Cape Rail Company Train to Matjiesfontein
Some places are worth the slow way there.
We travel from Cape Town deep into the Great Karoo, climbing through the Hex River valley and its tunnels before the land opens out into the wide, still plains that make this part of the country what it is.
The day on the train is unhurried by design; this is a trip to settle into, not to rush. At the end of the day waits Matjiesfontein, a Victorian village founded in 1884 and kept as a National Heritage Site, where red-jacketed porters, Karoo lamb at dinner, and a sky thick with stars do the rest.
Two nights at the Lord Milner Hotel or Matjies Mews, all your meals, and a guided look at the night sky are part of it.
Please note this trip runs on diesel and electric haulage, not steam.
Itinerary
Day 1
A full day on the train through the Hex River valley and into the Great Karoo, with lunch served onboard
– 07h15 to 08h00 — Check-in and boarding at Cape Town Station
– 08h00 — Departure
– 16h00 to 19h00 — Arrival at Matjiesfontein and check-in at the Lord Milner Hotel and Matjies Mews
– Evening — A three-course dinner at the hotel
Day 2
A full day at Matjiesfontein to explore the village, the museums, and the history at your own pace
– The Matjiesfontein red bus tour of the village
– Evening — Guided stargazing under the Karoo sky
– A braai supper
Day 3
Breakfast at the hotel
– 09h00 — Departure from Matjiesfontein
– Lunch served onboard on the return leg
– 17h00 to 20h00 — Arrival back in Cape Town
Highlights
The Hex River tunnels The line climbs out of the Hex River valley through a series of four tunnels, the longest of which runs 13.5 kilometres and once held the title of the longest railway tunnel in Africa. It is a genuine feat of engineering, and a quietly dramatic stretch of the journey.
A full, unhurried day on the train There is no rushing this. The whole point is the day itself: the landscape changing through the window, a cup of something warm in your hand, the rhythm of the rail. Few trips give you permission to slow down like this one does.
The service onboard Our crew are the reason people come back. Attentive without hovering, warm without performance. They make a long day on the rails feel short.
Stargazing in the Karoo Matjiesfontein sits far from any city light, and the Karoo night sky is one of the clearest you will find. A guided session helps you make sense of what you are looking at.
Matjiesfontein itself Founded in 1884 by the Scottish railway man James Logan and preserved as a National Heritage Site, the village is a piece of Victorian South Africa kept almost exactly as it was. Red-jacketed porters, a grand old hotel, Karoo lamb at the table, and stories in every building.
