Southern Africa

Start your Journey with us by enjoying a private car pick up service from your home. Upon arrival at the airport, guests departing from the Toronto airport are assisted with their check-in. Meet your Journey Manager and fellow guests, and board your flights to Cape Town, South Africa. Our Journey Manager travels with you to take care of all the details throughout the Journey, allowing you to focus on your experience.

Perched between the Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain, Cape Town is a rare cultural gem. An amalgamation of different nationalities and indigenous tribes, this beautiful city is filled with diverse multicultural pride. Upon arrival, our local guide greets us and takes us to our hotel. Settle into your room and get a good night’s rest before a big day of sightseeing tomorrow.

Today, discover the ‘Mother City’ of South Africa, known as Cape Town. Visit the inspiring pentagon-shaped Castle of Good Hope, the oldest surviving building in South Africa and the beautiful Company’s Garden, a large public park in the heart of the city. Journey on a cable car to the incredible plateau summit of Table Mountain, then discover the attractions at Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, the oldest working harbour, before touring Robben Island, a former prison island that once housed Nelson Mandela.

Relax on a morning boat cruise from Hout Bay Harbour to Duiker Island, a sanctuary for Cape fur seals. Visit the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve which is globally recognized for its unique flora and diverse fauna. Visit Boulders Beach to see the African Penguin colony that call this small piece of coastline home. Enjoy a stop at the stunning Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, known as one of the greatest in the world.

The 2nd-oldest town in South Africa, Stellenbosch is known for its natural beauty, oak-lined avenues, Cape Dutch architecture, and of course its wine routes. Stellies, as it’s affectionately known, is a university town, so despite its heritage it retains a youthful vibe. Surrounded by wine farms, the town is abuzz with hotels, wine shops, cafés, restaurants, boutiques, art galleries and museums.

Relive history at the Stellenbosch Village Museum before wandering through the oak-lined streets of this picturesque town during free time. Following lunch in a local restaurant, meander through flavours and cellars with a wine tasting and cellar tour at Neethlingshof Wine Estate. Located just outside of Stellenbosch, this historic estate boasts a beautiful example of a Cape Dutch-style manor and produces a range of wines.

This morning, we say farewell to Cape Town and board our flight to Kruger Mpumulanga Airport. Enjoy a local lunch in White River before checking in to the hotel. The rest of the day is at your leisure; relax by the pool, rejuvenate in the garden, or read a book on the patio – it’s completely up to you.

This morning is at your leisure to enjoy the amenities of the hotel. Following lunch, we walk the short distance to the train station and begin check in. Board the Rovos Rail for the beginning of our rail Journey towards Pretoria. There will be time for freshening up before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car before dinner.

You will receive an early morning wake-up call today for your game drive at the Hide. We go on a game drive in the morning because it is when the animal kingdom is most active! Hwange is home to one of the largest populations of African wild dogs left in Africa and it is also a great place to see other interesting creatures like bat-eared foxes, genets and caracals. We return to the train for brunch and continue our Journey towards South Africa.

Following travelling from along one of the world’s longest stretches of straight railway line – 114 kilometres – we pass by Bulawayo as we turn southwest towards Botswana. Mr. Rhodes ordered that the streets of Bulawayo be wide enough to allow an ox-wagon with its full complement of 16 oxen to turn a complete circle! Thus it has the distinction of having the widest streets and longest railway platforms in the world.

This morning we enjoy a game drive in Matobo National Park, a World Heritage Site with bushmen caves, rock art and dramatic granite hills. It is also the site of Cecil John Rhodes’ grave atop the summit of Malindidzimu – ‘hill of benevolent spirits’ with a ‘view of the world’. Lunch is served onboard as the train descends to Gwanda. Dinner is served in the dining cars enroute to Beitbridge for border formalities.

Revel in a full day on board this world-famous and elegant train as we continue our spectacular rail journey. Let yourself be transported to a bygone era as you sip tea in the lounge car, admire the views from the observation car or simply relax with your favourite book in hand. The train crosses the Limpopo River to Musina. In Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories, the ‘Elephant’s Child’ departs his family for the “great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner.”

The train crosses the Tropic of Capricorn and we travel through Warmbaths (Bela-Bela) , so named for its mineral waters and Nylstroom, christened by the Voortrekkers as the source of the Nile River as the town’s river happened to be north flowing. Pass the edge of the escarpment where the Highveld drops precipitously.

This morning we arrive at Pretoria Station in Pretoria, fondly nicknamed the Jacaranda City, and are met by our guide. We familiarize ourselves with Afrikaans and African culture on a tour of Pretoria, the administrative and diplomatic centre of South Africa. See such landmarks as the iconic Voortrekker Monument, the Church Square, and the Nelson Mandela statue located at the Union buildings. Following lunch we spend time exploring and shopping in the affluent Sandton suburb before we bid “chionekedzo” and make our way to the airport, to board our flights back home. Enjoy our private car to your home.