Cape Town to Dar es Salaam Luxury Rovos Rail Journey

Cape Town • Matjiesfontein • Kimberley Diamond Museum • Pretoria • Madikwe Game Reserve • Botswana • Zimbabwe • Victoria Falls • Zambia • Chisimba Falls • Great Rift Valley • Selous Game Reserve • Dar es Salaam

This epic 15-day train journey travels through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania and is one of the most famous, luxury train journeys in the world.

Your sojourn begins in Cape Town where you will board the train and settle into your sumptuous cabin. Then the train will head to the historic village of Matjiesfontein, the diamond town of Kimberley and the capital city of Pretoria for short tours followed by two nights in the Madikwe Game Reserve. Continue through Botswana into Zimbabwe where you will stay overnight at the Victoria Falls Hotel. After crossing the mighty Zambezi River, the train joins the Tazara line in Zambia and continues to Chisimba Falls where you have the chance to enjoy a bush walk.

Then the train climbs to the Tanzanian border before descending into the Great Rift Valley negotiating the tunnels, switchbacks and viaducts of the spectacular escarpment. As it climbs again to Dar es Salaam, it traverses the Selous Game Reserve – the largest on the continent and a vision of timeless Africa. Finish in Dar es Salaam, taking with you memories of an unsurpassable journey.

This journey is also available in reverse. Contact us for departure dates.

Day 1: Cape Town

Depart from Cape Town Station. The train travels towards the Hex River Valley.

Day 2: Matjiesfontein

Disembark at Matjiesfontein for an opportunity to stroll through thehistoric village. Of special interest is the museum on the platform and a collection of historic cars and railway carriages to the right of the Lord Milner Hotel. 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

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.

Day 4: Pretoria

Transfer (±60 min) 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). Return (±60 min) to the train.

Day 5: Madikwe Game Reserve

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 morning and afternoon game drives.

Day 7: Madikwe Game Reserve

Early morning game drive.

Transfer to the train at Gaborone in Botswana.

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 900 000km2 and covers much of Botswana, parts of Namibia and South Africa) is not a true desert as it does experience small amounts of rain, with some areas enjoying up to 250mm. The surrounding basin covers over 2 500 000km2 extending farther 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 on Board

Enjoy a day of leisure on board your journey.

Day 9: Victoria Falls

Arrive at the incomparable Victoria Falls.

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.

Day 10: Victoria Falls

Enjoy a day of leisure at Victoria Falls.

Day 11: At Leisure on Board

Enjoy a day of leisure on board your journey. After breakfast, 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.

Day 12: At Leisure on Board

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.

Day 13: Chisimba Falls

Chisimba Falls is a series of three waterfalls named Mutumuna, Kaela and Chishimba (Chisimba), 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.

Day 14: Makambako (Optional)

The train travels towards the jungled Udzungwa Mountains and negotiates the dramatic switchbacks, viaducts and tunnels of the escarpment.

Day 15: Selous Game Reserve

Enjoy a game visit in the Selous Game Reserve, the largest in Africa.

Day 16: Dar es Salaam

Arrive at journey’s end at Tazara Station in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

 

Price includes:

• Accommodation
• All meals
• All beverages on board
• Room service
• Limited laundry
• Excursions with a qualified guide (where applicable)
• Entrance fees as per itinerary
• On-board historian and doctor
• Government tax

Price excludes:

• International sparkling
• Wine
• Gratuities
• Personal expenses
• Visas
• Travel insurance
• Pre and post-tour accommodation
• Flights and transfers

INCLUDED in off-train accommodation:

• Overnight bag
• Meals
• Water
• Tea/coffee and breakfast juices
• Snacks and drinks
• Sunset cruise

EXCLUDED from off-train accommodation:

• All other beverages
• Meals at unspecified venues
• Laundry
• Personal expenses