Rovos Rail, South Africa

From the Cape to Pretoria, a 1600km journey through the heart of South Africa with Rovos Rail.

You can fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg in a couple of hours, or step aboard the Pride of Africa and spend two days travelling on one of the world’s most luxurious trains. Each of the meticulously restored wood-panelled coaches has a history and gleams with loving care.

The mahogany-walled, air-conditioned suites are ultra-comfortable. Attention to detail is the byword here, from the period Edwardian touches in the décor to deep pile carpets with underfloor heating; from windows that open to the smart bathroom goodies and, tucked under the writing desk, a fridge stocked to your requirements.

Lazing among the cushions and pillows of my kingsize bed I watched the wine lands and mountain peaks slip by and the landscape change to flatlands and fynbos as the train climbed into the arid Great Karoo.

We stopped at Matjiesfontein, an isolated Victorian railway village lost in time, where the museum on the platformis a treasure trove of the minutiae of colonial daily life. In the Laird’s Arms pub, John, sporting black bowler hat and waistcoat, plays a tinny piano then escorts visitors around the Lord Milner Hotel that served as a hospital for British soldiers wounded in the Boer War.

Dinner was a splendid affair. The dining car has fluted mahogany pillars, candlelight glimmers on tables set with sparkling silver and glass, and gratinated oysters and butternut and mango soup were on the menu. A choice of beautifully presented main courses spanned springbok with lemon honey sauce, prawns sautéed in ginger and mint and a vegetarian basket of assorted mushrooms. The cappuccino cream dessert was luscious.

Afterwards I snuggled into a deep settee in the lounge car for a nightcap from the bar with fellow passengers. Karoo nights can be cold and when I climbed into bed found it gently warmed by an electric blanket.

I woke up to sunshine on the flat parched lands and wide skies of the Free State. Breakfast was suitably impressive. In the observation car I stepped out onto the little open deck and took in the clear air and open spaces. Suddenly it was lunchtime.

Slipping gracefully under soaring cast iron girders, the train pulled into Kimberley station where transport awaited for our tour of the Kimberley Mine museum. We heard the story of diamonds and how the 3000ft-deep Big Hole was dug by the picks and shovels of the miners who staked their claims on a hillside.

The little Lutheran church, prefabricated in Germany, was shipped to Cape Town and borne to Kimberley by ox wagon. A recording of ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’ played in the tavern. The whole museum was fascinating. Back at the station we were met by train crew proffering cool towels and trays of chilled Champagne and orange juice.

The train slowed down as we passed a natural saltpan where thousands of flamingos gathered. Acacia trees flourish on the dried yellow grassland of the open veldt, there were sightings of grazing cattle and birds on the wing, and then the sun set in a blaze of fiery gold and red.

At dinner, the ladies were presented with pink roses, the gentlemen received red roses, and back in my suite I found glasses and a half bottle of Champagne resting on the plump pillows.

Onwards to the goldfields of the Witwatersrand and the skyscrapers of Johannesburg. Then a magnificent 1930s locomotive steamed into place to haul us the final distance into Rovos Rail’s private station at Capital Park near Pretoria (Tshwane).

Two days of luxury and being thoroughly spoiled. It’s a journey that’s well worth saving up for.