What to Expect
Enjoy a world-class travel experience whilst on safari in Africa by including a luxury train journey in your itinerary. A series of bespoke train journeys lasting from 48 hours to 15 days, link some of the continent’s greatest destinations with a variety of off-train excursions. Step aboard the beautifully rebuilt vintage wood-panelled coaches and sit back as some of the most varied scenery imaginable unfolds beyond the windows. With discreet and friendly service, excellent cuisine and a selection of South Africa’s finest wines, luxury train travel harks back to a simpler, more elegant era encompassing the timeless grace and high romance of African exploration.
Where to Go
Pretoria to Durban: 2 Nights, 800 km
This safari between Pretoria and Durban departs during the summer months and includes game drives, a battlefield tale with a world-class historian and a look at unusual African ceramics. Experience the Nambiti Conservancy – a Big Five private retreat set on 20 000 acres of malaria-free bushveld in KwaZulu-Natal.. Explore the mountains, bush, birds and battlefields of the region. Visit Ardmore Ceramics in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands, before travelling through the Valley of a Thousand Hills to Durban.
Pretoria to Cape Town: 3 Nights, 1600 km
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 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. Stop to visit the Diamond Mine Museum and the world’s largest man-made excavation, the Big Hole in Kimberley.
Pretoria to Victoria Falls: 3/4 Nights, 1400km
Travel north through Warmbaths (Bela-Bela), so named for its mineral waters. Cross the Tropic of Capricorn and Limpopo River towards Bulawayo, second city of Zimbabwe, capital of Matabeleland and industrial capital of the country. Enjoy a game drive (4-night journey only) in Matobo National Park, a World Heritage Site with bushmen caves, rock art and dramatic granite hills. Travel along one of the world’s longest stretches of straight railway line – 114km, before traversing Hwange National Park, a rich and diverse wildlife sanctuary where you enjoy a game drive before continuing to Victoria Falls on the mighty Zambezi River.
Namibia Luxury Train Safari: 9 Nights, 3400 km
Departing from Pretoria, this epic 9 night adventure traverses the stark vistas of the Northern Cape to the vast Fish River Canyon, and the quiver-tree forest at Garas Park. Continue across the untamed beauty of the Kalahari Desert to a cheetah conservation project, and stop for a tour of Namibia’s capital city Windhoek. Take a short flight to the Sossusvlei dunes in the Namib Desert, for an overnight stay, followed by a night in the game-rich Etosha National Park. On the last morning, the train travels the Namib to the perfectly preserved 19th-century Germanic coastal town of Swakopmund … an unforgettable end to a remarkable journey.
Cape Town to Dar es Salaam: 14 Nights, 5800 km
An epic 2-week train journey through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania! Departing Cape Town, visit the historic village of Matjiesfontein, the diamond town of Kimberley and the capital city of Pretoria for short tours followed by 2 nights in the Madikwe Game Reserve. Continue through Botswana into Zimbabwe where you overnight at the iconic Victoria Falls Hotel. Crossing the mighty Zambezi River into Zambia, the train continues to Chisimba Falls where you enjoy a bush walk. The train climbs to the Tanzanian border then descends into the Great Rift Valley negotiating the tunnels, switchbacks and viaducts of the spectacular escarpment, before traversing the magnificent Nyerere National Park, to arrive at the bustling coastal city of Dar es Salaam the following day.
