DAY 1: PRETORIA
10:00: Depart Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria. Travel southeast across the Highveld and the goldfields of the Witwatersrand towards Heidelberg, site of the first Rand gold strike, and Balfour, a small mining town in Mpumalanga. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travelers in the lounge car and observation car.
13:00: Lunch is served in the dining cars. The Drakensberg Mountains were 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.
16:30: Tea is served in the lounge and observation cars. The train climbs to Majuba Hill – site of the decisive battle that ended the First Anglo Boer War – then passes Newcastle, which has what is reputed to be the largest cella-dome Hindu temple in the southern hemisphere.
19:30: Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Elandslaagte. Dress: Formal Pass Glencoe, site of the first battle of the Anglo Boer War and now the center of the province’s coalfields.
DAY 2: NAMBITI & SPIONKOP
05:45: Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure. 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.
11:00: Brunch is served in the dining cars. Transfer (±30 min) to Spionkop Lodge for the afternoon. A choice of two excursions is available: 1. Hear the historic tale of the Battle of Spionkop OR 2. Enjoy a game drive in the 11 000-acre reserves.
19:30: Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Estcourt. Dress: Formal. Shortly after Chieveley, on the right of the track, stands a memorial to Winston Churchill who was captured here in November 1899 while trying to free an armored train trapped by a Boer ambush.
- 2 Night's Accommodation
- All meals
- All beverages
- Room service
- Limited laundry
- Excursions with a qualified guide (where applicable)
- Entrance fees as per itinerary
- International
- French Champagne
- Gratuities
- Personal expenses
- Visas
- Travel insurance
- Pre- transfers, accommodation, and flights.
DAY 3: ARDMORE CERAMICS
07:00: Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00. The train descends the escarpment to the Lions River. Visit the famous Ardmore Ceramics Gallery. Here, artists are encouraged to express their imagination based on nature and Zulu folklore and tradition.
13:00: Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train traverses the spectacular Valley of a Thousand Hills.
16:00: Arrive at the journey’s end at Durban Station. A number of museums and cultural sights, the beautiful botanical gardens, and the superb shark-protected beaches are but a few of the city’s many charms.
- Breakfast & Lunch
- Excursion as per itinerary
- Post-tour transfers, accommodation, and flights.
