This panoramic nine-day sojourn commences at the Rovos Rail Station at Capital Park in Pretoria. The first leg of the journey takes the train through Witbank and Middleburg and then traverses the majestic Drakensberg escarpment en route to the lowveld of Mpumalanga.
The following morning you will receive an early wake up call to join a game drive through the famous Kruger Park. Brunch will be served in the dining car while the train winds its way southwards to Swaziland in time for an afternoon game drive in the Mkhaya Reserve. During the night the train will continue south to the village of Hluhluwe in Zululand. Starting early once again, a wide variety of game can be seen on an early morning game drive through the scenic Hluhluwe Game Reserve. The Pride of Africa departs mid morning and makes its way south through the lush cane fields of KwaZulu Natal, arriving in Durban late afternoon.
After an evening in Durban the train steadily ascends the scenic escarpment through Pietermaritzburg and The Valley of a Thousand Hills en route to Lions River for a morning visit to the famous Ardmore Ceramics Gallery. The route to Bethlehem takes the train past Lesotho and the highest mountains in the Drakensberg range at 3 482 metres. During the night we continue onto Bloemfontein, the Free State capital, with a morning tour of the city. The journey continues southwards overnight to the coastal capital of the Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth, where we will enjoy a morning visit to the Addo Elephant Park.
An early morning departure from Willowmore takes the Pride of Africa into Oudtshoorn for a visit to the Highgate Ostrich farm followed by another spectacular rail descent down the Montagu pass into George. A morning visit to Knysna and the surrounding attractions will complete the visit to this natural paradise. The train sets off at midday from George travelling along the scenic Garden Route through Mossel Bay and Riversdale. The next morning, after a short visit to the KWV Brandy Distillery in Worcester, the Pride of Africa ends its magnificent collage in the Mother City of Cape Town.
Pretoria to Cape Town
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24 February - 04 March 2011
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19 – 27 May 2011
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03 – 11 November 2011
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17 - 25 May 2012
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08 - 16 November 2012
Day 1
10h00: Depart Rovos Rail’s private station in Capital Park, Pretoria.
Day 2
05h00: Wake up call for game drive in the Kruger Park in open vehicles.
11h00: Brunch is served in the dining car while we travel through Komatipoort to the Swaziland border.
15h00: Arrive at Mkhaya Game Reserve for afternoon game drive.
Day 3
05h00: Wake up call for a game drive in the Hluhluwe Reserve.
10h30: The train departs Hluhluwe for Durban.
18h00: Arrive in Durban for an evening in the City.
Day 4
06h00: Depart Durban en route to Kroonstad.
12h30: Disembark the train at 10h00 for a visit to the famous Ardmore ceramics gallery. Return to the train for lunch and depart for Kroonstad. Overnight in Kroonstad.
Day 5 .
10h00: Enjoy a tour of Bloemfontein Return to the train for a 13h00 departure for Port Elizabeth.
Day 6
09h00: Tour of Addo Elephant Park near Port Elizabeth. Return to the train for a 12h45 departure for Oudtshoorn.
Day 7
10h00: Arrive in Oudtshoorn for Ostrich Farm visit.
12h00: The train departs for George. Afternoon at leisure. Disembark at 18h00 for dinner at Fancourt Golf Estate.
Day 8
09h00: Disembark the train for a morning tour of Knysna. Depart for George at 13h30.
Day 9
11h00: Arrive in Worcester for a tour of the KWV Brandy Distillery. Depart for a 17h00 arrival at Platform 23, Cape Town Station.
