Deb and I have always loved trains — the history, the charm, the scenery, and even the slower pace (although I chafe a bit occasionally). Some of our “night train” experiences have been less than wonderful (e.g., the Prague to Krakow run), but we’ve always thought it would be good to do a trip on a vintage line. We got that chance on this trip by taking Rovos Rail on its 3-night trip from Pretoria to Cape Town. The story of Rovos Rail is an adventure in itself — a self-made man and tinkerer named Rohan Vos with a love of trains bought a locomotive and 3 cars (which he lovingly restored) as a way of taking his family on excursions to the Transvaal area. Getting rights of way and paying huge tariffs forced Vos to turn his hobby into a business which grew very rapidly starting in 1989. He sold many of his other businesses to finance this project and, in 1994 with the South African elections coming up and the reputation of South Africa at an all-time low because of apartheid, tourism plummeted and Vos was on the hairy edge of bankruptcy. A promotion at a London travel show for a rail journey to Victoria Falls turned his fortunes around and the company has been growing steadily ever since.
We joined the train at Capital Park, a former steam locomotive repair facility right outside of Pretoria that today serves as Rovos Rail headquarters and maintenance and repair facility. Outside the converted station house are a series of work sheds where craftsmen lovingly repair and restore historic locomotives and coaches gotten from around the world (Australia was a big source). Some of the coaches had become land locked restaurants and were returned to their former glory. Everything has to be done by hand and there are no standard sizes of anything — each berth in each coach is unique and has to be restored as such. In addition to the mechanical restoration, the woodwork detail is superb. They actually make their own toilet seats out of a lightweight wood they get from China that won’t crack. Next to the work sheds are a number of low, red-bricked buildings that host the kitchens, laundries, and supply stores to provision each of the trains as they ready for their next journey. Our trip to Cape Town is one of ten journeys that Rovos Rail runs today.
As we boarded the train and made our way to our berth, it was easy to go back in time to the golden age of travel — well-appointed berths, sumptuous dining cars, and two lounges (plus a separate smoking lounge which I thankfully only saw occupied once) make up the train. It is a long train given the sizes of the berths and the common areas; much larger than you would expect for the 50+ passengers we had on board. But then there’s all the staff that look after us 24 hours per day. Days are spent relaxing in your stateroom or in the lounges and are pretty casual. Dinner, however, is more formal with men having to wear coats and ties and women in whatever elegant style they choose. Then there is music both before and after dinner in the lounges and yes, Deb was up singing with the group on a couple of occasions. I must say that the food, drink, and service were all exceptional. We even made a few stops that I will talk about in subsequent posts.
To jump to the end, when we departed the train in Cape Town, who was there to greet us? None other than the man himself — Rohan Vos. He insisted on shaking everyone’s hand. Apparently, he is still very involved in his “hobby.” We hope to do this again sometime — perhaps the trip to Dar es Salaam!
This entry was posted in Africa, South Africa, Travel
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
