I remember southern Africa’s old-fashioned sleeper trains, with their wooden carriages and “grand” dining cars, from my childhood in what was then Rhodesia in the 1950s and 1960s, said Matthew Parris in The Times.
They fell out of use long ago, and few of the region’s railways now carry passengers at all. You can, however, relive their glory days – with added luxury – thanks to Rovos Rail.
This tour operator was founded in 1989 by Rohan Vos, a South African businessman with a “passion” for restoring old railway carriages. The company’s trains now ply routes across the region, from Cape Town to as far afield as Dar es Salaam, going at a slow pace for comfort (the tracks are narrow gauge and sometimes poorly maintained) and making many stops for excursions to nearby “wonders” and occasional nights in “lovely” lodges.
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I took an 11-night trip from Pretoria to the “massive sand dunes and mysterious desert coast” of Namibia – an expedition that combined “adventure” with “amenity and elegance of a high order”. Our train had 19 carriages from the old Rhodesia Railways, but carried just 60 passengers: my compartment occupied a third of a carriage and had mahogany panelling, brass fittings and an en suite shower.
The meals served in the two “magnificent” dining cars were “splendid” and varied. The staff were charming. A South African historian gave “sparkling” lectures. And I never tired of the observation car, where I spent chilly mornings and warm evenings sipping coffee or post-prandial negronis and watching the “ever-changing” landscape slip by.
In South Africa, we went for a cruise on the Orange River and took a trip to the Augrabies Falls, where the river plunges into an “immense” granite gorge. In Namibia, we gazed over the vast Fish River Canyon and saw lions and elephants in the Etosha Pan game reserve. The most fun I had, though, was sliding down a huge sand dune at Sossusvlei. “I felt like a boy again.”
Distant Journeys (distantjourneys.co.uk) has a 16-night trip from £9,696pp, including flights.
