This is, perhaps, the absolute ultimate journey across Africa. Private trains, private jsts, luxury, seurity and the continent's best guides and escorts make this tour truly unique and captivating. For thirty-four days you will experience Africa's wildlife, history and cultures, from South Africa to Egypt you will learn and marvel at the vast array of experiences and ideas that make up Africa today.
Day 1, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Arrive into Cape Town where you will be met and transferred to the 5 star Cape Grace Hotel, a member of the Small Leading Hotels of the World for a two-night stay. Set on its own private quay on Cape Town’s vibrant Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, all 121 rooms have views of the V&A harbour or yacht marina with a Table Mountain backdrop. This evening we enjoy a Welcome Dinner.
Day 2, CALEDON
This morning we board Rovos Rails’ Pride of Africa train at Cape Town station. We spend the day on board the train climbing to the small town of Caledon through the spectacular Sir Lowry’s and Houwhoek Passes, on one of South Africa’s most scenic lines.
Day 3, THE GARDEN ROUTE
The Garden Route is situated on one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in South Africa overlooking the Indian Ocean. Mountains and forests crowd close to a shoreline dotted with beaches, bays and rocky headlands. Travelling from Worcester we stop in Ashton this afternoon and visit the Zandvliet Wine Estate where we partake in tasting a selection of fine South African wine before continuing to Mossel Baai.
Day 4, THE GARDEN ROUTE
Visit the Outeniqua Railway Museum at George displaying 13 historic steam locomotives. If operational we travel on the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe to Knysna or Hartenbos. Both lines offer a unique, picturesque and scenic 50 kilometre journey experiencing the Garden Route with spectacular views of the Indian Ocean.
Day 5, OUDTSHOORN
From George we climb steeply away from the coast through the Montague Pass in the Drakensberg Mountains on our way to Oudtshoorn where we visit the Cango Ostrich Farm. In the afternoon we pass through the Tourwaterpoort Canyon.
Day 6, ADDO
This morning we visit the Addo Elephant Reserve sanctuary home to over 450 elephants, Cape buffalo, black rhino and a variety of antelope species.
Day 7, UPINGTON & FISH RIVER CANYON, NAMIBIA
Located on the banks of the Orange River in Northern Cape, we visit the town of Upington, our final stop in South Africa. We then cross the border late morning into Namibia and after lunch we visit Fish River Canyon, located in the lower reaches of the Fish River, the longest river in Namibia. With a depth of up to 1,800 feet (550 metres), the Fish River Canyon is reputedly the second largest canyon in the world, after the Grand Canyon in America. It has been gouged out of the surface of the land over the course of millions of years by Mother Nature.
Day 8, KOLMANSKOP
Traversing some of the planet’s most spectacular desert scenery as we head up through the Tiras Mountains and down to the coast at Luderitz, where we visit the former diamond mining village and now ghost town of Kolmanskop. This evening we fly to Sossusvlei and spend two nights off the train at a luxurious lodge by Sossusvlei Sand Dunes.
Day 9, SOSSUSVLEI
The Sossusvlei, Namibia’s famous highlight in the heart of the Namib Desert, is a huge clay pan, enclosed by giant sand dunes. Some of the spectacular hills of sand are, at a height of almost 1,000 feet (300 metres), the highest in the world.
Day 10, WINDHOEK
A pre-bookable optional hot air balloon trip at sunrise over the Sossusvlei sand dunes will be available. Today we fly from Sossusvlei to rejoin the train in Windhoek, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn as we go. Influenced by its German colonial past, Windhoek is the capital of Namibia and is located in a beautiful valley bordered by the Eros and Auas Mountains.
Day 11, WALVISBAAI
The special attraction of Walvisbaai situated on the Skeleton Coast is the huge natural lagoon with its overwhelming abundance of seabirds including cormorants, pelicans and flamingos and is perhaps the most important coastal wetland in Southern Africa.
Day 12, SWAKOPMUND
There will be an option to take a flight over the Skeleton Coast, named for all the shipwrecks that are beached on these inaccessible and remote shores. This coastline is one of the most inhospitable and least visited places on earth. We depart at lunchtime through spectaculr scenery as our train heads towards Tsumeb.
Day 13, TSUMEB & ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK
This morning we arrive in the mining town of Tsumeb and the gateway to Etosha and enjoy a short tour, before we rejoin the train for lunch as we travel onto Etosha National Park, arriving mid-afternoon. Meaning Great White Place, it is one of Southern Africa’s finest and most important Game Reserves with abundant wildlife including elephant, giraffe, rhino, lion, leopard and cheetah. We will have an early evening game drive before returning to the train for dinner.
Day 14, ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK
Early morning and early evening game drives.
Day 15, LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA
Today we will travel to Odangwa where we bid farewell to the ‘Pride of Africa’ and transfer to the airport where our private aircraft will be waiting to fly us to Livingstone, Zambia for a two-night stay. On arrival we transfer to the Royal Livingstone, Victoria Falls’ most elegant and luxurious hotel located on the banks of the Zambezi a couple of hundred yards upstream from the cataract where it thunders into the Batoka Gorge. We take a sunset cruise on the immense Zambezi River.
Day 16, VICTORIA FALLS, ZIMBABWE
Victoria Falls is one of the world’s natural wonders and the largest curtain of water in the world, over half a million cubic metres of water crash every minute from the Zambezi River 300ft into the gorge below. Today we have a variety of optional activities at this beautiful location including helicopter rides, a guided tour of Victoria Falls, bungee jumping, a visit to the local craft market and afternoon tea at the elegant Victoria Falls Hotel on the Zimbabwe side.
Day 17, BLANTYRE, MALAWI
We continue our journey and arrive in Blantyre, the largest city in Malawi where we stay for one night at Hotel Mount Soche. Blantyre is named after the home town of David Livingstone in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Day 18, NGORONGORO, TANZANIA
This morning we board our aircraft for the 1˝ hour flight to Kilimanjiro. We then drive to the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge which is perched on the edge of the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater at the eastern edge of the Serengeti in northern Tanzania, where we stay for two nights. After an evening drink enjoying the magnificent views of the crater we have dinner and stay overnight at the Lodge.
Day 19, NGORONGORO
Ngorongoro is one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles, its magical setting and abundant wildlife never fails to enthral visitors so early morning we descend 2,000 feet (610m) to the crater floor as we go on a fascinating game drive, before returning to the hotel for lunch. Afternoon is at leisure followed by dinner at the Lodge.
Day 20, SERENGETI
Breakfast is taken at the Lodge before we transfer to a luxury Serengeti tented camp built especially for us where we have lunch before an afternoon game drive. Declared a World Heritage Site, Serengeti, meaning Endless Plains, is exceptionally rich in wildlife and almost every great African animal can be found here including the ‘Big Five’. It is truly the jewel in the crown of Tanzania’s protected areas and it is the instinctive migration of wildebeest and zebra every year for which the Serengeti is perhaps the most famous. Dinner and overnight is at the camp.
Day 21, SERENGETI
Today there are morning and afternoon game drives, taking in more of the wonders of wild Africa in the Serengeti.
Day 22, BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI & KIGAIL, RWANDA
Rejoining our private jet in Arusha we fly to Kilimanjiro where we have the opportunity to visit the Burundi capital of Bujumbura which lies on the north-eastern corner of Lake Tanganyika where we have a short tour. We then fly onto the Rwandan capital of Kigali for a two-night stay at the Serena Hotel Kigali.
Day 23, KIGALI, RWANDA
We have the opportunity for a close-up encounter with the endangered mountain gorillas of Rwanda which is arguably one of the memorable wildlife experiences of them all. There is a long and arduous trek to their mountain habitat but ultimately rewarding to spend even a short time with these magnificent creatures.
Day 24, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
Today we cross the equator on our flight from Kigali to Addis where we spend a night at the Addis Ababa Hilton. The colourful city has some lively markets and worthy attractions, most notably the Ethiopian National Museum.
Day 25, DJIBOUTI, REPUBLIC OF DJIBOUTI
We depart at lunchtime from Addis Ababa to Djibouti for an afternoon visit of this city bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden before we continue onto Asmara in Eritrea where we two nights at the Intercontinental Asmara.
Day 26, ASMARA, ERITREA
A full day in the Italian-inspired city of Asmara with its pavement cafes, tree-lined boulevards and boutiques.
Day 27, ASMARA, ERITREA
We will take a private charter on the recently re-opened steam railway line between Ghinda (2,500 feet) and Asmara, climbing to over 7,000 feet at a gradient of 1:30, which is an incredible engineering feat. Late afternoon we fly to Aswan where we will spend 2 nights at the luxurious and newly refurbished Old Cataract Hotel. Constructed by Thomas Cook in 1899, this historical hotel with its rich and varied guest list provided Agatha Christie inspiration for her best selling book ‘Death on the Nile’.
Day 28, ASWAN, EGYPT
In Aswan the Nile is at its most striking, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, around islands covered in tropical plants and palm groves. Discover the souk, full of the colour and scent of spices and perfumes and in the evening view the spectacular sunsets while having drinks on the terrace at the Old Cataract Hotel.
Day 29, CRUISE ON LAKE NASSER
This morning we board the luxury cruise ship MS Eugenie which will be for our exclusive use for the next 3 nights as we cruise Lake Nasser, formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam. After lunch we visit the Kalabsha temple, the rock cut temple at Beit El Wali and the Roman temple of Kertassi.
Day 30, CRUISE ON LAKE NASSER
Spend the morning at the temple of Wadi El Seboua and enjoy a cocktail while passing the Tropic of Cancer. Lunch is served on board. This afternoon we visit the Wadi El Seboua temple, the temple of Dakka and the temple of Meharakka.
Day 31, CRUISE ON LAKE NASSER
A morning visit is made to the temples of Amada and Derr as well as the tomb of Penout, before we visit the citadel of Kasr Ibrim. (Note: the tour is conducted from the ship's sundeck as entrance to the site is not permitted). Continue to cruise to Abu Simbel as lunch is served on board. In the afternoon we visit the Abu Simbel temples before we attend the Sound & Light show in the evening. A candlelight dinner is served on our final night on board.
Day 32, CAIRO
Breakfast is on board before our disembarkation. We depart from Abu Simbel for a 1 hour scheduled flight to Cairo where we will be staying at the Mena House in Giza for 2 nights, with its views of both the Nile and the Great Pyramids. In the afternoon we visit the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.
Day 33, GIZA PYRAMIDS
Today we have a morning tour of the amazing Giza Pyramids and Sphinx. The Pyramids of Egypt are among the largest structures ever built and represent one of the most powerful and lasting symbols of the Ancient Egyptian civilisation. After lunch we take an afternoon tour of Saqqara and Memphis. This evening we celebrate the end of our African Voyage of a Lifetime with a Farewell Dinner in the hotel.
Day 34, CAIRO
Transfer to the airport for departing flights as our epic journey reaches its conclusion.
