June 2007 Archives

Hi to all my readers. I am now back in Cape Town, after a few weeks spent backpacking around South Africa.

As a big fan of travelling by rail whenever possible, especially long journeys in sleeper trains, my choice of route through South Africa, and how long I spent at each place was largely dictated by the frequency of trains. Unfortunately, since privatisation, the railway network - especially the number of stations and trains - have suffered substantial cutbacks. From a traveller's point of view, this means that although there are some excellent long-distance trains, they do not run very frequently: in some cases, even on very major routes they might only have one train a week! This makes it difficult to plan a circular schedule, but after a visit to the railway station for time-tables, and a lot of head-scratching, I came up with a route that, whilst not perfect, at least allowed me to see a bit more of South Africa and its countryside before I had to head back to Cape Town.

Shosholoza Meyl dining car

There are a variety of different train services in South Africa, but the ones that are safe and suitable for tourists are called Shosholoza Meyl. They offer comfortable sleeper coaches with compartments for 2 or 4 people. The sleeper coaches are very comfortable, and have all the usual modern facilities, including a hot shower! On the train there will also be a restaurant car that serves a range of food and snacks, and even a bar/lounge car, where you can drink a glass of wine or beer whilst watching the excellent South African scenery go by past the big picture-windows.

Shosholoza Meyl bar car

The route I ended up with was as follows:


Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg by train: 36 hours (2 nights) Timetable

Pietermaritzburg to Durban by coach: 1 hour

Durban to Port Elizabeth by Baz-Bus: 15 hours

Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg by train: 21 hours (1 night) Timetable

Johannesburg to Pretoria by coach: 1 hour

Pretoria to Johannesburg by coach: 1 hour

Johannesburg to Kimberley by train: 8 hours Timetable

Kimberley to Cape Town by train: 18 hours (1 night) Timetable

The above, coupled with the places in South Africa I had already seen on the Dragoman truck, and the time spent in and around Cape Town, whilst not extensive, have certainly given me an excellent introduction to South Africa.

I took a few photos of the trains, much to the amusement of the staff. You can see them on my new South Africa Rail page.

Whilst the trains are very nice, and quite safe for foreign travellers in my view, the same cannot be said for the stations. Many along the way have been abandoned,vandalised, stripped, and left to rot. Those that are in use are more often than not more like a battleground than a friendly places for passengers to come and go. If you have a ticket you can safely pass the security guards and go through the big steel gates to the relative comfort of the platform, but the station concourse itself is often quite a threatening environment, and I was always glad to leave it behind.

One exception to this, surprisingly enough, is Park Station in Johannesburg. Jo'burg these days has a terrible reputation for crime and violence, so I was rather nervous arriving by train, knowing that as the local Metro trains are definitely off-limits to foreigners, I would have to transfer to a coach for my onward journey to Pretoria. I need not have worried. Park Station concourse is clean and modern, with plenty of security guys everywhere you look. The booking offices for the coach companies, such as Greyhound, Interstate and TransLux, are right on the concourse itself, as are the coach-departure platforms, so it is not necessary to leave the station at all when transferring from train to one of the major coach companies. There are even some cafes near the coach offices - this is more than can be said for the platforms, which are clinical and bare of any amenities. The same is true for all of the other stations, and I just can't understand the reasoning behind this. Surely its better to rent out the buildings to people who want to run cafes and shops to serve the travellers, rather than trash the buildings and turn your stations into Stalingrad-lookalikes !! Its certainly a good way to put off potential travellers - I almost get the idea that Spoornet would much rather be a freight-only company!

Street art in Port Elizabeth

As there are no rail-links between Durban and Port Elizabeth, I decided to give South Africa's famous Baz Bus a try. The Baz Bus is a service especially targetted at backpackers, and is designed to get let you backpack safely around this not-always-safe country. When you book your ticket, you tell them which hostel you are staying at, and which hostel you wish to go to in your destination-city. You then wait at your hostel at the pre-arranged time, the doorbell will ring, and there will be the driver waiting to escort you to the safety of the Baz Bus, which is usually a largish minibus with trailer for the bags. You spend your journey with like minded backpackers, and then at your destination they drop you off at the required hostel. Very handy indeed. No need to get a taxi from the central bus station. No need to get dropped in the middle of nowhere. The driver will even stand next to you while you use an ATM.

My question is, why does South Africa NEED a service like this? What has happened to society here that causes so much violence, so much unease, that such a service is required by visting foreign backpackers? Answers on a postcard, please, to The President, Government Buildings, Pretoria RSA.

On to pleasanter topics. What's South Africa got for the backpacker to look at? Actually, quite a lot, no matter where your interests lie.

The only complete Dodo skeleton in the world!

For a start, they've got the world's only complete Dodo skeleton - its in Durban's Natural History Museum. They've got real-live sharks and piranhas swimming around in Pretoria Zoo's aquarium (different tanks, though. I wonder which would win in a fight?). There's lots of great architecture, in Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, and elsewhere. They've got some great museums and galleries. Quite a bit of wildlife. Some amazing scenery, too, though if you are only travelling through the Free State on the way to Johannesburg you wouldn't think so. Rather too much scrubland that no one knows what to do with - I guess that's why the 'Blue Train' is so popular!

For backpackers, besides the hand-holding of the Baz Bus, there are a LOT of really excellent hostels. You would be well advised to book your hostels in advance, and to help with that, there's an excellent FREE guide that can be picked up at most hostels here. You can also download the latest edition from the web - just visit the Coast To Coast website.

In planning my travels, I estimated on a budget of 16 UK pounds per day. As is often the case, that turned out to be not quite enough - I seem to be averaging 280 Rand per day, which is about 20 UK pounds currently. This includes a single room, 3 meals per day, snacks, internet access, and all my travel expenses. OK, you could do it a bit cheaper than this if you tried, and I would have met my estimate if I had always stayed in shared dormitories, but I prefer a single room for privacy, security, control of the light switch, and an absence of snoring!

No, this is a Museum!

My advice to anyone thinking of backpacking around South Africa: book your accomodation and travel beforehand, stay out of the cities at night, and always ask at your hostel for advice on which areas are safe and which are not. Get a good guidebook, get a copy of 'Coast To Coast', but above all, YES, do come - you'll have a great time, see some great things, and meet a lot of great people.

Well, I've got a few more days here in Cape Town, so will use it to see a few of the places I haven't yet managed to visit. I'm staying at the Zebra Crossing hostel again - you should too - its really nice there. Here's what Footprint have to say about it:

Zebra Crossing Backpackers, 82 New Church St, Centre, T/F 021-4221265, guest phone T 021-4239841, zebracross@ intekom.co.za Started life as a relatively small place, now expanded into house next door with more spacious rooms. Several spotless dorms plus double rooms, good views of Table Mountain, internet and travel centre, café and bar serving great breakfasts, snacks and meals, helpful management, but can be a bit too quiet.

As far as I am concerned, quiet is good! No doubt there will be plenty of noise next week when I join my second Overland Trip, this time with Kumuka, a new company for me. The trip, for which you can see more details here, departs Cape Town in South Africa on the 24th of June 2007, and takes 21 days to journey via Namibia and Botswana to the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, where it arrives on the 14th of July. Once again, an Overland Trip is ideal for travelling through Namibia, as there are many wild and desolate areas to see that are well outside the range of public transport.

Fish River Canyon, Namibia

I'll stay at Victoria Falls for a few days, and will probably have time to add a new blog page before flying back to London on the 17th of July:

BA6282 d 1350 Tue17Jul07 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe a 1530 Tue17Jul07 Johannesburg,South Africa
BA0056 d 2015 Tue17Jul07 Johannesburg,South Africa a 0620 Wed18Jul07 Heathrow Terminal 1

Preserved and current railways of Southern Africa

This page contains some railway-related photos that I have taken during my recent travels backpacking around South Africa. I thought that they might be of interest to other steam-railway and railroading fans. No attempt was made to provide a complete picture of current or past railway operations in South Africa.

You can click on any of the photos to get the full-sized image in a new browser-window.

If you wish to place one or two (!not all!) images on your own non-commercial site, please download and save them on your server. DO NOT hot-link to them. The condition of use is that you include a link back to this page, and that they are not used commercially. For any other use, please contact me for permission and prices.

Abandoned steam locos near De Aar

Shosholoza Meyl kitchen staff

Shosholoza Meyl dining car

Shosholoza Meyl dining car

Shosholoza Meyl 2-berth sleeper compartment

2-berth compartment showing sink under the table

Shosholoza Meyl bar and lounge car

Shosholoza Meyl bar and lounge car

Shosholoza Meyl bar and lounge car

Shosholoza Meyl bar and lounge car

On the train to Pietermaritzburg

The next group of photos were taken at the Natal Railway Museum, in the small town of Hilton, which is just a few kilometres away from Pietermaritzburg. Click here to show the location in Google Maps. The museum is based at the old railway station at Hilton, which has not been connected to the main line since 1960, when the twin-bore Cedara tunnels were completed. They are a massive 6.023 kms in length, and completely bypass the station in Hilton. The museum was founded in the same year that the tunnels were completed and is today an interesting collection of steam locomotives, running stock, and a small indoor display of memorabilia, run by the local garden-centre. There is also a fine display of model railways housed in an adjacent building. Work on the models is undertaken by a small but dedicated band of enthusiasts, who meet on Friday mornings. The outdoor exhibits are open for viewing at normal office hours - if you are in the area, please go along and give them your support. They would also welcome an influx of volunteers and funds, as there is still a lot of work to do to maintain the locos and bring them up to working condition. Unfortunately the area along the tracks is not adequately fenced, and so the locos have suffered from some vandalism, and these days need access to the footplates protected with razor-wire!!

NB: The notes below come from the society's own pamphlet.

Class 1 (No 1276)

Designed by Hendrie, these engines were the first class of tender locomotives on the NGR. They were powerful and capable of running longer distances than the tank engines being used at the time. Although not the first eight-coupled type, they were the prototype design from which later eight-coupled designs evolved, through Classes 3, 12, 14, and 15 and finally the 15F, 23 and 25 classes. This Class 1 locomotive was NGR 306 and SAR 1276. She was in service for just over 70 years. In her final years she was used for shunting at Glencoe, Vryheid and Empangeni.

Class 1 (No 1276)

4-man Bicycle Inspection Vehicle

Hilton Railway Station, dates from 1884

Part of the model railway displays at Hilton

Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, built 1892

Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, built 1892

Pietermaritzburg Railway Station platform

The platform at Pietermaritzburg Railway Station is the one made famous where in 1893, the young lawyer Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, later to be better known as the Mahatma Gandhi, was unceremoniously thrown out of a railway carriage, after refusing to move from the first class to a third class coach despite holding a valid first class ticket. Click here to show the location in Google Maps.

On the train to Johannesburg

Leaving Johannesburg

Mayfair railway station, near Johannesburg

In the corridor of a sleeper carriage

Preserved loco on Klerksdorp platform

Klerksdorp loco nameplate

Loco footplate inside Kimberley rail museum

Right view of the footplate

Left view of the footplate

Preserved loco on Kimberley station platform

Preserved loco on Kimberley station platform

Preserved loco on Kimberley station platform

Preserved loco on Kimberley station platform

Preserved loco on Kimberley station platform

Kimberley railway station - platform 1

A steam tram in the Kimberley Big Hole Museum

A steam tram in the Kimberley Big Hole Museum

Preserved tank engines from the De Beers mines

Click here to show the Kimberley Big Hole Museum location in Google Maps.

Preserved tank engines from the De Beers mines

Preserved tank engines from the De Beers mines

Approaching Cape Town on the train

Approaching Cape Town on the train

The northern slopes of Table Mountain

I had a bit of time to spare in Cape Town today, so thought that I may as well upload some additional photos, taken recently. I have been in Cape Town for just over a week. Today, I am waiting to catch a night-train to Durban. Actually, that should read: a 'night then a day then another night' train - its a long journey to Durban! Its raining today, so rather than tramp around town getting wet, I may as well get a few things done on the internet whilst waiting until I can go to the station.

The upper cable-car station

As you can tell, it hasn't been raining everyday; in fact the weather here has been very good for most of the time, so I've been able to get out a lot. I've had a good look around town at the various sights, exhibitions, and museums here. I've also ventured a little further afield, down the Cape Peninsula to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Despite what I thought previously, these are not the same thing. Who says that travel doesn't broaden the mind?!

On the summit of Table Mountain, looking south

The view north, over Cape Town

Looking south along the Atlantic coast

These first few photos were all taken from the top of Table Mountain. I went up by cable-car, as the people at the hostel all advise visitors not to walk up the mountain alone. The cable car was an interesting journey though, with good views once you get used to the fact that the floor revolves whilst it is going up. A bit annoying if you are trying to take photos through the one open window, but hey that's technology for you. I'm sure the inventor thought it was a neat idea.

Camouflaged lizard - can you spot it?!

Cape Town harbour, from Table Mountain

Up on the top of the mountain, its truly spectacular, as well as being safe from muggers. These photos here certainly don't do it justice. The top is flat, as you might expect, and spacious enough to have room for a 2-hour walk, which you might not. There are a number of footpaths, clearly marked yet blending in quite well with the natural landscape. Lots of flowers and plants - apparently more species up here than in the whole of the UK - wow. Some frogs too, which I heard but didn't spot. A number of lizards, some of which are easier to spot than others. Quite a few birds, including some eagles. Even some Rock Hyraxes, which are rat-like creatures related to Manatees and Dugongs. I spent most of the day up there, wandering about and admiring the views. A good photograph of Cape Town is difficult to get though, as the city is to the north of the Mountain, and as everyone knows, but I forgot, the sun in the southern hemisphere goes to the north at noon, rather than to the south as we are used to in the northern hemisphere!

Cape Town Harbour, through the noonday-haze

Cable car to Cape Town

Another day, I went to explore the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, in Cape Town. 'Victoria and Alfred' - shouldn't that be 'Albert'? Apparently not. Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, began construction of the harbour in 1860. The first basin was named after himself, the second after his mother, hence the name. I guess Albert stuck to museums.

The waterfront is a bit tacky these days, with plenty of malls for those who need them. There were some interesting things to watch, though, including the 'SA Aghulas', which is the South African antarctic research ship, and some oil-exploration rigs, all of which reminded me of old times. There's a great view of Table Mountain, too, which I have duely included.

Cape Town Waterfront, and Table Mountain

Carved figures at Hout Bay

The Atlantic coast near Simonstown

On another of the days, I went to explore the Cape Peninsula. The Atlantic coast here is very picturesque, and the route from Hout Bay, along Chapman's Peak Drive, and south into the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve is well worth doing. There are even ostriches to be seen!

More ostriches

Cape Point National Park

The lighthouse at Cape Point

The very south of the peninsula is called 'Cape Point', and is notable for its spectacular lighthouse, right at the very top of the peak. This light used to be the most powerful in the world, at 19 million candlepower (that's a lot of candles) but has now been reduced to a mere 10 million. Apparently it was a little too high for some vessels near at hand to spot - they were sunk on the nasty rocks here, so a second lighthouse was built much lower down the cliff.

The Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Point

The Cape of Good Hope is on the Atlantic side of the peninsula, a tiny bit north of Cape Point. You can see some information about it on this excellent Wikipedia page. Don't forget - neither are at the extreme tip of Africa - that distinction goes to Cape Aghulas - you can see photos of that on my African Photos - 14 page.

Jackass Penguins at Simonstown

I popped into Simonstown to see the Jackass Penguins - so called because of the sound they make, which really is remarkably like a donkey! It was very strange for me to see penguins away from the Antarctic, but a nice reminder of past adventures.

Well, I will stop typing, and embark on adventures new. Keep watching this space for further updates...

Changing the guard at Castle of Good Hope