Long Journey
ACROSS SOUTH AFRICA CHRISTINE CUNANAN recalls her trip on the famous Blue Train
T
he Blue Train had been on my bucket list ever since I’d heard of this iconic set of royal blue carriages traversing the length of South Africa, between Pretoria in the north and Cape Town in the south, on train tracks laid out by adventurers searching for diamonds and gold over 140 years ago.
Last month, I finally found myself journeying to Pretoria after a 12-hour flight from Hong Kong and a lively weekend in Johannesburg, to catch this loveliest train in the Southern hemisphere to Cape Town.
PHOTOs BY christine cunanan
My imagination was further enlivened by its glamorous and yet exotic image. In my mind, it represented a most unlikely combination of gourmet meals, luxurious cabins, and vintage train cars; and, outside its picture windows, a forever changing scenery of charming towns, vast plains, lovely vineyards and fierce wilderness.