10-day trip | South Africa & Namibia by rail

Pretoria

Day 1: Journey through gold fields

Welcome aboard. We depart late morning from Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria and travel south via the gold fields of the Witwatersrand. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car or observation car at the rear of the train. Lunch will be served at 1pm in the dining cars, while tea will be served in the lounge and observation cars at 4.30pm. At 7.30pm, enjoy a formal dress welcome dinner in the dining carriages.

Kimberley

Day 2: Kimberley & the vast Karoo

After breakfast, disembark to 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. Lunch will be served back on board in the dining cars. The observation car will be leading the train until after tea as you travel through the Karoo, a vast semi-desert region that was once an enormous inland sea. Over millions of years, volcanic matter here was ground down and deposited as silt upon the seabed to form what geologists call the Karoo system. Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to De Aar, an important railway junction.

Upington

Day 3: Crossing into Namibia

After breakfast, disembark the train for an optional two-hour walking tour of Upington. Lunch will be served back on board in the dining cars before border formalities are undertaken for a crossing into Namibia. Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Holoog.

Fish River Canyon - Garas Park

Day 4: The mighty Fish River Canyon

An early breakfast will be served in the dining cars this morning. Then, set off at 8am for a one-hour drive to Fish River Canyon. The river rises in the centre of the country before flowing south into the Orange River on Namibia’s border with South Africa. It has formed the great Fish River Canyon – the largest canyon in the southern hemisphere and probably only second to Arizona’s Grand Canyon in terms of size. Here, the vast rocky landscape breaks up into a series of striking cliffs in a spectacular natural display.

Rreturn to the train in time for lunch on board as you travel along the southern reaches of the Kalahari Basin. In the afternoon, visit Garas Park, home to roughly 300 ancient trees with striking forked branches. You'll be back on board in time for tea, and dinner will be served in the dining cars as the train travels north through the Kalahari to Mariental.

Sossusvlei

Day 5: Sunset in the desert

After breakfast on board, transfer to the airstrip for a one-hour light aircraft flight to Sossusvlei. Upon arrival, check in at your hotel and enjoy lunch at the restaurant. In the late afternoon, you'll set off on a mesmerising desert drive. The dunes of the Namib were created by sand carried by the wind from the coast. The sand here is over five million years old and owes its rich red hue to its iron-oxide content. As the light changes during the day, so does the appearance of the dunes’ characteristic colour. The wind in the Sossusvlei area blows from all directions, causing the sand to form star-shaped dunes with multiple arms, hence the name ‘star dunes’. Come evening, tuck into a casual bush-style dinner and watch the sunset over the desert landscape.

Sossusvlei - Windhoek

Day 6: Journey to Windhoek

Today you'll have an early wake-up call with tea and coffee, before heading out and enjoying a desert drive with breakfast. Return to the lodge in the late morning to relax, before check-out and a transfer to the airstrip.

Travel by light aircraft on a one-hour flight to Windhoek where you'll enjoy lunch and visit the Trans-Namib Transport Museum. Situated in Namibia’s Central Highlands, Windhoek is an attractive city surrounded by clusters of hills and the impressive Auas and Eros Mountains. The Trans-Namib Transport Museum outlines Namibian transport history, particularly that of the railway. Depart Windhoek in the evening and enjoy dinner on board, en route to Kranzberg.

Otjiwarongo

Day 7: Dive into the world of cheetahs

Today, spend the morning on board relaxing and observing the changing landscapes. In the afternoon, disembark to visit a cheetah conservation project in Otjiwarongo. Founded in Namibia in 1990, the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. You'll be back on board in time for dinner, served in the dining cars as the train rolls on towards Otavi.

Etosha National Park

Day 8: In search of the Big Five

After breakfast this morning, transfer by road to Mokuti Lodge in Etosha National Park. Check in and enjoy lunch upon arrival, and in the afternoon, set off on a three-hour game drive. Etosha National Park offers great game-viewing opportunities, with the chance to spot elephants, rhinos, wild cats, and herds of wildebeest and zebra. It gets its name from the Etosha Pan, a large and protected salt pan forming part of the Kalahari Basin. Dinner will be served back at the lodge before an overnight stay.

Etosha National Park

Day 9: Early morning safari & back on board

You'll have an early wake-up call this morning in order to enjoy a game drive through Etosha National Park. Return to the lodge by late morning for breakfast and check-out. Then, set off by road to meet the train at Tsumeb railway station and be back on board in time for lunch. Spend the rest of the day on board as the train travels southwest towards the Atlantic Ocean.

Namib Desert - Walvis Bay

Day 10: A final ride through the desert

This morning you'll traverse the Namib Desert towards Walvis Bay. The observation car will be at the front of the train for the last stretch, offering a unique view for rail enthusiasts to enjoy.

The Namib Desert stretches for more than 2,000km along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and signifies ‘vast place’. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55-80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world.

Arrive in Walvis Bay, Namibia at around midday, when your journey comes to an end.