Wild African Ventures

SHONGOLOLO EXPRESS TRAIN - DUNE EXPRESS WINDHOEK TO CAPE TOWN

THERE ARE NO DEPARTURES FOR 2009

PRE-DAY WINDHOEK You will be met upon arrival at Windhoek International Airport and transferred to the train. A pre-night on board will include dinner, bed & breakfast. The train departs at 23h45 from Windhoek Station for Ebony Siding.

DAY 01 SWAKOPMUND, SPITZKOPPE & NORTH COAST Visit the Spitzkoppe and Henties Bay. Lunch is enjoyed before visiting the Cape Cross Seal Colony. Return to the Train in Swakopmund. (Full day: distance travelled +- 350kms). The train remains stationary in Swakopmund overnight.

DAY 02 SWAKOPMUND / WALVIS BAY Visit the Welwitschia Nature Drive and Walvis Bay for lunch. Visit the Walvis Bay Lagoon and Dune 7. (Full day: distance travelled +-200kms).

DAY 03 SWAKOPMUND The day is spent at leisure. Optional touring available as follows:

* Sossusvlei Fly-In Fly over the Namib Desert and land at Sesreim, from where 4x4 vehicles take you to Sossusvlei. Enjoy lunch at Sossusvlei Lodge. From here, cross the coastline at Conception Bay to land back in Swakopmund. (Full day, including lunch: distance covered +-630kms; minimum of 5 participants required).

* Epupa Falls / Ovahimba Fly-In A flight over Damaraland and Kaokoland to Epupa Falls. At Epupa, visit the Himba people and the falls. Lunch at the Omarunga Camp. (Full day, including lunch: distance covered +- 1410kms; minimum of 5 participants required).

* MolaMola Seal & Dolphin Cruise A boat cruise to view dolphins and seals. This is a morning-only activity. (Half day; weather dependent)

* Sossusvlei - "Classic Flight" A flight over the desert and coastal scenery. (Duration: +-2h30; minimum of 5 participants required).

* Ocean & Desert Combination Tour Depart from Walvis Bay for a Marine Seal and Dolphin Cruise. Lunch of fresh oysters, snacks and sparkling wine. At Pelican Point, guides with 4x4 vehicles take you through dune landscapes. (Full day, including lunch: minimum of 4 participants per vehicle required; weather dependent.

* Quad Bikes No prior experience is needed as this is a fully guided tour through the Dunes. (Half day morning; duration +- 3h30).

* Conception Bay Flight Fly over the Swakop River, Moon Landscape, Goanikontes Oasis, Namib Desert ark, Rossing Mines, Khan River, Walvis Bay, Kuiseb River, White Mountain, Conception Bay, shipwrecks, the "Long Wall" dune ridge, Sandwich Harbour, the salt pans, Walvis Bay Harbour and Guano Island. (Duration: +- 1h30; minimum of 5 participants required).

The Train departs Swakopmund to Otavi early evening.

DAY 04 GROOTFONTEIN / TSUMEB Visit the Hoba Meteorite at the Grootfontein Museum in Tsumeb. After lunch, visit the Tsumeb Mining Museum and Lake Otjikoto. (Full day: distance travelled +- 200kms) OR

Choose to stay on the train during the morning, between Otavi and Tsumeb. Lunch in town and visit the Tsumeb Mining Museum and Lake Otjikoto.

Daytime inclusive options:
- Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve & Cape Point
- Chapman's Peak, Hout Bay, Clifton, Fish Hoek and Kalk Bay
- Kirstenbosch Gardens
- Visit to a penguin colony near Simonstown
- Bo Kaap and its museums
- City walkabout visiting historical and cultural highlights of Cape Town

Optional extras:
- Robben Island Tour approx USD25 per person
- Cable car visit up Table Mountain approx USD15

DAY 04 KLEIN KAROO / CANGO CAVES

Disembark the train in Matjiesfontein and travel by microbus over the Seven Week Pass, via a Lutheran mission to Oudtshoorn. During the early 1900's, this town earned its fame as the Feather Capital of the world, now the Capital of the Klein Karoo. In Oudtshoorn you have the choice of visiting the Cango Caves, one of South Africa's greatest natural wonders, or a visit to an Ostrich Farm. After the tours you ascend and descend the most spectacular Swartberg Pass into the Groot Karoo, to Prince Albert, a small town lost in time.

DAY 05 GRAAF-REINET / BEAUFORT WEST

Visit the historic towns of Graaf Reinet and Beaufort West. Enjoy morning walkabout in the historical Cape Dutch town of Beaufort West, visiting an Anglo Boerblock house, the goal and museum. In the afternoon a visit to the Karoo National Park with a stark and desolate beauty which is home to typical Karoo flora and fauna. Or choose a visit to Graaf Reinet known as the gem of the Karoo. This historical town is enclosed by a bend in the Sundays River. More than 200 of its buildings are national monuments. Towering above Graaf-Reinet with endless views of Spandu Kop and the Karoo, are the heights of the Valley of Desolation, one of the country's panoramic phenomena.

DAY 06 UPINGTON / AUGRABIES FALLS

Today, a visit to Augrabies Falls, the National Park on Klaas Island and Kakamas. Augrabies, where the mighty Orange River thunders through the ravine, is one of the great spectacles of the tour.

DAY 07 FISH RIVER CANYON, NAMIBIA

Passengers can enjoy a morning's train travel today as the train moves on during the morning to Holoog. Arrive Holoog Siding around lunchtime. In the afternoon visit the world's second largest canyon, The Fish River Canyon. This desolate 550m deep canyon with its forbidding cliffs will captivate you with its gruesome grandeur.

DAY 08 LUDERITZ / AUS

Arrive in Aus and drive through to the charming colonial town of Luderitz, set between the Namib dunes which spill onto the streets and the Atlantic seaboard. This natural harbor was the first German settlement of South West Africa in 1884. Stop at a flamingo colony and visit the local museum and a Karakul weaving factory. In season visit a rock lobster processing plant. The last call of the day will be at Kolmans Kuppe ghost town. This town was overtaken by the encroaching desert and represents the final remains of the diamond rush days.

DAY 09 KALAHARI

Today visit the Kalahari desert in the interior, home of the nomadic hunters. Take a short hike with a bushman tracker who will introduce you to the secrets of the desert. The rest of the day will be spent visiting Hardap Dam. Return to train for dinner.

DAY 10 SESREIM

Depart from the train for the scenic drive to Sesriem, Gateway to the Sossusvlei Area. Visit Sesreim Canyon before arrival at tented camp, which has been pre-erected for guests. Tonight experience the African night sky around the campfire.

Tour Add-Ons:
- 4 Wheel Drive Sunrise Trip into Sossusvlei approx USD15
- Hot Air Balloon Trip over the dunes approx USD300

DAY 11 SOSSUSVLEI

This morning visit Sossusvlei and Dune 45. You'll have time to explore the surrounding desert wilderness on foot before departing to rejoin the train.

DAY 13 German Colonial Reich.

This seaside resort that was the main harbor for the territory has historic buildings dating back to the first quarter of this century that are still in use and are rated as historic monuments. Guests depart the train to visit the Spitzkoppe. Then continue on to Swakopmund via the Welwitschia Trail, well known for its moon landscape and lichens. In the afternoon visit Walvis Bay and surroundings, including a stop at the wetlands, feeding ground of the flamingo colony. The more energetic also have the chance to climb one of the highest Dunes in the world Dune 7. The next day travel from the train north along the Skeleton Coast to the Cape Cross seal colony. Approx. 100,000 Cape Fur seals live and breed here. This is a unique colony, as seals usually live on islands. However, this area where the Portuguese navigator, Diego Cao erected his Padrao or stone cross at 1485, was an island in ancient times.

Tour Add-Ons:
- off shore pleasure trip incl. Bird Island & Pelican Point approx USD60
- Skeleton Coast Flight approx USD110
- Sossusvlei Flight approx USD150

DAY 14 AND DAY 15 OTJIWARONGO / ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

Two full days are spent in Etosha National Park. This park is one of the major sanctuaries for wildlife in Africa. The place of "dry water" is an expanse of shimmering mirages and home to large herds of game. Etosha Park is haven for about 2500 elephant, for rhino and giraffe, lion, leopard and cheetah, spotted and brown hyena, for 7000 zebra, 2600 blue wildebeest, for eland, kudu, red hartebeest, springbok, gemsbok, roan antelope; for the rare black-faced impala and the tiny Damara dik-dik and many other buck.

Tour Add-on:
- for wildlife enthusiasts, Shongololo can arrange overnight in chalets at a rest camp in Etosha with floodlit water holes where game can be viewed at night. Approx cost USD90 single & USD60 per person sharing.

DAY 16 OTJIWARONGO / WINDHOEK

Depart early in the morning by van for a 3.5 hour drive to Windhoek. On the way you will stop at one of the largest craft markets in Namibia. Arrive Windhoek in time for lunch and a short rest before the half-day city tour of Windhoek, visiting the historical and architectural highlights. After the city tour your guide will take you to the airport for departing flight.
-Shongololo tour ends here

          NORTHBOUND 2009 DEPARTURE DATES
                      (Cape Town to Windhoek)

       THERE ARE NO DEPARTURES FOR 2009

    SOUTHBOUND 2009 DEPARTURE DATES
                  (Windhoek to Cape Town)

   THERE ARE NO DEPARTURES FOR 2009

2009 PRICE

THERE ARE NO DEPARTURES FOR 2009

The above rates include breakfasts, dinners, overnight accommodations, 15 days of touring, English speaking drivers/guides throughout and transportation off the train each day in minivans. Optional excursions like a night at a private game lodge on safari are additional.

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The Dune Express train operates in both directions, and accommodates 88 guests in 8 sleeper carriages. Each Ivory carriage has 5 double and 2 single carpeted compartments, one shower and two toilets. There is a fan, heater, plug point, coffee machine, safe, hand basin with hot and cold water, folding table and beds as opposed to bunks.

The Commodore Suites are new on the Train since 2007 and offer private bathroom, air-conditioning and heating.

If you wish to add Victoria Falls or anything before or after the Train journey, this too can be arranged. Anything is possible.

FOR OUR LATEST 20-PAGE TRAINS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA BROCHURE, CALL 1-800-358-8530 OR SEND US AN E-MAIL.

US citizens do not require visas for travel to South Africa nor Namibia. All other passport holders must check with their local Consulate offices at time of booking.

Anti-malaria tablets must be taken throughout. No shots are required at this time.

We would require a non-refundable deposit of 20% per person to proceed with reservations and the balance will become due and payable 60 days before date of travel. All major credit cards are accepted in our offices as well as cheques.

In US & Canada: 1 - 800 - 358-8530