Rovos Rail (The Pride of Africa) was founded by Rohan Vos (see below). This a five-star train which can carry up to 72 persons. Our journey from Pretoria to Victoria Falls over three days was for 44 passengers in 17 carriages with 25 staff. The suites were beautifully fitted out in a style reminiscent of the colonial days. Each room has an ensuite bathroom and mahogany timber walls. Rohan has been collecting and renovating these and the locomotives from all over the world, and is currently awaiting delivery of 9 additions from Australia. In his speech of welcome he spoke about his passion, saying that "at 43 years of age I was a wealthy man. By age 53 I was broke, but had a fantastic train set". Photos below show our suite, the lounge, and the locomotive.
Service is all-inclusive for gourmet meals and top quality wines.
The rail lines are poorly maintained, so the majority of the trip was quite rough. There were many wayside stops along the way, including one for problems with the locomotive brakes. Customs with passport checks for entry into Botswana was at 4.00 am, so along with the rocking of the carriage we had very little sleep.
This was a truly elite experience for all on board (mostly English-speaking, 3 Australian couples).
Botswana has 1.6m people and about 12m head of cattle, and of course their diamond mining, so the country is economically strong and 2nd only to South Africa.
We crossed the border into Zimbabwe with the same customs/immigration requirements as Botswana. Zimbabwe by comparison is very poor, with a quoted unemployment rate of about 95%.
Enjoying your travelogue. Love the photo's. You are seeing something so different from what we know.
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