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Durban Safari

Venture into the heart of the South African bushveld on this 2-night safari

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Overview

2 NIGHTS • 800km
This safari between Pretoria and Durban departs during the summer months and includes game drives, a battlefield tale with a world-class historian and a look at unusual African ceramics. Experience the Nambiti Conservancy – a Big Five private retreat set on 20 000 acres of malaria-free bushveld in KwaZulu-Natal. It has incredible biodiversity including savannah, grasslands, thornveld and tall acacia trees. Situated on an expansive game farm, Spionkop Lodge – which adjoins an 11 000-acre nature reserve – is the perfect base for exploring the mountains, bush, birds and battlefields of the region. Ardmore Ceramics is a story about the Zulu people whose sense of rhythm, colour, dance and song, as well as the spirit of the African imagination, is exerting its influence on the other continents of the world. Visit this charming centre in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands before travelling the Valley of a Thousand Hills to Durban. Available in reverse.

Itinerary

DAY 1: PRETORIA

  • 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. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car and observation car
  • Lunch is served in the dining cars. The Drakensberg Mountains were 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.
  • Tea in the lounge and observation cars. The train climbs to Majuba Hill – site of the decisive battle that ended the First Anglo Boer War – then passes Newcastle, which has what is reputed to be the largest cella-dome Hindu temple in the southern hemisphere.
  • Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Elandslaagte. Dress: Formal
    Pass Glencoe, site of the first battle of the Anglo Boer War and now the centre of the province’s coalfields.

DAY 2: NAMBITI & SPIONKOP

  • Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure.
    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.
  • Brunch is served in the dining cars.
    Transfer (±30 min) to Spionkop Lodge for the afternoon. A choice of two excursions is available:
    1. Hear the historic tale of the Battle of Spionkop OR 2. Enjoy a game drive in the 11 000-acre reserve.
  • Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Estcourt. Dress: Formal
    Shortly after Chieveley, on the right of the track, stands a memorial to Winston Churchill who was captured here in November 1899 while trying to free an armoured train trapped by a Boer ambush.

DAY 3: ARDMORE CERAMICS

  • Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00. The train descends the escarpment to Lions River.
    Visit the famous Ardmore Ceramics Gallery. Here, artists are encouraged to express their imagination based on nature and Zulu folklore and tradition.
  • Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train traverses the spectacular Valley of a Thousand Hills.
  • Arrive at journey’s end at Durban Station. A number of museums and cultural sights, the beautiful botanical gardens and the superb shark-protected beaches are but a few of the city’s many charms.

Information

Please dress accordingly for excursions/game drives: mornings can be cool then warm up considerably; afternoons can be warm
then cool down considerably. Warm clothing, comfortable shoes, hats and sun protection are advised. Rain capes are available.

Excursions may be changed according to schedule achieved. Times are approximate and cannot be guaranteed.
Please check with the Train Manager or reservations@rovos.co.za for any updates or changes to the itinerary.
In your suite you will find the Journeys magazine that features articles of interest related to the route.

INCLUDED: Accommodation; all meals; all beverages; room service; limited laundry; excursions with a qualified guide (where applicable); entrance fees as per itinerary; government tax. EXCLUDED: International sparkling wine; gratuities; personal expenses; visas; travel insurance; pre- and post-tour transfers, accommodation and flights.
MEALS ON BOARD (unless adjusted) Breakfast 07:00-10:00 • Lunch 13:00 • Tea 16:30 • Dinner 19:30

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