This train goes nowhere. Now it’s a luxury attraction
South Africa is home to some of the most luxurious, nostalgic train journeys on offer anywhere in the world. But for certain enthusiasts, a train going nowhere is the country’s star attraction. Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge is a hotel in Skukuza in Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s largest game reserves and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Comprising a set of train carriages renovated into 24 modern suites with balconies and a pool overlooking the Sabie River, it marries luxury accommodation with an intimate view of wildlife, including sightings of Africa’s “Big Five” — lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalos. Jerry Mabena, CEO of Motsamayi Tourism Group, which owns the hotel, says the venture harks back to the earliest days of the park, when steam trains would pass through Kruger in the 1920s on the Selati Railway Line.
Trains were once vital for tourists accessing Kruger, and would even park overnight on the same bridge where the hotel sits today. A new railway line built on the edge of Kruger in the 1970s pushed the Selati line and bridge into retirement, but in 2016 an idea was formed to restore the bridge to its former glory.
“The idea for us was to re-enact the experience in some form or another,” Mabena says. “When we had the opportunity to buy mothballed old carriages from Transnet — which is our rail logistics operator in South Africa — we couldn’t say no to the idea.”
The carriages’ interiors have been renovated with a modern finish, albeit with a few Art Deco flourishes (“we were trying to find a look that is non-colonial,” says Mabena). If guests leave their curtains open, they can wake with the dawn and catch the first signs of life outside from east-facing floor-to-ceiling windows. The river is a wildlife focal point, meaning guests can spend all day lounging on balconies or swimming in the pool while checking out activity below. “Having hippos grunting underneath the carriage attracts people who want to be in the wild but don’t want to be immersed in the wild,” says Mabena.
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