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Incorporating a great train journey into your travel itinerary adds a unique perspective to your vacation. With some of the best-escorted rail tours in the world, traveling by train in Southern Africa has become a firm favorite in recent years.
This meander is a perfect illustration of South Africa as a world in one country. Travel the grasslands of the gold-rich Highveld to the haunting barrenness of the Great Karoo; trundle through the spectacular mountain ranges and scenic winelands of the Cape. Journey’s end is Cape Town, the Mother City of South Africa, cradled by the imposing bulk of Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak and Lion’s Head.
Highlights of the north- and southbound routes include a visit to the historic village of Matjiesfontein, an authentically preserved Victorian Village founded as a refreshment stop in 1890, which also boasts an impressive museum on the platform. Another stop is made in Kimberley to visit the Diamond Mine Museum and the world’s largest man-made excavation, the Big Hole. Available in reverse
The train departs on set dates throughout the year.
Meal times on the train: Breakfast 7am-10am • Lunch 1pm • Tea 4:30pm • Dinner 7:30pm.
Excursions may be changed according to schedule achieved.
Travel and cancellation insurance are compulsory
2023 Departure Dates on request from your Safari.com African Safari Expert
After checking in at Rovos Rail's Station in Pretoria, you depart on your train journey at 11h00am. Travel across the goldfields of the Witwatersrand. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car and observation car.
Enjoy a tour of Kimberley’s Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole. Capital of the Northern Cape, Kimberley is well known for the discovery of diamonds that led to its establishment in 1871. Dinner is served in the dining cars Gemsbok.
The train travels through the Karoo, a vast semi-desert region that was once an enormous inland sea. Over millions of years, volcanic matter was ground down and deposited as silt upon the seabed to form what geologists call the Karoo system.
After lunch, there is a chance for guests to disembark the train at Whitehill Siding and walk the 5km into Matjiesfontein. A member of staff will accompany the group. Of special interest is the museum on the platform and a collection of historic cars and railway carriages to the right of the Lord Milner Hotel.
Enjoy tea in the lounge and observation cars. About an hour after Matjiesfontein, the train arrives at the first of four tunnels on the pass. The first tunnel is 13.5km long so guests are to be careful when walking through the train and may wish to turn on necessary lights. Dinner is served as the train climbs ±750m down the escarpment towards Worcester.
Enjoy breakfast, while your train journey continues through the Hex River Valley ending at Cape Town Station.
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April 10, 2024
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March 29, 2024
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