Namibia by Private Train
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NAMIBIA BY PRIVate TRAIN An escorted tour from Pretoria to Walvis Bay aboard the Shongololo Express 14th to 29th May 2019 Elephants Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria Seal colony, Walvis Bay e are delighted to be working with our THE ITINERARY rolling stock in perfect order. We associates at Rovos Rail to bring you this embark the Shongololo Express W Day 1 London to Johannesburg, and depart the Gauteng region and spectacular journey aboard the Shongololo Express South Africa. Fly by scheduled flight. pass the Highveld. Enjoy dinner on Private Train exploring the amazing landscapes and board and a relaxing evening in the rugged grandeur of Namibia, a country of compelling Day 2 Pretoria. Arrive into bar-wagon. Johannesburg this morning and Accommodation & Dining: beauty, abundant sunshine and seemingly endless transfer to the Sheraton Pretoria Shongololo Express. (B, D) space. Travelling from Pretoria in South Africa, our train Hotel for an overnight stay. Your winds its way through stunning vistas to the desert and room will be available to check Day 4 Kimberley. This morning we in to upon arrival. This afternoon will reach the historical train station mountainous landscapes of Namibia, with stops along we take a tour of Pretoria, the of Kimberley, the city of diamonds. the way to view some remarkable scenery and diverse administrative capital of South At the end of the 19th century, the wildlife. The beauty and the colours of Namibia truly Africa and visit the Union Buildings town experienced a real diamond designed by the famous colonial rush, from which the diamond need to be seen to be believed and are brought right English architect, Sir Herbert empire of De Beers emerged, to the compartment doors of our comfortable rolling Baker. Completed in 1913, it now led today by the Oppenheimers hotel, while enjoying the excellent service for which houses the offices of the President and founded by Cecil Rhodes. and Ministers and the buildings On arrival, view the famous Big Rovos Rail is renowned. Spend nights in the Namib overlook the city towards the Hole, once the largest diamond Desert and at Etosha National Park in stylish lodges once fortified hills to the south. A mine in the world and visit the and enjoy adventurous game drives. grand bronze statue of “Oom Paul lovingly restored original buildings (Kruger)”, the patriarch president of of Kimberley’s Belle Epoque. Highlights of our journey are numerous and include the ZAR or old Transvaal Republic, Accommodation & Dining: Fish River Canyon, Africa’s largest canyon, wildlife rich surrounded by his Boer fighters, Shongololo Express. (B, L, D) dominates Church Square at the Etosha National Park, one of Southern Africa’s finest centre of the city. Before leaving Day 5 Upington. Morning tour of and most important game reserves and the rugged the capital behind we visit the Upington which the railway reaches Atlantic coast, Swakopmund which is located on the Voortrekker Monument which by means of a bridge 1067 metres commemorates the Great Trek of long, the second longest bridge in Skeleton Coast and an excellent example of German the 1830s. We return to the hotel South Africa. Sir Thomas Upington, colonial architecture. However, for many the ultimate and enjoy an evening at leisure. attorney general of the Cape, was highlight will be the sand dunes at Sossusvlei for which Accommodation: Located opposite the man principally responsible for the Union Buildings, the five-star liquidating the business activities Namibia is so renowned. Sossusvlei lies in the heart of Sheraton Pretoria Hotel is elegantly of the Orange River pirates and the Namib Desert and is home to the world’s tallest designed and the facilities include capturing their leader, Klaas Lucas. sand dunes, some of which tower over 300 metres an outdoor swimming pool and When the desperadoes were finally a health club. The 175 lavish chased away in 1884, the town high. Watching the changing mood and colours at guestrooms all feature cable TV was founded on the banks of the sunrise is a once in a lifetime experience. and a marble bathroom with luxury Orange River and named Upington amenities. in honour of Sir Thomas. Thanks to the Orange River, the region was Etosha National Park Day 3 Embark Shongololo predestined for winegrowing and Otjiwarongo Express. Enjoy a morning at leisure. we will enjoy a tasting at Bezalel This afternoon we transfer to the Wine & Brandy Estate. Return to Rovos Rail station at Capital Park the train at lunch time and continue in Pretoria which, once a bustling in the direction of Namibia. Swakopmund Windhoek Walvis Bay hub of steam locomotion in the old Accommodation & Dining: BOTSWANA Transvaal is now the headquarters Shongololo Express. (B, L, D) NAMIBIA for Rovos Rail. We will have the Sossusvlei opportunity to tour this gracious, Day 6 Fish River Canyon, Namibia. Pretoria colonial-style railway station and the Arrive in Holoog this morning for Luderitz Keetmanshoop Johannesburg ever-expanding railway museum. our visit to the Fish River Canyon, Kolmanskop SOUTH AFRICA The eyes of rail enthusiasts will second only to the Grand Canyon Fish River Upington be drawn to the vast carriage and in Arizona in geological importance. Canyon locomotive sheds where teams Eroded over many millennia, the Kimberley of dedicated personnel keep the canyon is the second largest natural www.noble-caledonia.co.uk Etosha National Park Sossusvlei Quiver Tree Forest The ‘Big Hole’, Kimberley gorge in Africa, 161 kilometres that holds water all year round. The front of the building is the narrow- Day 13 Etosha National Park. This long, 549 metres deep and, in early Afrikaans explorers named gauge locomotive (vintage 1900), morning we take an early morning some places, 27 kilometres wide. the canyon after the fact that they which used to operate between game drive followed by breakfast. Baboon, rock dassie, ground squirrel had to use six (ses) leather straps Swakopmund and Windhoek. At Afternoon departure for Kranzberg. and klipspringer are often seen (riem) tied together to create a the top of Robert Mugabe Avenue Accommodation & Dining: in the canyon, while the presence rope long enough to lower water is the Christuskirche or Evangelical Shongololo Express. (B, L, D) of leopard and mountain zebra is buckets into the canyon below. Lutheran Church which we will indicated by tracks left at waterholes. Overnight at our lodge. drive past, this is one of the city’s Day 14 Walvis Bay for Enjoy the stunning views and the Accommodation & Dining: most striking landmarks and was Swakompund. We arrive at Walvis opportunity to take a short walk Overlooking the red sand dunes built from local sandstone and Bay and, after breakfast, we bid our along the canyon’s edge. We return of the Namib Desert, Sossusvlei completed in 1910. Romanesque, train farewell and transfer to the to the train and depart for Aus. Lodge offers an outdoor pool and neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau styles Strand Hotel Swakopmund for an Accommodation & Dining: a dining terrace overlooking a influenced its design and Kaiser overnight stay. Shongololo Express. (B, L, D) floodlit waterhole frequently visited Wilhelm II donated its stained- Accommodation & Dining: by springbok and hyena. The 45 glass windows. Return to our Nestled on the beach, Strand Day 7 Kolmanskop and Luderitz. air-conditioned, tented rooms have train and depart for Otjiwarongo. Hotel Swakopmund features a spa, Today’s tour begins with a bus ride their own bathroom and feature a Accommodation & Dining: rooftop garden, restaurants and to the ghost town of Kolmanskop, private patio area. (B, L, D) Shongololo Express. (B, L, D) bars. All 125 rooms offer free Wi-Fi, where the first diamonds were minibar, electronic safe and plasma found in Namibia in 1908. From Day 10 Sossusvlei and Namib- Day 12 Etosha National Park. After television. (B) here, the harbour town of Luderitz Naukluft Park. The dunes of the breakfast we transfer to Mokuti is a short journey through the Namib Desert were created by Etosha Lodge in Etosha National Day 15 Windhoek to London. Sperrgebiet (the “Restricted sand carried by the wind from the Park for an overnight stay. The A morning at leisure before we Diamond Area”). After crossing the coast of Namibia. The sand here park offers excellent game viewing transfer to the airport for our return historical Luderitz peninsula, we is five million years old and is red in one of Africa’s most accessible scheduled flight to London. will reach Diaz Point, set against in colour due to its iron-oxide venues. Zebra and springbok Dining: (B) the backdrop of the dramatic content. As the lighting changes are scattered across the endless Atlantic waves. Back on board with the time of day, so does horizon while the many waterholes Day 16 London. Arrive today. at Aus station, our private train the appearance of the dunes’ attract endangered black rhino, continues on its journey south. characteristic colour, allowing for lion, elephant and large numbers Accommodation & Dining: interesting photographs at any of antelope.The Etosha Pan, an Shongololo Express. (B, D) time. The wind in the Sossusvlei extremely flat salt pan, lies at the PRICES PER PERSON area blows from all directions which heart of the National Park. This Based on double occupancy Day 8 Keetmanshoop & Quiver means that the type of the dunes shimmering “great white place”, Tree Forest. This morning we here are known as “star dunes”. as its name says, is the largest salt Category Price visit Garas Park where we will see This is because the winds cause pan in Africa and with herds of Gold Cabin £5995 the unique quiver trees and the the sand to form a star shape with wild animals passing through is Emerald Suite £7595 Gold Cabin for sole use interesting rock formations.