Romantic Southern Africa Getaway

You board the train in the morning in Pretoria's magnificent Rovos Rail station and begin your journey north. You have a wonderful lunch in the exquisite dining car before going to the open-air observation car for a glimpse of the surrounding landscape via the train's massive picture windows as you border the Magaliesberg Mountains as you travel through Johannesburg's goldfields. That evening, after a delicious meal, the train continues on to Mafikeng for the border procedures to enter Botswana.

As you eat a big breakfast, the capital Gaborone rolls by the windows, and the tracks go north as you explore Botswana's eastern side. The environment is characterised by rolling hills and rocky outcrops as you drive through little settlements and open farmland. A wonderful high tea is served in the lounge in the late afternoon, consisting of a range of delights to tickle your appetite, and supper is served later in the evening as you roll on towards Plumtree for the border crossing into Zimbabwe.

After leaving Mpopoma, where the train has halted for the night, you travel north along the eastern fringe of Hwange National Park, where you may observe wildlife from your large room. This is one of Africa's longest pieces of straight railway line, measuring 114 kilometres (almost 71 miles). You arrive at Kennedy Station in the afternoon, when a guide from The Hide meets you for a game drive. Hwange is Zimbabwe's largest national park and is well-known for its superb game watching, especially during the dry season when animals congregate around several waterholes. Elephants, lions, leopards, and buffalo herds may all be seen in big quantities, while the critically endangered African wild dog can also be found in large numbers. These predators are incredibly sociable, and seeing a pack on a high-speed pursuit through the woods in search of medium-sized antelope, their preferred food, is a fascinating sight. The terrain is defined by teak and acacia woods studded with ragged fan palms, and you pause to appreciate the beauty of this location as you stop for ice-cold sundowners by a waterhole. Rejoining the train in the early evening, you dine again in the formal dining room as it travels to Thomson Junction for an overnight stay.

VICTORIA FALLS, ZIMBABWE Take a leisurely breakfast in the morning and take in the breathtaking scenery as the train travels towards Victoria Falls. The Victoria Falls Hotel, perched atop one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, is perfectly positioned across the valley below the falls to take in the vista and listen to the thunderous roar of millions of tonnes of water cascading over the brink. Settle into your elegant room before enjoying a leisurely lunch on the patio. Take a helicopter ride over the Falls in the afternoon. As soon as you lift off, you will see a plume of spray billowing into the air that can be seen for kilometres around, giving the Falls their native name of Mosi-a-Tunya, which translates as "The Smoke that Thunders." With the vast river dotted with little islands below you, you soar above the water until the gorge is visible, which is quite a sight from this vantage point!

Up close, Victoria Falls is a breathtaking sight. Following a network of spray-fed walkways through the tropical forest, you feel the ground quake beneath your feet from the sheer intensity of so much water crashing into the valley. The town is the starting point for a variety of activities, including adrenaline-pumping tiger fishing and white-water river rafting, as well as more leisurely game drives and sunset picturesque river cruises. Return to the great historical settings of the hotel for a well-deserved sundowner and an opulent meal after a day of discovery and excitement.  

CHOBE NATIONAL PARK, BOTSWANA After breakfast, you depart Victoria Falls for the Botswana border town of Kasane. A charter jet takes you over the immensity of Chobe National Park, which is bounded in the north by the gleaming Chobe River. When you arrive at the airstrip, your guide will meet you and take you on a wildlife drive to Chobe Under Canvas. Chobe Under Canvas is a private campground within the park that is tucked in a grove of trees that provide welcome shade. Five Meru-style safari tents are spread out below the trees surrounding the central mess tent, which comprises a lounge and dining area. The tents are more like en suite apartments, put up in the shade of massive trees along well-worn roads frequented by animals. They are huge and comfortable, with giant soft mattresses and en suite bathrooms with flushing toilets and safari showers. In the afternoons, a modest verandah allows you to rest while admiring the scenery. This region contains a diverse range of environments, which supports a diverse range of fauna. Along the Chobe River, there are forests with towering groves of ebony and leadwood trees that front broad grassland floodplains. Keep an eye out for red lechwe antelope, hippos, and crocodiles lounging on the banks. Lions frequently relax among the trees and palm groves, looking for action on the plain. The thickets get thicker further inland, and mopane woods dominates the area. Leopards stalk and elephants come to graze here. As the day winds down, the sun ignites the sky in a spectacular display of colour. As the first stars show, you drive back to camp with a spotlight, looking for nocturnal animals' reflected eyes as they emerge into the night. Civets, honey badgers, and genets are frequently observed, and a hyena embarking on his nighttime hunt is a wonderful sight.

SAVUTI, BOTSWANA You left Chobe Under Canvas for Savute after your morning excursion. Savute Under Canvas camp, located in the remote northern part of Chobe National Park, shifts places on a regular basis to be close to herds of plains game and their predators. The intriguing Savute Channel, an ephemeral canal that strangely ebbs and flows with water over decades, is the region's focal point. Following a nearly 30-year dry period, the channel is once again flowing, bringing with it an incredible abundance of life drawn to its cold, clear waters. The neighbouring savannah is teeming with grazing animals, and the region is well-known for its lion population. The camp itself is tiny and isolated, nestled in a breathtakingly beautiful setting. A central lounge and dining room set in the shade of tall trees serves five canvas suites. The camp will make you feel like an early explorer in a pristine wilderness, since it is simple yet cosy and unquestionably gorgeous.  

OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA After a last game drive in Savute, you dine before heading for the airstrip. As you take off in your charter jet, you soar over a large expanse of mopane woods, leaving the Savute Channel and marsh behind. Then, in the distance, you'll see a great shimmering field of green front of you. The Okavango Delta suddenly opens out below, revealing a vast wetland filled with green tree islands, wide grasslands, and towering woods connected by a plethora of waterways and lagoons. When you arrive at the airport, your guide will greet you and take you on a game drive to Sandibe Lodge, where the first thing you notice is the change in the environment and vegetation around you. Tall palm palms murmur in the air, standing like sentinels above the grassy floodplains, while thick tree islands clutch the higher hills. Game drives here show a diverse range of interconnected ecosystems that sustain an incredible diversity of life, from aquatic animals to dry Kalahari forest residents. Leopard sightings are common in the region, and interactions with these magnificent animals are a thrilling highlight of every safari. Stepping into a mokoro, a traditional style dugout canoe, and slowly slipping through the maze of streams overhung by ferns and filled with water lilies, is a magnificent way to experience the Okavango in all its grandeur. While silently floating over the water, you may hear the water murmur, birds calling from the reed beds, and hippos grunting in the distance: the Okavango's old melody. Using a motorised boat, you can explore the Delta's deeper reaches, where hippos pass below you in a stream of bubbles while you look for the elusive and rare sitatunga antelope that lives in the marshes and papyrus beds, and, as evening falls, the tinkling serenade of reed frogs surrounds you like a symphony.

Following a farewell brunch on the patio, you travel for the runway in preparation for your journey to Johannesburg, South Africa. The memories of a fantastic fortnight pour over you as you wing your way over the sparkling waters of the Okavango below: the rail ride into the bush, the amazing majesty of the Victoria Falls, and the exciting up-close and personal wildlife experiences of Savute, Chobe, and the Delta.