Tazara Travels

So today was our full day on the Tazara – and one that unsurprisingly became longer than planned after the various (around 20) times it managed to break down. The original ETA was 11pm, however this was then extended to 3am. This however, was not something to worry about as there was plenty of alcohol aboard and so we were able to try the various Tanzanian options available.

Unfortunately, we went through the Safari area at around 5am and therefore everyone was still asleep but that shouldn't be an issue because it won't be long until we are also on Safari. The scenery we saw was incredible and unlike anything I had personally seen before. As time went on we travelled through town after town, hills after hills and plenty of tunnels (even when the lights weren't originally on). Going through the towns we saw plenty of people who all had excitement in their eyes as the train flew past, and we were able to gift the children sweets out of the windows and greet people with the classic 'Mambo'/'Poa'.

The Tazara was also another fun opportunity to try some of the local delicacies, such as chipsimiyi. Other than meal times, the majority of the time was taken up by either catching up on the lost sleep of the previous few days or playing cards – we should have learnt even more games!

Seemingly immediately after we went to sleep, we were required to wake back up as we had reached our stop in Mbeya. Our teamwork was again tested as we formed a line in order to maximise the efficiency of getting bags off of the train; unlike boarding the train, it was much less stressful even though everyone was so tired.

Then we met Lulu for the first time and her incredibly enthusiastic passengers – the Tanzanians bearing gifts of more food and songs, even though it was 3am. After a long 2 hours, we finally reached the Bible Centre and our home for the next couple of weeks.

• Brandon