Shongololo Express

Gateway to Namibia

Traverse the Savannahs of the Highveld and the spectacular Drakensberg Mountains on this 6-Night unforgettable rail experience from the Karoo to the Kalahari.

Set departure: Pretoria to Windhoek 09 - 15 February 2023

From N$64,520 per person sharing

Includes

• 6 Night stay onboard the luxury Shongololo Express in a Gold Cabin
• All meals, selected alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages onboard the train
• Offering a variety off-train excursions
• One-way flight from Windhoek to Johannesburg including airline levies
  

Optional - Add

• One night in Johannesburg OR Tambo for approximately N$1,100 per person sharing (City Lodge OR Tambo)
• Transfer OR Tambo to Rovos Rail Station in Pretoria N$250 per person sharing (minimum 2 pax)

Excludes

• All items of a personal nature
• Meals not mentioned
• Medical and Travel insurance
• Staff gratuities
• French Champagne
• Souvenirs

Off-Train Excursion highlights

• Travel southeast across the Highveld towards the Drakensberg Mountains.
• Enjoy game viewing in Nambiti, a Big Five bush retreat with incredible biodiversity.
• Take a drive through Golden Gate National Park with its golden ochre sandstone cliffs.
• Explore the picturesque town of Clarens situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains.
• View Sandstone Estate's impressive collection of heritage trains, tractors, busses, cars and military vehicles.
• Tour Kimberley's Diamond Mine Museum and the extraordinary Big Hole.
• Travel through the Karoo.
• Enjoy a walking tour of Upington followed by a boat cruise on the Orange River.
• Travel along the southern reaches of the Kalahari Basin to visit the Fish River Canyon.
• Cross the untamed beauty of the Kalahari Desert towards Windhoek, Namibia's capital where the journey ends.

Itinerary

Day 1: Pretoria

• 12h00: Depart Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria. Travel Southeast across the Highveld and the goldfields of the Witwatersrand towards Heidelberg, site of the first Rand gold strike, and Balfour, a small mining town in Mpumalanga.
• 13h00: Lunch is served in the dining cars.
• 16h30: Tea in the lounge and observation cars.
• 19h30: Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Elandslaagte.

Day 2: Nambiti Game Conservancy

• 05h30: Breakfast is served in the dining cars.
• 07h30: Enjoy a game drive in the Nambiti Reserve, a private Big Five bush retreat set on 20 000-acres of malaria-free bushveld with incredible biodiversity including savannah, grasslands, thornveld and tall acacia trees.
• 13h00: Lunch is served in the dining cars.
• 16h30: Tea in the lounge and observation cars.
• 19h30: Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Harrismith.

Day 3: Golden Gate National Park & Clarens

• 06h00: Breakfast is served in the dining cars.
• 08h00: Transfer approximately 90-minutes to Clarens. The park's most notable features are its golden ochre and orange-hued deeply eroded sandstone cliffs and outcrops, especially the Brandwag rock. Enjoy lunch (own account) in the small and picturesque town of Clarens situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains.
• 12h30: Transfer approximately 60-minutes to the Sandstone Heritage Trust, a large agricultural estate that houses an impressive collection of heritage trains, tractors, busses, cars and military vehicles.
• 15h30: Return to the train in Bethlehem.
• 16h30: Tea in the lounge and observation cars.
• 19h30: Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Kroonstad.

Day 4: Kimberley

• 07h00: Breakfast is served in the dining cars.
• 10h30: Enjoy a tour of Kimberley's 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.
• 13h30: Lunch is served in the dining cars. The observation car will be leading the train until midnight - a different aspect that our rail enthusiasts enjoy.
• 16h30: Tea in the lounge and observation cars.
• 19h30: Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to De Aar.

Day 5: Upington & The Orange River

• 07h00: Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10h00 while the train travels to Upington.
• 13h00: Lunch is served in the dining cars.
• 15h30: Enjoy a walking tour of Upington followed by a boat cruise on the Orange River.
• 19h30: Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Ariamsvlei. Border formalities with Namibia.

Day 6: Fish River Canyon

• 06h00: Breakfast is served in the dining cars.
• 09h00: Transfer approximately 60-minutes to the Fish River Canyon.
• 13h00: Lunch is served in the dining cars while the train travels along the Southern reaches of the Kalahari Basin.
• 16h30: Tea in the lounge and observation cars while the train travels North through the Kalahari to Mariental.
• 19h30: Dinner is served in the dining cars.

Day 7: Windhoek

• 07h00: Breakfast is served in the dining cars.
• 12h00: Arrive at journey's end at Windhoek Station for your transfer to Windhoek Airport.

T's & C's apply