Rovos Rail

Voorbeeldreis Rovos Rail – 16 dagen

Dar es Salaam – Selous NP – Rift Valley – Makambako – Chisimba Falls – Kapiri Mposhi – Lusaka – Kafue – Livingstone – Victoria Falls – Francistown – Serule – Gaborone – Madikwe Reserve – Zeerust – Magaliesberg – Pretoria – Kimberley – Matjiesfontein – Kaapstad

Day 1 – Dar Es Salaam

Arrival to Dar Es Salaam. Check-in at hotel. Welcome Dinner (D)

Day 2 – Welcome aboard Rovos Rail!

Today your grand journey through Southern Africa begins, when your train rolls out of the large modern Chinese-looking TaZaRa train station of Dar Es Salaam. Settle comfortably into your luxurious suite compartment and enjoy the amazing landscapes unfold. Comfortably watch different game while you travel through Africa’s largest game preserve Selous, named after the famous 19th century hunter Frederic Selous. At the train station of Kisaki you can also often view Massai warriors in their precious garments. At evening, expect a delicious 3-course dinner in the marvellous train restaurant. (BLD)

Day 3 – Selous game reserve
In the morning you will go on a first small safari by 4×4 open vehicles. Light lunch will be served in the middle of this fascination landscape. (BLD)

Day 4 – Makambako

Arrive at Makambako and enjoy a stroll through the town (time permitting). Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train passes baobab forests and ascends the Rift Valley to the border, almost
exactly the midpoint between Africa’s two Great Rift Valley lakes. (BLD)

Day 5 – Chisimba Falls

The train travels the TAZARA railway line, an engineering tour de force and one of Africa’s best-kept secrets as it passes through remote territory. Enjoy a visit to Chisimba Falls where guests can take a pleasant walk down to the rock pools at the base of the falls or admire them from various viewpoints.

Day 6-7 – At leisure on board

Passing the dense Miomba forests your journey continues to Kanona. You will follow the footsteps of the great African explorer David Livingstone who lost his heart here to Africa. Literally speaking, because his loyal servants Sussi and Chuma buried Livingstone’s most important muscle in 1873 in this area. In Kapiri Mposhi the train switches from the TaZaRa line to the old colonial train tracks that were intended to be extended until Cairo. It was only in the 70’s that Chinese engineers built the TaZaRa line in order to connect the landlocked Zambia to ports on the East coast. It is an irony of history: The major railway project of the Imperialist Rhodes was continued by communist China. Via the capitol Lusaka and the Kafue River your train will reach on the next day the fertile Batoka-Plateau. (BLD)

Day 8 – Victoria Falls

In the morning you will reach Livingstone, until 1935 capitol of Northern Rhodesia. After a short, curvy ride another highlight of the journey awaits you: the drive over the spectacular Victoria-Falls Bridge connecting Zambia with Zimbabwe. The train will stop for an outing over the approximately 120 m deep gorge of the Zambesi, with the rising water vapor of the Victoria Falls as a picturesque backdrop. After settling the border formalities, your train gently rolls into the small train station of Victoria Falls. Welcome address on the lawn of the Victoria Falls hotel, followed by lunch at Jungle Junction. Meet in the hotel foyer before departure for the sunset cruise on the Zambezi. Dinner at the Livingstone Room, Victoria Falls Hotel. (BLD)

Day 9 – Victoria Falls

Day at leisure in the Victoria Falls. (BLD)

Day 10 – Through Matabele Land into the Kalahari

The train crosses the Tropic of Capricorn and the eastern edge of the Kalahari Basin. Known as ‘Kgalagadi’ in Botswana, the Kalahari (which extends to 900 000km2 and covers much of Botswana,
parts of Namibia and South Africa) is not a true desert as it does experience small amounts of rain, with some areas enjoying up to 250mm. The surrounding basin covers over 2 500 000km2 extending farther into Botswana, Namibia and South Africa and encroaching into parts of Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is part desert, part plateau. The only constant river, the Okavango, flows into a delta in the northwest forming marshes that are rich in wildlife. (BLD)

Day 11 – 13 – Madikwe Game Reserve

In the late morning your train will reach Gabarone, capitol of Botswana. For two days you will be off the train now and pass the near South-African border by bus. In the afternoon you will have your first game drive in open vehicles in the malaria-free Madikwe game reserve. South Africa’s fourth largest game reserve covers 76,000 hectares of game-rich bush and grass plains and due to its location it is secluded from the usual routes given by insider tips in South Africa. You will stay for 2 nights in a luxurious safari lodge. Meanwhile, your large luggage will remain under safekeeping in your private train suite. The 12th day of your journey will be at your disposal for wildlife observation. Your experienced ranger will share his knowledge with you about the habits of the wild animals and their tracks through the bush. With a little luck you will see lions, elephants, rhinos and perhaps even the rare leopard. Madikwe became famous thanks to Operation Phoenix which was successfully completed in 1997. As part of the world’s largest resettlement of wild animals, nearly 10,000 animals found new homes in Madikwe and thus they gave the region its original animal abundance. On the 13th day you will drive per bus to the small town of Zeerust, where your friendly train staff will welcome you back on board of Rovos Rail. (BLD)

Day 14 – Under steam to Pretoria

Transfer to Pretoria for a city tour followed by lunch on the Rovos Rail Station platform. Enjoy a walking tour of the station and locomotive workshops (weather permitting). Return to the train. (BLD)

Day 15 – Kimberley

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.
Lunch is served. Travel the Karoo, a vast semi-desert 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 (BLD)

Day 16 – Matjiesfontein

During breakfast, 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. 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. 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. The train climbs ±750m down the escarpment through the Hex River Valley. (BLD)

Day 17 – Farewell to Africa

Arrival in Capetown (B). Optional we can arrange tailor-made extended travel programs in South Africa.

(zie foto’s)

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