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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
COMEDIAN Carl Joshua feels that passenger train coaches are a gold mine for tourism as they are more comfortable than buses after he and his wife Nelsy travelled from Victoria Falls to Bulawayo recently.

With President Emmerson Mnangagwa set to commission eight passenger coaches secured from South Africa next Wednesday, Ncube and his wife decided to try out the National Railways of Zimbabwe sleeper coaches plying the Vic Falls-Bulawayo route.

The self-appointed Zimbabwe Tourism ambassador, who recently relocated to Victoria Falls, said he was pleasantly surprised that the 16-hour journey which cost $12 per person was comfortable though he felt the railway company could improve on its service.

“When I heard about the commissioning of the trains, I was really keen on reliving the past. I wondered about the state of the old trains and I was pleasantly surprised that they were not in bad shape as they don’t require much work other than a clean-up.

“After my trip, I felt that these coaches were hotels on wheels as it was a very comfortable and enjoyable journey. It definitely was better than travelling by bus,” said Ncube.

According to the comedian, the sleeper coach they boarded was first class. He said they were provided with fresh linen though at a fee of $4 per person adding that he was impressed by the ablution facilities as there was running water and toilets which were well maintained.

Ncube, who travelled back to Victoria Falls by train on Thursday evening and arrived yesterday morning, recommended the sleeper coaches for families and friends saying this could be a good weekend treat.

He said he saw wildlife along the way at no cost and though the train left late, they managed to arrive in Vic Falls on time.

“The sleeper coach is good for tourism and I highly recommend that if one is taking the family on holiday, they use the sleeper coaches because it’ll be an unforgettable experience for everyone.”

“This was a perfect opportunity to see wildlife along the way as I occasionally saw elephants, giraffes and buffalos and of course a lot of baboons and monkeys.

“For people who’ve visited game parks, you know that doing a game drive costs about $80 per person and I did one for hours just for $12 so this is really a good deal.”

In order to be viable, Ncube suggested that the NRZ needed to clean up their old trains and vigorously market them to lure customers.

“To be honest, all this needs is a clean-up and some motivation. This could be an awesome hotel on wheels with conferencing facilities, a restaurant, bar and game drive.”

He also highlighted that despite having pre-booked a cabin, the booking numbers were ignored so they ended up not getting their preferred compartment though this was later rectified.

“Booking numbers were not being used as the staff on board told people to choose whatever compartment they wanted to be in even after people had pre-booked. This was a contrast to the Vic Falls-Bulawayo train. Fortunately, along the way, things were rectified and we were given a compartment that had proper lighting and power points to charge our gadgets.”

Nelsy on the other hand, while admitting that she enjoyed the journey, said the NRZ seriously needs to put systems in place that will ensure their business is viable and that travellers have a smooth journey. She highlighted that there were delays when they were travelling back to Vic Falls from Bulawayo.

“I must say I was really mad when we got onboard the Byo-Vic Falls train. The coach was meant to leave at 7:30PM but we were still at the Bulawayo station at 9PM. The train was parked almost a kilometre away, so you had to haul yourself and luggage to its location.

“Also, we’d pre-booked our cabin but they changed the coaches and there was confusion which was quite annoying. However, the ticketing manager came eventually and sorted out our sleeping compartment,” said Nelsy.

Fortunately though, one gentleman from the railway company managed to cheer Nelsy up.

“The gentleman who did our bedding (the porter) was very pleasant so this made up for the initial confusion.”

The Ncubes, who shifted base to Victoria Falls last year, have been doing a lot of travelling around the tourist town sampling cuisine at various restaurants and sharing their experiences on social media. Ncube said this was part of efforts to help market Zimbabwe as a premier tourist attraction to locals and the international market.

The multi-award-winning comedian has also set up a Vic Falls 365 application where he is sharing a series of colourful, exciting pictures and reviews as well as videos of the various spots he and his wife visit.

By doing this, Ncube said hopefully, tourism players will partner with him in the quest to promote, especially domestic tourism.

“We hope that through these initiatives, we’ll generate enough noise that players in the tourism industry will recognise our efforts and work with us to achieve this goal.”