​Southern African Trilogy Rail Journey

• Fast Facts

  Travelling to:

  Pretoria,  Kruger National Park, Mantenga Cultural Village, Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei, Etosha National Park Swakopmund, Namib

                  
  duration:
                  
  20 Days - 19 Nights
                

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• This panoramic 15-day train journey aboard the Shongololo Express winds its way across Southern Africa from the Indian Ocean in the east to the Atlantic coast in the west. 

  Starting in Pretoria, descend the spectacular escarpment to the world-famous Kruger Park for a game drive. Explore the Kingdom of eSwatini followed by a game drive in Hluhluwe wildlife reserve and a tour of Durban and its botanical gardens. Travel through the Valley of a Thousand Hills and the imposing Drakensberg Mountains to visit the 1870s mining village of Kimberley, centre of one of the world’s notorious diamond rushes. Continue through the semi-desert region of the Karoo to Upington and the Fish River Canyon, second in size to the Grand Canyon.

  Cross the untamed beauty of the Kalahari Desert to see the Quiver trees at Garas Park. Take a short flight to Sossusvlei for a lodge stay surrounded by the dramatic dunes of the Namib-Naukluft Park. Enjoy desert drives, a bush dinner and breakfast near Deadvlei where camel-thorn trees contrast against the white-clay pan floor. Visit Namibia’s lively capital, Windhoek, and a cheetah conservation project before overnighting in the game-rich Etosha National Park. Leave the vast stillness of the Namib Desert for the wild Atlantic coast and journey’s end, Walvis Bay.

            
Outline Itinerary
            
Detailed Itinerary
          

• Day 1 - Travelling

  Take your flight.

   

  Day 2 - Pretoria

  Staying at:  Castello Di Monte

  Met on arrival – you will be taken to Pretoria – South Africa’s administrative capital. Check into the hotel and remainder of the day at leisure.

  The cosmopolitan city of Pretoria, also known as ‘Tshwane’, is situated in the province of Gauteng and functions as one of three capitals of South Africa. Pretoria has been dubbed ‘The Jacaranda City’, which is owed to the annual bloom of magnificent purple blossom trees that adorn the wide avenues of the city.  Discover several historic monuments, fine government buildings, and fascinating museums, and explore several interesting cultural sites. The Transvaal Museum is a natural history museum showcasing an ancient dinosaur fossil found at the nearby Cradle of Humankind; the Pretoria Botanical Gardens offers visitors a glimpse of different biomes, and the Voortrekker Monument is a famous National Heritage Site. Don’t miss the nearby Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary as well as the beautiful Wonderboom and Groenkloof Nature Reserves.

   

  Day 3 -  Shongololo Express

  Early depart this morning for the station. Once checked in you will have time to admire the scenery and get to know your fellow passengers as the train heads towards the Drakensburg Mountain escarpment.

   

  Day 4 - Shongololo Express

  Early morning wakeup call this morning as you are taken off the train for game drives in the Kruger National Park (with lunch included).  The famous Kruger Park has 2-million hectares of an unrivalled diversity of life forms. It is a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and home to an impressive number of species including the Big Five. Overnight journey to eSwatini (formerly Swaziland).

   

  Day 5 - Shongololo Express

  Breakfast and border formalities completed, you are taken to visit Swazi Candles and Mantenga Cultural Village with lunch at Mantenga Lodge overlooking ‘Execution Rock’. The village is a living museum of old traditions that represents a classic Swazi lifestyle during the 1850s.

   

  Day 6 - Shongololo Express

  Continental breakfast is served this morning from 0500 as you will be transferred by road to the to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park for a morning game drive before re-joining the train as it travels towards Empangeni and then overnight to Durban.

   

  Day 7 - Shongololo Express

  Welcome to Durban city. You are taken on a city tour and its botanical gardens before you are transferred to Umhlanga for lunch. Afternoon departure of the train as it traverses the Valley of a Thousand Hills towards Ladysmith.

   

  Day 8 - Shongololo Express

  At leisure on board today as you travel through the Drakensberg Mountains, first named by the Voortrekkers who thought the unbroken chain of heavily weathered peaks reminded them of the spines on a dragon’s back, hence the name ‘Dragon Mountain’ or Drakensberg in Afrikaans. Pass some of the highest peaks at 3450m. Make sure you have cameras to hand as the scenery is stunning. 

   

  Day 9 - Shongololo Express

  Awake this morning in Kimberley. After breakfast you will be taken to Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole. Capital of the Northern Cape, Kimberley is well known for the discovery of diamonds that led to its establishment in 1871. Afternoon departure as you travel through the Karoo, a vast semi-desert region that was once an enormous inland sea. Over millions of years, volcanic matter was ground down and deposited as silt upon the seabed to form what geologists call the Karoo system. 

   

  Day 10 - Shongololo Express

  You step off the train after breakfast in Upington – Enjoy a two-hour walking tour of this quaint town. The Attorney General of the Cape, Sir Thomas Upington was principally responsible for liquidating the business activities of all the Orange River pirates and capturing their leader, Klaas Lucas. When the desperadoes were finally chased away in 1884, the town was founded on the banks of the Orange River and named in his honour. Return to the train in time for the border formalities with Namibia as you continue northwards.

• Day 11 - Shongololo Express

  This morning you are driven about an hour to the Fish River Canyon – 2nd only in size to the Grand Canyon Its size is impressive: 161km long, up to 27km wide and almost 550m at its deepest point. Enjoy the magnificent views before returning to the train for lunch as it continues its journey to the southern reaches of the Kalahari Basin. Mid-afternoon visit to Garas Park (Quiver Trees), home to roughly 300 specimens of the Aloe dichotomy. The prehistoric trees have forked branches that reach up to 5m making for great photographic opportunities.

   

  Day 12 - Shongololo Express

  This morning you are provided with an overnight tog bag for you to pack for your overnight stay in the desert. Transfer to the airstrip for the 60 minute light aircraft to Sossusvlei – check in to the lodge close to the dunes (included in the train cost) and enjoy a desert drive and a bush dinner after sunset. The dunes of the Namib Desert were created by sand carried by the wind from the coast of Namibia. The sand here is over five million years old and is red in colour due to its iron-oxide content. As the light changes during the day so does the appearance of the dunes’ characteristic colour allowing for interesting photographs at any time.

   

  Day 13 - Shongololo Express

  An early wake-up call with tea and coffee. Enjoy a desert drive with breakfast in the vlei. Return to the lodge to use the facilities, check-out and transfer to the airstrip. Depart in a light aircraft for a one-hour flight to Windhoek. Enjoy lunch and visit the Transport Museum. Situated in Namibia’s central highlands, Windhoek is an attractive city surrounded by clusters of hills and the impressive Auas and Eros Mountains. The Trans-Namib Transport Museum outlines Namibian transport history, particularly that of the railway. The Independence Memorial Museum focuses on the anti-colonial resistance and the national liberation struggle of Namibia.

   

  Day 14 - Shongololo Express

  Leisurely breakfast this morning as the train heads north again.  After lunch visit a cheetah conservation project in Otjiwarongo. Founded in Namibia in 1990, the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild.

   

  Day 15 - Shongololo Express

  This morning you will have packed an overnight bag again as you depart to Mokuti Lodge in Etosha National Park for an overnight stay. Check-in and enjoy lunch there before you are taken into the park for an afternoon game drive. Dinner and overnight at the lodge

   

  Day 16 - Shongololo Express

  Etosha National Park (22270km2) offers great game viewing. It gets its name from the Etosha Pan (4760km2), a large salt pan forming part of the Kalahari Basin. Etosha means ‘Great White Place’. You enjoy a very early morning game drive before returning to the lodge for breakfast before driving to Tsumeb Station to reboard the train for the final leg as you head towards the Atlantic Ocean.

   

  Day 17 - Swakopmund 

  Staying at: Swakopmund Hotel & Entertainment Centre

  The Namib Desert stretches for more than 2000km along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means “vast place”. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55-80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world and you have time to enjoy the scenery before your scheduled arrival in Walvis Bay around midday.  You will be met after leaving the train and transferred by road to Swakopmund, Namibia’s seaside town for the next 2 nights stay

   

  Day 18 - Swakopmund 

  Staying at: Swakopmund Hotel & Entertainment Centre

  Day to explore the town with its wealth of activities on offer or abundant shopping opportunities and fine dining establishments

   

  Day 19 - Overnight Travel

  Check out today as you are transferred to Walvis Bay Airport in time for your indirect flights back to the UK via Johannesburg.

   

  Day 20 - End of Itinerary

  Arrive back into the UK.