Day 11 … still chuffing along but a little walk as well

 September 29, 2024

Today was our last full day on board the Rovos Rail. We awoke to a bitterly cold morning (less than 8°) which was a bit of a shock after the heat we had experienced in Victoria Falls. We decided to get up and get dressed and head to breakfast as we wanted to make the most of our last day. This was in fact my first breakfast on the train and it was yummy.

However … before breakfast let me quickly fill you in on our delicious evening meal from last night … starter of spinach ravioli in sage butter, main of chicken roulade (chicken filled with feta and sun dried tomatoes wrapped in bacon) with hasselback potatoes and blanched broccolini, a beautiful cheese course and Malva Pudding with crème anglaise for dessert!

Back to breakfast … Ian enjoyed his favourite Eggs Benedict whilst I had some beautifully soft scrambled eggs. We were provided with toast, croissants, muffins with all the condiments plus our choice of cereal, fruit and yoghurt. Freshly brewed black coffee was also on tap which made for a wonderful start to the day.

We headed to the lounge car to spend the majority of the morning … sitting with the sun streaming in, the view passing by outside and the gentle rocking of the train. I stitched, Ian puzzled and we chatted with our fellow travellers. Our wait staff were available to provide us with any drinks that we wanted … a lovely pot of peppermint tea for me and a lemonade for Ian.

We had been told last night that we would be pulling into White Hill Siding at about 10 am for our 5 km walk into Matjiesfountain however as the morning progressed it soon became evident that we were operating on South African time given we were still about 130 kms away at 9.30. Sure enough one of the staff came through to tell us that we were indeed “on schedule, but running behind” and that the walk would still happen but not until about 12.00.

We decided to head back to our room for a while and as the morning progressed (and we spent time sitting still on the tracks) we knew we wouldn’t be having a walk before lunch! Not that we were fussed. How could you be when you are on a magnificent train, with all amenities and conveniences. Just before 12.30 we pulled into Matjiesfontain having passed the anticipated siding that was where we should have disembarked for our walk.

Lunch was another spectacular meal … butternut pumpkin soup, fish for Ian and steak for me, a cheese course and passion fruit cheesecake. All served with accompanying wines (and a coke for Ian). 

After lunch Darren came to tell us that the train would push back to the siding (back 5 kms) and then walk back to Matjiesfountain. This was fine by us but come 2.45 we had yet another change. The railway authorities had revoked permission for us to shunt back and so the only alternate was to have a 2.5 km walk back down the track turn around and come back. We all happily agreed as they had tried everything to make the walk happen.

Disembarking we set off with Stevens in the lead and Rovos Security in the rear. The walk was a gentle amble beside the track which was flanked by wildflowers, rail bridges and mountains on either side. It was wonderful … brisk in the wind … but very invigorating. Once we had comp,eyed the round trip we had about an hour to wander the pretty little town of Matjiesfountain.

This town was given heritage status in the 1970s with many of the buildings being of the Victorian era. The Lord Milner Hotel is an impressive white double fronted building with fountains out the front. We wandered up to the front door and asked the doorman if we could look inside … and the answer was a firm “of course”. It is an old building , very grand and luxe.

The town also had an old post office, transport museum, many old homes, parklands behind the hotel that overlooked a river. We wandered around looking at everything (and probably going where we weren’t meant to). We visited the old bank (with another scary mannequin) and the state office (Births, Deaths abs Marriages) which also serves as the local lending library … complete with taxidermied animal heads. I’m not sure that Public Libraries Victoria would ever imagine a local library looking quite like that!

Back on board just before “all aboard” at 5.00 we headed back to the lounge carriage to relax the rest of the afternoon away. Ian finished his book, I blogged and stitched (and enjoyed a sneaky glass of rose) before heading back to our room to prepare for our final dinner on board.