Train trip: Good weekend getaway

I got fed up of spending my weekends in Bulawayo and decided to embark on a trip to Victoria Falls by train recently.

Still recalling my experience from the famous Gautrain trip from Johannesburg to Pretoria in South Africa some time back, I decided to try out the NRZ Rovos Rail coach.

I knew this was my sort of fun since there is no luxury coach that plies that route any more. Travelling in a sleeper coach was the best option as I knew I would get to the resort town feeling refreshed.

As I prepared to board the train at the Bulawayo station, I must admit, I was disappointed as the train’s exterior was not appealing at all. Though they say we should never judge a book by its cover, by merely looking at the dark brownish, old looking NRZ coach, I concluded that nothing good was going to come out of the train.

Dragging my feet to the train, skeptical of my journey, I heard the train whistle and was convinced I was starting a boring journey.

As I boarded the train, I was humbled by what I saw and was reminded that until you flip the pages, never judge a book by merely looking at its cover.

I was welcomed by a comfortable room which had a fairly new carpet, two large windows, two large lights, two charging ports, sink and a big mirror. There were two fairly new beds, very comfortable I must say, with well spread blankets and colourful cover beds and a pillow. At the far end of the premium coach was a food cabin and sink.

After settling, the doors connecting our coach to the rest of the train were locked and we were handed keys to our rooms. Curious and excited, I took a picture of my room to share with my friends on social media. 

 A bit concerned, I walked around the coach to have an appreciation and went to check out the toilet and bath room. Contrary to my negative assumptions of finding a smelly chamber that is probably thirsty and brown in colour, I saw fairly clean toilets with tidy floors and a shower that had hot water.

As I made my way back to my room, I met two white lads from the USA who were coming from Matopos.

“Wow, what an amazing effort in Africa. We never thought we’d experience this. This is a place that every tourist would love,” I overheard them say as they giggled closing doors to their rooms.

 In the room next to mine was a woman from Bulawayo’s Nketa suburb who was also travelling to Victoria Falls to unwind, just like me.

“I had a tiresome week so travelling is my therapy. I prefer travelling by train because it is affordable and comfortable,” she told me.

To cater for people like her and me, NRZ recently opened its premier class coaches to the general public with ‘low cost’ budget trips to Victoria Falls as a way of promoting domestic tourism. It seems to be working as more and more locals are embarking on this journey.

Terry Joseph who stays in Zambia and was visiting a friend in Bulawayo said: “The experience is brilliant and I love it”. You could tell by how he constantly peeped through the window and admired nature whenever the train stopped that he was indeed enjoying each moment.

 I however expected some entertainment on board like televisions or music just like some public buses. The train was just too quiet for me with the only little sound coming from giggles of people chatting in their rooms.

The other shortcoming is that there is one shower and toilet on the coach serving both males and females.

It was weird because there was no bathing timetable so the probability of bumping into somebody taking a bath was high.

For Kelly and Handy from USA, it was normal sharing a bathroom, but to me, a simple girl from the village, it was uncultured. I wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable with this arrangement as one Sibusisiwe Nyoni whispered to my ear: “Lokhu ngokwamakhiwa, ngeke ngihlangane labantu besilisa endlini yokugezela (this is unAfrican, I can’t share a bathing room in a public space with men).”

Well, the good news is that we all bathed.

As we approached Vic Falls, I went around consulting fellow passengers on their experiences. Terry suggested that NRZ should consider having a dining on the coach.

 Mary suggested that NRZ should refurbish the outer part of the coaches.

“The first appearance is everything so the company should consider refurbishing so that it appeals to everyone. It is very old now,” she said.

Since the train had stops here and there, the train that left at 8:30PM (an hour late because ideally it should depart at 7:30PM) arrived in the resort town at around 10AM. Long journey it was, but very interesting.

Previously, the premier class coaches, we were told, were reserved for block bookings and could only be released after a certain number of people had booked but now the transport giant is offering tickets to Victoria Falls at RTGS$35 for adults and RTGS$22 for children during weekends.

As we were one big family with those I had boarded with, we did some activities in Victoria Falls together which was exciting especially considering that I had travelled alone. Even though it was not my first time to visit the Victoria Falls, mingling with different people was exciting. Making friends with people I thought were strangers and posing for selfies was another special moment. — @tamary98