The MV Liemba is the most famous ship on Lake Tanganyika, and probably the oldest ferry still in regular passenger service anywhere in the world. She runs (when she runs — schedules are unreliable, breakdowns are frequent) between Kigoma and Mpulungu in Zambia, stopping at remote lakeside villages where there is no jetty. Passengers and cargo are loaded and unloaded from a fleet of canoes that swarm out from shore, often in the middle of the night.
A two- or three-day journey on the Liemba is a slow, unhurried way to see the lake and the small communities along its eastern shore. First-class cabins are basic but adequate; second-class is dormitory bunks; third-class means finding deck space. Even if you do not plan to sail, a walk along the Kigoma waterfront when she is in port is worthwhile: there are few working ships of this age left anywhere.