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Explore<br />
Winelands, stopping at the Spier and Vredenheim wine estates, before<br />
steaming into the still original old Stellenbosch Station. At this station you<br />
can see the stationmaster still working the hand-operated switches of the<br />
semaphore signals that switch the lines. The station is just 700m from Dorp<br />
Street, which leads into the heart of the old town with its many historic,<br />
architectural, heritage, culinary and other attractions.<br />
The return steam train journey to Spier Wine Estate includes wine tasting at<br />
Spier, visiting the wild animal and bird sanctuary on the farm, and lunch on<br />
the estate. The return journey to Vredenheim Wine Estate includes a similar<br />
package. Train trip packages start at R300 for adults and R200 for children<br />
aged 3-12 years.<br />
For more information go to www.atlanticrail.co.za, or for bookings send an<br />
email to info@atlanticrail.co.za with name, phone number, number of adults<br />
and children, and date on which you wish to travel.<br />
Sandstone Private Railway<br />
For steam engine enthusiasts and day-trippers seeking a unique experience,<br />
there is the private railway system of the Sandstone Heritage Trust situated on<br />
the Sandstone Estates, a large agricultural estate close to the Maluti Mountain<br />
Range in the eastern Free State.<br />
Apart from 26km of private railway line and the biggest collection of 2ft.<br />
narrow gauge steam locomotives in the world, the estate also houses museum<br />
collections of farm equipment dating back to the 1800s, a Stationery Engine<br />
Museum (water pumping and electricity generating equipment), military<br />
vehicles, tractors, ox wagons and more.<br />
Trains range from a kiddies’ steam train right up to a monster triple-headed<br />
Garratt engine. Train journeys are open to the public on scheduled weekends,<br />
but these will only be resumed in the coming summer as sections of the railway<br />
line are currently being upgraded and repairs to locomotives are being done.<br />
Two different trips, the Mountain Wanderer and the Lesotho Meander, depart<br />
from Sandstone Estate’s Hoekfontein station, travel southwards to Grootdraai,<br />
and turn close to the Maluti Mountains and the Lesotho border, before<br />
returning to Hoekfontein.<br />
Ceres Rail Company<br />
Another unique steam train experience is offered by the privately-owned<br />
Ceres Rail Company, with trips through the beautiful Ceres Valley, the Western<br />
Cape Winelands, and a Flower Trip up the West Coast.<br />
Started by Derick du Toit with the help of Simon Beckett and Transnet, part<br />
of the company’s mission is preserve and promote South African rail heritage,<br />
which involves restoring and refurbishing old locomotives and coaches. The<br />
company uses a Class 19D locomotive named Jessica and manufactured in<br />
1948 in the UK, a Class 19B locomotive named Bailey, and the very famous,<br />
one of a kind South African-built Class 26, fondly known as the Red Devil.<br />
Journeys run from the town of Ceres and Cape Town and takes travellers<br />
through the beautiful Ceres Valley, one of the biggest deciduous fruit producing<br />
areas in the Western Cape. The valley is lined by rivers and mountains and<br />
the train travels mostly above Michell’s Pass, known for its beautiful scenery<br />
and jaw-dropping rock formations. In winter the mountains of the areas are<br />
covered in snow.<br />
Packages to choose from include a local Ceres trip, Winelands trips from Ceres<br />
to Robertson, Worcester and Ashton, with stops at many very well-known wine<br />
estates. Or from 18-20 August 2017you can do the West Coast Flower trip from<br />
Cape Town to Graafwater station, from where you will be transported by bus to<br />
either Clanwilliam or Lamberts Bay. En route you will be able to view the famous<br />
annual spring wild flower spectacle of the West Coast and Namaqualand.<br />
The trips start from R450 per person for the Ceres Valley, going up to R5,950 per<br />
person sharing for the 3-day West Coast trip. See their website for itineraries.<br />
Contact: Cell +27 (0)79 077 5332 or email events@ceresrail.co.za.<br />
Diamond Express<br />
Another journey down memory lane by steam train is offered on the Diamond<br />
Express run by he Friends of the Rail, a non-profit group of steam enthusiasts<br />
based in Pretoria. They use vintage steam engines and 60-year old restored<br />
train coaches. The trips run between their own private station at Hermanstad<br />
and the historic diamond mining town of Cullinan, with shorter trips around<br />
Pretoria. Refreshments are served from an on-board kiosk.<br />
44 |ISSUE 6|www.<strong>mzanzi</strong>travel.co.za | MZANZI TRAVEL<br />
Knysna and its lagoon/<br />
Dominique de La Croix / Shutterstock
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