TYM12J: Rovos Rail: Pretoria to Cape Town – South African Grand Tour

Day 1

You will be met at Johannesburg Airport and transferred to your Pretoria hotel.

Check in and relax by the swimming pool under warm blue South African skies.

Day 2

Transfer from your hotel to Capital Park Station to arrive in good time to board the luxury Rovos Rail Pride of Africa departing 10h00 for Cape Town.

Relax and enjoy the elegance of luxury 5-star train travel of a bygone age, as you settle in to your wood-panelled coach for your 9-day journey to Cape Town, enjoying fine cuisine outstanding personal service as you travel over 2,000 miles through some of South Africa’s most spectacular scenery.

Arrive Waterval Onder after descending the spectacular Drakensberg escarpment at sunset.

Dress code on the train during the day is smart casual, with comfortable walking shoes for the off-train excursion. Evenings are generally more formal, with most guests enjoying the opportunity to dress up in cocktail or evening wear including black tie (although collar & tie is acceptable)

Day 3

Awake early for your first 06h00 open-top safari game drive in the world-famous Kruger National Park. Game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately in this vast 2-million hectare game sanctuary the size to Wales. The park is home to all the Big Five – elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino and lion – as well as zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and many other interesting species. Bird life is also prolific.

Enjoy brunch in the dining car, as the train continue southwards through Komatipoort and into the small mountain kingdom of Swaziland.

Passengers disembark for 15h30 open-top safari game drive in the Mkhaya Game Reserve, the Swazi kingdom’s refuge for endangered species such as rhino – and an excellent opportunity to see big game up close. This game reserve lacks commercialism and is a model for sensitive development, being entirely managed by the local Swazi community.

Depart Swaziland 20h00 and continue overnight to Hluhluwe in KwaZulu Natal.

Day 4

Disembark early this morning for your 06h00 open top safari game drive into the famous Hluhluwe Game Reserve, one of South Africa’s most beautiful game parks and home to Africa’s largest population of endangered white and black rhino.

Depart Hluhluwe 09h30, winding through the lush sugar fields and rolling hills of Zululand.

Arrive Durban at 18h00 for an evening in the City.

Day 5

Depart Durban at 0600 and enjoy another day of elegant and luxurious train travel, as you journey through the beautiful rolling hills of the Natal Midlands.

Continue around the Drakensberg Mountains and into the Orange Free State.

Day 6

Arrive Bloemfontein 10h00. Passengers disembark for a tour of this pretty city, which is the judicial capital of South Africa as it is home to the Supreme Court.

Depart Bloemfontein 13h00 continuing southwards through the farmlands of the Orange Free State and Cape Province towards Port Elizabeth.

Day 7

Arrive 09h00 in the holiday town of Port Elizabeth on the shores of the warm Indian Ocean.

Passengers disembark for a tour of Addo Elephant Park to view these magnificent animals which once roamed free in this area and were saved from extinction by this national park, which has also preserved the rare Cape buffalo and the flying dung beetle.

Depart Port Elizabeth at 12h00 travelling towards Oudtshoorn.

Day 8

Arrive in the arid Karoo town of Oudtshoorn at 10h00, where passengers disembark for a visit to an Ostrich Farm.  Continue down the spectacular Montagu Pass into George, for an afternoon at leisure (or optional golf).

In the evening enjoy dinner at the Fancourt Golf Estate.

Day 9

Depart 09h00 for a morning tour of Knysna situated in the heart of the beautiful coastal Garden Route. This lively town is famous for its oysters, which are grown in the lagoon. It also offers good shopping opportunities and many interesting craft shops in the town.

Depart George 13h30, travelling towards Mossel Bay and the historic town of Swellendam the third oldest town in South Africa.

Day 10

Enjoy a sumptuous breakfast, whilst travelling along the Breede River Valley. Arrive at Worcester at 11h00, where passengers may disembark for a tour of the KWV brandy distillery.

Continue through the Du Toits Kloof tunnel and through the mountains and vineyards of the beautiful Cape Winelands.

View imposing Table Mountain as you arrive Cape Town Station at 17h00 and transfer to your hotel.

Days 11 & 12

At leisure to explore the beautiful city of Cape Town.

Choose one of the many local activities such as a visit to Robben Island, the infamous prison home of Nelson Mandela (advance booking essential in season); explore the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront or simply relax on golden Camps Bay beach – the choice is yours!

Day 13

Transfer to Cape Town Airport for your flight home.