Southern Africa: May 2007 Archives

WOW - WE GOT HERE!!! London to Cape Town in one piece!!!

Yes folks its official - this epic journey across 86 degrees of latitude has reached its end, and we arrived safely in Cape Town, on schedule, on the 27th of May. Congrats to everyone who took part in it, especially Nigel, who drove some of the way, and Zoe, who single-handedly drove the rest!!!

A big surprise - who should we meet in Cape Town but Nancy Askin, who had flown down from Nairobi. (She was on the truck for quite a few of the earlier sections). If you want the Encounter gossip, you'll have to ask her yourself.

So, I'm sure you want to know about the previous section: Victoria Falls to Cape Town. I can best sum it up by saying that there were a lot of contradictions. In some way we learned a lot about East and Southern Africa, and in some ways we learned very little. Overlanding through this part of the continent is a little more 'organised' than other parts of the world. That's not something I would have chosen myself if there had been a choice, being a great fan of rough-camping and getting 'up close and personal' with the local community, but that's the way most Overland companies operate in this region, and Dragoman have to copy to compete. Wow - its amazing just how many Overland trucks you see on the road in East Africa! Its not like anywhere else in the world. There are plenty of organised campsites, and we even get to take a shower quite regularly these days!

I've had emails asking how the cook on our truck got on. Here's my thoughts about cooks on Overland trucks... Well, as with most things in life, there are good ones and bad ones. We had one of each (they swapped over in Maputo). What a difference there was between them - the first was lazy, wasteful, and often too hungover to make it to breakfast. His food was greasy and monotonous. The other was completely different: enthusiastic, competent, always friendly, and one of the first to shower each morning. His food was brilliant, he took more care and trouble than he needed to, and he actually did his washing-up as well!

To chat about cooks generally: When I first heard that there was to be a cook on the truck, I thought Hmm, well, I'd rather take my turn doing the shopping and the cooking myself, as on all the other Overland journeys I've done, but if we HAVE to have one, at least he'll be able to bargain to get food cheaper than a Westerner can, and at least we will have a wider range of local food that if only the passengers were doing the cooking.

WRONG ON BOTH POINTS!! For a start, the cost of the food kitty (the amount paid by the passengers for their communal food) actually DOUBLED!! Rather than shopping at local markets as the passengers have done previously, the cooks insisted on shopping at supermarkets for all items, including vegetables. They never once went to any of the many markets in Africa, where cheap and fresh food is readily available. Neither did they ever cook any local food, or use local ingredients. Instead, they would buy things that previously we (the passengers) wouldn't have dreamed of getting, such as pre-sliced cheese, tins of curried vegetables, tins of chopped onions, pre-sliced mushrooms in trays, baby sweet corn also in trays, even fire-lighters!! OK, so we all might use these things back home without thinking twice, but in Africa they are not only highly inappropriate, but they are often imported too, are over packed and certainly over-priced. In short, they are unnecessary, and a big waste of passenger's money.

With these exotic (for Africa) ingredients, the cooks would make Western food, never local. One of the cooks even admitted he had no idea what to do with lentils or pulses. The only time they used flour was to make pancakes. Did we come to Africa to eat food like this?? I certainly didn't. Do I think cooks have any place on an Overland truck? Most emphatically No, not at all.

Cooks aside, don't think that I didn't enjoy myself, or get a lot out of the trip. I did, and am very glad that I have had the chance to experience and learn a little about this vast continent, and a small selection of the people who live here. Wow was it ever different!! Not only did the scenery change dramatically, from the flooded and hot Okavango Delta to the snow-covered mountains (and campsites!) of Lesotho, but the whole mood of one country was different from its neighbour.

Take just 3 examples: Zimb@bwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. Zimb@bwe has an air of waiting, with people just sitting around, unable to pull themselves out of their present problems. Mozambique, though in a sorry state after their years of internal conflict, plus the ever present threat of land-mines, is showing real signs of lifting itself out of the ashes as people pull together in many small ways, starting businesses and community projects that will eventually restart the whole economy.

In South Africa, meanwhile, the majority of black inhabitants seem to have been completely side-lined by the whites. South Africa is very much a first world country if you are white. If you are black, though, and one of the poorer majority, you continue to live in poverty in squatter camps outside the cities, and lack many of the amenities that others don't even think of, such as piped water, sanitation, electricity, or much public transport.

Therefore, if you are black, this might annoy you, and make you want a bit of what the white folks have. It might even tempt some people into crime, as a quick way to get it. Consequently, there's quite a bit of crime here, and certainly a lot of protection against it. The white folks live in a society where electric fences, razor-wire, guard dogs, automatic gates, and armed response-teams are not only the norm, but an essential part of everyday life. Its very strange for the foreign visitor to experience code-locks on every hotel, or remotely-operated steel gates on the entrance to most shops. One wonders what it must have been like before apartheid ended!

I am, of course, just an observer here. As a white tourist, I have been lucky enough, and privileged enough, to explore some of the more wonderful places in Eastern and Southern Africa. The itinerary on this section packed a lot in to the time available...

After examining Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe side of the water, we travelled to such amazing places as the Okavango Delta in Botswana, wildlife parks and ancient ruins in Zimbabwe, the beautiful Bazerute Islands of Mozambique, the mountain scenery of Lesotho, and the Zulu battlefields of South Africa. I did quite a bit of horse-riding through some spectacular scenery, and even had time for the odd day or two on the beach alongside the Indian Ocean. See my latest photo-pages (12, 13, 14) for all the images.

I had a birthday, too - my 50th! Spent the day before riding around the rails near Bulawayo on the footplates of 2 Beyer-Garrats, which are THE most impressive of all steam engines. How neat was that?! What an amazing 'birthday present', and completely unplanned! You can see all the photos on THIS page.

Just a word about our SOLO driver, Zoe. She did brilliantly, despite her lack of experience. I think it is rather naughty of Dragoman to put a novice in sole charge of an Overland truck. It was lucky that we suffered no major breakdowns in the last section. If we had, Zoe would have undoubtedly managed to cope, but would have taken much longer than someone with an appropriate amount of training and experience. Anyway, she did OK, and no doubt will continue to succeed as she carries on with Drago-driving on the west coast - I wish her much luck for the future.

Now in South Africa, I have changed from an Overlander to a Backpacker, as I spend the next month exploring South Africa. I am currently exploring the wonderful city of Cape Town, and am staying for a few days in a lovely hostel here, called 'Zebra Crossing'. Its cheap, clean, friendly, and situated just near the centre of town.

Had to go to a dentist about my 4-way bridge which was loose. It turned out that the back tooth that was acting as a support for the gap of 2 false ones was rotten and had to be pulled out, so I now have a gap of 3 teeth where the other day there was some - it is taking some getting used to! The dentist was Swiss, and very nice, though. I'll no doubt get some implants in India one of these days.

One other thing that I have done here is to check at the Post Restante counter to see if there was any mail waiting for me. This time yes (whoopee again again) - there were an amazing 5 letters, from Margaret Makins, Rosemary Holland, Jill Monagahan, Sue Bourne, and a postcard from Dinah and Wayne Rogers. The post generally took 12 days from Europe to get here, and 20 days from Canada!

If you would like to send me a letter to my final mail-stop of this journey, (all most welcome) go to this page for the next address, which is for Swakopmund, in Namibia.

Further developments - I have just booked some tickets for a number of long-distance trains to help me see a bit more of the beautiful country here. Are the trains safe in South Africa for a foreign traveller, you might be asking? Well, the knowledgeable guys at www.seat61.com advise that the trains I'm going on, the 'Shosholoza Meyl' Tourist Class trains, are both safe and recommended for families and women, so it should be alright. I'm planning to go from Cape Town to Durban, then by bus to Port Elizabeth, then back on the train to Pretoria, then by train to Kimberley, then by train back to Cape Town, to be here in readiness for the final leg of my trip, by Kumuka Overland truck through Namibia to Victoria Falls. I'll let you know how it all goes...

This page contains some photos I have taken during my whilst visiting the Steam Yard at Bulawayo railway station, Zimbabwe. I thought that they might be of interest to other steam-railway and railroading fans. You can click on any of the photos to get the full-sized image in a new browser-window.

If you wish to place one or two (!not all!) images on your own non-commercial site, please download and save them on your server. DO NOT hot-link to them. The condition of use is that you include a link back to this page, and that they are not used commercially. For any other use, please contact me for permission and prices.

A bit of background info to the pictures: I visited the excellent Railway Museum in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and found out that there were still working Beyer-Garrat steam locomotives in use around the yards. They are still maintainable by the skilled staff there, and Zimbabwe has plenty of coal, so why not use them?! I went to the main railway station at Bulawayo, and on asking about the locos, was directed to the Steam Shed, which is about ten minutes walk from the station, along the tracks and following the curve to the south. Click here to show the location of the Steam Shed in Google Maps. (Note: That link will open a new browser. For best results, you should maximise the browser, and then click Refresh.)

I had few expectations, but hoped that I would be able to at least see one of them in the shed. Imagine my surprise when I got there to find that not only were there a lot of them in the shed, but that there were a couple in steam, even though it was a Sunday morning.

I had a chat with one of the engineers working there, and he suggested that I might be able to have a ride on one as well, if I asked the driver. Wow this was getting better and better! The chance of doing such a thing anywhere else in the world is nil. Would I be any luckier here?

I had a chat with the driver, and he invited me for a ride around the yards. They were just taking no.416 to be coaled, and were pulling no.525 with them. I mentioned that it was my birthday on the next day, and what a wonderful treat it was to be able to ride on one of the most famous locomotives in the world. He was very pleased that he could help, and make a dream come true.

We drove to the coaling point, and first coaled no.525, and then no.416, which I was in. The engine is inched forward until the tender is right under the hopper, then the signal is given to the operator who dumps a load of coal into the tender. This is quite exciting, as some of it shoots through the open tender access point and onto the footplate, too!

We had to go for water too, which goes into the front water-tender. The Beyer-Garrat loco is quite self sufficient, for a while at least. Unfortunately I could only stay a couple of hours here, as the Dragoman truck was waiting to leave. I got a lift on no.424 back towards the station, as the loco was 'steaming-down' at a suitable place on the way - quite a spectacular operation.

Whilst I was at the Steam Shed, I used my digital camera to take a couple of small movies, which are available for you to download and watch if you wish. They are in colour, and have sound. It was the first time I had ever used the camera to take movies, but they came out quite well - in retrospect I wish that I had taken a few more!

The first one, which you can get HERE is 14582KB in size, and shows a bit of what it is like on the footplate of a moving Beyer-Garrat locomotive.

The second one, which you can get HERE is 5750KB in size, and shows first loco no.525 in the Steam Shed, before panning around to show loco no.424.

Neither file has been edited at all, so I make no claims for technical excellence, but at the least they are a nice reminder of a GREAT day out!

Steam Locomotives of East and Southern Africa

This page contains some photos I have taken during my recent travels overland through Africa. I thought that they might be of interest to other steam-railway and railroading fans. You can click on any of the photos to get the full-sized image in a new browser-window.

If you wish to place one or two (!not all!) images on your own non-commercial site, please download and save them on your server. DO NOT hot-link to them. The condition of use is that you include a link back to this page, and that they are not used commercially. For any other use, please contact me for permission and prices.

Hwange Colliery, Zimbabwe

Bulawayo Railway Museum, Zimbabwe

I just love the odd and eccentric - mainly because I am odd and eccentric myself! The following example was spotted in a manual of regulations for the 'C.G.R. and Rhodesia Railways, Vryburg to Gwelo and Wankie Line' at the Bulawayo Railway Museum...

Special Rates for Articles of Light Weight - Frail packages, and packages which are very bulky in proportion to their weight, are charged 50 per cent. more than the ordinary Parcels Rates, such as :-
Articles (brittle) such as Glass or China,
Parcels containing..
Band-boxes and Paper Bonnet-boxes (Drapers, Milliners, and Hatters)
Barometers
Birds (Small - except Live Pigeons) alive in cases or cages
Birds and Animals Stuffed, Cases of
Bonnets (Straw)
Caneware
Clocks (Marble or Fancy), packed in cases
Flowers (Artificial)
Frames (Picture)
Furniture (Light)
Hat-boxes (Paper) loose or in crates
Lace, Packages of
Medicine, Single bottles of
Millinery (Light) or Feathers in Pasteboard Boxes
Moulding, Parcels of
Thermometers
Violins
Wedding Cakes
Wickerware
Whips (Driving)

Note - This Regulation does not apply to packages containing Bottles of Beer, Wine or Spirits, nor to Earthenware, Students' Drawings, Soft Felt Hats in hat boxes or crates, nor to similar traffic.

One wonders how this list was ever arrived at? How were these articles chosen in preference to other ones? Were there backhanders involved in the preparation of the list, or lobbying of officials, or favoured suppliers? I would think so, if only to justify such specific yet divisive categories. Why violins and not violas? Why wedding cakes but not Christmas cakes? Were barometers and thermometers frequently sent by the railways? This list generates more questions than answers for me, at least!

Maputo Railway Station, Mozambique

Talana Museum, South Africa

Steam Locomotives of East and Southern Africa

This page contains some photos I have taken during my recent travels overland through Africa. I thought that they might be of interest to other steam-railway and railroading fans. You can click on any of the photos to get the full-sized image in a new browser-window.

If you wish to place one or two (!not all!) images on your own non-commercial site, please download and save them on your server. DO NOT hot-link to them. The condition of use is that you include a link back to this page, and that they are not used commercially. For any other use, please contact me for permission and prices.

Nairobi Railway Museum, Kenya

Livingstone Railway Museum, Zambia