15 Days African Trilogy: Pretoria to Walvis Bay on Rovos Rail
A Customizable Trip to eSwatini — 15 Days / 14 Nights
Highlights
• Twelve nights on board Rovos Rail, one of the world’s top luxury trains, with all meals and drinks included;
• Overnight stays and exclusive game drives at two of Namibia’s top wildlife conservancies: Sossusvlei and Etosha;
• Additional game drives at Kruger Park and eSwatini’s magnificent Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park;
• Cheetah conservation project visit;
• Drakensberg Mountains;
• Durban and its lovely Botanic Gardens;
• Fish River Canyon visit;
• Quiver trees at Garas Park;
• Traverse the edge of the Kalahari Basin, the Karoo & the Namib Deserts;
• Kimberley Diamond Mine Museum tour;
• Mantenga Cultural Village visit;
• Upington walking tour (optional);
• Windhoek’s Transport Museum.
About this Safari
Take a deep dive into three amazing countries — South Africa, Namibia, and eSwatini — on the African Trilogy. The scenery on this 15-day private rail tour aboard Rovos Rail’s Pride of Africa is truly out of this world, from the abundantly green Drakensberg Escarpment to the Namib Desert.
This itinerary used to be available only on Rovos Rail’s less luxurious cousin, the Shongololo Express. Beginning in 2024, this exciting journey will be undertaken with all of the luxury that only Rovos Rail can provide: wine pairings with lunch and dinner, all-inclusive drinks in the bar car, five-star service, and more formal dinners that better suit the nostalgia of rail travel.
Starting in Pretoria, descend the spectacular escarpment to the world-famous Kruger Park for a game drive. Explore the Kingdom of eSwatini followed by a game drive in Hluhluwe wildlife reserve and a tour of Durban and its botanical gardens.
Traverse the Valley of a Thousand Hills and the imposing Drakensberg Mountains to visit the 1870s mining village of Kimberley, center of one of the world’s notorious diamond rushes. Continue through the semi-desert region of the Karoo to Upington and the Fish River Canyon, second in size to the Grand Canyon.
Cross the untamed beauty of the Kalahari Desert to see the Quiver trees at Garas Park, home to roughly 300 specimens of the Aloe dichotomy. Take a short flight to Sossusvlei for a lodge stay surrounded by the dramatic dunes of the Namib-Naukluft Park.
Enjoy desert drives, a bush dinner and breakfast near Deadvlei where camel-thorn trees contrast against the white-clay pan floor. Visit Namibia’s lively capital, Windhoek, and a cheetah conservation project before overnighting in the game-rich Etosha National Park.
Leave the vast stillness of the Namib Desert for the wild Atlantic coast and journey’s end, Walvis Bay.
Rates –
2026 – 4 February -19 February, 9 October – 24 October
Pullman Gold – ZAR – R263 500
Deluxe – R355 000
Rates
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Pretoria
Depart from Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria. Guests may freshen up in their cabins before joining fellow travelers in the lounge car or…
Day 2: Kruger National Park
Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure.
Game drive in the Kruger National Park with tea and lunch. The famous Kruger Park has 2-million hectares of an unrivaled diversity of…
Day 3: eSwatini
Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure, after which we will undertake border formalities with eSwatini. Disembark at Mpaka…
Day 4: Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
Continental breakfast is served in the dining cars until early morning departure. Transfer to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park for a…
Day 5: Durban
Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure.
After breakfast, enjoy a tour of Durban and the botanical gardens. Durban is the third largest city in South Africa and…
Day 6: At leisure on board
Breakfast is served in the dining cars. Today is a day to relax and take in the incredible scenery of the Drakensberg Mountains, first named by the Voortrekkers, who thought the…
Day 7: Kimberley
After breakfast, enjoy a tour of Kimberley’s Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole. Capital of the Northern Cape, Kimberley is well known for …
Day 8: Upington
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast this morning as the train travels into Upington on the Orange River. After the activity in Upington, return to the train for lunch in the…
Day 9: Fish River Canyon & Garas Park
Transfer to the Fish River Canyon. The Fish River rises in the center of the country before flowing south into the Orange River on …
Day 10: Sossusvlei
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before transferring to the airstrip for your one-hour flight to Sossusvlei.
The dunes of the Namib Desert were created by sand carried by the wind from the coast. The
sand here is over five million years old and …
Day 11: Sossusvlei & Windhoek
Early wake-up call this morning with tea and coffee. Enjoy a desert drive with a full breakfast near the vlei …
Day 12: Cheetah Conservation Project
Leisurely morning on board the train. Enjoy breakfast and lunch on board…
Day 13: Etosha National Park
After breakfast, transfer to a lodge in Etosha National Park. Etosha National Park gets its name from the Etosha Pan, a large salt pan forming part of the…
Day 14: Etosha National Park
Enjoy an early breakfast followed by a game drive…
Day 15: Walvis Bay
Breakfast is served as the train traverses the Namib Desert towards Walvis Bay. The observation car will be at the front of the train for this last stretch – a different aspect that our…
This is a condensed overview of the journey.
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Questions about this Rovos Rail journey
How many nights are actually on board the train?
Twelve of the fourteen, with all meals and drinks included on board. The remaining nights are spent off the train in Namibia, at Sossusvlei among the dunes of the Namib-Naukluft Park and in game-rich Etosha National Park. The journey runs from Pretoria to Walvis Bay on the Atlantic coast.
Which countries and parks does the African Trilogy cover?
Three countries: South Africa, Namibia and eSwatini. Game drives are included in Kruger National Park, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Sossusvlei and Etosha. Between them come Durban and its botanic gardens, the Drakensberg, the Kimberley Diamond Mine Museum, Fish River Canyon, the quiver trees at Garas Park, Mantenga Cultural Village and Windhoek's Transport Museum.
How does this differ from the old Shongololo Express version?
The itinerary was previously available only on Rovos Rail's less luxurious cousin, the Shongololo Express. Since 2024 it has been operated with Rovos Rail's Pride of Africa, which brings wine pairings with lunch and dinner, all-inclusive drinks in the bar car, five-star service and more formal dinners suited to the nostalgia of rail travel.
What are the cabin options and prices?
Pullman Gold is from ZAR 263,500 per person and Deluxe is ZAR 355,000. The 2026 departures are 4 to 19 February and 9 to 24 October. With fixed dates and a fifteen-day length, it is worth settling on your cabin class early so we can hold the space you want.
Is there much variety in the scenery?
A great deal for a single journey. You descend the escarpment to Kruger, cross the Valley of a Thousand Hills and the Drakensberg, run through the semi-desert Karoo to Upington, traverse the edge of the Kalahari Basin, then reach the Namib before finishing on the wild Atlantic coast. A cheetah conservation project visit is also included.