The train pulled out of the station at 11:00 AM and we headed to the dining car where lunch was served as we watched the wine district and mountains slide by.

    The Blue Train                                                  Views of the Wine District
 

As we moved through the beautiful northern Cape area and headed for the high veldt that stretches up through the middle of South Africa, we saw an interesting structure along the tracks. We passed by a Block House. My friend, David Colquhoun, who lives in Johannesburg, says that these structures were built along the rail line by the British to protect it and the bridges by which they were supplied during the war between the British and the Afrikaners. They could house up to a hundred soldiers. In the photo one can see  the gun ports through which defenders could shoot. The door is up above the ground one story high, so that, one assumes, they could access it by ladder and pull the ladder up after them.

There were actually two Boer Wars, one occurring in 1880 to 1881 and a second one from 1899 to 1902, the latter one the one during which the block houses were probably built. The structure looked rather new for having been built around 1900, but they have obviously been maintained for their historic value. In those days the Afrikaners were armed mostly with small arms. The British had small artillery howitzers and often a Gatling gun. When the Afrikaners introduced the "Long Tom" cannon the British had to abandon the block houses. If the reader wishes more information on the Boer War go to Wikipedia
 

 Block House along side tracks                        Large Suite
 

Leaving the lush wine district, the vegetation became more sparse as we started to climb out of the Cape into the arid high veldt. By 6:00 PM we reached a quaint frontier town, called Matjiesfontein, where the train made a stop of three hours. We got off and wandered the town, which was really only a single row of buildings along the tracks. There was a tour but we opted to wander the shops selling all manner of souvenirs and touristy items.

    Phillip & Peggy in Club Car                               Phil & Peg in Dining Car 

Back on the train it was time to get ready for dinner. Food on the Blue Train is haute cuisine and the service is impeccable.  One is offered a choice of fish or meat and vegetarian meals are available upon request. The deserts are fabulous. Attire is coat and tie for gentlemen and elegant attire for the ladies.

Although the compartments had TVs in them, after dinner we opted to read a while and to turn in early for the night. After dark there was no scenery to look at. With the compartment lights on, the window became a mirror and all that one could see was reflections from the room. If we could have seen out, all of the countryside passing by is virtually high veldt, or grass land and not very interesting. The good news is that we slept through a lot of the boring scenery.  

The next morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then retired to the observation car, which was the last car on the train. The large windows wrapped around the end and afforded 270 degree views. The scenery was more of the high veldt. It was a lot like traveling through Central Kansas, fairly flat and mostly farm land. 

The train doesn't stop in Johannesburg but passes through it on it's way to Pretoria, which is about 30 Kilometers north of Johannesburg. Pretoria is the administrative seat of government and most of the embassies are located there, including the United States embassy. Cape Town is the Legislative seat of government and Bloemfontein is the Judicial seat. It must make for a lot of travel to conduct government business.

On arrival in Pretoria we boarded a shuttle bus and were soon deposited in Sandton at our apartment. The next day we would head for the airport and our flight to the town of Livingston in Zambia where we would stay in the Royal Livingston Hotel along the banks of the Zambezi River next to Victoria Falls.