Day 7 and 8. Zambia to Victoria Falls Hotel and Zambezi River Cruise.

Day 7.  As we passed through Zambia, we noticed that instead of physically clearing brush from the sides of the tracks, the Zambian way is to light a nice fire and let it do the work.  During the night, Pat woke up to the room being full of smoke.  The train was shaking so much that one of the windows in our room came down and the smoke from the fires had filled up our room.  That is something you don't see everyday.  Ah, the fun of Zambian tracks. 
We arrived at the Zambia/Zimbabwe border around 9am and stopped on the Victoria Falls Bridge overlooking the Batoka Gorge. The bridge was constructed in England and shipped here piece by piece via ships, railway and rivers.  Construction was completed on March 31, 1905.  After taking some pictures of the little monkeys that live near the bridge, we bought a nice bowl and a mask from one of the venders that sell things on the bridge.  In the distance you could see the Victoria Falls Hotel where we would spend the night.

Little Bridge monkey.

More Bridge Monkeys.  The hotel in the distance.

Batoka Gorge and Zambezi River.

Our train on the bridge.

The little platform in the middle of the bridge is for bungee jumping.

  A little while later we arrived at the Victoria Falls Hotel.  The hotel opened its doors in June 1904, shortly after the railroad made its way there.  It was a simple building of wood with a corrugated iron roof raised off the ground to afford ventilation and freedom from damp and pest.  It was suppose to be a temporary structure for railroad engineers and bridge building crews.  The hotel was expanded in 1914-15 to what the main structure is today.  Over the years many more rooms have been added.  It was a very cool place with a very British feel to it.  Pictures of the King and Queen, animal skins and mounted heads were everywhere.

Panorama view of the hotel from the edge of the gorge.

    

Queen Mary.

King George.

Queen Pat and King James lounging by the pool.

Kevin and Lisa back from shopping.

Batoka Gorge and Zambezi River.

The bridge from the hotel lawn.

After a day of resting and sightseeing, we loaded up in buses for a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River.  It was beautiful.

We saw elephants.

and Hippos.

And a wonderful sunset.

Me and my Boo.

After a wonderful two day stop, we were rested and ready for more train time.  We left around 4pm and headed into Zimbabwe toward Bulawayo.  No sign of Elvis but some of the gang did go bungee jumping. 

Cheers,

J and P  

Day 3, 4, 5, and 6: Makambako, Chisimba Falls, Kapiri Mposhi and the Kafue Bridge.

Day 3:  We traveled through the Udzunga Mountains passed forest of Baobab trees and many small villages and stopped at the town of Makambako.  It was a bit of a crossroads with a large highway running through it and a nice market where they seemed to specialize in clothing, shoes and many different varieties of printed fabric.  The designs were beautiful and I was sure that Tim Gunn from Project Runway would pop out at any moment and tell me I had 10 dollars to spend and 3 hours to make a three-piece spring collection for my next challenge.  We also found the cutest little guy in the whole market watching us shop.  It was a nice stop.

A very busy market.

Shopping for fabric.

Little cutie all bundled up.

Another cutie.

Big highway next to town.

We continued the rest of the day through the Rift Valley with spectacular scenery at every turn.  That night at dinner there was an Africa theme with the train crew dressing in their best African outfits and some of the passengers joining in as well.  Special thanks to Emily for giving the ladies a traditional African head rap with our newly bought fabric.

The ladies got tired of the head dresses.

Kevin and Lisa looking good.

Day 4:  In the morning the train passed through the Poroto Mountains and stopped in Tunduma, where border crossing formalities with the local authorities were completed allowing us to cross from Tanzania into Zambia.  The tracks in Zambia are said to be the worst of the trip and it was quickly evident that the rumors were true.  Our speed dropped to around 20 mph and the motion of the train took on a new life of its own.  At around 1430 we stopped in the town of Kasama and loaded onto buses for a 35 kilometre journey to the Chisima Falls National Monument.  Located in the village of Kalonga, the monument consisted of three consecutive falls, Mutumuna, Kaela and Chisima.  The site was dedicated in 1964.  It was a very cool site with huge black boulders and crystal clear, cold water.   After a couple of hours of hiking and climbing, we headed back to the train.  The dressing theme for dinner was the best of Scotland.  With some of us sporting kilts, long dresses and a lot of plaid, the evening was enjoyed by all. 

Lisa and Steff cooling off.

Day 5 & 6:  We continued our run through Zambia passed the Muchinga Mountains to the city of Kapiri Mpohi.  We took on supplies and water and the train engines where moved to the opposite end of the train, placing the observation car in the rear.  This is the only place to do this since we left Dar es Salaam.  Later on we passed over the 477-meter long steel girder truss Kafue railway bridge.  Since the rules for dinner state that you have to have a jacket and tie, we had bathrobe night.  We went with the "Big Lebowski" theme.  The next day was a cross country ride making our way to Victoria Falls.

Waka and Steff.

Kafue Railway bridge.

Bathrobe night.

Elvis status:  Still missing.

Next time:
Victoria Falls and beyond.

Cheers,

J & P

Departing Dar es Salaam on the Rovos Rail "Pride of Africa",

Our gang of 13 intrepid travelers departed the lovely Upepo Gardens overlooking the Indian Ocean and crawled our way through morning traffic to the train station in the center of town.

 

Thanks Karianne for all your hospitality.

The Gang of Travelers

All Aboard

Day one:  We departed shortly after 1300 local time and traveled south away from the hot and dusty coast down the TAZARA railway line.   Construction of the line was started in 1968 by the People’s Republic of China.  Seems they were looking for a way to show their leadership of the non-alignment movement and solidarity with the third world.  The line was completed in 1975 at a cost of 240 million US$.  At Kapiri Mposhi, it was connected to the Old Colonial Line.  The day passed with spectacular scenery running down both sides of the train.  After dinner, we retired to our cabin and slept deeply with the rocking motion of the train.

The Train is nearly half a kilometre long.

Day 2: At 0700 we stop for a visit to the Selous Game Reserve located just southwest of Dar es Salaam.  The reserve is the largest in Africa spanning 55,000 square kilometres.  We loaded up in topless Land Rovers with local drivers and headed out into the bush.  The roads were surprisingly good considering the terrain and after a 15 kilometre ride we came upon some of our first wild life.  It started with a few scattered giraffes and a zebra here and there until we approached a large lake.  This beautiful watering hole was where the action began.  There were dozens of wildebeest, zebras, impalas, and as we got closer to the lake we spotted many crocodiles, hippos, water birds, and a large bird that resembled a Bald Eagle.  Our driver saw a fresh print in the road and about 100 yards away we saw a pride of lions resting in the shade of a tree.  There were 6 younger lions sleeping together under the tree and 50 yards away the mother lion was dozing by herself.  It was extraordinary. 

Larry in the bush.

This one was about 18 feet tall.

Zebra in the front, Wildebeest and Impalas in the rear

The young ones.

Mom.

This young male went for a stroll around our vehicle.

As we left the lake and headed farther up the trail, we came upon a small group of monkeys who were busy grooming one another.  They were not very keen on us stopping so close to them and they made their disapproval clear.  After another few kilometres were came to our late morning destination, a gigantic Baobab tree.   For folks that have never been on the Safari Ride at Animal Kingdom, the Baobab tree is referred to as the “Upside down” tree.  It looks like the roots are sticking up in the air and it only has leaves a few times a year.  This tree was rumored to be about 1000 years old.  There is no way to tell the age because the trees are fibrous, so they do not have rings in the middle you could count.

The folks from Rovos had set out a spread of snacks and cold drinks. After all, what would a game reserve visit be without a nice gin and tonic or sparkling wine and some pretzels. 

Kookie Monkey.

1000+ year old Baobab tree.

Nice Spread for lunch.

We made the trek back to the train and traveled further south for the rest of the day.  After Dinner and a little socializing in the observation car we headed off to bed.  A great day in Africa.

We didn't see any signs of Elvis today but one of the guides did know all the words to Viva Las Vegas.

Cheers,

James and Pat