ROV05 - 9 Day African Collage Luxury Rail Tour

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 and rolling hills 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 Ladysmith and Bethlehem. This route 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.

The Route
Pretoria - Malelane - Hluhluwe - Durban - Port Elizabeth - Oudtshoorn - Knysna - Cape Town

Departures 2011
Scheduled Departure from Pretoria 24 February - 04 March 2011
Scheduled Departure from Pretoria 19-27 May 2011
Scheduled Departure from Pretoria 03-11 November 2011

Guests
Minimum 2 - Maximum 72

Day 2 of the tour (Friday)
05:00     Wake up call for game drive in the Kruger National Park in open vehicles.
11:00     Brunch in the dining car while we travel through Komtipoort to the Swaziland border.
15:30     Arrive at Mkhaya Game Reserve for an afternoon game drive.

Day 3 of the tour (Saturday)
05:00     Wake up call for a game drive in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve.
09:30     The train departs Hluhluwe for Durban.
18:00     Arrive in Durban for an evening in the city.

Day 4 of the tour (Sunday)
06:00     Depart Durban en route to Kroonstad.
10:00     Disembark the train for a visit to the famous Ardmore Ceramics Gallery.
12:30     Return to the train form lunch and depart for Kroonstad. Overnight in Kroonstad.

Day 5 of the tour (Monday)
10:00     Enjoy a tour of Bloemfontein.
13:00     Depart Bloemfontein en route to Port Elizabeth.

Day 6 of the tour (Tuesday)
09:00     Tour of Addo Elephant National Park near Port Elizabeth.
12:00     The train departs Port Elizabeth for Oudtshoorn.

Day 7 of the tour (Wednesday)
10:00     Arrive in Oudtshoorn for an Ostrich Farm visit.
12:00     The train departs for George.
15:30     Arrive in George for an afternoon at leisure.
18:30     Depart for dinner at the Fancourt Golf Estate.

Day 8 of the tour (Thursday)
08:00     Disembark the train for a morning tour of Knysna.
13:30     Depart George.

Day 9 of the tour (Friday)
11:00     Arrive in Worcester for a tour of the KWV Brandy Distillery.
17:00     Arrive in Cape Town.

Included
* 8 Nights Luxury Accommodation on the train
* All meals throughout the journey
* All alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages while on the train
* All off train excursions during the train journey

Excluded
* International & Domestic Flights
* Gratuities, Telephone calls etc.
* Travel Insurance

Please Note
* This tour is operated as a Scheduled Tour. Please take note of the Departure Dates above.
* Passengers are advised to take anti-malarial precautions as might be prescribed.
* Please feel free to add on to this tour with any of the other possible tours we offer in Pretoria before the train journey or in Cape Town after the train journey.