Namibia Safari – Pretoria to Walvis Bay: 9-Nights
$10189 $9679 per person
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*prices are CAD per person, based on 2 people sharing in a Pullman Suite; Single Supplement +50% on all Suites
Upgrades for 2022 Departures:
Deluxe: +$3199 pp
Royal: +$6599
This ten-day journey takes the train from the savannahs of the Highveld to the Atlantic in the west. Departing from Pretoria, the first stop is Kimberley, centre of one of the world’s famous diamond rushes where there is an opportunity to savour the 1870s atmosphere of the mine village. The train traverses the stark vistas of the Northern Cape to the Fish River Canyon – second in size to the Grand Canyon – and Garas Park with its Quiver Tree Forest and the Giant’s Playground. Guests continue across the untamed beauty of the Kalahari Desert to Namibia’s capital for a tour; Windhoek is a lively, cosmopolitan city with a strong German flavour. Then it’s a short flight to Sossusvlei, a stunning pan in the Namib Desert, for an overnight stay followed by a night in the game-rich Etosha National Park. On the last morning, the train travels the Namib to the perfectly preserved 19th-century German Hansa town of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay – an unforgettable end to a remarkable journey.
What’s Included: Accommodation; all meals; all beverages on board; room service; limited laundry; excursions with a qualified guide
(where applicable); entrance fees as per itinerary; government tax. Flights to/from Sossusvlei; overnight bag; accommodation; meals, water, tea/coffee
What’s Not Included: All off-train beverages; international/French
Champagne; gratuities; personal expenses; visas; travel insurance; pre- and post-tour transfers, accommodation and flights. Off train portion only – All other beverages; laundry; personal expenses.
*MEMBER BENEFIT: 5% Savings Off All Published Rates. Discounted rate showing includes the 5% Member Benefit savings.
Call for assistance: 1-800-481-9739 ext 0
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Departure Dates
*All Departure Dates shown below are $9679 CAD per person based on twin share in a Pullman Suite
April 5, 27
May 4
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Destination
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Arrival City
Pretoria, South Africa -
Departure City
Walvis Bay, Namibia -
Passenger Limit
N/A
From Our Gallery
Be our guest and see it for yourself
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DAY 1: PRETORIA
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- 11h00 - Depart from Rovos Rail Station, Pretoria. Travel south via the goldfields of the Witwatersrand. Guests may freshen up in their suites before joining fellow travellers in the lounge car or observation car at the rear of the train.
- 13h00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars.
- 14h30 - Tea is served in the lounge and observation cars.
- 19h30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars. Dress: Formal
Please ensure that the Train Manager or Administration Deputy is in possession of your passport.
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DAY 2: KIMBERLEY
- 07h00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars.
- 09h45 - Enjoy a tour of Kimberley’s Diamond Mine Museum and the Big Hole. Capital of the Northern Cape, Kimberley is well known for the discovery of diamonds that led to its establishment in 1871.
- 13h00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. The observation car will be leading the train until after tea. Travel through the Karoo, a vast semi-desert region that was once an enormous inland sea. Over millions of years, volcanic matter was ground down and deposited as silt upon the seabed to form what geologists call the Karoo system.
- 16h30 - Tea in the lounge car and observation car at the rear of the train.
- 19h30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to De Aar, an important railway junction. Dress: Formal.
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DAY 3: UPINGTON
Please wear comfortable non-slip walking shoes for the excursion today.
Attorney General of the Cape, Sir Thomas Upington was principally responsible for liquidating the business activities of all the Orange River pirates and capturing their leader, Klaas Lucas. When the desperadoes were finally chased away in 1884, the town was founded on the banks of the Orange River and named in his honour.
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- 07h00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10h00
- 09h00 - Disembark the train for an optional two-hour walking tour of Upington.
- 13h00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. Border formalities with Namibia
- 16h30 - Tea is served in the lounge car and observation car at the rear of the train.
- 19h30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Holoog. Dress: Formal
Attorney General of the Cape, Sir Thomas Upington was principally responsible for liquidating the business activities of all the Orange River pirates and capturing their leader, Klaas Lucas. When the desperadoes were finally chased away in 1884, the town was founded on the banks of the Orange River and named in his honour.
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DAY 4: FISH RIVER CANYON & GARAS PARK
Please wear comfortable non-slip walking shoes for the excursions today.
The Fish River rises in the centre of the country before flowing south into the Orange River on Namibia’s border with South Africa. It has formed the great Fish River Canyon – the largest canyon in the southern hemisphere and probably only second to Arizona’s Grand Canyon in terms of size. The vast rocky landscape breaks up into a series of spectacular cliffs. Its size is impressive: 161km long, up to 27km wide and almost 550m at its deepest.
- 06h00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until departure at 08h00.
- 08h00 - Board vehicles for the one-hour drive to the Fish River Canyon. Return to the train at 11:00.
- 13h00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars. The train travels along the southern reaches of the Kalahari Basin.
- 15h00 - Visit Garas Park (Quiver Trees), home to roughly 300 specimens of the Aloe dichotomy. The prehistoric trees have forked branches that reach up to 5m making for great photographic opportunities.
- 16h30 - Tea is served in the lounge and observation cars.
- 19h30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars. The train travels north through the Kalahari to Mariental. Dress: Formal
The Fish River rises in the centre of the country before flowing south into the Orange River on Namibia’s border with South Africa. It has formed the great Fish River Canyon – the largest canyon in the southern hemisphere and probably only second to Arizona’s Grand Canyon in terms of size. The vast rocky landscape breaks up into a series of spectacular cliffs. Its size is impressive: 161km long, up to 27km wide and almost 550m at its deepest.
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DAY 5: SOSSUSVLEI
Please pack a small overnight bag for the stay in Sossusvlei. Tog bags have been placed in your suite
for your convenience. See below for inclusions/exclusions.
The dunes of the Namib were created by sand carried by the wind from the coast. The sand here is over 5-million years old and is red due to its iron-oxide content. As the light changes during the day so does the appearance of the dunes’ characteristic colour allowing for interesting photographs at any time. The wind in the Sossusvlei area blows from all directions causing the sand to form a star shape with multiple arms, hence the name “star dunes”.
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- 07h00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00.
- 10h30 - Transfer to the airstrip. Depart in a light aircraft for a one-hour flight to Sossusvlei.
- 12h00 - After check-in, enjoy lunch at the restaurant.
- 16h30 - Afternoon desert drive and a bush dinner after sunset. Overnight at the lodge. Dress: Casual
The dunes of the Namib were created by sand carried by the wind from the coast. The sand here is over 5-million years old and is red due to its iron-oxide content. As the light changes during the day so does the appearance of the dunes’ characteristic colour allowing for interesting photographs at any time. The wind in the Sossusvlei area blows from all directions causing the sand to form a star shape with multiple arms, hence the name “star dunes”.
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DAY 6: SOSSUSVLEI & WINDHOEK
Please ensure your overnight bag is ready to be collected from your suite before the drive. Time of drive
to be confirmed. Bags will be stored in the lodge’s baggage area before being loaded into the aircraft.
Situated in Namibia’s central highlands, Windhoek is an attractive city surrounded by clusters of hills and the impressive Auas and Eros Mountains. The Trans-Namib Transport Museum outlines Namibian transport history, particularly that of the railway. The Independence Memorial Museum focuses on the anti-colonial resistance and the national liberation struggle of Namibia.
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- 06h00 - An early wake-up call with tea and coffee. Enjoy a desert drive with breakfast in the vlei.
- 11h00 - Return to the lodge to use the facilities, check-out and transfer to the airstrip.
- 12h00 - Depart in a light aircraft for the one-hour flight to Windhoek. Enjoy lunch and visit the Transport Museum.
- 18h00 - Depart Windhoek.
- 19h30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Kranzberg for overnight. Dress: Formal
Situated in Namibia’s central highlands, Windhoek is an attractive city surrounded by clusters of hills and the impressive Auas and Eros Mountains. The Trans-Namib Transport Museum outlines Namibian transport history, particularly that of the railway. The Independence Memorial Museum focuses on the anti-colonial resistance and the national liberation struggle of Namibia.
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DAY 7: CHEETAH CONSERVATION PROJECT
- 07h00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00.
- 12h30 - Lunch is served in the dining cars.
- 14h00 - Visit a cheetah conservation project in Otjiwarongo. Founded in Namibia in 1990, the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. TIME MIGHT BE EARLIER
- 19h30 - Dinner is served in the dining cars en route to Otavi. Dress: Formal
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DAY 8: ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK
Please pack a small overnight bag for the stay in Etosha. See below for inclusions/exclusions.
Etosha National Park (22270km2) offers great game viewing. It gets its name from the Etosha pan (4760km2), a large salt pan forming part of the Kalahari Basin. Etosha means ‘Great White Place’.
- 07h00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00.
- 10h30 - Transfer (120 min) to Mokuti Lodge in Etosha National Park. Check-in and enjoy lunch.
- 15h00 - Afternoon game drive (approximately 3 hours).
- 19h00 - Dinner at the lodge and overnight. Dress: Casual
Etosha National Park (22270km2) offers great game viewing. It gets its name from the Etosha pan (4760km2), a large salt pan forming part of the Kalahari Basin. Etosha means ‘Great White Place’.
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DAY 9: ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK
Please ensure your overnight bag is ready to be collected from your suite and proceed to checkout by
10:45. Your bag will be loaded into the vehicles. Time of game drive to be confirmed.
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- 07h00 - An early wake-up call with tea and coffee. Enjoy a game drive in the Etosha National Park.
- 09h45 - Return to the lodge for breakfast and check-out
- 11h00 - Meet in the foyer to check out and transfer (60 min) to the train at Tsumeb Station.
- 13h00 - Lunch is served in the dining cars.
- 16h30 - Tea is served in the lounge and observation cars.
- 19h30 - Dinner is served. The train travels southwest towards the Atlantic Ocean. Dress: “Africa” Theme or Smart Casual
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DAY 10: WALVIS BAY
Please ensure your luggage is ready for collection at 11:45 and that you have passport.
The Namib Desert stretches for more than 2000km along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means “vast place”. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55-80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world. The geology consists of sand seas near the coast while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland.
- 07h00 - Breakfast is served in the dining cars until 10:00. Traverse the Namib Desert towards Walvis Bay. The observation car will be at the front of the train for last stretch – a different aspect that our rail enthusiasts enjoy.
- 12h00 - Arrive at journey’s end in Walvis Bay, Namibia.
The Namib Desert stretches for more than 2000km along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means “vast place”. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55-80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world. The geology consists of sand seas near the coast while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland.
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Tour Location
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Deluxe Suites - 10 Square Metres (3 Configurations) Bathroom with Shower, Air Conditioning, Luggage Shelf, Cupboards and Safe, Mini-Bar Facilities Crosswise DoubleL-Shaped Twin
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Pullman Suites - 7 Square Metres (3 Configurations) Bathroom with Shower, Air-Conditioning, Luggage Shelf, Cupboards and Safe, Mini-Bar Facilities Daytime Sofa Couch
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