ITV - Slow Train Through Africa With Griff Rhys Jones (2015) Part 1 Namibia

Slow Train Through Africa With Griff Rhys Jones

On five great rail adventures, Griff Rhys Jones explores Africa, home to astonishing wildlife, mighty rivers, the driest deserts and a billion people. This unforgettable journey takes Griff along the coast of North Africa, over the savannahs of Kenya and Tanzania, through the forests of Zambia and Zimbabwe, across the deserts of Namibia and, finally, to the tip of South Africa. Griff highlights incredible landscapes and introduces us to some remarkable people. Progress isn’t always smooth as he contends with closed borders and missed trains. He takes it all in good humour and revels in this amazing trip of a lifetime. Africa truly is like nowhere else on earth. ..

Part 1 Namibia

Namibia has the least rainfall in sub-Saharan Africa and is home to what is considered to be the oldest desert in the world. Griff begins his journey in the far Northern town of Oshikango, where a brand new railway was built just two years ago. Passengers are still an uncommon occurrence and he is surprised to find he is the only person in his carriage during most of the seven-hour journey. Fewer than 200 passengers a day use the freight-oriented trains, in the whole of Namibia. Griff says “I’m hoping on this journey that I’ll meet people, although that may not be as easy as it sounds because Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated places on Earth. There are about two million people here and they’re living in an area the size of France and Germany combined.”

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