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Pretoria - Cape Town - Pretoria
Pretoria - The Jacaranda city
'Big Hole' in Kimberley
.... Board The Blue Train in the jacaranda city of Pretoria - the administrative capital of South Africa - and travel south through farmlands and along the 'golden arc'; visible only by the mining shafts in the distance.
En-route to Cape Town, stop in Kimberly for an off-the-train excursion. Kimberly, once the epicenter of a worldwide diamond rush. This city's chequered history is inextricably linked with the romance of those rare and beautiful stones.
Here The Blue Train guests are cordially invited to disembark, take a tour through the streets of modern day Kimberly to visit the Kimberly Mine Museum and the 'Big Hole'. The Blue Train luxury coach is used to transport guests, alternatively they can be taken on a historic electric tram when it is available.
Step back into a world of pioneers and adventurers-circa 1880. Marvel at the sheer magnitude of the "Big Hole", the largest hole in the world excavated by hand. At a replica of an alluvial-diamond diggers, try your luck at panning and possibly finding a diamond of your very own!
Board The Blue Train once more and continue on to a South bound journey into the heartland of the Great Karoo. Awaken to the sight of vineyards and orchards as you descend through mysterious and beautiful valleys and mountains, such as Drakenstein, Slanghoek and Elandskloof - towards Cape Town's imposing and instantly recognisable Table Mountain, sentinel and gateway to the African continent.
The city of Cape Town has a lot to offer a descerning tourist, among places of interest, you can visit pearl-white beaches washed by the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, watch colourful, old-style fishing boats in Kalk Bay, explore the old Malay slave quarters, enjoy the finest seafood in the world, wander through Greenmarket Square's famous flea market and enjoy a sundowner at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.
On the return leg, follow on the northbound tracks of Cecil John Rhodes, who dreamed of a railroad from Cape to Cairo.
Pass through the wine lands of the fertile Hex River valley, in the shadow of imposing mountains, up and inland to the endless sweeping landscapes of the Karoo. Here, between high-road and rail-road, is the tiny hamlet of Matjiesfontein. The Blue Train guests are invited for a short ride back in time, on a historical London double decker bus. Stop a while and savour the vastness and the silence of the surrounding plains. The Victorian buildings and original nineteenth century London lamp posts impart to the traveller, the uncanny sense of entering a colonial timewarp - an oasis suspended in a different age.
Stretch your legs, breathe in the dry clear air and walk in the footsteps of those who over the years have been enchanted by this place. Among them, Lord Randolph Churchill, Cecil Rhodes, Olive Schriener and the Sultan of Zanzibar. Sip a drink at the renowned Lord Milner Hotel - refurbished in the 1970's by the visionary hotelier and designer David Rawdon, who bought the entire village.
Board The Blue Train once more for the journey northward into the interior. Before you drift to sleep, glance through the window at a sky filled with a trillion stars. And when you awake, you will be approaching the mining centres on the Gold Reef, and will soon end your journey in the jacaranda city - Pretoria.
The Garden Route
Cape Town - Port Elizabeth - Cape Town
Steel bridge on the Garden Route
Cango Caves at Oudtshoorn
.... From Cape Town, follow the line North to the picturesque town of Worcester, from whence your journey branches in an Easterly direction - through the Langeberg mountains and the fruit and wine regions of Robertson and Swellendam - towards the spectacular Eastern seaboard, and the Garden Route, renowned for its dramatic views of the Indian Ocean.
Break your journey in the beautiful Karoo town of Oudtshoorn with an excursion . Travel by bus and head south to the Cango Ostrich Show Farm where you can learn about these big, flightless birds commonly referred to as 'the dinosaurs of the Little Karoo'. You may even ride on one of the ostriches, if you are brave enough. Here, the guests get to indulge in every aspect of this fascinating industry, the large nests, the plucking pens and the subsequent processing of the feathers. Leave the ostrich behind and head back to central Oudtshoorn to enjoy a sumptuous lunch at a local restaurant serving traditional South African dishes.
Depart to the world's famous Cango Caves where a one-hour tour of this spectacular underground world will be taken. The world famous Cango Caves are considered to be the finest and best decorated show caves in Africa due to the size and volume of their calcite dripstone formations. Situated 30 km north of Oudtshoorn, the caves were carved out of a limestone belt, situated at the foothills of the great Swartberg mountain range. The Blue Train Guests will experience the enormous caverns of the Van Zyl and Botha halls, 22 meters high and 90 meters long while the entire cave is illuminated with white lights to enhance the natural colours. Cango in the San tongue means 'a place of water between hills'.
Embark The Blue Train at Oudtshoorn station, from where the train departs for the last section of the journey through the Kammanassie mountains and crosses into the Eastern Cape near Willowmore through the Grootrivier mountains. Now, you are on your way to the friendly city of Port Elizabeth - a historic landing place of the British settlers of 1820.
This important seaport and tourist destination is set along the shores of Algoa Bay. Within less than an hour by motorway, are two major wildlife attractions Shamwari Game Reserve and the Addo Elephant National Park. Algoa Bay boasts 40km of magnificent beaches, sailing and other water sport. Port Elizabeth and environs bears the rich legacy of a city which saw the first meetings of British, Dutch, German and Xhosa people.
On a return leg, re-visit an Ostrich farm in Oudsthoorn before continuing with your journey to the Mother City, Cape Town.
Section of the Garden Route coast
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