Mpulungu is a small waterside town on the southern edge of Lake Tanganyika in Zambia’s Northern Province. It’s the only town in landlocked Zambia to boast a port; this said, the MV Liemba ferry which used to connect Zambia to other villages on the lake, including Kigoma in Tanzania, is no longer operational. With its lakeside location, it’s no great surprise that Mpulungu has lots of fisheries or that its economy is concentrated on fishing.

DRAFT:
Niamkolo Church is the oldest Missionary Church in Zambia, and is a National Monument. It was built from natural stone from 1895 to 1896, by the London Missionary Society, that also launched the first steamer on Lake Tanganyika, the SS Good News, in 1885, from Kituta Bay, adjacent to Mpulungu. She was beached at Kituta Bay at the beginning of WW1, and remained upright until the 60’s, when she fell over due to decay. Today she is largely covered by sand and quite difficult to find. Ask the locals to take you there, or if you are travelling through Mbala, stop at the Moto Moto museum, that has jurisdiction over the wreck. The propeller from the SS Good News can be seen in the nearby town of Mbala, in the library situated in The Victoria Memorial Institute (TVMI).
The MV Liemba, the ferry boat that used to run from Mpulungu in Zambia to Kigoma in Tanzania, was thought to be the world’s oldest passenger ship still in operation until her activities ceased in 2018. Originally commissioned in 1913 in Kigoma in the German East Africa Colony (today Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania), she was originally named the Graf Coetzen by the Germans. During WW1 she transported German troops and served as a gunboat on Lake Tanganyika. German Forces scuttled her just south of Kigoma, in Katabe Bay, in 1916 to avoid her capture by British and Belgian troops. Hoping to salvage her at a later stage, the engines and boilers were covered in a thick layer of grease, the boat filled with sand, and scuttled.
In 1918 she was salvaged by the Belgians, and the semi-floating vessel was towed to Kigoma where she settled in shallow waters, half submerged. Early in 1920 a fierce storm pushed her deeper into the Lake, and she again disappeared below the surface. A year later the British took control of Kigoma, but waited until 1924 to raise her above the water. Finding the engines and boilers still usable, they decided to salvage the boat, and in 1927 put her into service as the passenger ferry the MV Liemba. She was overhauled from 1976 until 1979, replacing the steam engines with diesel engines. In 1993 the Tanzania Railway Corporation, that now owned the Liemba, did an extensive rebuild, rebuilding the deck house, replacing the electronic system and renovating the cabins, replacing the engines and increasing the passenger capacity to 600 people.
In 1997 she was used to repatriate more than 75,000 refugees from Zaire (today DRC) and again in 2015 to evacuate more than 50,000 refugees from Burundi.
Undergoing major maintenance in 2017, the Liemba was put back into service in August 2018, but soon returned to the dry dock in Kigoma (Tanzania). At the time of print it is not clear when (and if) she will become operational again.

EMERGENCY SERVICES:
Mpulungu Health Centre. Try: Tel : +260(0)21 445 5199.

NOTE: Visitors to Zambia are advised to have their own personal travel insurance. Local police, hospitals, clinics etc. cannot be relied upon.
Please note that any emergency numbers indicated on our data will be for the local police, hospital, clinic etc. and most of the times, don't work. Many tourism sites show the numbers like 999 for police, they often don’t work.

If you have a medical problem when in Zambia, Specialty Emergency Services has a Call Centre (24 hours). Phone them on 737. This company has offices in Livingstone, Lusaka and Kitwe. But they will fly anywhere to assist if visitors have the right insurance. If you want to check your insurance, contact SES on [email protected]. (http://ses-zambia.com/).

ISANGA BAY:
If you want to enjoy Lake Tanganyika’s tranquil beauty, Isanga Bay Lodge is about 18 km north of Mpulungu, on the lake’s eastern shores. Getting there requires an 80 kilometre drive with the last kilometres from Mbala requiring an off-road vehicle. Or, you can park your vehicle at the Imbila Nsuma Missionary School at Mpulungu and transfer to Isanga by boat. Activities here include snorkeling, fishing, hiking to Kalambo Falls or a boat cruise on the lake.

SHOPS & SERVICES:
Mpulungu doesn’t have many tourist attractions. There are several markets selling fresh fish from the lake, a few lodges, one fuel station and an ATM. But no formal butchery or supermarket.

Be the first to leave a comment.

Be the first to submit a link or media file

Be the first to submit a link