ITV - Slow Train Through Africa With Griff Rhys Jones (2015) Part 4 Zambia and Zimbabwe

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 4 Zambia and Zimbabwe

In episode four, Griff takes the train through Zambia and Zimbabwe, via one of the natural wonders of the world, the Victoria Falls. He begins the 1100-mile trip in Kasama in northern Zambia, where the train arrives, just 33 hours late. After setting off on the six-hour journey, he attempts to drink a cup of tea. Griff says “I’ve been on slow trains, I’ve been on more appointed trains but I’ve not been on a train that’s like being in the North Atlantic in a storm before!” Along the tracks, the town of Mpika is the location of a college that trains young Zambians to become locomotive drivers. Over three years, they learn not only how to drive the train, but how to fix it if it breaks down and how to deal with elephants and buffalo on the track. Griff joins a class and meets Annie, one of the first female train drivers in the country, and Hendrix, who shows Griff his sideline, dancing like Michael Jackson. Griff then attempts to operate a 200-ton locomotive, but struggles to remember how to brake.

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