Most
people are familiar with the epic Trans-Siberian railway, or the renowned
Orient Express, which travels across Europe in opulent grandeur. But few
realise that southern Africa boasts an impressive range of rail operations,
including some of the finest in the world. Ranging from basic comfort to luxury
in the extreme, each offers an unusual option for travelling among the
sub-continent’s key destinations. The region is one of the last places
where it is still possible to travel by steam, enabling you to mix a style of
travel enjoyed at the turn of the century with the high levels of comfort and
serviceto be expected from today’s finest hotels.
But with rail
networks being upgraded and water and coaling facilities being removed, steam
is steadily being replaced by diesel power on some routes. In this feature,
we introduce you to the key operations available.
The Union
Limited - By Johan Liebenberg There are many things you might
fondly remember if you travel on The Union Limited: the thickly lacquered wood
panels, your bed made up strictly according to railway regulations, the shudder
of the coaches in motion....the rhythmic clickety-clack of wheels and, up
ahead, in double time, the urgent puffing as the locomotive gathers speed.
Leaning ecstatically out of the window with the front coaches curving into
invisibility you will be reminded of being cautioned, “Don’t lean out
the side the smoke is coming from, you’ll get coal dust in your
eye....”
Travelling across a countryside gradually transforming
itself, it is almost peculiar to sit in the dining saloon, drinking a glass of
wine or two, and observing the most peaceful scene in a valley below. It brings
to mind a Turner landscape, of cows grazing in green pastures, a patchwork of
tidy meadows and a dark silent river.
In a fast train this would all
be a blur, of course, but The Union Limited is not a fast train. It travels
with intoxicating slowness, stopping for a barbecue and wine tasting at
Porterville followed by several stops along the Garden Route, the principal
destination being Knysna, where the train halts for at least 24 hours. At the
major stops, a coach will take you to see the local sights.
You sleep
on the train, and have your meals there. The waiters are calm and professional.
Most have had decades of experience. They don’t resemble waiters the way
we imagine them, sleek and slim and charming and perhaps a little dubious. They
look like railway clerks, but don’t be fooled by appearances. They will
not put a foot wrong, and more importantly, they are very likeable, these
fellows.
But what about the food? Well, the food is good. It is not
nouvelle cuisine, thank God, but it is honest food. I had the best crumbed pork
chop ever and on the first night, knowing this would signal things to come for
the next seven days, I somewhat hesitantly ordered the fillet Cafe de Paris and
was relieved to discover it delicious. I am not an authority on puddings but,
as one tends to stretch dinner on The Union line, I always tried them.
Like so many things, the whistling of the train, the chugging of the
locomotive, the old-fashioned butterscotch and marshmallow pudding lulled me
into an earlier, and perhaps more pleasant, time.
It is not a
glamorous five-star hotel in motion, of course. It is still a train, and by
definition it is not for the impatient or, for that matter, the young and
restless. Sometimes an hour can seem much longer, so take a book along, or a
travelling companion, unless you prefer solititude.
I would recommend
going in spring if you want to see the wheat fields in the Swartland area,
still green but on the verge of ripening. It is quite a sight, especially when
a breeze ripples through them.
The Union Limited is for those who love
trains, or the railway for what it once was: a proud institution that
represented the principal form of travel and, in a way that was admirable,
strove to provide the best.
THE UNION LIMITED FACTFILE Accommodation:
Maximum two people per compartment (one in coupe); First Class
(without air conditioning), and Luxury (with air conditioning, en suite shower
and, toilet).
Golden Thread Cape Town return,
through the Garden Route. Six days. Mixed overnight stops and overnight
runs. Excursions: Porterville wine-tasting, free afternoons in Mossel Bay,
Knysna, cruise on Knysna lagoon, Cango Wildlife Ranch and Safari Ostrich Farm
in Oudtshoorn. The Skycoach option gives slight variations to excursions
and itinerary. Price Guide: R3,000pp (first class), R12,000 per suite (max
2 pax) (increasing in 1999) Departs: Approx 24 times per year (not
operational June - August).
Special Departures
Union Limited Outeniqua: 15 days, Cape and Garden Route Departs in
August. Price Guide: R7,200pp. Union Limited Namaqua: 8 days, Cape
Floral tour. Departs in August. Price Guide: R4,000pp. Union
Limited Namib: 14 days, Namibian tour. Departs in May. Price Guide:
R9,500pp.
Rovos Rail -
By Ron
Crittall
The piercing
sound of the engine’s whistle cuts through the chatter along the platform.
Heads bob out of the carriage windows in anticipation. A silence, then that
first, challenging, exploratory explosion of smoke and steam as the gleaming
Garratt strains to start the long haul southwards. It seems only right that
a steam train should be the manner of leaving the small, palm-lined Victoria
Falls station in the heart of Africa. Just outside the station is that colonial
symbol and masterpiece, the Victoria Falls Hotel.
And it’s
absolutely spot-on that this should be not some ordinary train, but that
rolling reminder of Edwardian elegance — Rovos Rail. Rovos means
comfort, style, luxury — and travel through the evocative African
countryside. Old rolling stock has been restored and refurbished to provide the
space and indulgence of another age.
There are only suites. Where an
ordinary carriage might have a dozen small compartments, with upper and lower
bunks and limited space and facilities, on Rovos there are, at most, three
suites. Each has either a double bed or two singles, so both passengers can
lie-in and watch Africa gliding past. There’s a table and armchairs, a
well-stocked fridge, and a spacious, ensuite, shining wood, brass and glass
bathroom. The selection of unguents and oils would pamper the most fastidious
traveller.
The suites are air-conditioned but the windows can also be
opened, offering the best of both worlds. A real bonus, one with a certain
delectable vulnerability, is showering with both window and shutter open. After
all, Africa is mostly — though not entirely — empty.
This
trip was from Victoria Falls to Pretoria, a two day odyssey through Zimbabwe,
Botswana and South Africa. Steam engines, and the facilities to fuel them, are
progressively going the way of the dinosaur. Sadly, I believe Rovos is no
longer able to travel in to Victoria Falls by steam, having to use much less
romantic diesel engines.
Romance was present, however, in every visit
to the dining car. Built in 1924 the Shangani is a gleaming, panelled,
double-damasked delight. Seven sets of carved wooden arches step the length of
the coach, interspersed with the original ceiling fans. Cut glass lamps,
silverware, attentive service and fine food and wine compete successfully
— well, most of the time — with the sights of Africa beyond the
windows.
The African bush has a continuous fascination, even over a
two day journey. The train sways and clickety-clicks its genteel way, over
Africa’s narrow 3 foot 6 inch gauge, through open woodland, with the
chance of seeing wildlife or an African kraal (village).
There are
long, slumbering freight trains waiting patiently at remote sidings, and the
sudden, thumping effect of bridges over broad, empty sand-filled river beds.
Nearer to Johannesburg the sights change to the gaunt tracery of mine headgears
next to gigantic barren dumps of waste earth, and dormitory townships redolent
with the scent of open-air cooking.
The full effect of this African
panorama is best experienced from the observation and bar car, situated at the
tail end of the train. A continuous supply of hot and cold drinks is provided
in air conditioned comfort, but the rear portion is an open air balcony, rather
like an American presidential campaign train. The railway sleepers unroll
giddily beneath your feet in an unending blur. The twin lines of shining steel
draw towards each other and the horizon, taking your senses out and away into
the African air.
ROVOS RAIL FACTFILE Accommodation: Maximum 72 passengers. Every
night is spent on the train. Royal Suite: Approx 16m2, 2 per carriage.
Private lounge and ensuite bathrooms, with showers, hairdryers and shaver
plugs. De Luxe Suite: Approx 11m2, 3 per carriage. Ensuite bathroom and
lounge.
Pretoria / Cape Town 48 hours, 1,600
kms. Excursions: Village visit to Matjiesfontein, Big Hole Tour of
Kimberley. Price Guide: R5,495pp De Luxe, R7,595p Royal. Departs:
Weekly (except July).
Pretoria / Komatipoort 24 hours, 460 kms. Included is two hour transfer through Kruger NP
to Skukuza. Visit to luxury game reserve optional. Price Guide:
R2,595pp De Luxe, R3,595pp Royal. Departs: Twice monthly (except July).
Option to extend to Maputo (additional).
Cape Town / Dar es
Salaam 12 days, 6,100kms Route: Cape Town, Kimberley,
Pretoria, Eastern Transvaal, Beit Bridge, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Lusaka, Dar
es Salaam. Excursions: Various. Price Guide: US$7,200pp De Luxe,
US$8,800pp Royal. Departs: Two July departures each way.
Pretoria / Swakopmund 72 hours, 2,600kms. Excursions:
Kimberley, Augrabies Falls, Windhoek. Price Guide: R7,500pp De Luxe,
R9,500pp Royal. Departs: One-off trip each way, May ‘99.
The Blue
Train -
By John Grant-Silver
f you accept that it’s
a modern, highly-functional five-star hotel in which nothing has been spared to
ensure the comfort of its passengers, then South Africa’s “new”
Blue Train must rate as one of the best in the world.
The title
“new” is fully justified. In the last year or so the
“previous” Blue Train was withdrawn from service and rebuilt from
virtually the ground up. All the best aspects were retained, but the
opportunity was taken to incorporate the very latest features.
The
train is 18 carriages long. Aside from a baggage van, staff car and a power car
with two diesel engines generating enough electricity for a small town, the
rest comprises accommodation for 84 passengers cosseting them in unimaginable
luxury.
Two standards of travel are offered, Luxury and De Luxe, with
not a great deal of difference between the two. Each comprises a two-bed suite,
which is converted to occasional chairs and tables by day, with adjoining
private bathroom. The Luxury suites are slightly larger than De Luxe and boast
a few additional features such as CD player, video machine and dressing
table.
Communal passenger space is provided by a non-smoking lounge
car of elegant style, a smoking club car of more relaxed atmosphere and a
dining car with loose table and chairs giving a level of informality.
I joined the train in Pretoria, where a uniformed porter took care of my
baggage, directing me to a reception lounge where drinks and snacks were
served. My “home” for the trip was a De Luxe suite, to which I
was welcomed by a personal valet. He loaded my baggage and showed me the
facilities of my suite, including how to operate the window blinds, adjust the
air-conditioning, lights and so on.
Another feature is a multi-channel
television set — one of the channels being linked to a camera at the head
of the locomotive. This relays a constant “driver’s eye” view
— by day and by night — of the track ahead. Apart from the picture in
your own suite, this view is also shown on a large-screen television in the
club car. All meal menus were more than adequate, offering a good choice,
with the food well presented and tasty. I heard no complaints.
Everything is included in the fare — the only items for guests’
account are French champagne and Beluga caviar, if ordered! Smart casual is the
dress of the day; for the evening meal passengers are asked to wear something a
little more formal.
The “new” Blue Train does not offer any
organised on-board activity for its passengers. Rather, passsengers are left to
enjoy the trip quietly on their own, or to socialise with fellow passengers as
they see fit.
On the south-bound trip to Cape Town, the train spends
two hours in Kimberley, allowing passengers to visit the famous Big Hole.
Similarly, on the north-bound trip to Pretoria the train is halted in mid-Karoo
to visit historic Maatjiesfontein.
Travel on the rails is as smooth as
silk by day and night, with virtually no external noise. It is by no means
cheap, but with an ambience of luxury and efficiency, a ride on the
“new” Blue Train must be one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most
desirable experiences.
BLUE TRAIN FACTFILE Accommodation: Maximum 84 passengers. Suites include a
private lounge, air conditioning, en suite bath and shower, telephone and
television.
Pretoria / Cape Town: Overnight Excursions: Kimberley
on southbound, Matjiesfontein on northbound. Departs: Mon, Wed, Friday,
seasonal, 4—13 times per month 1998, 10—13 times per month 1999.
Price Guide: Luxury Double R9,000 Single R6,750 De Luxe Double R8,400 Single
R6,300 Increasing by approx R500 in 1999.
Pretoria / Victoria Falls:
Overnight Excursions: Bulawayo on northbound; Hwange NP on southbound.
Departs: Once a month each way, Feb, Apr, June, Aug, Oct, Nov. Price Guide:
Luxury Double R10,800 Single R8,100 De Luxe Double R10,200 Single R7,650.
Increasing by approx R500 in 1999.
Shongololo Safari
Hotel - By Claire Hutchings
ne of the best ways of seeing South Africa, especially if
you are limited for time, is to take the Shongololo Express. In 16 days, the
train will take you between Johannesburg and Cape Town, stopping on route for
one, sometimes two, days to take in the country’s top attractions. Because
it travels only at night, there is no precious daytime wasted getting from A to
B — when you wake up in the morning, you have arrived at a new destination
with the whole day free to explore.
The Shongololo carries its own
experienced guides and a fleet of safari buses, which disembark at each stop to
take passengers on day trips. The choice of excursions is designed to suit
every taste from game watching to hiking, sightseeing to shopping or
sunbathing. For the more adventurous, whitewater rafting, paragliding, scuba
diving, horse riding and hot air ballooning can be arranged.
The
packed itinerary gives you a taste of South Africa’s diverse cultural and
natural heritage. For those interested in wildlife, the highlights of the trip
are the Kruger National Park and the Hluhluwe and Umfolozi Game Reserves, where
you can stay overnight in a bush camp. Passengers can also visit the
Drakensburg mountains, relive the diamond rush in Kimberley, explore the
beautiful forested coast along the Garden Route and tour the historic towns and
vineyard-draped mountains of the Cape winelands. And there are two days to
explore Cape Town and the spectacular Cape peninsula.
The Shongololo
is the brainchild of former restaurateur, George Milaras, who three years ago
leased some unused stock from the state-owned railways, Spoornet. He
refurbished the sleeping carriages, lounge and dining cars to provide
“basic but comfortable accommodation” for just over 100
passengers.
Each of the small single and twin cabins has its own
washbasin, folding table and safe. Each of the nine carriages has two toilets
and at least one shower for 12 passengers. Central heating and hot water
bottles are available during winter, and, by August, all the cabins will be
air-conditioned. The Shongololo also has a bar/lounge car, and a fully-licensed
dining car serving a good selection of Cape Malay, Oriental and African cuisine
and South African wines.
True, for those who like to explore at
leisure, the Shongololo may all seem a bit rushed. There may be a few nights of
disturbed sleep with all the stopping and starting the train does during the
night. On the other hand, it is the only way you will see so many of South
Africa’s top attractions in just a few weeks.
SHONGOLOLO FACTFILE Shongololo Safari Hotel South
Africa 16 Days. Johannesburg / Cape Town Accommodation: 9 sleeper
carriages, each with 5 twin and 2 single compartments. Excursions include:
Kruger NP, Swaziland, St Lucia, Kimberley, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Winelands,
Garden Route, Table Mountain. Departs: Approx. 10 times per year, in each
direction. Rates: R9,990pp high season, R9,450pp low season.
Shongololo Express Hotel Namibia / South Africa 19 Days. Etosha / Cape
Town Accommodation: 6 sleeper carriages, each with 6 twin and 2 single
compartments. Excursions include: Etosha NP, Cape Seal Colony, Swakopmund,
Sossusvlei, Skeleton Coast, Kalahari, Fish River Canyon, Augrabies Falls,
Karoo, Cape Winelands. Departs: Approx. 5 times a year, each way.
Rates: R10,500pp high season, R9,990pp low season.
Victoria Falls Safari
Express - By Lesley Cripps
Stepping off the quaint palm-treed Victoria Falls
Railway Station into the old-world ambience of the huffing and puffing steam
train is like stepping back in time. The Princess of Mulobezi, a class 10, 1922
steam locomotive with a 1900 first class coach and 1934 dining car is ready to
steam it’s way out of this historical railway station.
In snowy
white uniforms and red fezzes, holding silver trays of welcoming drinks, the
broad smiles of the waiters immediately make you feel that this is going to be
a memory of a lifetime — not just a train ride over the spectacular
Victoria Falls bridge, under the spray of the thundering waterfall. The
elegant carriage was used by Neville Chamberlain while he was Commonwealth
Secretary during his tour of southern Africa in 1901, before it was used to run
the Victoria Falls to Cape Town route.
Daily tours offered by the
Victoria Falls Safari Express include the morning Royal Tea Run with
Buck’s fizz, tea and coffee, or the Moonlight Dinner Run enjoying a superb
buffet candle-lit dinner on the famous bridge.
Train de Luxe -
By Mary
Johns
There’s a small grey haired woman sat by the window of the Train de Luxe.
She has a smudge on the end of her nose. She looks like someone’s ageing
aunt. Is this a romantic reincarnation? Is it really Agatha Christie
watching the African bush pass by from the elegant window, waving to excited
children who run alongside the train and dreaming up another murder mystery in
another exotic setting?
All things seem possible on the Train de Luxe.
It has steamed straight out of another era. The decor is a panelled reflection
of a leisurely bygone age when men offered their seats to ladies and there was
time to stand and stare.
And that of course is what the passengers
spend a good deal of their time doing because the train passes through more
than 500 kilometres of some of the most timeless and exciting scenery in
Africa.
My journey began in Bulawayo, where the streets are wide
enough to take a span of oxen and the shops look as if they’ve stood in a
time warp from the 1960’s. From there the Train de Luxe steams its way
through the Hwange Game Reserve to a land at the end of a rainbow. They
call it Victoria Falls, Mosi Oa Tunya, (“The Smoke that Thunders”),
and it is one of the loveliest sights in a land where breathtaking beauty is
commonplace.
But the world between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls is a
journey back in time which begins the moment you step aboard for a four course
lunch in the silver service dining car. You’re on a train that screeches
to a halt in the middle of the night to allow elephants to cross the track,
that passes herds of buffalo and offers the sight of giraffe lifting their long
necks to graze the high branches, dozens of pretty impala, zebra, baboon, sable
— wildlife where they belong and a menagerie of humans looking out.
Life on board has the camaraderie of a house party. The sophistication of
fine wines and silver service is strangely at odds with the black smudges of
soot which blow in through the windows and speckle the bleached bedlinen and
any exposed parts of your body.
There’s a novel excitement in
showering to the regular sway of the carriage and there’s a luxurious
comfort in the settees and sundowners and the lullaby of clicking, screeching
wheels on steel tracks as you drift off to sleep.
The Train de Luxe
owners, Geoff and Sheelagh Cook, are English. “We wanted a change of
direction,” said Sheelagh. “Geoff has always been a train enthusiast
so he thought what better way to spend your life than to play trains on a
one-to-one scale — so we made a train.”
Their train runs to
Victoria Falls and once a month on to Johannesburg on track which was first
opened nearly a century ago. There are moments still when it seems as if
nothing has really changed at all.
TRAIN DE LUXE FACTFILE Accommodation: Three Classes:
Emerald, with en suite bathroom and private lounge, air conditioned; Ivory and
Heritage.
Bulawayo / Victoria Falls One night. Excursion: Game
drive in Hwange NP, as of October 1998. Departs: Four to six departures
each way most months. One each way Feb / March. Price Guide: US$339pp.
Victoria Falls / Hwange Launched June 30, 1998 Departs: Victoria
Falls every Wed, Fri, Sun; Dete every Tue, Thur, Sat. Lunch available if
booked. Price Guide: US$72pp one way; US$129.60pp return. De Luxe package
(including lunch, sparkling wine on arrival): US$97pp one way; US$174.60pp
return.
Victoria Falls / Johannesburg One night. Departs:
Twice each way in September, once in November. Price Guide: US$678pp.
Harare / Bulawayo One night. Departs: One departure each way in
April and November, two in October. Price Guide: US$218pp.
The Desert
Express - By Jean Fischer
he Desert Express adds lustre to Namibia’s expanding
tourist industry. Its inaugural journey took place on April 3, 1998, after a
two year construction period. It was commissioned by the Surface Transport
Division of TransNamib at a cost of N$14 million (approx £1.75
million). Coaches formerly used on the national rail service were stripped
to the bare frame. Namibian rail engineers, interior design architects, and a
professional rail consultant from Europe then set to work to create a unique,
world-class train which could provide a scenic journey through the world’s
oldest desert. The final result is sleek, stylish and comfortable. Large
windows give an uninterupted view of the passing scenery. The train has 24
en-suite compartments, which can accommodate one, two or three passengers. A
roomy, private lounge by day, with air-conditioning, each compartment is
converted into a comfortable bedroom at night.
The atmosphere is
friendly and relaxed, with unobstrusive decor in soft desert tints, wood and
leather. Glass panels are engraved with scenes reflecting the desert
environment.
In the Spitzkoppe lounge, guests are welcomed with a
glass of sparkling wine. If Nigel Hill, the head bartender, happens to be on
duty, sample one of the short, punchy drinks he calls “shooters”. A
refreshing glass of locally produced draught beer is also available at this
well-stocked bar. Three-course dinners served in the elegant Welwitschia
Restaurant include Namibian specialities like seafood, ostrich, crocodile and
game dishes, accompanied by a selection of fine South African wines.
After leaving Windhoek station, the train ambles along at a leisurely pace
through typically Namibian bush country to the 12,000 hectare Okapuka Ranch, an
excursion offered on both the west and eastbound journeys. The railway line
cuts across a section of the ranch, and this part of the journey then becomes
an informal game drive, as passengers can spot a number of game species.
Slowly the landscape changes and becomes true desert — one of
seemingly endless plains rippling with distant mirages. There is nothing quite
like the Namib with its strange beauty, solitude, and the crystal clear
air.
On the eastbound journey, there is a sundowner excursion to the
Spitzkoppe, an impressive granite mass whose sharply etched peaks turn into
shades of deep pink and bronze in the setting sun. The drive back to the train
— about 50 kilometres — takes place under a starry sky. The welcoming
lights of the Desert Express can be seen in the distance, where the chef is
preparing dinner.
At present, product developer and Manager Bruno de
Comarmond is still refining the product, tirelessly looking for glitches,
asking for passenger feedback and defining likes and dislikes. Commenting on
the rail experience he worked so hard to perfect, he says: “It’s a
world class product so we have to ensure that our customers’ needs are met
and that our on-board service not only meets, but exceeds, certain
requirements.”
DESERT EXPRESS FACTFILE Windhoek / Swakopmund Overnight Accommodation:
24 compartments, each air conditioned, convert from lounge to bedroom. Ensuite
showers in Sleeper Class. Sitter Class has glass panelled roof and
reclining seats, communal shower facilities. Excursions: Witness
lion-feeding at Okapuka Ranch; sundowners at Spitzkoppe mountain. Departs:
Daily throughout the year, in each direction. Price Guide: Sleeper Class
Double N$/R 1,080; Sitter Class N$/R 600.
