The Blue Train
South Africa

Cape Town, the seat of Parliament and the country's Mother City, is world famous for its natural wonder, Table Mountain. Click for a larger image (45 KB)	A journey between Pretoria, the country's administrative capital, and Cape Town, South Africa's cosmopolitan mother city and seat of the nation's Parliament. After gliding past the goldfields of the Witwatersrand and passing through the historic town of Kimberley, where the discovery of diamonds in 1871 led to one of the world's most lucrative mineral rushes, the train crosses the vast semi-desert Karoo overnight.
Slipping through a system of pitch dark tunnels - the fourth longest such stretch in the world - the train emerges into the Hex River Valley. The summer roses that line the lush, fertile, emerald green vineyards and orchards greet the awakening traveler. In late autumn, the valley transforms into a glorious tapestry of orange, crimson and red.	Cape Town's Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Click for a larger image (28 KB)
The cableway at Table-Mountain Click for a larger image (28 KB)	Heading through the town of Paarl, set in a wide valley surrounded by majestic, purple-hued mountains, we approach the distinctive shape of Table Mountain beneath which nestles Cape Town. Off-train excursions are held at Kimberley and Matjiesfontein on the south and north bound journeys, respectively.

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The Blue TrainSouth Africa