DAY 1: PRETORIA
18h00 : Depart Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car or observation car at the rear of the train. Travel through Warmbaths (Bela-Bela) – so named for its mineral waters – and Nylstroom, christened by the Voortrekkers as the source of the Nile River as the town’s river happened to be north flowing. Pass the edge of the escarpment where the Highveld drops precipitously.
20h00 : Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Naboomspruit. Dress: Formal
DAY 2: AT LEISURE ON BOARD
07h00 : Breakfast is served in the dining cars.
13h00 : Lunch is served in the dining cars. Border formalities with South Africa.
16h30 : Tea in the lounge and observation cars. The train crosses the Limpopo River en route to Beitbridge for border formalities with Zimbabwe. In Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories, the ‘Elephant’s Child’ departs his family for the “great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.”
19h30 : Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Gwanda. Dress: Formal
DAY 3: MATOBO NATIONAL PARK
06h00 : Breakfast is served in the dining cars until
09:00 : Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 09:00.The train travels baobab country and ascends to Bulawayo: second city of Zimbabwe, capital of Matabeleland and industrial capital of the country.
13h00 : Lunch is served in the dining cars.
13h30 : Transfer (±45 min) to Matobo National Park for a game drive. Visit bushmen caves and the grave of Cecil John Rhodes.
18h00 : Depart for Sawmills.
19h30 : Dinner is served in the dining cars. Dress: Formal
DAY 4: HWANGE NATIONAL PARK
07h00 : Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10h00. The train travels between Gwaai and Dete along one of the world’s longest stretches of straight railway line – 114 kilometres – and along the eastern edge of Hwange Park.
13h00 : Lunch is served in the dining cars.
15h00 : Enjoy a game drive at The Hide in Hwange National Park.
19h30 : Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Thompsons Junction. Dress: Formal
DAY 5: VICTORIA FALLS
07h00 : Please ensure that your luggage is ready for collection at 09:30 and that you have your passport. Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 09:30.
10h00 : Arrive at the incomparable Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe where you will be met by our representative and transferred to the Victoria Falls Airport for your flight back to OR Tambo Airport.