Day 9 ... spending the kids’ inheritance

 September 27, 2024

Today marked the beginning of the most indulgent part of our adventure. We have three nights travelling on Rovos Rail from Pretoria to Cape Town.

Rovos Rail was established in the 1980s by South African billionaire Rohan Vos. He wanted to establish an old style Rail experience similar to the era of the British empire ... the ultimate in luxury.

We opted for a Deluxe room which is not the top and not the bottom ... but just right in the middle. In writing that I feel like a fraud because all of the rooms are very top notch.

We organised a city transfer taxi to take us from our hotel in Johannesburg to the Rovos Rail Station in Pretoria. Our driver (Simba) transported us in a wonderfully smooth mini van ... just us ... and played an awesome playslist of songs of our era ... so we all sang along.

The drive took about 50 minutes but we spent the entire time looking out the windows, taking photos and asking Simba what things were. He was incredibly patient as he wasn't a guide but was happy to answer our questions.

We arrived in Pretoria just after 8.30 which gave us time to explore the museum that Rohan has been gathering ephemera for over many years. There were items of luggage, clothing, signals, model trains, old telephones and telephone exchanges, signage and bicycles.  It was lovely to wander through ... and for the train buffs they would have loved looking at all the model trains.

The Rovos Rail Station is a beautiful old building open to those travelling  ... very much of its era. We were greeted by the staff, assigned some luggage tags that the porters attached to our luggage and then ushered inside (on a red carpet no less).

I indulged in a glass of Brut Sparkling wine (I know ... it was just after 9.00!), and we were able to wander out to the platform and nibble on some snacks until it was time to don a fluoro vest and audio headset for a tour.

The tour was led by Rohan himself  ... at 78 he is very much actively involved. He waves off every departure and also told us he would see us at the other end of the journey in Cape Town.

It was lovely to listen to this very humble man talk about Rovos, his trains, how he got it going ... all the ups and downs. His passion is evident as he talks and he has a wicked sense of humour.

Then to board our train and be shown to our room. As I have already said ... it is uber luxurious. Our room has a massive bed that spans the width, two chairs and a writing desk and it's own ensuite.

We unpacked, stored our cases and waited for our carriage attendants to come and fill us in on how things would work. The chef and his team also came down to check in on my dietary requirements ahead of the meal service beginning.

And then we were away ... the train is no speed demon. There are many times that we come to a stop ... to let other trains through.  During Covid vandals uprooted kilometres of track (for the metal) so the South African government is slowly replacing the missing tracks meaning delays for all trains. We don't care though  ... we are content.

All meals, snacks and drinks are included in the fare ... with 4 courses for both lunch and dinner. A starter, a main, a cheese course and dessert. Each of these is paired with a wine. Any weight I lost with my gastro will soon be back on.

After lunch ... yummy/sigh ... we headed back to our room to sit and watch the world go by. Sometimes the view is depressing as you pass by metal huts with tarpaulins as a roof, mounds of rubbish, port-a-loos, and people sitting by the side of the tracks watching this luxurious train pass them by. 

 
We passed farmland ... from cows (both dairy and beef), crops, quarries for sand and metals, and built up areas with houses much like in Australia.

The train chugged along  ... slowly, slowly. Stop, start, stop, start. Wheels screeching on the tracks. The gentle rocking of the train is so incredibly soothing. I feel it is going to be a very relaxing few days.

 

I am going to end today here. We have dinner at 7.30 and expect this to end at about 9.30 (based on lunch). So at that stage I will be crawling my way to my bed (from tiredness, not the wine with each course). I'll update you all on dinner tomorrow.