat to catch.
We travelled north through Francistown, Kasane, Victoria Falls, Livingstone and Lusaka. The roads were excellent, with little raffic, and it seemed safe to travel at a fair pace.
We arrived at "Mpulungu - Zambia's only port" early enough to explore the town before heading for the dock. There is a delightful hotel, Kasakalawe Lodge, right on the water's edge and it's run by South Africans. Dockside, our reservation was found to be in order and the captain was the same guy I had spoken to on the phone from Johannesburg. We decided to upgrade ourselves to VIPs. This cost us an extra $100 (about R700) but it put us on the top deck with an en suite bathroom anda hot shower.
The total cost for the voyage was $600 (about R3 900) for the five of us and the vehicle - a journey that would take three nights and two days.
We finally set sail as the sun was setting and everything was quite beautiful. The lake was calm and the moon rose and reflected across the water. It was perfect and I was relieved that the arrangements had worked out so well.
Had our plans gone wrong, we would have faced a gruelling journey on a very rough road up the lake.
The vessel is a lake freighter carrying cement, fish, maize and cassava, as well as between 300 and 400 people. We soon had the deckchairs and table out on our top deck. Other first-class passengers came to join us and we had lots of fun.
Lake Tanganyika is beautiful. Its shores rise up steeply into the Rift Valley and the hills of the Congo can be seen along the west bank. The water is a deep blue and clear: its average depth of 1,5km qualifies it as the second deepest lake in the world (only Siberia's Lake Baikal is deeper) and it contains six percent of the world's fresh water.
At last the lights of Kigoma appeared and Jane's cellphone sprung back into action, having died way back in Lusaka. The boat anchored off the port and moored, next morning, alongside an abandoned fuel vessel. This posed a problem when it came to offloading our vehicle, but the captain assured us they would build a ramp. Eventually, the vehicle was safely back on the ground and we went with our new friends to book into the Tanganyika Beach Hotel. It was comfortable, a bargain, and the food was delicious.
We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and snorkelling on a pebble beach. We visited Ujiji, where Stanley said: "Dr Livingstone, I presume." They have an interesting museum there, with life-size papier-mâché models of the two greeting each other.
The next leg was to Lake Victoria, along a 400km dirt road running close to the Burundian border. The road was not recommended for passage during the rains but we reasoned that, if the buses were getting through, we could. The road proved more than passable and we made good progress.
After an overnight stop in "the worst ever" hotel, we set off for Busisi to take a short ferry ride to Mwanza on Lake Victoria.
A night at Speke Bay Lodge was a welcome treat and we enjoyed almost First World hospitality in a beautiful setting on the beach.
The girls didn't want to spend Christmas on the road and were keen to reach Mombasa. As they had been co-operative so far, we agreed to try.
So we made a very early start into Serengeti - the park that straddles the Kenyan frontier - the next morning and set our compasses for Nairobi.
We had already been to Serengeti several years ago. On that trip we entered Kenya near Arusha, and had endured terrible roads, whacking entrance fees and crowds of tourists. This time it was different: few tourists enter by the Ndabaka gate, the road was good and the park fee was reasonable.
It was a cool, moist day and we saw more game than I can ever remember witnessing. It was overwhelming and I felt immensely privileged to be there.
Travelling north through the park, the road narrowed and became less obvious. A pride of about 20 lions lurked near the track and there were no other cars. We began doubting the existence of the border post but eventually there it was. Five officials were playing a board game under the tree and they looked at us with delight.
The register revealed that we were the fourth vehicle that month: the border was "officially" closed to the public.
The officials reminded us how close it was to Christmas and we suspected a gift would be appreciated. It was, and we were allowed through.
The Kenyan side was more difficult: we negotiated the deal for over an hour. Finally, highly irritated and tired, we were let in, but they didn't have any stamps for our passports and told us to go to the airport in Nairobi to have them granted. Surprisingly, the immigration officers at Jomo Kenyatta airport were happy to do this and barely asked any questions. We urge anyone following in our tracks: definitely don't attempt this route. Rather go via Migori.
Nairobi is like Johannesburg, with taxis, traffic jams and guys selling sunglasses and cellphone chargers at the robots. It was Christmas Eve and we set off for Mombasa - along with half of Nairobi. The road was reasonable but with appalling shoulders. It was a harrowing trip.
It was dark when we arrived and we sought out our dream hotel in the North Coast district. This was a challenge because hotels were either full or their tariffs too expensive.
With perseverance we found a suitable place, the Kenya Bay Hotel, and finally Christmas Day had a perfect setting.
After our break we travelled north to Malindi - a coastal town less than two hours from Mombasa. It is a delightful place, popular with Italians and Germans as a winter retreat.
The dusty streets house pavement cafés selling pastries, filter coffee and delicious goodies.
The beach was disappointing, with lots of seaweed and no waves. The hotels were quite exclusive and we felt poor and grubby. We stayed two nights at the African Pearl Hotel, which being both cheap and clean was a lucky find.
We heard stories of bandits on the road to Lamu - our next destination, in the far north near the Somalia border. Approaching town, we stopped at a police roadblock where we were offered an escort - a soldier with a machinegun.
We were pleased to engage one and allay our fears: he travelled cheerfully in the front and we enjoyed having our soldier.
He charged about R800 for the three-hour trip and he had to hope for a return trip before he spent all his money.
Lamu is an island with a history dating back to the slave trade. Because no vehicles are allowed on the island, we left the Land Rover in the care of a parking entrepreneur.
The boat ride, about 30 minutes long, was negotiated down from R500 to R90 with little effort. By now we had a guide who found us a hotel. It was very basic but it was either basic or Poponi's, a fabulous-looking hotel at 10 times the price.
We would leave with ineradicable memories of picturesque dhows and very old buildings two or three storeys high, plain with wooden shutters and heavily decorative wooden front doors. Most of the inhabitants are Muslim and only two places sold alcohol.
We returned to our vehicle on New Year's morning, engaged a soldier who had a huge hangover and travelled back to Mombasa. This time we went to the South Coast and found a hotel, the Indian Ocean Beach Club in Diani. It was expensive but lovely and some of the rooms were almost on the sand.
By now the prospect of the journey home was looming. We had no spirit left and decided not to venture down to Dar es-Salaam or Zanzibar. For two days we relaxed on the beach and shopped for mementos.
We drove back in five days: Iringa, Mbeya, Lusaka, Livingstone, Francistown. The towns whizzed by with no incidents, no drama - not even a puncture!
If you go: If possible, travel on a South African passport as you will save a fortune on visas. Only Tanzania required a visa for SA passports - $50. Our British passports needed visas for Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya. The visas are available at the borders but check first in case it changes. We got all ours in advance from the respective embassies in Pretoria.
You should have a yellow fever vaccination for Tanzania.
Don't attempt the trip without a Carnot (from AA) for the vehicle - VERY IMPORTANT.
Don't take too much gear - there are few campsites and you are probably better off leaving all the gear behind. We didn't use 90 percent of what we took. Don't listen to advice from people who haven't been - they will probably succeed in scaring you off.
Do take precautions against malaria but don't worry about other illnesses. There are doctors there and the chemists have medicine.
Do take lots of non-perishable food - Provita, processed cheese, corned beef etc. You won't see a loaf of bread for days and you definitely won't find a Wimpy for lunch.
Cost:Accommodation will be almost always in hotels. Those we stayed in ranged from about R300 to R1 700 a night for all five of us, mostly including breakfast. Most rates are negotiable.
Fuel (diesel and petrol) is, on average, the same price as in South Africa. Food and drinks are very cheap but basic. Cold beer and softdrinks are available everywhere so there's no need to take a fridge.
For further information call Paula Swarbreck on 083 415 0557.
- This article was originally published on page 13 of The Cape Argus on May 28, 2005
