Rovos Rail Malawi Meander: Pretoria to Lilongwe

Enjoy breakfast in the dining cars as you travel through the rolling hills of eMakhazeni (Belfast), eNtokozweni (Machadodorp) and Emnothweni (Dullstroom).

The day is spent at your leisure on board. Relax in the comfort of your private cabin, or join the lectures taking place in the lounge car.

Lunch is served as the train descends the spectacular Drakensberg Mountain escarpment.

Dinner and overnight on the train.

Enjoy an early-morning game drive in the Kruger National Park, followed by lunch and an opportunity for curio shopping.

The famous Kruger Park has 2 million hectares of an unrivalled diversity of life forms. It is a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and home to an impressive number of species — including the Big Five.

Rejoin the train for tea in the lounge and observation cars before dinner in the dining cars. The train travels to Komatipoort and Mpaka, where border formalities take place.

South Africa/eSwatini border formalities take place as breakfast is served on board.

Disembark for a visit to Swazi Candles and Mantenga Cultural Village with lunch at Mantenga.

At Swazi Candles, guests are invited to interact with the artisans as they make a variety of candles. Woodcarvings, colorful textiles and superb basketwork are also on display. Mantenga is nestled in the mountains overlooking ‘Execution Rock’. The village is a living museum of old traditions that represents the classic Swazi lifestyle of the 1850s.

Rejoin the train for tea, followed by dinner. eSwatini and Mozambique border formalities will take place.

Overnight on board.

Morning arrival in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital city. Disembark for a city tour and lunch at the Polana Hotel.

Maputo is a city of contrasts, offering an exciting mix of cultures. Its architecture is a blend of African, Portuguese and early colonial traditions with old Catholic churches side-by-side with mosques, fortresses, Victorian mansions and other buildings from a bygone era.

Rejoin the train for dinner and overnight on board.

Spend the day at your leisure on board as the train travels to Chicualacuala. Enjoy a special Africa themed dinner tonight in the dining cars.

Overnight on board.

Mozambique and Zimbabwe border formalities take place.

Traverse Gonarezhou National Park during lunch before crossing the granite hill country to Oreti.

Gonarezhou National Park, the Place of Elephants, is situated in a remote part of the country. It forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Gonarezhou with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. Animals move freely between the three sanctuaries.

Dinner and overnight on board.

After breakfast, transfer to the Great Zimbabwe Monument for a visit, followed by lunch.

The Great Zimbabwe Monument is the largest precolonial monument south of the Egyptian pyramids. It is celebrated achievement of the African people and a place where magical fables such as the story of King Solomon’s Mines find their origins. The area is also home to forests of precious timber such as teak, mahogany and mukwa.

Rejoin the train for tea as the train travels to Gweru, nicknamed the “City of Progress”. Dinner and overnight on board.

Morning transfer to Antelope Park for various activities (options include canoeing, game drives, elephant interaction, bird watching and more).

Set in over 3,000 acres of open savannah grassland, Antelope Park is a haven of tranquility welcoming guests and volunteer eco-tourists. It is home to the world-famous African Lion and Environmental Research Trust (ALERT) lion rehabilitation program, which is Africa’s first program working to ethically reintroduce the offspring of captive-bred African lions back into the wild.

Rejoin the train for lunch as you continue to Harare. Dinner and overnight on board.

Disembark this morning for a tour of Harare, with visits to local galleries and a street market.

Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe, once a vibrant and prosperous nation that has been detrimentally affected by the political and economic crisis. However, Zimbabweans are renowned for their artistic abilities so, in an economy that is now over 85% informal trade (street trading), you can visit the flea markets and experience how gifted and talented the people are at producing much out of very little.

Rejoin the train for lunch in the dining cars. Enjoy dinner with your fellow guests. Overnight on the train.

After breakfast, disembark for a visit to the Mutare Museum, which covers a range of themes such as archaeology, ethnography, natural history and transport, with a collection of vintage vehicles.

Rejoin the train for lunch. Dinner is served as Zimbabwe and Mozambique border formalities are completed. Overnight on board as the train travels to Beira.

Following breakfast, enjoy a morning tour of Beira, where the Portuguese influence is evident in the architecture. Visit the  the Macuti Lighthouse, built in 1904, and the Macuti tugboat which was intentionally run aground to serve as a breakwater in 1985.

Rejoin the train and continue to Inhamitanga. Lunch, dinner and overnight on board.

Spend the day at your leisure on board, enjoying the views of Mozambique’s interior, as the train continues towards Moatize. Overnight onboard.

Disembark for a tour of a coal mine — a significant industry in the region. Rejoin the train for lunch.

Enjoy a driving tour of Tete, a riverside city known as a transport and mining hub linking the country with neighboring Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Later, sip sundowners on the banks of the Zambezi River.

Mozambique and Malawi border formalities. Dinner and overnight on board.

After breakfast in the dining cars, transfer to Chingozi Airport in Tete for a flight to Makokola Retreat. Siutated on the palm-fringed southern shore of the renowned Lake Malawi, Makokola Retreat is home to many birds, fish, and reptiles. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure and explore the various activities offered, such as watersports, swimming, and tennis.

Dinner and overnight at Makokola Retreat.

Transfer by road to Mvuu Lodge, nestled under the large fever trees on the banks of the Shire River.

After lunch, enjoy a late afternoon boat safari with sundowners followed by dinner and overnight at the Lodge.

Enjoy a morning game drive and breakfast before checking out of the lodge. You will then take a short flight to Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, where your journey ends.