African Explorer 2018

AFRICAN EXPLORER Southern Africa by Private Train

South Africa—Namibia Zimbabwe—Mozambique—Swaziland—South Africa

ITINERARY JEWEL OF THE DESERT FROM CAPE TOWN TO WINDHOEK DAY 1. CAPE TOWN Meeting with your tour guide at Cape Town airport. Transfer,

hotel check-in and city tour in the afternoon. Sundowner at Signal Hill and welcome dinner. Over­night: The Commodore (or similar). Meals included: Dinner (D).

DAY 2. MATJIESFONTAIN Departure of the African Explorer and stop in Matjies-

fontain. Overnight on board. Meals included: Breakfast (B), Lunch (L) and Dinner. (D)

DAY 3. ONBOARD Train ride across South Africa’s diverse landscapes. Exciting onboard lectures. Overnight on board. (BLD) DAY 4. AUGRABIES FALLS NATIONAL PARK Bus excursion to Augrabies Falls National Park with its famous waterfalls. Overnight on board. (BLD) DAY 5. FISH RIVER CANYON Visit to Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world, and to Quivertree Forest. Overnight on board. (BLD) DAY 6. LÜDERITZ PENINSULA Visit to the ghost town of Kolmanskop, the harbor town of Lüderitz and Diaz Point. Overnight on board. (BD) DAY 7. NAMIB-NAUKLUFT NATIONAL PARK Namib-Naukluft National Park and

transfer to your lodge. Overnight: Namib Desert Lodge (or similar). (BD)

DAY 8. NAMIB-NAUKLUFT NATIONAL PARK Tour to the iconic red dunes and the Vlei in cross-country vehicles. Overnight: Namib Desert Lodge (or similar). (BD) DAY 9. SWAKOPMUND Tour through the National Park to Swakopmund with its German heritage and timbered houses and to Walvis Bay. Overnight on board. (BD) DAY 10. SPITZKOPPE Excursion to the Spitzkoppe with its rock paintings of the San Bushmen and visit to a local school. Overnight on board. (BLD) DAY 11. ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK Full-day safari crossing the entire length of Etosha National Park by bus. Overnight: Mokuti Lodge (or similar). (BD) DAY 12. ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK Morning safari in open vehicles in Etosha

National Park. Overnight on board. (BD)

DAY 13. WINDHOEK City tour of Windhoek including Christ Church, Tintenpalast and township Katutura. Farewell dinner. Overnight: AVANI Windhoek Hotel & Casino (or similar). (BLD) DAY 14. WINDHOEK Transfer to the airport. (B)

Further Itineraries Itinerary Jewel of the Desert Pretoria to Windhoek DAY 1. Pretoria (L) DAY 2. Pretoria (BLD) DAY 3. Kimberley (BLD) DAY 4. Augrabies Falls National Park (BLD) DAY 5. Fish River Canyon (BLD) DAY 6. Lüderitz Peninsula (BD) DAY 7. Namib-Naukluft National Park (BD) DAY 8. Namib-Naukluft National Park (BD) DAY 9. Swakopmund (BD) DAY 10. Spitzkoppe (BLD) DAY 11. Etosha National Park (BD) DAY 12. Etosha National Park (BD) DAY 13. Windhoek (BLD) DAY 14. Windhoek (B)

Itinerary Southern Cross Victoria Falls to Pretoria DAY 1. Victoria Falls (D) DAY 2. Victoria Falls (BLD) DAY 3. Hwange National Park (BD) DAY 4. Matobo National Park and Bulawayo (BD) DAY 5. Great Zimbabwe (BD) DAY 6. Crossing the Limpopo River (BLD) DAY 7. Kapama Sanctuary and Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (BLD) DAY 8. Blyde River Canyon and Kruger National Park (BD) DAY 9. Kruger National Park (BLD) DAY 10. Maputo (BLD) DAY 11. Kingdom of Swaziland (BD) DAY 12. Pretoria (BLD) DAY 13. Pretoria (B)

Journeys also available in reverse direction. Contact us for further details.

Jewel of the Desert

Southern Cross

Etosha National Park

Victoria Falls MOZAMBIQUE Hwange National Park

NAMIBIA Spitzkoppe

Swakopmund

Chobe National Park

ZIMBABWE Bulawayo Great Zimbabwe

Windhoek

Marienthal Sossusvlei Kolmanskop Aus Fish River Canyon Lüderitz

Kruger National Park

Panorama Route

Pretoria

Upington SOUTH AFRICA Matjiesfontein

Maputo Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA Swaziland

Cape Town

CLASSIC HIGHLIGHTS JEWEL OF THE DESERT

OUR UNIQUE HIGHLIGHTS JEWEL OF THE DESERT

→W indhoek—Modern City and German heritage

→ Unique route from Cape Town to Windhoek: nearly 2,250 miles/ 3,600 kilometers of rail track

→ Beautiful Cape Town →B izarre rock formations and lunar landscape in Namib-Naukluft National Park

→ Spitzkoppe with rock designs of the San Bushmen

→ F ish River Canyon—The second largest canyon in the world

→ Atlantic coastline and Flamingo lagoon near Walvis Bay

→ Kolmanskop ghost town

→G ame drives in Etosha National Park →T he Namib Desert—Sossusvlei with the world’s highest dune

YOUR ADVANTAGES →E xclusively chartered train with multi-lingual tour director

→ Local specialties and select South African wines

→A lternating overnights in the train compartment, in hotels and stylish lodges

→ Doctor on board

→E nglish-speaking tour guide for a maximum of 23 guests

→ Fascinating series of lectures and short talks on sights, life and culture

→ Luggage service at train stations

HOTELS EN ROUTE JEWEL OF THE DESERT City

Overnights · Hotel*

Rating

Cape Town Namib-Naukluft National Park Etosha National Park Windhoek

1 · The Commodore 2 · Namib Desert Lodge 1 · Mokuti Lodge 1 · AVANI Windhoek Hotel & Casino

• • • •

• • • •

•• • •• ••

HOTELS EN ROUTE SOUTHERN CROSS City

Overnights · Hotel*

Rating

Victoria Falls Kruger National Park Pretoria

1 · Victoria Falls Safari Lodge 1 · Pestana Kruger Lodge 1 · Misty Hills Lodge

•••• •••• ••••

* These hotels are examples. Other hotels of equal standard could be used.

THE AFRICAN EXPLORER PRIVATE TRAIN The African Explorer is a rolling hotel offering two categories of compartments, two air-conditioned restaurant cars, a bar car and a lounge car with panorama windows and an open observation platform. Tasty three-course dinners are served in one sitting.

The bar car, open around the clock, is ideal for relaxing with a cold beer or a glass of South African wine. It is also a popular spot for reading as well as the venue for fascinating lectures.

There is no formal dress code on the train and smart evening dress is not required. Laundry service is available during the entire trip.

Large pieces of luggage can be stowed underneath the berths or on the upper luggage racks.

For your comfort and safety, a doctor is on board throughout the journey.

ELEPHANT

LEOPARD

The Elephant compartments offer private shower and toilet, individually adjustable air-conditioning, 220/230 V sockets, a small safe, towels, a compact wardrobe with coat hangers, hair dryer and toiletries. The windows (equipped with blinds and sunshades) can be opened as needed.

The compartments (approx. 75 ft²/7 m²) are equipped with two single berths or with a double berth.

In addition to the features of the Elephant category the Leopard compartments offer a small sitting area and are located closer to the restaurant cars. The compartments (approx. 107 ft²/10 m²) are equipped with two single berths or one double bed.

The train features five Leopard category cars with three suites each.

The train features five Elephant category cars with five compartments each.

Pictures: Lernidee Trains & Cruises, fotolia.com (Carsten Krüger, GrantRyan), Jakob Rastetter, Shongololo

FURTHER JOURNEYS FROM OUR TRAIN COLLECTION

UNIQUE RIVER JOURNEYS FROM OUR CRUISE COLLECTION

Tsar’s Gold on the Legendary Trans-Siberian Railroad

Majestic Mekong—Cruises in Laos and Thailand

Orient Silk Road Express—The Legendary Silk Road

Magical Myanmar—Cruises on the Irrawaddy

Persian Explorer—Iran by Private Train

Amazing Amazon—River Cruises in Brazil

Rovos Rail—Epic Journey through Africa

Russia’s Rivers—Volga, Lena and Yenisei

The Royal Al Andalús in Spain Continental Classic Express—Southeast Europe