Travel Photographers Network

Some experiences from a photographic tour

Text and Photos by Ian Lawrence - All rights reserved.

This is the third and final episode of a three part series about steam train photography around the world.

Now you know what we do (The shot) and how we do it (Photographing trains). It’s time to look at our experiences during a tour to Zimbabwe. I’ve concentrated on the travel experience and have refrained from listing locomotive types or numbers or describing specific shots taken... Yes it’s safe to read on. Much of this content will be of interest to any travel photographer planning a visit.

Why go to Zimbabwe?

Well that’s because we like Mugabe, no we don’t just like him, we love him. Thanks to him the economy of Zimbabwe has collapsed. He’s responsible for the trade boycott. He’s made diesel oil scarce and the purchase of modern railroad rolling stock impossible. Thanks to him some of the last articulated Garratt steam engines are still in daily use. And we’re going to photograph them. There are daily steam shunts in Bulawayo, and sometimes the commuter trains are steam hauled. There’s a railway museum there too. Hwange colliery uses steam to shunt and transfer trains to the state railway. Likewise Selebi Phikwe copper mine in Botswana has a Garratt and some other steam engines. There is also a Garratt stationed in Victoria Falls for operating the tourist train.

Zimbabwe’s in africa, surely it’s dangerous? What’s the country really like?

Pictures in the press concentrate on showing the worst of Zimbabwe, the occupied farms and lately the destruction of some squatter camps. Yes the country is mismanaged. Fuel is scarce; inflation is 250% this year. Most people manage, but only just. Food is available, but may soon not be affordable for many. However normal people are extremely friendly. Even though we didn’t meet anyone who supported the present government, there is no indication this will lead to unrests or civil war. Except for certain areas in Harare we drove through, I didn’t feel unsafe anywhere. There are very few weapons visible if at all. There is no reason you shouldn’t still visit Victoria Falls or go on a wildlife safari. Major towns have a British feel. Food in restaurants and snack shops is distinctly British.

It used to be one of the wealthiest African countries, which still shows in the buildings and infrastructure. But like the railway system, most of the infrastructure is now living on borrowed time. If nothing is done about the economic crisis soon standards will fall. Even now it’s hard, if not impossible to hire a reliable vehicle (car, van or bus) anywhere, and you have to be prepared to buy fuel on the black market with hard currency. Trains and buses are crowded; don’t expect a high standard of comfort. At least first class on the trains should give you a seat. The largest towns are linked by a daily sleeper (train). Buses are quicker and run more frequently, but it’s unbelievable how many people can be squashed into them.

What happened on tour?

I met the other members of the Farrail Tour at Frankfurt and Harare airports depending on the flights taken. Nationalities were British, Canadian, Austrian, German and Swiss. There were between 18 and 16 people in the group (some departed early due to other commitments, some arrived later). Three shot video, the others stills. The still cameras ranged from Hasselblad via SLR/DSLR to upmarket digital P&S cameras. Due to delays, rebookings and short transfer times one person lost his checked luggage, which was never seen again. No great loss as all photographic equipment was carried in hand luggage. Clothes and toilet articles could be easily purchased locally.

In Harare we visited the diesel workshop, before boarding the night train to Bulawayo, which covers a distance of approx. 500 km. This train is scheduled to depart Harare at 21.00 and arrive at Bulawayo at 6.40. In reality it left at 22.00 and didn’t arrive until 15.00 the next afternoon. This was due to the signalling being out of operation (and there is no money for repairs). This means that at every signal the driver and the guard both have to use CTC radio to call the traffic controller and get permission to proceed. The fact that even the smallest siding has at least 2 signals and the weight of our train (over 20 well loaded coaches), made for very slow progress. There was no water in toilets or washbasins, and the showers which were present, clearly were not of any practical use and hadn’t been for some time. The beds were reasonably comfortable (however even a wooden plank is comfortable after a night in an airplane economy class seat). We played games like “spot the largest cockroach” and “catch the cockroach” as there were plenty running around in the sleeping compartments. Telling stories of previous tours, watching the landscape pass by and the locals gatherings at the intermediate stations made the time pass quickly enough.

Because of our late arrival we only got 2 hours of Garratt shunting action at Bulawayo that day before we had to head off to Hwange in our rental cars, a new Kia van, a fairly new Volkswagen Polo (which later developed a clutch problem and only just made it back to the rental agency) and two ancient Volkswagen Golfs (one of which had fuel pump problems). Our hotel in Hwange, like the other hotels we used, wouldn’t get a star rating by any standard, but was selected by its proximity to the places we needed to be. Most rooms only had a bath and no shower. As the bathtub didn’t look very appealing to lay down in we splashed some water around and went to bed only marginally cleaner than before. Coalmine dirt, lack of good light and suitable electrical outlets for shaving and above all lack of sleep would soon give us the typical “we’re on a hardcore steam tour appearance” which would easily get you a free bed in a salvation army hostel anywhere in Europe.

We visited Hwange colliery. We had to sit in a park under the shade of a tree for three hours while our tour leader tried to gain access. We tried to be inconspicuous (how inconspicuous can 16 white guys wielding cameras be in black Africa?) because we were directly next to a petrol station with long queues of cars waiting for petrol. Apparently there’d been a rumour that there would be a delivery of fuel that day. Any suspicion of us taking pictures of this could have caused questions to be asked. Just try to prove you aren’t BBC journalists when you’ve got bags and bags of camera equipment all over the place.

Our visit had been arranged in advance, but it took time to find someone who knew something about anything and even longer to finalize the paperwork. Then we had to find a suitably senior person to sign it. Anyone who’s been to Africa knows how long these things can take.

We also spent a full day in Selebi Phikwe in Botswana. The drive there took most of a day including more than 2 hours spent at the border. Forms had to be collected, filled out and stamped. Queues had to be negotiated. Passports shown. Currency declared. On the Zimbabwe side you had to recognize “the man” (who didn’t wear a uniform) who determined who could jump the (long) queue. At first our tour leader had insulted him by pushing past him to get some forms. Some other guys of our group managed to befriend him so in the end we did get priority. Without priority we might still be there today. Once in Botswana it was clear straight away that it is a wealthy country compared to Zimbabwe. There was a lot of traffic on the roads and towns were busy with well stocked shops. Luxury items were readily available and more importantly could be afforded by many locals.

Access to the copper mine was easy compared to Hwange. We were in and photographing within half an hour. The only ridiculous piece of bureaucracy was that we all had to enter the serial numbers of our cameras on a form, which was neither checked on entry or exit from the site.

During our further tour in Zimbabwe we chartered various trains:

• A photo special (passenger) from Victoria Falls to Livingstone (Zambia) to get the “steam train on the bridge over the falls” shot. While we were there, we of course took some “normal” waterfall shots as well (from the Zambian side). After spending hours trying to get fuel for our rental cars the group split up. Three of us drove back to Hwange to do some late afternoon line-siding. This was a gamble as there may have been no activity that afternoon, but it paid off and we got really great results in what proved to be the best light of the tour. The rest spent time at Victoria Falls and returned to Hwange after dark. Later they tried to convince us that their waterfall and crocodile farm pictures were far better than our 15A class Garratt unusually hauling a loaded train in the best evening light, but of course we didn’t buy that….

• A photo special (freight) from Bulawayo to Sawmills. For unknown “African” reasons we left over two hours late, so missed some of the best light. In the evening rebuilding the train at Sawmills, took so long we missed the evening glint shots. Then the train developed a problem with a leaking steam pipe. We finally didn’t get back until after 3.00 (early morning next day), and it got rather chilly in the guards van (wooden seats, no doors, no glass in the windows).

• A photo special (freight) from Bulawayo to Cement, which left almost on time (it was only 30min late!), and actually got us back the same day! Hurray!

• A photo special (freight) from Thomson Junction to New Hwange which ran with no problems.

Finally the tour came to an end. Because we had first hand experience that the night train could be extremely delayed, we hired a bus to take us back to the airport in Harare, a distance of approx. 500km on quiet and good, tarred roads. We left at 5.30 giving us nearly eight hours to catch the plane. We could easily do 100 to 120 km/h in our rental cars so it should have been a relaxed drive. At 5.20 the bus turned up. It was dark and there was no light as we boarded with our luggage. It was an elderly Mazda 23-seater. We needed 7 seats and any other spare aisle space for our luggage (those big camera bags you know).

When the driver requested some of us get out again to jumpstart the bus (dead battery) and the driver said he only had the lights of God to drive by (no headlights) we suspected things might go wrong. Trying to go any faster than 60 kph caused the gearbox to make terrible noises. After about 150 km the radiator had boiled dry, and the engine was also in urgent need of oil. As the time passed more rapidly than the distance between us and the airport was covered, we realised we wouldn’t reach the airport in time for our booked flight to Johannesburg. At one point the assistant driver (mechanic) was sent ahead (he hailed down a passing car) to arrange a replacement bus in the next larger town on our route, as we crept on. Even so it took more than an hour after our arrival there, before we were on our way again.

The new bus was actually a van and was a lot smaller, with only 14 seats. Somehow all 16 of us squashed in together with camera bags and any luggage which didn’t fit into the trailer, which was luckily provided. Even so it managed a speed of 100kph, and more downhill. But there was no chance of getting to the airport in time. Thanks to limited mobile phone coverage in each larger town we passed, our tour leader managed to rebook us on the next flight to Johannesburg, which would still enable all our connections to be caught. At the airport one final hurdle was put in our way. The side door of the bus wouldn’t open, so we had to alight through the windows and by climbing over the front seat and using the door of the driver. It made interesting viewing seeing 16 white guys pile out of this little van via the open windows, just like the locals do. In the end we all made it to our connecting flights. Another great adventure over with many good shots to prove it.

About the Author

Ian Lawrence lives in the Netherlands and works as a civil engineer (piping and pipelining). He spends his spare time photographing trains in their surroundings, always looking for the perfect shot in the best light. As the Netherlands don’t have many locations where he can get the type of shots he likes, he travels abroad whenever he can.

More of his work can be seen on his homepage at www.railway-photography.net

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