Zam/Lake Tanganyika ferry/Burundi/Rwanda
 

Hi People, I'm in Zambia at the moment and looking at going up to the bottom of Lake Tanganyika to see the waterfall then get the MV Liemba up to the top of the lake then on through Burundi/Rwanda/Uganda to Kenya. Anyone done this route recently and has any info I would be most grateful also if any beer drinkers want to buddy up for this stretch please get in touch, I'm in Livingston at the moment. Ride safe.

we personally did NOT do this trip but were thinking about it and asked some other travelers we met on the way as we went north through Africa. the general message is that you will need patience and lots of it, as the boat is VERY slow and, as of October, was skipping many voyages because it apparently pays more to abandon the regular route and paying customers and ferry Congolese refugees instead (paid for, at high prices, by the U.N., of course)

and there is apparently no way to call ahead to anyone, anywhere to book a place or to ask whether the boat will be sailing on a particular week; you have to physically show up to the port of departure and then just wait (possibly for weeks) until it comes

so we didn't have the flexibility to do that but if you do, it sounds like an amazing journey so we hope you enjoy it if you wind up doing it

Safe travels,

Juan and Ognen