Rovos Rail: Cape Town to Dar Es Salaam

Day 1 — Cape Town

Check in at Rovos Rail Lounge this morning and settle in before joining fellow travellers in the lounge cars as you depart from Cape Town Station. Lunch is served as the train travels towards the Hex River Valley. Disembark at Matjiesfontein before dinner for an opportunity to stroll through the historic village (time dependent). Depending on time of year, this stop could be after sunset.

Day 2 — At leisure onboard

Breakfast is served as the train traverses the Karoo, a vast semi-desert region 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.

Day 3 — Kimberley

After breakfast 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. Dinner is served en route to Klerksdorp.

Day 4 — Pretoria

After breakfast 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). Dinner is served en route to Zeerust.

Day 5 — Madikwe Game Reserve

After breakfast pack a small overnight bag and transfer to a lodge in Madikwe for a two night stay. Lunch is served on arrival followed by a game drive. Madikwe is a prime malaria-free Big 5 wildlife reserve bordering Botswana. It lies within a transition zone between the North West Province bushveld and Kalahari thornveld with enormous volcanic intrusions, wide open plains and the riverine environment along the Marico River. As a result, the region is host to an incredible diversity of species from both ecosystems with a rich assortment of vegetation and more than 300 resident and migrant bird species.

Day 6 — Madikwe Game Reserve

Enjoy an early morning game drive to spot wildlife while they are still active, in their natural habitat. Return to the lodge for breakfast and some time at leisure. Enjoy lunch at the lodge, followed by an afternoon game drive. Dinner is back at the lodge.

Day 7 — Madikwe Game Reserve

Early morning game drive before breakfast before departing the lodge and transferring to the train at Gaborone in Botswana. Border formalities will take place en route and guests are required to present themselves to the border officials. Lunch is served in the dining cars as 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 over 900,000 km2 and covers much of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa) is not a true desert as it does experience small amounts of rain, with some areas enjoying up 250mm. The surrounding basin covers over 250,000 km2, extending further 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.

Day 8 — At leisure onboard

Day at leisure onboard the train where lectures will take place throughout the journey during the morning and afternoon in the lounge car. Pass Gwaai and Dete along one of Africa’s longest stretches of straight railway line 114 kilometres and along the eastern edge of the Hwange National Park.

Day 9 — Victoria Falls

Breakfast is served in the dining car as you arrive at Victoria Falls. Pack a small overnight bag and disembark the train and walk across to the Victoria Falls Hotel. Enjoy a welcome address on the lawn followed by lunch at Jungle Junction. Later this afternoon meet in the hotel foyer and depart on a sunset cruise on the Zambezi. Dinner is served at the Livingstone Room, Victoria Falls Hotel.

Day 10 — Victoria Falls

After breakfast at the Jungle Junction Restaurant, enjoy a day at leisure at Victoria Falls (a range of optional activities such as a helicopter ride over the falls, golf etc are available at additional cost, and must be booked in advance).

Plunging over the lip of the Victoria Falls is the largest body of falling water on earth. The mighty Zambezi, fourth longest river in Africa, is about 2kms wide above the falls and cascades dramatically over a precipice 1.6km in length and 108m at its deepest, compressing the vast volume of water into a chasm 50m wide. The sound can be deafening, the aspect magnificent and the memory indelible. In autumn, the spray is so great it inhibits photography while in spring the seasonal flow considerably reduces leaving large slabs of brown basalt exposed on the lip.

Later this afternoon meet on the station platform for departure to Zambia, crossing the Victoria Falls Bridge. Tea is served in the lounge and observation cars as border formalities take place.

Day 11 — At leisure onboard

The train travels across the Kafue Railway Bridge – a 477-metre long steel girder truss bridge of 13 spans each at 33 metres supported on concrete piers. The train then passes through Zambia’s capital, and dinner is served in the dining cars.

Day 12 — At leisure onboard

Today 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. Dinner is served en route to Kasama.

Day 13 — Chisimba Falls

Enjoy a visit to Chisimba Falls and take a pleasant walk down to the rock pools at the base of the falls or admire them from various viewpoints. Chisimba Falls is a series of three waterfalls named Mutumuna, Kaela and Chishimba, which are separated over 300m along the Luombe River. According to Bemba tradition, the nature spirit ‘Chishimba’ lives in a cave behind the falls therefore no bad behaviour (including fights, insults and arrogance) is allowed in this area. Though the Bemba people arrived here in the 17th century, they weren’t the first as the land surrounding the falls is dotted with evidence of Iron Age activities including kilns, smelting pipes and iron ore deposits.

Lunch is served as the train climbs to the border, almost exactly the midpoint between Africa’s two Great Rift Valley lakes. Tea is served as border formalities take place, followed by dinner as the train passes Baobab forests and descends the Rift Valley towards Mbeya

Day 14 — At leisure onboard

Today the train traverses the Rift Valley and baobab forests towards Mbeya. The Southern Highlands of Tanzania are covered with grasslands, savannas, woodlands and forests. Miombo woodland and savanna predominates at lower elevations while the higher mountains are home to Afromontane evergreen forests, grasslands and shrublands, and part of the Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic ecoregion, which extends into the nearby mountains of Malawi and Zambia.

Day 15 — Makambako

Arrive this morning at Makambako and enjoy an optional stroll through the town (time permitting).The train travels towards the jungled Udzungwa Mountains and negotiates the dramatic switchbacks, viaducts and tunnels of the escarpment.

Day 16 — Nyerere National Park

Enjoy a game visit and lunch (weather permitting) in the Nyerere National Park, the largest in Africa at 30 000km2. This evening the train traverses the fertile lands of Tanzania towards Gwata.

Day 17 — Dar es Salaam

After breakfast, arrive at journey’s end in Dar es Salaam at Tazara Station.

NB: This itinerary also operates in reverse. Depending on the railway capacity this journey could be routed slightly differently.

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What’s included

• 16 nights’ accommodation onboard in your suite of choice
• All meals (B, L, D) during your trip
• Afternoon tea onboard most days
• All beverages onboard unless otherwise mentioned
• Water, coffee/tea, and breakfast juices at your accommodations off-train
• Historian and doctor onboard
• Shared guided excursions as per the itinerary
• Entrance fees as per the itinerary
• Room service and limited laundry onboard

Not included

• International sparkling wine onboard
• All other off-train beverages
• Gratuities

The whole trip, one booking

We arrange your international and regional flights alongside your journey — in whichever cabin suits — with stopovers, travel insurance and the rest of your time in Africa, so it’s all priced, ticketed and looked after together.

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