Moments after my sneaker-clad feet leave the red carpet on Cape Town station, the locomotive groans beneath its lumbering weight. It shunts away from the railway siding, bound for the open countryside once more. As the train lunges forward and gains momentum, the engine’s heaving motion pulls me away with it to another time, another place.
I look around me and I feel as if I have skipped a hundred years back in time. From the comfort of an elegant armchair I blink hard a few times, wondering if I’m dreaming. I look around and take in the plush period furnishings around me and I pinch myself. I am in the Observation cart of the most luxurious train in the world! In the words of Rohan Vos, owner of Rovos Rail, "The design of the train has given us suites considerably larger than the world's famous trains such as the Orient Express, the Blue Train, Royal Scotsman in England and El Andalus in Spain." This has led The Pride of Africa to be known as the most luxurious train in the world. And justifiably so!
From behind the bar, a dapper waiter flashes me a broad ‘Colgate’ smile as he hands me my favourite daytime drink. In the March heat, the first sip of my frosty beer hits me like an ice cold Karate chop to the throat. ‘Wa-tah!’ And I am now wide awake! All notions of being in a dream are safely tucked away. The iconic silhouette of Table Mountain becomes a flat line in the distance as we make for he purple-headed mountains ofthe picturesque Overberg.
I am Phil, a gap year student and my family have come from Germany to visit me in South Africa, before starting university in the autumn of this year. My parents have brought my 17 year-old sister and 10-year old brother along for the ride of their lives. We are embarking on an amazing journey to discover ‘a world in one country’ that is South Africa. I have always had a fascination for engineering and mechanics and as such, I was pleased as punch to get the opportunity to get up close and personal with these beautiful machines.
On our three day journey to Pretoria on board Rovos Rail, our train will follow hundreds of kilometres of perfectly maintained railway tracks, snaking through some of the most spellbinding scenery that is South Africa’s landscapes. The semi-arid Klein Karoo with its low goat-nibbled scrub bushes, the Great Karoo with duck-egg blue skies so wide that the only way to take them in is by lying flat on your back on a lush green lawn. And finally, the Highveld; this area is like an unfortunate looking person with a heart of gold for whom you will always have a soft spot.
From here, we visit the natural wonders of the Panorama Route and then experience the bountiful wildlife of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
Mind you, a three day luxury train journey is not everyone’s cup of tea. If you are a mischievous young boy with a bouncy, ‘Tigger-like’ disposition, it could seem like a veritable jail sentence! Cooped up for three whole days with only two excursions on the entire trip offering brief windows of escape, mountains of sugary treats and fizzy drinks translating into a whole bunch of pent up energy with nowhere to expend it. Let’s just say, he found creative (and sometimes irritating) ways to cope with his lack of activity.
My sister, on the other hand, spent the entire three days mooning over the fact that she spied a certain Ewan McGregor’s name on the guest list. She fiddled with her hair and make-up constantly in the event that they would have a chance encounter. She would be sitting for hours on end perched nervously on the edge of an overstuffed Chesterfield sofa waiting for him to lean over her shoulder and ask huskily what she was reading. She would whisper to me how she saw their encounter unfolding; once they had found one another, they would then completely lose themselves in lucky love. The road to their happiness would be lined with lingering gourmet meals accompanied by streams of fine wine. They would share hours of uninterrupted conversation about his wild adventures and sophisticated art of making movies. He would find her innocence utterly beguiling and her flawless porcelain skin alluring. Ever the big brother, I chuckle as I I point out she has chosen to ignore the fact that his wife and family’s names were in fact listed right below his on the passenger manifest. Shedding her sheer coat of womanhood, she is at once a child again as she pokes her tongue out and she makes a face at me. She stares moodily out of the window as she picks at her fine cuisine and trifles with her half glasses of perfectly paired wine (in quantities carefully monitored by my parents, of course).
As the kind of person that cycles forty five kilometres in a day and then goes surfing, I found the prospect of three days of uninterrupted ‘chilling’ rather bitter sweet. It’s not every day you are encouraged by your parents to do absolutely nothing! I had no idea what to expect from the train but upon leaving the platform I teleported from 2010 into 1910 in a flash. What a trip! If I was looking for wi-fi internet, fast food tinged with the telltale flavour of cardboard, minimalist décor and Nintendi wii I was off my station.
This is the kind of holiday experience that offers you exactly the opposite. The interior of the beautifully restored coaches are enhanced by impeccably dressed stewards delivering gracious silver service. The gourmet cuisine is paired with a superb winelist showcasing the best of both local and international wines hand picked by the knowledgeable on board sommelier is another highlight on this journey. Having not seen my family for six months three days allowed us to have a good old catch up and also just enough time to get off on the other side still liking one another.
The highly polished wood panelled suites are kitted out with full size beds, large windows fitted with dark wood Venetian blinds, vintage fittings, bathrobes, slippers and a private butler at your service just add to the opulent experience. I was expecting a poky bathroom but to my amazement, this was spacial planning at its best! The fully equipped bathroom was large enough for my brother and I to have shaving cream fights in; marvellous!
During my train trip I started wondering about Rohan Vos, the proprietor of this amazing train set. Pulling from the front, Mr Vos and his extremely loyal team have dedicated themselves to bring this experience to life every single day since 1989. Tenacity, courage, resilience, diplomacy, commitment and business savvy are words used to describe Mr. Rovos, as he’s affectionately known. As testament to his ‘hands on’ management style, at each departure in Cape Town or Pretoria, he holds a welcoming speech in order to introduce himself and to welcome each priveliged passenger on board by name. I asked Titia Blake, the violinist who has performed the live classical music for the pre-departure parties for the last nineteen years, whether she ever tires of hearing his speech, she giggled, shook her head vigorously and said ‘No, never! In fact, each time I hear Mr. Vos speak about his Pride of Africa train set, his energy and exuberance inspires me!’
It’s only when you can savour the unhurried moments on board this train that you realise at what break neck speed our modern urban lives operate at. We hurtle towards our chosen destinations and real moments we should treasure flashes past us in a blur. On this train journey one takes a moment to catch you breath and bask in the rosy hue of life as it was a century ago; slow food, slow travel but streaks ahead.
