The morning of Saturday, Oct. 21, we went to the Rovos Rail station for our two day train trip across South Africa, from Cape Town in the southwestern corner of the country, to Pretoria, in the northeastern part of the country.
The Rovos Rail station is beautiful, with wonderful old-fashioned decor, giant overstuffed chairs, and posters declaring Rovos Rail to be "the most luxurious train on earth."
After a short wait during which we were served drinks and snacks and listened to a small orchestra, Rohan Vos, the owner of Rovos Rail, welcomed his 70 guests to what he called the most expensive toy train set one can own, and we boarded the train.
What can I say about the train? It was absolutely gorgeous, and beautifully restored down to the smallest detail. There were two dining cars and two lounge cars, plus a number of sleeper cars. The ride was smooth, the service was spectacular, and the food was incredible. My only "complaint" is that I did not know that I had booked the smallest rooms on the train ("junior suites" – junior indeed!). Had I known, I would have booked something larger.
Anyhow, after 2 days of luxurious rest and relaxation – and a lot of eating and drinking – the train pulled into Rovos's private station in Pretoria. We said goodbye to Rovos and headed for the Johannesburg airport for our charter flight to the Sabi Sand private game reserve, next to Kruger Park, for safari.
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