The Great Safari: Part 3

My journey on board the MV Liemba was a highlight. For over 80 years, the old German steamship (formally known as the Graf von Goetzen) has been travelling along the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika between Kigoma in Tanzania and Mpulungu in Zambia. It is the last vessel of the Kaiserliche Marine (German Imperial Navy) still actively sailing anywhere in the world and launched in 1915 as one of three vessels the German Empire used to control Lake Tanganyika during the early part of the First World War. After being scuttled in 1916 she was raised by a British Royal Navy salvage team in 1924 and returned to service. These days she transports passengers and cargo but in days gone by she repatriated more than 75,000 refugees back to Zaire during the First Congo War and still takes Congolese and Burundi refugees back to their respective countries if needed.

Thankfully this time I managed to get a compact and bijou first class cabin complete with 2 small bunk beds, a sink, wardrobe and fan. On the deck below were the second class cabins and third class seats where the wall of heat and smell from the masses and the engine room hit you as soon as you descended the ladders. Unlike the decks above it was dark and dank with men selling biscuits, juice, and fruit to the passengers that couldn't afford the restaurant meals. The gateway to "down below" was kept closed and manned by a member of staff. Whilst we waited to depart, the boat was loaded with sacks of fish, flour, bananas and pineapples to be traded along the way or sold in Zambia. Relaxed Tanzanian passengers dawdled on board hours after the boat should have departed whilst we Europeans had made sure we arrived hours early. 

Unsurprisingly, many of the third class passengers preferred to stay outside on the upper decks where they filled every corridor, bench and gangway with mattresses, suitcases, and small children so that by the evening it was impossible to open the door to the cabin for people outside. The restaurant sold good food although it was unaffordable for many of the passengers, and the huge rat that ran up the wall next to Alex the barman was even more off-putting than the cockroaches coming out of the sink behind him. 

The Liemba stopped many times over the next 48 hours always signalled by loud blasts on the horn regardless of the time of day or night. Only three stops had docks; at the others passengers travelled between ship and shore by means of smaller boats. This period of frantic activity was cause for everyone to flock to the sides of the ship to watch the spectacle unfold below. All sizes of rickety wooden boat (usually containing a boy emptying out water with a bucket) approached the sides of the Liemba, bringing new passengers, collecting those disembarking or containing traders gesticulating wildly and plying their wares. Men climbed aboard selling pineapples or melons while huge tuna and catfish were held aloft for display. Some boats appeared to come along just for the entertainment, seeming neither to sell anything or bring passengers of any kind. As the MV Liemba passes only once every 2 weeks, the 45 minutes of distraction is probably too much to ignore.

One of the most enjoyable experiences was being able to have conversations with the other passengers. The second night on board I gave an English lesson to Deo, a Burundian business man who was headed to Zambia to open his own shop. Consequently, our lesson focused on items he would sell like sugar, flour, tea, and then for some reason transgressed into clothing. Maybe he hoped to branch out at some point. He'd left his wife and six children behind in Burundi. Another time, I met two boys (they looked 13 years old although they said they were 24) who were travelling to the town of Kapili to find work. Even though they had no belongings other than a blanket and probably no schooling they asked very interesting questions; did I consider Barack Obama black or white? What did I think of David Cameron's decision to legalise gay marriage? Did I think I would go to mbiguni? I said I didn't know where mbiguni was and they laughed before pointing to the stars so I think they meant heaven.

In the evenings I escaped the hustle to watch the sunset over the Congo. The lifeboat deck seemed to be out of bounds to most passengers other than staff, friends of the captain and wazungu, who of course could go anywhere they wanted to, so it was the most peaceful place to be. The lifeboats looked well-built too although there were only two of them for the 600 passengers on board. 

By dawn on the third day there were noticeably fewer people on board, many having departed overnight. Nobody knew for sure what time we would arrive at Kasanga; depending on who you asked it could be any time in the next 6 hours. There was no chance of missing it though, as being the last stop in Tanzania the border officials would come aboard to stamp passports and all cargo not going on to Zambia would be offloaded. There's always a bit more time to enjoy doing nothing aboard the MV Liemba.