A Rail Journey to Victoria Falls

Fly overnight direct to Johannesburg.

On arrival, transfer to Pretoria for overnight stay at the 4-star boutique Hotel Courtyard Arcadia, close to the Kruger Museum.
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Embark on the Rovos Rail for 11 nights aboard.
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Enjoy a splendidly scenic tour of the aptly named Panorama Route, focused on the Blyde River Canyon, the third-largest canyon on Earth, its sheer cliffs plunging 800m to the riverbed; and including the old-world village of Pilgrim’s Rest, founded on gold-panning and now a national monument; the iconic ‘Three Rondavels’ trio of rounded mountains; and the breathtaking views from God’s Window, high on the Drakensberg escarpment. Return to the train for the journey to the farming town of Malelane.
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A fabulous full-day safari in Kruger National Park. One of the largest game reserves on the continent, its reputation goes before it, but nothing prepares you for a first Kruger experience, where habitats range from mountains and cliffs to bush and tropical forest, and are home to hundreds of species of mammals and birds, including all of Africa’s Big Five. Depart to cross the border into Mozambique.
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Discover the country’s capital and cultural hub, the Indian Ocean port city of Maputo, hemming the Santo Espirito estuary with a mix of modern structures and graceful colonial architecture. Cross into the third of the tour’s four countries, the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). At just 200km long by 120 wide, the diminutive kingdom punches far above its weight, with mountains and savannahs, rain forests and river canyons, thorn bush, grasslands, and wildlife reserves within its landlocked borders. The train overnights at Mpaka.
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Tour to views of the ethereal Ezulwini Valley, known as ‘the Valley of Heaven’, and home to several wildlife sanctuaries; and the Komati River, descending from a plateau to cut through a 900m-deep valley; and visit Manzini, the kingdom’s largest city, and Mbabane, the executive capital, set beside its namesake river. Re-join the train to return to South Africa, overnighting in Limpopo.
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Begin the day with a game drive to explore the 15,000 hectares of Kapama Game Reserve. A comparatively small reserve, its pristine bush landscape is nevertheless a Big Five park. Continue with a visit to the Wild Dog and Cheetah Project, dedicated to developing carnivore corridors to connect different ecosystems. Overnight at Louis Trichardt.
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Relax and enjoy the scenery (and Rovos Rail service) for a full day on-board today, as the train makes its journey north into Zimbabwe, for rural Rutenga.
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Drive to the Great Zimbabwe ruins of an ancient stone-built city. Founded in the 11^th-century, abandoned in the 15^th, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its three enclaves (the Hill, the Valley, and the fascinating, fortified Great Enclosure) formed the capital of the Bantu-speaking ancestors of the Shona peoples.
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Enjoy a full day at Antelope Park private game reserve, where zebra and wildebeest, giraffe and hartebeest share the savannah with 190 species of birds, from vultures to sunbirds and hornbills. Choose from optional activities, bookable locally, which include game drives and a bird-watching cruise. Evening departure for the busy city of Bulawayo.
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Visit Matobo National Park, at the heart of the UNESCO listed Matobo Hills, where wildlife vies for attention with legendary landscapes, strewn with giant boulders and evidence of Stone Age human habitation. Visit the ‘balancing rocks’ which mark the grave of Cecil John Rhodes, and see the rock art in well preserved San-Bushmen caves. Depart for Kennedy Siding for overnight.
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A full day of exploration in Hwange National Park. The former royal hunting ground of Matabele King Mzilikazi, it is now the biggest, and arguably best, of Zimbabwe’s game reserves; regarded as one of Africa’s premier conservation areas, and teeming with wildlife including, including the Big Five: lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and famed elephant herds.
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The Rovos Rail train reaches the end of its journey at Victoria Falls. Disembark and transfer, for a two-night stay, to the 5-star Victoria Falls Hotel, a member of the prestigious ‘Leading Hotels of the World’, and Zimbabwe’s grandest and oldest luxury hotel. The Falls are more evocatively known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, ‘the smoke that thunders’; their constant spray creates a thriving rainforest, which is buzzing with birds, insects, and small mammals. Enjoy a guided walk of the Falls and a sunset Zambezi River cruise.
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A day at leisure to relax in the hotel, its gardens gazing out to the rainbow-spray cloud of the 110m-high Zambezi cataract; or take to the air for a bird’s-eye-view of the spectacular Falls, with an optional helicopter flight (12 minutes, £170).
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Transfer to Victoria Falls airport for the flight to Johannesburg and onward overnight flight to London; or extend your stay, and add a fifth country to the tour, with three nights in Botswana’s award-winning Chobe National Park, boasting the world’s largest population of elephants, and known as “the land of giants”.
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Arrival at London Heathrow.