Touring South Africa in the lap of luxury aboard Rovos Rail’s restored train
Reporting from Cape Town, South Africa — There I was, paddling down the Zambezi River in Zambia, surrounded by hungry hippos and crocodiles with a predatory gleam in their yellow-green eyes.
This was indeed the majestic Zambezi, home of Victoria Falls, stamping ground of adventurers Henry Stanley and David Livingstone. But I shared a canoe with my husband, Alan, on a 45-minute jaunt under the watchful eye of a support boat as well as a guide in another canoe to make sure we didn’t get photo-bombed by dangerous wildlife.
Still, surviving a hippo-adjacent canoe trip was the only good excuse I could think of for believing we deserved the over-the-top pleasures of the next step in our two-week journey: a train trip from Pretoria, South Africa, to Cape Town on Rovos Rail.
See the most-read stories in Life & Style this hour >>
I’m a veteran of wildlife safari travel in East Africa and Namibia, but my trip to South Africa (including four days in Cape Town) in early May was the first time I had traded the bush for the lap of luxury. Rovos Rail left no needs or desires unmet.
I had delegated trip planning to Alan, so the only thing I knew about Rovos Rail — which calls itself “The Pride of Africa†— was that men had to wear jackets and ties to dinner. Daytime dress would be “smart casual.†So I shoved a dress under the safari pants in my duffel bag.
I did not know that the three-day, two-night ride (approximately 1,000 miles) would take us on a blast to a storied past. This was Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express†without the homicide but with plenty of self-indulgent fun.
Rovos Rail offers a variety of trips: relatively short hops from Pretoria to Cape Town, Victoria Falls or Durban, South Africa, as well as trips as long as 15 days. A nine-day golf tour travels through Durban, Port Elizabeth and the golfing area of Knysna to Cape Town. A 15-day adventure travels 3,700-odd miles from Cape Town to the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam. I guess we were starting small.
Before our Rovos Rail trip, we took a day tour of Johannesburg that included a visit to Soweto township and the fascinating, sobering Apartheid Museum. This choice left our guide and driver speeding through L.A.-style traffic for the nearly 60-mile trip from Soweto to Pretoria and the Rovos Rail station for the 3 p.m. departure.
We needn’t have worried. As train guests relaxed with Champagne and snacks (including South Africa’s ubiquitous biltong — dried, cured meat) at the tea-time elegant train station, Rovos Rail owner Rohan Vos arrived to inform us that the train never leaves on time.
Vos believes meeting guests before departure is only civilized: “People have chosen to spend time with us and that should be acknowledged and thanked,†he said. Before departure, “Mr. Rohan,†as the staff calls him, also took time to give a tour of the family business. A passion for “anything classic, be it cars, trains, boats,†as well as for reviving the opulence of train travel from years gone by led him to establish Rovos Rail in 1989.
A few years earlier Vos had begun restoring rail cars circa 1900-1940, borrowing from several eras to create a bespoke fantasy of wood paneling, lush upholstery and formal dining, lounging and observation cars and sleeper cars of varying degrees of elegance. Options include Royal Suites that take up half a carriage and feature a full Victorian bathroom with tub and shower, and the less fancy but equally delightful Deluxe and Pullman cars.
We traveled Deluxe, with a double bed and sitting area, but all three options offer 24-hour room service, an eager personal butler (male or female) available to whisk your wrinkled dress to be pressed in time for dinner, or stuff your mini-bar with even more alcohol than is always available in the club cars.
Vos laid down the minimal rules of the rail: Keep windows closed during train stops to avoid opportunists who might pop in through the windows to grab valuables. No, you will not die without Internet for three days. Portable electronics may not be used anywhere except in your suite.
Nights on the train can be chilly (take a wrap to the dining car), but rooms offer heat and cozy electric blankets. Rain on the tracks caused an interesting juggling act for the wait staff at dinner one night. Restored rail cars are more interesting but a bit less predictable than the contemporary variety.
Still, it’s good to know that I wasn’t dreaming as eager staff members rushed to refresh our drinks or made sure tea-time trays were filled with finger sandwiches and cakes (travelers seemed to have no problem combining black forest cake with a beer). And this was before dinner.
Did I mention food? Food, food, food. Cookies, candy and tea appeared by magic in our sleeper car. Breakfast (served until 10 a.m.) featured eggy menu specialties and a buffet of yogurt, fruits, cereals and pastries.
Be on time for the four-course lunches and dinners, each course paired with an appropriate wine. Friday dinner menu: grilled scallops with hollandaise sauce, roast Karoo lamb shanks, Boland Camembert-style cheese with melon preserve and rosemary-infused savory shortbread, and cape brandy pudding with cinnamon cream.
Enjoying the sweep of mountains, valleys, townships, vineyards, gold mining fields and flocks of ice-pink flamingos did not interrupt the steady flow of comestibles. A handful of shortbread was an emotional substitute for texting.
But we did stop munching for several train-stop excursions. Day 2 included a visit to Kimberley, the capital of the Northern Cape Province and home to the original De Beers diamond mines. Along with enjoying the history of bling in the Kimberley’s Diamond and Mine Museums, we visited the landmark Big Hole.
Between 1871 and 1914, miners descended on the area and removed about 6,000 pounds of diamonds, excavating 22.5 million tons of earth in the process. The resulting 42-acre crater is surrounded by original buildings from the mining era, available to tour.
Day 3 offered the option of getting off the train for an early morning hike to the quaint village of Matjiesfontein and its railway museum (or staying on the train and meeting the hikers there when you arrive). We decided to do the hike, though we required breakfast both before and after the walk.
Remember, we braved hippos and crocs on the Zambezi only days before. We deserved every bite.
If you go
THE BEST WAY TO JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
From LAX,
Rovos Rail; www.rovos.com. Three-day, two-night excursion from Pretoria to Cape Town, about $1,850 per person, double occupancy, for a Deluxe Suite, food and excursions (Kimberley and Matjiesfontein) included. Pullman Suite, $1,259 per person, double occupancy; Royal Suite: $2,386 per person, double occupancy.
Another slightly less expensive option is the Blue Train, www.bluetrain.co.za, which also makes a stop in Kimberley. Rates for Pretoria-Cape Town excursion, per person, double occupancy: luxury double: $1,151 in low season (Jan.1-Aug.31 and Nov.16-Dec.31) and $1,432 in high season (Sept.1-Nov.15); deluxe double: $990 low season, $1,221 high season.
TO LEARN MORE
For information on train travel in South Africa, go to www.lat.ms/traintravel
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
