Smooth rolling in Africa

I would highly recommend the 14-day rail journey aboard Rovos Rail’s Pride of Africa from Cape Town, South Africa, to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, offered by The Society of International Railway Travelers (Louisville, KY; 800/478-4881)

My train trip, July 2-15, 2011, cost $12,500 for my single compartment with bath. This included two days spent at Victoria Falls and two days at the Tau Game Lodge in South Africa. I paid $2,000 for an extension to Zanzibar and also paid up front for two nights in Cape Town plus an airport pickup. The IRT Society handled all the details, with excellent service.

The train has larger compartments in other cars for couples. There was a lounge car and, at the rear, an observation car with an open platform. There were two dining cars serving excellent food, with a designated wine for each course. If you didn’t like the wine, you would be served whatever kind you wanted. My fellow travelers were congenial, and it was easy to socialize.

Rovos Rail is to be credited with their handling of the unexpected. The first night on the train after leaving Cape Town, the weather was the coldest they had ever had and the train’s water lines (carried on the outside of the cars) froze and broke. No showers and no flushing, but bottled water was always available. In due course, all was repaired.

Another time, we were about to leave the train for our game lodge adventure, but there was a wreck on the track ahead of us, so Rovos arranged for two buses to drive us to the game lodge exit. I really admired how they handled emergencies.

NANCY L. BUNYAN
Lihue, HI