Forego a 0500hrs wake up call for a game drive and opt for a good night’s sleep instead. A few of us are on the cheese factory tour at 1000hrs. Expecting a tour of the factory to see how they make local cheese. Instead, ushered into a darkened room with faux rocks made of polystyrene and a “waterfall”. This is the cheese cave. It leaves a lot to the imagination. Not allowed to tour the factory. Sit around a large stone table with about 10 plates of various cheeses with an illuminated and etched ostrich egg at one end. Served a decent glass of red wine and tuck into the cheeses. Another glass of red is served. Two glasses in half an hour. At 10 in the morning. Tut.
Depart the lodge at 1200hrs for a short orientation tour of Lusaka.
Spend 2hrs stuck in traffic going nowhere fast. The local guide’s idea of a tour is along the lines of……on your right we have a bank…….on your left we have a shop…….on your right we have an embassy……on your left is the post office…..on your right is a bank. It’s dire. The highlight is meant to be a visit to Kenneth Kaunda’s former home. It’s a national monument. Except the access road is closed for resurfacing so a 3 point turn is needed in the mini bus. After 2hrs there’s mutiny on the buses. It’s now 1400hrs and we’re all starving and fed up. Guide is instructed to stop at the first mall and we all decant and scurry off to find something to eat. Bus is to depart for the station at 1600hrs. I can confirm that 2hrs is too long to spend in a small shopping mall. 1hr 40mins too long to be precise. It’s not the best day of the trip.
Board the train at Lusaka station.
It took them 5hrs yesterday to complete the 100km journey due to the speed restrictions. A local passenger train pulls up between us and the platform. There’s a flurry of activity. People scramble aboard. Along the tracks between our train and the passenger train there’s a mix of passengers loading up large sacks of goods through the windows and people selling stuff. The windows are a good 3m off the ground so it’s a fair stretch. Speak with the locals and peer inside the carriage. It’s cramped, hot, sweaty and dark. Take photos of people to show them their image on the camera screen. They love it and all want their photo taken so they can see themselves. One young woman shouts me over as she wants her photo taken. Speaks excellent English and has been travelling on the train since early this morning. She expects to arrive at her destination at 2200hrs tonight. That’s a long trip on a train like this. Her name is Precious. There’s a calmness about her.
Mother is breastfeeding her child but leaves her nipple hanging out for all to see when the child has a breather. All the people are friendly and happy except one. He’s got dreadlocks. The sort that immediately looks like trouble. He’s blacker than the norm. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. He starts ranting, “Why is it that the white man is well fed but the black man starves?”.
Discuss.
