Sorry I have been out of contact for so long....I have discovered a new way to travel.....by train! The Blue Train to be specific and hence the title of this post...seriously after you have experienced this mode of travel you'll never want to fly again.
Last Monday I got dropped of at Pretoria Station to start my journey by rail to Cape Town.
As a child I had travelled with my mum & sister on the old SAR overnight train from Johannesburg to the North Eastern Transvaal (now Limpopo Province) to visit my grandparents who were farming near Tzaneen. We had a compartment with 2 long seats and a little table between the 2 windows. We were hugely impressed when the steward arrived that evening & turned one of the benches into a bed and another 2 beds folded down from the walls. The little table turned into a washbasin and there was a shared loo at the end of the carriage. A big adventure & I remember falling asleep to the clackerty-clack of the wheels on the tracks. Very early that morning we were woken up & disembarked at Soekmekaar to meet Grandpa - there wasn't even a station platform!! Suffice to say that the Blue Train was similar in many ways but vastly different in mnay others.....the whole journey takes a delightful 27 hours.
We unpacked while the train was clearing the metropolis that is Pretoria & Johannesburg. Once we were on our way brunch was served after which I felt like a little snooze. Oh damn will have to curl up on one of the chairs!! Or maybe soe thoughtful soul (aka Philani my butler) has made up the bed....heaven! I'm loving this....feel like a princess.
Playing around with my camera..before I figured out how to raise the blind.
On arrival in Kimberley the train stops for about 2 hours to take on water & supplies. Guests are taken by bus to the Big Hole as well as viewing some gorgeous diamonds at the museum. Unfortunately no free samples were being handed out during my visit!!
