I knew I shouldn’t have had that last glass of champagne when the carriage moved one way and I moved the other, falling unceremoniously into a lavishly stuffed wing-back chair.
Welcome to the wonderful world of luxury rail travel and the tribulations of finding your “train” legs, which would be a lot easier if it wasn’t for copious amounts of the old bubbly. Or would it?
Perhaps, I wondered as I resumed my tortuous navigation of the narrow passages leading to the dining car, the champers actually helps to cushion the bumps and grinds and render the inevitable bruises painless?
If the staff on Rovos Rail’s Pride of Africa knew the answers, they weren’t telling. We’d pulled away from Durban station a couple of hours earlier, after a red-carpet welcome on the platform and the first few glasses of that ubiquitous champagne.
Rovos Rail isn’t so much a train trip as a rail experience. There have been few occasions when I have imbibed at such an early hour (9am saw the first glass lifted to my lips). And catching a train in such style was a first.
But then Pride of Africa is so much more than just a train. It’s a little piece of colonial history caught in a time capsule that catapults its passengers back to the heyday of refinement and elegance, bombarding them with a brand of hedonism that puts most luxury boutique hotels to shame.
Rovos Rail operates two full train sets of 20 carriages each from its plush Victoriana station at Capital Park in Pretoria. The trains have been lovingly rebuilt with an almost fanatical attention to detail. These classic trains each carry a maximum of 72 passengers, accommodated in what are arguably the most spacious train suites in the world. They are pulled by steam, diesel and electric locomotives that operate at specific stages of each journey.
Rovos Rail’s founder, Rohan Vos, has spared no expense in renovating the trains and has gone to great lengths to develop their reputation as the most luxurious trains in the world.
I must admit to a touch of scepticism as I boarded my flight from Johannesburg to Durban to take the two-night, three-day trip back to Pretoria aboard a train that has also developed a reputation for being beyond the financial reach of most South Africans.
At R10 950 a person sharing a de luxe suite and R14 650 a person sharing a royal suite, I was having a hard time imagining what could be so out of this world as to command these prices for taking three days to travel between two cities that are five hours apart by road. And that’s after you’ve shelled out for the airfare to Durban and the connection from airport to station.
Train manager Pieter Peyper was going to have a hard time convincing me that his pride and joy was worth such big bucks. Preconceptions can be hard to get round, especially from a wisened hack who really should know better than to judge books by covers or, in this case, press releases and prices.
So the champagne reception had a purpose — to relax the likes of me and open us up to the possibility that this journey was going to be worth every hard-earned cent.
It didn’t take long to convince me, and it wasn’t just the alcohol that did it. It was the realisation that travelling on Rovos Rail is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s something you put on top of the “things to do before I shuffle off my mortal coil” list, and is up there with a cruise on the QE2, a round-the-world air ticket and a stay at the Burj Al Arab. What it is not is something you do every year, unless, of course, money is no object.
Whatever the case may be, Rovos Rail doesn’t dwell on it. There is no snobbery on board, no air of life- styles of the rich and famous — just a relaxed atmosphere in which all passengers are equal and worthy of being spoilt rotten.
And spoilt you are. Stukkend.
For a start, you don’t have to get your wallet out for the duration of the journey, unless you want to buy curios. And life just rolls by like the countryside outside your air-conditioned cabin as you drift from one sumptuous meal to another while getting to know your fellow passengers.
There are no TVs, no phones (cellphone reception can be patchy) and no distractions. And there’s no stopping that champagne. It’s there from the minute you wake up to that last drowsy yawn at bedtime.
And bedtime is a pleasure in itself. The suites are luxury from A to Z. With Edwardian features and fine wood panelling, they include every modern convenience from the aforementioned air-conditioning to tea- and coffee-making facilities, electronic safe, en suite shower and properly-flushing toilet (none of that glimpse-of-the-rails-as-you-pull-the-chain business).
The deluxe suites measure a whopping 11m2, which may not sound much, but when you consider that these are wedged into a train and include a huge king-size or twin beds, small lounge area and en-suite facilities, you realise the meaning of space-conscious. The royal suites are larger, at 16m2, and include a full Victorian-style pedestal bath in their en-suites and a larger lounge area than their de luxe counterparts.
For those who can’t handle the sounds of rail travel, ear-plugs are provided. Also, the train pulls into sidings at night, so not all sleep is taken on the move.
The atmosphere of colonial elegance is echoed in the rest of the train, from the cosy and extremely comfortable observation car with its leather couches, wing backs, armchairs and outside viewing platform to the gorgeous dining car, with its damask table cloths, crystal and silverware and a range of some of the finest wines South Africa has to offer.
Meals are a grand affair, and the food is outstanding. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in effortless style and the amount of food and liquid refreshment makes for very lazy passengers who snooze the afternoons away. All of which is fine, but what about all that inactivity?
In truth, there’s not that much of it, with the train stopping on the second morning for a crack-of-dawn game drive at Mkhaya Game Reserve in Swaziland and another foray that same afternoon-cum-evening into the Kruger National Park when the train heaves to a halt at Malelane.
Admittedly, the game drives are not exactly exercise, but they do provide a welcome break in the journey.
Some meals, too, are taken off the train. After the game drive at Malelane, dinner is enjoyed at the Malelane Sun boma, offering a pleasant alternative to the dining car.
Then it’s back to the train and a slow journey by moonlight through the Crocodile river valley to Waterval Onder and Waterval Boven, where the train stops for a few hours before making the final haul homeward to Pretoria.
The last stop is at Rayton, where a steam locomotive picks up the train for the final stage to Capital Park.
Sadly, facilities for steam locos are dwindling, meaning that where once the entire journey would have been under steam, now it is only the final stage on the Durban to Pretoria route. It’s a rare privilege to experience the thrill of a steam train and hats off to Vos for helping to keep this important part of our rail history alive.
You could say that I departed my encounter with Rovos Rail a changed woman. Certainly I was a couple of kilograms heavier and my liver was working overtime. But had I shed my original reservations? For the most part, yes. Like I said, a trip like this is a once-off; a rare treat for a special occasion. It’s different, fun and educational, giving you a glimpse of countryside you would otherwise not see.
And certainly, Rovos Rail takes care of its passengers, attending to every detail with a degree of unobstrusive professionalism that South Africa can be very proud of.
I suppose everyone is waiting for the “but”, so I won’t disappoint. While the journey is worth its weight in gold, I believe Rovos Rail needs to shed its image of catering exclusively for the overseas market. It’s a South African product we can all be proud of, so why not make it more accessible to South Africans with special offers and flight-inclusive and transfer-inclusive packages?
Vos’s other luxury travel company, Rovos Air, has taken the initiative with a great Valentine’s Day special, so let’s hope this is the beginning of an era that will see more South Africans discovering how marvellous it is to let the train take the strain.
The lowdown
Rovos Rail has an extensive schedule, starting at R6 585 a person sharing a de luxe suite for overnight journeys from Cape Town to George — or George to Cape Town — and ending at $9 950 (about R71 964) a person sharing a royal suite for a 13-day extravaganza from Cape Town to Dar es Salaam — or Dar to Cape Town. Journeys are one-way only. The trip from Cape Town to Pretoria takes two nights and three days and costs R9 800 a person sharing a de luxe suite and R12 995 a person sharing a royal suite. This includes a stop in Matjiesfontein and a tour of the village, and a trip to Kimberley’s Big Hole. Other northbound routes include a two-nighter from Pretoria to Victoria Falls for R10 950 a person sharing a de luxe suite and R14 650 a person sharing a royal suite.
Other journeys include a seven-day jaunt from Pretoria to Swakopmund for R25 240 a person sharing a de luxe suite and R34 100 a person sharing a royal suite. A nine-day round-trip golf safari from Pretoria to Malelane, Hluhluwe, Durban, Ladysmith, Sun City and back to Pretoria costs R29 800 a person sharing a de luxe suite and R38 900 a person sharing a royal suite. Rovos Rail also offers private charters and lunch and dinner trips.
Upcoming specials include: January 26 — Livingstone to Pretoria; March 1 — Durban to Pretoria; March 4 — Pretoria to Livingstone; March 6 — George to Cape Town; and April 1 — Pretoria to Livingstone.
The fare for the Livingstone and Durban journey is normally R10 950 and is now R5 475. The fare for the George run is normally R6 585 and is now only R3 292,50. Prices are per person sharing a de luxe suite. Terms and conditions apply and these offers are only available to South African residents. For more details: Tel: (012) 315 8257.
Plane sailing for Valentines Day
First there was Rovos Rail, now there’s Rovos Air — a small fleet of luxury aircraft that includes two Convair 440s and a 1944 DC-3.
Rovos Air operates air safaris such as the Southern Africa Air Safari — a 13-day trip that takes in such sights as Thornybush Game Reserve, Fancourt, Oudtshoorn, Kango Caves, Knysna, Cape Town, Lüderitz, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Maun, the Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls and a stay at the Royal Livingstone hotel. It’s far from cheap, coming in at a whopping $8 500 (about R59 830) a person sharing.
The African Air Safari, a 12-night trip that runs from Pretoria to Maun, the Okavango, Victoria Falls, Lake Kariba, Beira in Mozambique, Indigo Bay Lodge on Bazaruto and Kapama, costs $7 850 (about R55 255) a person sharing.
Rovos Air is running a special for Valentine’s Day. For R4 995 a person sharing, fly from Lanseria to Maputo for two nights at the five-star Polana hotel on a full-board basis. The trip includes a tour of Maputo and a Valentine’s dinner-dance. For more information:
Tel: (012) 315 8257.