October 15, 2007

Africa & Mideast | South Africa | Durban

Blue Train & Golf Greens

By Buzzy Gordon

Tour southern Africa by luxury locomotive. And tee-off with crocs, if you dare.

view map

South Africa’s Blue Train — one of the few classic luxury trains left in the world — customarily runs the 994-mile route between Cape Town and the capital, Pretoria. But on occasion, the next one being November 22, the high-tech train detours through the Drakensberg Escarpment to the subtropical port city of Durban on the Indian Ocean. The round-trip package includes two nights on board plus a two-night stay at Zimbali Lodge, a five-star boutique retreat nestled in a coastal forest reserve in Kwazulu Province. Guests can choose between surrendering to the resort’s Camelot Spa — which specializes in African-centric treatments using local ingredients like exfoliating rooibos tea leaves — or playing two rounds of golf at Zimbali’s championship course. If you just like to watch you can, upon the Blue Train’s return, head straight to Sun City for the Nedbank Golf Challenge — the world’s richest golf tournament (with over $4 million in prize money). The annual event is hosted at the Lost City Golf Course — a safari-style links whose pond on the 13th hole is populated with 38 crocodiles.