Luxury train trip: Southern Cross from Pretoria

You are expected in the morning at 8 a.m. at the Pretoria station where your luggage will be loaded. You leave at 9:00 AM with a bus (you) for a city tour through Pretoria and the township Soweto.

Gauteng is the economic heart of South Africa and the province where the major cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria are located. You are visiting a number of important places in Pretoria and Soweto today.

With more than a million inhabitants, Soweto is the largest township in South Africa. You pass the largest hospital in the southern hemisphere: Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and drive through the only street in Africa where two Nobel Prize winners once lived: Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former president Nelson Mandela. You will also visit the Hector Pieterson Memorial in memory of this student who died in 1976 in the fight against the legislation of the Apartheid regime.

Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa. Here you will visit the Voortrekker Monument and museum. You also take a look at the Union Buildings from where the president and government work. This impressive building with a beautiful terrace garden was completed in 1913 and is a design by the British architect Sir Herbert Baker. In the garden in front of the Union buildings is a large statue of Nelson Mandela.

The train leaves for Nelspruit at 16:00.

In the morning (9:00 AM) you leave the train from Nelspruit station and head for the beautiful Panorama route. Gold was discovered in 1873 in the vicinity of the town of Pilgim’s Rest, now a living open-air museum and National monument. The discovery attracted around 1500 gold diggers and today the old miners’ houses have been refurbished and turned into shops.

Further on we find the Blyde River Canyon, a canyon 26 km long and 800 meters deep. The Three Rondavels, 3 large rocks rising from the mountains of the Canyon and reminiscent of the African huts. Bourke’s Luck Potholes are strange deep holes, formed by erosion and flooding. We look through God’s Window across the vast lowlands, where subtle scents blend with the fresh breeze of the plateau.

Optional excursion:
– Open vehicle safari: Out in open 4×4 safari vehicles. Safe and made so that you have a fantastic view of the animal and plant world. The guide who goes with you can tell you everything about life in the Kruger Park. Lunch (for your own account) can be used in one of the camps in the park. The safari will end in the late afternoon. Ask us about the options when booking.

Today the train leaves at 6:00 pm for Maputo in Mozambique.

By bus you will go into the country today, leaving from Mpaka at 8:30 am. On the way you will enjoy beautiful views of the Ezulwini Valley and the Komatie river. During this trip you will also get to know daily life in Swaziland when you visit the busy market where multicolored textiles, carvings and the famous woven baskets are sold. The Ngwenya glass factory is also a nice place to buy souvenirs.

Get up early for a game drive. The morning safari starts in the Kapama Game Reserve at 07:00. Early in the morning you are more likely to spot wild animals. After the game drive you will visit the cheetah and wild dog Conservation Center where you can learn more about these endangered species.

At 13:00 you return to the train for lunch, after which the journey continues in the direction of Tzaneen. You will spend the night in the town of Louis Trichard.

From Rutenga you travel by bus through the central plateau of Great Zimbabwe, departure at 9 a.m. You can go for a walk along the ruins and the impressive monument. A celebrated piece of work made by the Africans and referring to the magical fables and stories about the King Solomon’s Mines. Discover how ancient mankind lived here and brought gold and silver above the earth to have it traded again by the Portuguese and the Arabs. You take lunch at the Great Zimbabwe Hotel (for your own account). From there you travel through a landscape of beautiful granite hills to the train again.

Antelope Park is a project where lion cubs born in captivity are released into nature. You can choose from a variety of optional activities such as canoeing, game drive, horse riding or bird watching cruise. Lunch and activities for your own account in Antelope Park.

At 5:30 pm the train leaves for Bulawayo.

Matobo means “bald-headed” and refers to the dramatic hills and the granite boulders that adorn the area. A beautiful historical highlight of today is the visit to the tomb of Cecil Rhodes. The man who gave his name to the country and also made this trip possible, he was the one who wanted to build a rail network through Africa. You will also go into the hills in search of Bushman caves and petroglyphs.

At 16:00 you will come back to the train, which leaves for Dete.

The largest national park in Zimbabwe is Hwange National Park and it is located in the north-west of the country. It is a park full of wildlife and birds, but it is best known for the large population of lions that reside in this 1,462,000-hectare area (the park is about the same size as Belgium).

The Victoria Falls are 1708 meters wide and 103 meters deep, it is the largest waterfall in the world. A huge curtain of water about a kilometer wide falls 108 meters here. The mist that causes this great spectacle can be seen far into the perimeter. No wonder that the local name Mosi is among others Tunya which means “smoke that thunders”. In the dry season you can sometimes see the small islands that lie below in the river. The constant spray of mist also creates an impressive forest area, where you can discover numerous special trees such as figs, mahogany, date palm, milkwood and ebony. It is a paradise for birds such as the colorful sunbird.

You will arrive at Victoria Falls at 10:00 a.m. Your luggage is brought to the hotel and you say goodbye to the train. At 11:00 the walk starts through the village of Victoria Falls and of course along the impressive waterfalls. At 16:00 you will make a wonderfully relaxed cruise on the Zambezi River after which you will be brought to your hotel at 18:30. The end of this journey.