Namibia and South Africa Luxury train Journey

On arrival at Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport, you will be met and assisted by our Representative.
Canadian and American passport holders don’t need a visa to enter South Africa. Check-in to your airport hotel, located within the airport terminal.

After breakfast, make your way to Johannesburg’s airport terminal for your flight to Walvis Bay, Namibia. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to you hotel . Rest of the day at leisure to explore the surroundings. On arrival at Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport, you will be met and assisted by our Representative.
Canadian and American passport holders don’t need a visa to enter South Africa.

Breakfast at the lodge. Join a 4-hour Catamaran Cruise, accompanied by pelicans and other marine birds, mostly dolphins and the occasional whale or other marine dwellers. Playful seals entertain at the seal colony at Pelican Point Peninsula. Your excursion Includes fresh oysters, sparkling wine, drinks, and a light lunch. Conclude your day with a special dinner-dining experience on the beach. (Weather permitting)

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to Walvis Bay train station to board your Rovos Rail train. Rovos Rail offers luxury bespoke train journey safaris through the heart of Africa. These safaris combine magnificent scenery with the glamour of the golden age of leisure travel. Enjoy privacy, comfort, and facilities of the highest standard. The train carries up to seventy two passengers. All suites have en-suites with showers, toilets, basins, tea facilities, robes & sleepers, safe, hairdryer, and air conditioning, and they are serviced daily. There is adequate storage and small cupboards with hangers and shelves. A dedicated hostess is available at all times and services your suite daily. Meals are served in one sitting only in the dining cars and are complemented by a selection of South Africa wines. Dress code is smart casual on board while evenings attire is more formal. You also enjoy themed evenings where guest can dress up or opt for smart casual. 11:00 - The train departs for the city of Otjiwarongo; you may freshen up in your suite before joining fellow travelers in the lounge car or observation car at the rear of the train. 13:00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train travels across the Namib Desert towards Otjiwarongo. 16:30 - Tea in the lounge and observation cars. 19:30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars. Dress code: Formal The Namib stretches for more than 2000km along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. The geology consists of sand seas near the coast while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means “vast place”. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55-80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world.

07:00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure. 09:00 - Transfer (±60 min) to the cheetah conservation project in Otjiwarongo for a visit. Founded in Namibia in 1990, the Cheetah Conservation Fund is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. Namibia’s cheetah population is the largest and healthiest in the world. After your tour return to the train for lunch. 13:00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars en route to the city of Tsumeb. 16:30 - Tea in the lounge car and observation car, which is at the rear of the train. 19:30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars. Dress code: Formal Tonight Please pack a small overnight bag ready for next day stay at Etosha. Tog bags will be placed in your suite for your convenience.

07:00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00. Transfer (±60 min) to your lodge in Etosha for overnight. Check-in and enjoy lunch. 15:00 - Go on an afternoon game drive at Etosha National Park. Etosha is a large salt pan forming part of the Kalahari basin and means ‘Great White Place’. The park’s main characteristic is a large salt pan that can be seen from space. Yet abundant wildlife congregates around the waterholes, giving you almost guaranteed game sightings. 19:30 - Dinner and overnight at the lodge. Dress code: Casual

Please ensure your overnight bag is ready to be collected from your suite and proceed to checkout by 10:45. Your bag will be loaded into the vehicles. 05:00 - An early wake-up call with tea and coffee. 06:00 - Enjoy a game drive in the Etosha National Park. 09:00 - Return to the lodge for a late breakfast and check-out. 11:00 - Transfer (±60 min) back to the train at Tsumeb Station. 13:00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. 16:30 - Tea in the lounge and observation cars. 19:30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Kranzberg rail station. Dress code: Formal Tonight please pack a small overnight bag for tomorrow’s stay in Sossusvlei.

07:00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00 en route to Windhoek. 11:00 - Transfer to the airstrip. Depart in a light aircraft for a one-hour flight to a Sossusvlei lodge for overnight. Upon arrival transfer to your lodge. Arrive at your lodge by lunch time. 16:30 - Afternoon Namib desert drive.
Sossusvlei in Namibia spans over 300 kilometers in length and 140 kilometers in width, consisting of seemingly endless dunes. The Nama word for the Namib translates to "space" or "place where there is nothing", reflecting the vast emptiness of the vlei. The area is famous for the spectacular height of its dunes, reaching up to 300 meters, making it a phenomenal attraction for visitors who come to witness the highest dunes in the world. The dunes of the Namib Desert were created by sand carried by the wind from the coast of Namibia. The wind in the Sossusvlei area blows from all directions causing the sand to form a star shape with multiple arms, hence the name “star dunes”. Dune 45 is one of the most famous dunes at Sossusvlei. The Dune is 85 meters high and the climb is well worth the effort as from the top you will be amazed by the incredible panoramic view of Dune Valley. Tonight enjoy bush dinner after sunset. Dress code: Casual

Please ensure your overnight bag is ready to be collected from your suite before the drive. Bags will be stored in the lodge’s baggage area before being loaded into the aircraft. 04:00 - An early wake-up call with tea and coffee. 05:00 - Enjoy a desert drive with breakfast in the vlei. Near Sossusvlei you find Deadvlei, a clay pan characterized by dark, dead camel thorn trees contrasting against the white pan floor. The pan was formed when the Tsauchab River flooded, allowing camel thorn trees to grow. However, the climate changed, and the dunes encroached on the pan, blocking the river. The trees, about 900 years old, have not decomposed due to the dry climate. Deadvlei is a paradise for photographers due to the striking contrast between the pitch-black trees, bleached-white pans, and the rusty-red dunes against the deep blue sky. 08:00 - Return to the lodge to use the facilities, check-out and transfer to the airstrip. 11:00 - Depart Sossusvlei in a light aircraft for the one-hour flight to Windhoek. 13:00 - Lunch at Windhoek Country Club followed by a city tour. Situated in Namibia’s central highlands, Windhoek is an attractive city surrounded by clusters of hills and the impressive Auas and Eros Mountains. The Trans-Namib Transport Museum outlines Namibian transport history, particularly that of the railway. The Independence Memorial Museum focuses on the anti-colonial resistance and the national liberation struggle of Namibia. Other highlights of your tour, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Namibia Craft Centre in the old Breweries Building. 18:00 - The train travels south through the Kalahari Desert. 19:30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to the town of Mariental. Dress code: Formal

07:00- Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00. 12:30 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. 14:00 - Visit the Town of Keetmanshoop. This Town's main tourist attraction is the quiver tree forests. You will visit Garas Park, home to roughly 300 specimens of the Aloe dichotomy ( Quiver tree ). These prehistoric trees have forked branches that reach up to 5m, making for great photographic opportunities. 16:30 - Tea in the lounge and observation cars. 19:30 - Depart for Aus, a railway town in the south of Namibia. Dinner is served in the dining cars. Dress code: “Africa” Theme or Smart Casual

06:00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure. 08:00 - Transfer (±60 min) to the ghost town of Kolmanskop for a visit followed by lunch in Lüderitz. After becoming one of the richest towns in Africa during a diamond boom in 1910, Kolmanskop was left by all inhabitants in the following decades. Kolmanskop became a ghost town in the Namib desert. Lüderitz is a coastal town known for its museum, colonial architecture and wildlife including seals, penguins, flamingos and ostriches. Look out for the illusive legendary horses rumoured to roam the Namib. 18:00 - Depart for Holoog. The observation car will be leading the train until after dinner. 19:30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars. Dress code: Formal

06:00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure. 08:30 - Transfer (±60 min) for your visit to the Fish River Canyon. The Fish River rises in the center of the country before flowing south into the Orange River on Namibia’s border with South Africa. It has formed the great Fish River Canyon – the largest canyon in the southern hemisphere and probably only second to Arizona’s Grand Canyon in terms of size. The vast rocky landscape breaks up into a series of spectacular cliffs. Its size is impressive: 161km long, up to 27km wide and almost 550m at its deepest. 13:00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. 16:30 - You will enter South Africa and be asked to fill border formalities. We do our best to take care of all border formalities on behalf of guests. Tea in the lounge and observation cars. 19:30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Upington. Dress code: Formal

06:00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars. 08:30 - Enjoy a walking tour of Upington with a cruise on the Orange River. Upington is situated on the banks of the Mighty Orange River, one of the largest rivers in South Africa. It is rich in culture and history, dating back to the 1800s. It is also known as a gateway to the Kalahari Desert. 11:00 - Travel through the breathtaking landscapes of the Karoo; a vast semi-desert region that was once an enormous inland sea. Over millions of years, volcanic matter was ground down and deposited as silt upon the seabed to form what geologists call the Karoo ecosystem. 13:00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. 16:30 - Tea in the lounge and observation cars. 19:30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Kimberley. Dress code: Formal The observation car will be leading the train until breakfast.

07:00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure. 09:00 - Enjoy a tour of Kimberley’s Diamond Mine Museum. Kimberley is well known for the discovery of diamonds that led to its establishment in 1871. The Big Hole is the next main attraction to visit, a vast open-cast and underground diamond mine founded in 1871. Picture a hand-dug hole the size of eight football fields, and you'll have some idea of the immense effort that went into creating it. The Big Hole is one of the world's largest hand-excavated holes. 13:00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train continues its climb to Pretoria. 16:30 - Tea in the lounge and observation cars. 19:30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars. Dress code: “1920s” Theme or Smart Casual