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Luxury Train, Namibia to South Africa: Rovos Rail Holidays & Vacations

Rovos Rail Train: South Africa to Namibia

Luxury Train Namibia South Africa Rovos Rail Holidays Vacations

15 NIGHTS FROM:

$10,330

Per person sharing

Scheduled flights quoted separately

9NYA15J

• Luxury Train: Namibia, South Africa

• Pretoria

• Kimberley

• Flamingos

• Kalahari

• Fish River Canyon

• Namib Desert

• Etosha Safari

• Swakopmund & Walvis Bay

• Rovos Rail Holidays & Vacations

This luxury train travels to Namibia from South Africa with Rovos Rail, journeying through Kimberley & the vast Kalahari to Fish River Canyon & Windhoek. Also fly to the sand dunes of the Namib & enjoy a safari in Etosha, before relaxing in Swakopmund. All activities included in Rovos Rail holidays & vacations. One departure per year (April/May) in each direction. Pullman, Deluxe or Royal cabin. Early booking essential.

Detailed itinerary ▶

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Day 1

You will be met at Johannesburg Airport and transferred 1-hour to Pretoria (now called Tshwane).

This city is the administrative capital of South Africa and is renowned for its jacaranda trees that flower from September to November. Check into your hotel and relax under warm blue African skies.

Day 2

This morning enjoy a half day private tour of the highlights of Pretoria.

We visit the Voortrekker Monument and historic Church Square, where we visit the home of Paul Kruger who was the president of the old Transvaal Republic at the time of the Anglo Boer War. We also drive past the City Hall and stop for photos at the beautiful Union Buildings - the official residence of the South African president, designed by Sir Herbert Baker. Here there is an impressive statue of Nelson Mandela.

Day 3

Transfer from your hotel to Capital Park Station arriving by 10.00, in good time to board the luxury Rovos Rail Pride of Africa departing 11.00 for Swakopmund.

Your journey commences travelling south via Johannesburg and Germiston, towards the goldfields of the Witwatersrand and through the farmlands of the Transvaal and Free State towards Kimberley.

Relax and enjoy the elegance of luxury 5-star train travel of a bygone age, as you settle in to your wood-panelled coach for your rail journey to Namibia, enjoying fine cuisine outstanding personal service as you travel over 2,000 miles through some of Southern Africa’s most spectacular scenery.

Note: Dress code on the train during the day is smart casual, with comfortable walking shoes for the off-train excursion. Evenings are generally more formal, with most guests enjoying the opportunity to dress up (gentlemen are asked to wear a collar & tie, but jackets are optional).

Please be aware you may experience delays on your journey, due to issues with the local railway network. Rovos Rail will do its best to mitigate these, but they do sometimes occur. For this reason you should not book your flight home on the day your journey ends.

Day 4

We travel past a lake that is home to a spectacular flock of flamingos (over 20,000), before arriving in the diamond town of Kimberley.

Here we disembark for a tour of the famous Big Hole and Open Mine Museum. With a surface area of over 40 acres and a perimeter of over 1 mile, this open-pit area was mined to a depth of over 3,000 feet at the height of the diamond rush – the largest hand-dug excavation in the world. At the Village Museum you can also view Eureka, the first recorded diamond discovered in South Africa.

We depart from Kimberley and continue travelling through the stark vistas of the arid Karoo in the Northern Cape towards De Aar, an important railway junction.

Day 5

After a morning of train travel, we arrive in Upington and disembark from the train for a walking tour of this small rural town (good walking shoes required, with sun hat) and a cruise on the Orange River.

We then return to the train and continue travelling through the North West Province to Ariumsvlei on the South African border. After border formalities, we enter Namibia and marvel at the spectacular scenery of the arid Kalahari.

Day 6

This morning we travel through the southern reaches of the Kalahari Basin.

We disembark at Holoog and drive 1-hour to view the Fish River Canyon, second only in size to the Grand Canyon and a truly spectacular sight (good walking shoes & sun hat required).

After returning to the train, we continue across the untamed beauty of the Kalahari towards Aus.

Day 7

This morning we disemark and transfer 1-hour to the ghost town of Kolmanskop, where the first diamond was found in 1908. Now standing barren and abandoned to the harsh winds and sands of the unforgiving desert, it is a great reminder of the opulence and decadence of the diamond rush days.

We continue down the great escarpment onto the wide plains below, where the scenery gives way to the shifting dunes of the Prohibited Diamond Area. Here we visit the small diamond town of Lüderitz on the Atlantic Coast, where you may see colonies of aquatic birds, seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches.

On the way back keep an eye out for the wild desert horses at Garub, a watering point where they are sometimes observed, before we return to the train in the late afternoon and head towards Keetmanshoop.

Day 8

This morning we arrive at Keetmanshoop, where we disembark for a visit to the Quiver Tree Forest at Garas Park.

After returning to the train for lunch, we continue towards Mariental, Rehoboth and Windhoek.

Day 9

This morning we disembark at Windhoek and transfer to the airport for our 1-hour light aircraft flight to Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert,

The Namib is the oldest desert on earth, where some of the highest sand dunes in the world tower over the white desert plains. These great mountains of sand are a monument to the extreme forces of nature, with fog supplying life giving moisture for the survival of its plants and animals.

Check into your lodge and enjoy lunch, a desert drive and a bush dinner.

Note: A small overnight bag will be placed in your suite for this excursion. Please pack comfortable clothes & shoes for hot days and cool evenings. Also sun hat & sunscreen.

Day 10

After an early wake-up call, your overnight bags will be collected at 06.00. Then enjoy a special early morning desert ride and breakfast in the vast Namib Desert.

We return to our lodge before transfering to the airstrip for our light aircraft to Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.

After lunch at Windhoek Country Club, we visit the Trans-Namib Transport Museum situated in Windhoek railway station, continuing to the Independence Memorial Museum and Evangelical Lutheran Church - a striking landmark. Lastly we visit the Namibia Craft Centre in the old brewery, before we rejoin the train.

Our journey continues through the ever changing landscapes of central Namibia, as we travel northwards towards Kranzberg.

Day 11

Today we disembark in Otjiwarongo to visit a Cheetah Conservation Project.

Founded in Namibia in 1990, the Cheetah Conservation Fund is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. Afterwards we return to the train for lunch, before continuing our journey northwards towards Otavi.

Day 12

This morning we disembark and transfer 2-hours to our safari lodge situated near the entrance to the great Etosha National Park, which is one of the largest and greatest wildlife reserves in Africa.

Etosha owes its unique landscape to a vast shallow depression – the Etosha Pan – with its open pans offering magnificent game viewing. Etosha is home to over a hundred different species of mammals, including springbok, oryx, lion, elephant, rhino, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest.

After lunch we enjoy a thrilling afternoon game drive in this magnificent park.

Note: A small overnight bag will be placed in your suite for this excursion. Please pack comfortable clothes & shoes for hot days and cool evenings. Also sun hat and sun screen, and warm clothes for your late afternoon game drive.

Day 13

Enjoy another early morning game drive in Etosha National Park today.

Afterwards we transfer 1-hour to re-join the train at Tsumeb. Enjoy another afternoon of luxury train travel and the magnificent stark landscapes of this dramatic country, including a spectacular African sunset, as the train heads southwards towards Walvis Bay.

Day 14

This morning the train passes along the German-built railway line through the Namib Desert to the port of Walvis Bay, arriving around 12.00 at the end of your journey aboard the Rovos Rail.

Here you will be met and transferred to your hotel in this Namibian port town, which is surrounded by the sand dunes of the Namib Desert.

Sheltered by the Pelican Point sand spit with its old lighthouse, this harbour is bustling with fishing boats and ships. Its tidal lagoon is home to abundant birdlife, as well as dolphins, whales and Cape fur seals.

Day 15

This morning transfer to Walvis Bay Harbour to arrive 45-minutes before your scheduled departure time.

Then enjoy a 3-hour shared Marine Cruise to Pelican Point which has a resident school of dolphins and a large colony of Cape fur seals, whilst enjoying oysters and sparkling wine on board.

Marine bird life is also abundant and includes pelicans, terns and large flocks of flamingos which live in the shallow waters surrounding the harbour. You should see many Cape cormorants and hopefully some more difficult birds such as the Cape gannet, Pomarine skua and African black oyster catcher. You may also see migrating whales in season (September to October).

Your afternoon is at leisure to relax in Walvis Bay.

Day 16

Transfer to Walvis Bay Airport for your flight home.

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