Q. My wife & I just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary and are looking for something special to do to celebrate - bearing in mind that we never had a honeymoon. Can you give us some information about the following: Rovos Rail; Shongololo Rail; the Blue Train to Cape Town; and the steam train from Joburg to Magaliesberg? We are also interested in Victoria Falls. - Thabo Molemohi
A. Firstly, congratulations on reaching this wonderful milestone in your marriage. It seems you have quite a lot of thinking to do in terms of narrowing down your choices, so here is a taster on each of the options you mention, with links for you to seek further information.
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To begin with, I would start narrowing it down based on three factors: how much time you have, your budget, and whether you want to cross borders or stay within South Africa.The choices you mentioned vary wildly in terms of scope and price so here is an array for you to use as a starting point.
Rovos Rail, the self-proclaimed "most luxurious train in the world", offers several itineraries within South Africa, and also to Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
If you have the budget and time, I'd say their nine-day trip to Namibia would make the anniversary/honeymoon-of-a-lifetime.
Leaving from Pretoria, it heads for Walvis Bay, with several excursions along the way including in the Kalahari, Windhoek, Sossusvlei, and Etosha National Park. I have just come back from a visit to Namibia and have no doubt that this would be a phenomenal experience - not least because you traverse the otherworldly Namib desert by train. A bonus is that  SA-passport holders don't need a visa to go.
The journey is priced from R63,200 per person, which includes accommodation, meals, beverages (including alcohol) and excursions. Be aware that this is a one-way trip so you'd still have to make your way home again from Walvis Bay.
Rovos also has a one-way trip to Victoria Falls, with three nights on board and a game drive along the way, in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. That trip is priced from R26,950 from the beginning of October. SA-passport holders don't need visas for Zimbabwe either.
Alternatively, staying in South Africa, you could do a two-night trip from Pretoria to Cape Town, stopping in Kimberley and Matjiesfontein, for R18,950. See rovos.com.
Your other luxury-train option is, of course, the Blue Train. It does the Pretoria-Cape Town trip overnight, leaving at 8.30am and arriving the following afternoon. There is an excursion in Kimberley, and if you do the reverse route (ie Cape Town to Pretoria), you stop in Matjiesfontein. Of course, the real point, as with Rovos, is experiencing five-star life on board . Remember that dinner is an elegant affair. Men must wear a jacket and tie and women elegant evening wear.
Rates are from R16,430 per person sharing in low season. You can also do Pretoria-to-Hoedspruit, gateway to the Kruger National Park, on the Blue Train for from R10,595 per person sharing (one-way). See bluetrain.co.za.
The Shongololo Express is also owned by Rovos Rail and offers a more affordable, "fewer-frills" rail-travel experience.
In fact, if you want to go soon and for a good deal, they have a great special on at the moment: a fully inclusive two-night trip from Cape Town to Pretoria at a 50% reduced rate. This is for departure on November 17, following the same itinerary as the Rovos Rail. It is R10,885 per person sharing in an Emerald Cabin (the normal rate is R21,770) and R8,240 per person sharing in a Gold Cabin (normal rate R16,480). You can find it here.
The Shongololo also does trips to Namibia and Victoria Falls. See shongololo.com.
As for the train to Magaliesberg, Reefsteamers runs regular trains from Park Station in Joburg to Magaliesburg town. This is, however, a day trip, leaving at 9am and returning at 6pm. You spend the day at a picnic area called Magalies Sleepy River, which has a braai area, a pool and jungle gyms. To my mind, it sounds more like a good family outing than a "honeymoon" trip, but that, of course, is up to you.
For something special, you can buy a ticket for helicopter flips from Capital Air at the picnic area at a cost of R250 per person. The cost of the train ride is R300 per person. See reefsteamers.com...