by Apolinari Tairo, eTN Tanzania
Under its plans to connect Africa through vintage tourist journeys, Rovos Rail train, the Pride of Africa is now on its way, rolling northwards from Cape Town in South Africa to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania before launching its first ever trip to connect the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
The train, Pride of Africa is now rolling, cutting through Southern Africa states to Eastern Africa, on the Indian Ocean coast in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Reports from Rovos Rail company in Pretoria said that the train had left Cape Town few days ago to arrive in Dar es Salaam next Saturday after a roughly two week vintage journey.
It left Cape Town for Dar es Salaam on June 29 to arrive next Saturday, July 13, before launching its first-ever maiden voyage from Dar es Salaam to Lobito in Angola. The train can accommodate up to 72 passengers, all tourists.
“It will be the first time in history that a passenger train will travel the east-to-west copper trail. Our new route coincides nicely with our 30th birthday. I’d like to say it was planned but I can’t take credit for the serendipitous timing,” said Rohan Vos, owner and CEO of Rovos Rail.
Rated the only luxury tourist train in Africa, Rovos Rail’s Pride of Africa vintage train operates journeys ranging from 48 hours to 15 days with the newest route to connect the two oceans to be launched soon.
The Pride of Africa is set to roll from the Indian coastal city of Dar es Salaam on the eastern side of Africa, traversing across Tanzania, Zambia, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Lobito in Angola on the Atlantic Ocean
From Cape Town to Tanzania, the Pride of Africa train passes traverse through historical and tourist attractive sites in southern Africa including the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, the Kimberley diamond mine of South Africa, Limpopo and Kruger National Parks and the Zambezi River.
In Tanzania, the train snakes its way through such tourist attractive sites in Southern Highlands of Tanzania including the picturesque Kipengere and Livingstone Ranges, Kitulo National Park, Selous Game Reserve, among other tourist eye-catching geographical areas.
Reports from Rovos Rail headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa said that the inaugural voyage to Lobito in Angola will set off on July 16 from Dar es Salaam to include a visit to the Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania, a fly in two night safari in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia and a city tour of Lubumbashi in DR Congo.
From Zambia, the Pride of Africa train will roll through the Zambia Railways line from Kapiri Mposhi station then connect to the National Railways Company of Congo (SNCC) to join the Benguela Railway at Luau station in Angola closer to DR Congo border then to Lobito on the Atlantic Ocean.
The Rovos Rail’s from Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast to Lobito on the Atlantic Ocean coast will be the first journey in the history of this part of Africa that a passenger train will travel from the eastern to western trail connecting the two oceans bordering the African continent.
