TAN: “E Ticket” Ride

If Tanzania were the Disneyland of yore, today’s adventure would have required an “E Ticket.” We were summonsed by the Foxes to be at the Tazara Railway workshop at 8 a.m. in order to get on their train out to the Selous Game Reserve.
After a harrowing rush-hour taxi ride in a vehicle with no shocks (Being shock less necessitates negotiating the multitude of speed bumps at 5 Km/Hr, coming at them from a 45 degree angle.) we arrived at 8:10 a.m. to find no one at the workshop. Fearful of having been left behind, I attempted to call Nick, who had “arranged” everything. The guards at the gate failed to understand my request for a telephone, but were most amused by the page in Chantal’s notebook that Nick’s number was on. About this time Miriam showed up and whisked us over to the Tazara station for a 9 a.m. departure. Else from Vuma Hills arrived a few minutes after we did.

The Tazara station in Dar es Salaam, empty at 8:30 a.m., but they do have a cage (…er, crib) big enough to hold me.

Our questioning slowly brought to light several heretofore unrevealed items. It turned out that the Foxes coach was already in the Selous and we would be riding out on a locomotive. Fair enough, but we started to wonder about water and food. Nourishment had not been �arranged.� Miriam and a helper set off to get some produce. At our urging, she bought some bananas, citrus, mangoes and a papaya. After Miriam left, we learned from Else that we would be sleeping on the floor of the coach without any sort of bedding. This threw Chantal into a fit. Several text messages and a voice call later, arrangements were finally made for us to stay at the Sable Mountain Lodge.
At some point during this fracas, a plain clothed lady claiming to be an immigration official approached us demanding to know our travel plans and to see our passports. Else whipped her passport out right away, but I wanted to make sure the lady was who she said she was and demanded to see her identification. Everyone�s documents were in order and we were left to stew in our purgatory.
Around these events, the morning had all but slipped away by the time a rail official came to apologize to us for the delay. It turned out that the Technicians to whom Miriam talked had not informed the Marketing group of our departure. The upshot of the long apology was that special arrangements had been made and a driver brought in, but no definite time of departure could be set. We were move to the �First Class� lounge until our eventual departure at 12:30 p.m.
The Sh�ma diesel locomotive was a wonder on wheels. All of the seats were perched atop a spring base of some sort. We thought this weird at first, but after we got moving, the necessity became apparent. Even at relatively low speeds, the locomotive rocked back and forth and front to back in an endless random pattern of shakes and jolts. The next five hours were spent being thrown this way and that in the increasing heat while we crept down the track to our destination far in the distance.

Chantal puts on a happy face with our chariot in the background. Hailing from Holland, 17 year old Else is an intern at the Foxes’ Vuma Hills camp.

Chantal is not impressed with our conveyance. At speed, I attempt to clean the windows for better viewing.

We whiled away the hours talking amongst ourselves and with the driver, while eating our way through a fair amount of the snacks we had purchased on the chance that we were not able to stay at the Sable Mountain Lodge. When we got to the Selous, our forward speed decreased and we felt like we were on a game drive, with the driver slowing to a halt for giraffes.

At the helm, our captain has worked for Tazara for the past 25 years and been a train operator for the last 4. The seemingly endless ribbon of track extends into the distance and beyond.

This giraffe paced us for a bit before veering off. Else enjoying the view from the coach.

We finally rendezvoused with the Foxes coach in a little wide spot on the tracks called Fugu. There was another car attached to the coach so some time was spent moving both cars from the siding and then moving the extra one back. After everything was in order, we moved back to the coach for the rest of the journey. The suspension in the coach was much better and the cushy armchairs were most welcoming. After another hour of traveling, we arrived at Kisaki and the end of our rail journey. A truck from Sable Mountain appeared half an hour later to ferry us the 9 Km to their camp. We insisted that Else come with us rather than spending the night on the train. She seemed worried that she would get in trouble, but we assured her than we would take the blame for everything.

We have to shuffle the strange mobile office around before going forward with the coach. Chantal is lost somewhere in the huddle.

We arrived after dark, so would have to wait until morning for a proper assessment of the camp, but we were mightily impressed with the bit we could see. The rooms were constructed from rock with thatched roofs and reed mats covering the floor. The bathrooms were very nice with natural rock around the perimeter. The hot showers were a delight and it was great to wash away the dust and grime accumulated over the course of our journey.
For dinner, we met the Dutch group that we would be escorting back on the train. They seemed very nice and had had a great time on their sixteen days in Tanzania. We had some local dishes for starters that were quite delicious. I wish the Foxes would break up their staid English meals with a bit of local flavor, but with Geoff at the helm, I think it will be a long time coming.