DAY 1 MATJIESFONTEIN
Depart from Platform 23 at Cape Town Station. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car or observation car at the rear of the train. Lunch is served in the dining cars.
The train reaches Worcester in the Hex River Valley before climbing ±750m up the face of the escarpment.
The train arrives at the first of four tunnels on the pass. The last tunnel is 13.5 kilometres long so guests are to be careful when walking through the train and may wish to turn on necessary lights.
Tea is served in the lounge car and observation car at the rear of the train.
Disembark at Matjiesfontein for an opportunity to stroll through the historic village. 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.
Depart Matjiesfontein. Continue overnight through the Karoo.
Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Kimberley. Overnight on board. Dress: Formal
DAY 2
Breakfast is served in the dining cars.
Lunch is served in the dining cars.
Arrive Kimberley. Disembark for a tour of the city, Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole. Depart Kimberley. Ten minutes after leaving Kimberley, a shallow lake appears on the left-hand side of the train where, on most occasions, there are spectacular flocks of Lesser Flamingos (approximately 23 000).
Tea is served in the lounge car and observation car at the rear of the train.
Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Klerksdorp.
Overnight on board. Dress: Formal
DAY 3 PRETORIA
Breakfast is served in the dining cars
Travel northeast through the goldfields of the Witwatersrand.
The train arrives at journey’s end at Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria.
Pretoria to Cape Town Itinerary
DAY 1 PRETORIA
Depart Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria. Travel across the goldfields of the Witwatersrand. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car or observation car at the rear of the train.
Dinner is served in the dining cars. Overnight on board. Dress: Formal
DAY 2 KIMBERLEY
Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 09:45.
A shallow lake appears on the right-hand side of the train where, on most occasions, there are spectacular flocks of Lesser Flamingos (approximately 23 000).
Arrive Kimberley. Disembark for a tour of the city, Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole.
Depart Kimberley. Travel through the Karoo.
Lunch is served in the dining cars.
Tea is served in the lounge car and observation car at the rear of the train.
Dinner is served in the dining cars. Overnight on board. Dress: Formal
DAY 3 CAPE TOWN
Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00.
There is a chance for guests to disembark the train at Whitehill Siding and walk the five kilometres into Matjiesfontein. A member of staff will accompany the group. Comfortable walking shoes are essential.
Disembark at Matjiesfontein for an opportunity to stroll through the historic village. 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.
Depart Matjiesfontein.
Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train climbs ±750m down the escarpment through the Hex River Valley.
Tea is served in the lounge car and observation car at the rear of the train.
The train arrives at journey’s end: Platform 24 at Cape Town Station.
Durban to Pretoria Itinerary
DAY 1 ARDMORE CERAMICS
Depart Durban Station and travel in a north-westerly direction towards Pietermaritzburg, the provincial capital and major producer of aluminium and timber and dairy products. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car or observation car at the rear of the train.
Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train traverses the spectacular Valley of a Thousand Hills.
Visit the famous Ardmore Ceramics Gallery. Here, artists are encouraged to express their imagination based on nature and Zulu folklore and tradition.
Dinner is served in the dining cars. The train climbs the escarpment to Ladysmith and passes Chieveley Siding where, on the right of the track, stands a memorial to Winston Churchill who was captured here in November 1899 while trying to free an armoured train trapped by a Boer ambush. Overnight on board. Dress: Formal
DAY 2 SPIONKOP AND NAMBITI
Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure.
Transfer (50 minutes) to Spionkop Lodge. A choice of two excursions is available: 1. An escorted tour of the historic battlefields OR 2. A game drive in the 11 000-acre Spionkop Reserve.
Return to the train.
Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train travels to Elandslaagte.
Enjoy a game drive in the Nambiti Reserve, a private Big Five bush retreat set on 20 000 acres of malaria-free bushveld with incredible biodiversity including savannah, grasslands, thornveld and tall acacia trees.
Dinner is served in the dining cars. Travel towards Volksrust across the Drakensberg Mountains, first named by the Voortrekkers who thought the unbroken chain of heavily weathered peaks reminded them of the spines on a dragon’s back, hence the name ‘Dragon Mountain’ or Drakensberg in Afrikaans. The train passes Glencoe – site of the first battle of the Anglo Boer War and now the centre of the province’s coalfields – and Newcastle, where the Indian population has erected what is reputed to be the largest domed Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere. From here the train descends from Majuba Hill, site of the decisive battle that ended the First Anglo Boer War. Dress: Formal
DAY 3 PRETORIA
Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00.
The train travels northwest across the Highveld towards Balfour, a small mining town in Mpumalanga, and Heidelberg, site of the first Rand gold strike.
