Category : Trail of Two Oceans

Shopping for Lobito

Shopping for Lobito

Shopping for Lobito began in late April, about six weeks prior to the train’s departure from Pretoria.

As you can imagine, shopping for the Lobito train, which travelled through areas which are sometimes difficult to find on a map, required a significant amount of planning; especially when it came to food and beverages. With no real opportunities for a resupply of fresh produce or items such as wine along the way, most of the stock had to be loaded onto the train in Pretoria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Y_wNr2onU

At Rovos Rail, we work so hard to try and deliver creative food and an array of beverages to our guests on a daily basis which is quite the challenge on a train which is travelling, with six different sets of passengers on six different journeys, a distance of 23 400kms! We caught up with Maryke and Dominique, the matriarchs of our food and beverage department, to find out just how they went about shopping for Lobito.

Dominique, the head of our food and beverage department, advised that the kitchen team on board have a fresh fruit and vegetable resupply at specific points along each of the six trips:

  • Pretoria to Cape Town journey: All stock will be loaded onto the train in Pretoria
  • Cape Town to Dar es Salaam: The kitchen team stocks up in Cape Town and then again in Krugersdorp
  • Dar es Salaam to Lobito: A full order of fresh produce is ordered a month in advance and delivered to the train in Dar es Salaam
  • Lobito to Dar es Salaam: We are able to restock certain items in Lobito so our kitchen teams have to go shopping at local markets for any outstanding fresh produce
  • Dar es Salaam to Cape Town: Again, a fresh order is delivered to the train in Dar es Salaam and a resupply is ready in Krugersdorp
  • Cape Town to Pretoria: A full order is delivered to the train in Cape Town

The logistical planning of food, beverages and the supply of water is astounding with our teams persistently following up to reconfirm orders with new vendors who perhaps do not understand how crucial these supplies are to the success of these journeys.

Other interesting and jaw-dropping facts are the quantities of certain items consumed.

Examples are

  • 4000 to 5000 eggs used for breakfast service and baking
  • 4900 bread rolls
  • ± 890 to 1500kgs of sustainably sourced meat
  • ± 780 to 800kgs of sustainably sourced fish
  • ± 680kgs of dairy produce (milk, yoghurt, creams and a wide variety of cheese options)

It’s impressive, isn’t it?

Dominique tells us that all dry goods are all resupplied at the locations mentioned above because there is not enough space on board to carry it all.

In addition to the stocking of food produce, all liquor, non-alcoholic beverages and bottled water also had to be loaded prior to the train’s departure in Pretoria.

The issue of fresh bottled water, both still and sparkling, has always been a challenge because boxes of water take up much needed space on the train. And as some of you may know, large quantities of bottled water can be costly, especially cross-border in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola – shopping for bottled water in areas such as Kolwezi or Lobito is too difficult and far too expensive.

One of our saving graces is that we had the foresight about 20 years ago to recognise the demand for bottled water (as opposed to tap) so we set up our own water supply company in Cape Town which we called Babamanzi. The company is SANBWA approved and adheres to all the necessary regulations in addition to using plant-based bottles which are also sent back for recycling.

In total, across the six journeys, 600 boxes of still and 300 of sparkling water were loaded onto the train.

And as for the rest of the beverages provided on board. Well, a full bar is loaded onto the train which consists of a variety of wines, spirits, liqueurs, beers, ciders, mixers and a robust supply of non-alcoholic drinks such as cocktails, beers and juices. For these six journeys, our bar team loaded nearly 1000 boxes onto the train with opportunities for any required resupply only available in major city centres.

We spent some time with Maryke, Dominique and the kitchen team, filming behind-the-scenes of chef training, coordinating and packing. We are continuously impressed by our food and beverages team and are always grateful for their ability to learn from each journey so that the preparations for future trips are even more efficient.

Click here to watch the team in action.

The 19th of August, marked the end of our Trail of Two Oceans trip for 2023. The train has successfully travelled from Pretoria to Cape Town, from the Mother City to Dar es Salaam and for the Tanzanian capital all the way to Lobito in Angola and back. It’s the third time we have operated the Trail of Two Oceans and we are proud that each venture, although laboured with all sorts of behind-the-scenes challenges, has been successful!

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Shopping for Lobito

Lobito Laundry List

It’s difficult to believe that the third departure of our Trail of Two Oceans, from Dar es Salaam to Lobito is already done and dusted. We spoke of the inaugural journey’s success here so this time we thought we’d share a few behind-the-scenes details with you such as the trip’s extensive laundry list. This one train actually travels six separate journeys with a total of 23 400kms’s being traversed so the Lobito laundry list is mammoth!

https://youtu.be/NE-rJ0csFK4

First, a reminder of the six different journeys that this one train operated in two and a half months:

  1. Pretoria to Cape Town (three nights)
  2. Cape Town to Dar es Salaam (14 nights)
  3. Dar es Salaam to Lobito (14 nights)
  4. Lobito to Dar es Salaam (14 nights)
  5. Dar es Salaam to Cape Town (14 nights)
  6. Cape Town to Pretoria (three nights)

Each journey listed above had its own set of guests so the passengers who travelled with us from Pretoria to Cape Town disembarked in the Mother City as we welcomed new guests on board the trip from Cape Town to Dar es Salaam. The train and our crew would have hosted approximately 311 guests across these six separate trips.

We thought it might be interesting to share a few details with you about how some of our departments go about planning and packing for a train which was out for 75 days. We asked Ilana, the manager of our onsite laundry department, just how much linen is packed and she came back to us with the linen count for her Lobito laundry list:

  • 200 towelling robes
  • 200 towelling slippers
  • 108 antimacassars
  • 76 curtains
  • 256 fitted double sheets
  • 256 flat double sheets
  • 512 fitted single sheets
  • 512 flat single sheets
  • 1152 pillowcases
  • 384 large bath towels
  • 400 tablecloths
  • 450 linen napkins

We spent some time with Ilana and her team onsite so we could film them in action. Ilana started coordinating her Lobito laundry list in January so that should there be any additional linen required, the order could be placed and delivered in time for the train’s departure. The counting and packing of the towelling robes, curtains, sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, antimacassars, towels, facecloths, tablecloths and serviettes began in early June and took place in amongst all the other journeys which were operating at the same time which mostly consisted of the Cape Town and Victoria Falls trips.

Aside from food and beverages, linen is probably one of the most complicated issues as our large laundry bags require space which is limited on board. We have three different suite categories on board the train, each with their own size beds and linen requirements so the counting out of sheets, blankets, duvets and covers, pillows and pillowcases is methodical.

Our hardworking team washes and irons bed and table linen every day as well as providing a laundry and pressing service to our guests. The curtains we have in the public coaches are made onsite by our upholstery team and these also need to be removed and cleaned by the laundry team on the train. Suffice to say that the crew is kept very busy. They are honestly magicians because not only is their role incredibly demanding, but their job also requires steady nerves and hands as the train traverses various countries on tracks that are not always that smooth. And they somehow pull this magic off working within confined spaces on board.

Another challenge with all the laundry is water supply. Once the train departs Dar es Salaam, areas which can supply us with water and have the necessary pressure in order for us for to fill up within a reasonable amount of time, are few and far between. A trickling hosepipe will not do so in 2022 we installed three 10 000L water tanks, on six-metre stands, in Kolwezi (Democratic Republic of Congo) and a large volume pump for a guaranteed water supply. A 21-coach train can hold approximately 54000L of water so to have this equipment available to us in Kolwezi is a welcome relief.

The onsite laundry team counted, recounted and packed over 100 laundry bags for the suites and public cars on board this train. Their Lobito laundry lists were endless with each being checked and cross-checked by Ilana and on-board staff so that nothing was short. When the train returned to the Rovos Rail Station in September, the staff had to count each item back into the onsite laundry so that the stock is ready and waiting for the next journey.

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Rovos Rail, we’re back on track

Rovos Rail founder and CEO, Rohan Vos,
with his daughter and COO, Tiffany Vos-Thane

February 2022 was an important month for us at Rovos Rail. The first of the month marked 677 days since South Africa went into hard lockdown and it also marked the day we were officially back on track.

With the ever-moving goal posts of the Covid-19 pandemic we found ourselves holding on a little tighter with each announcement from our own government, politicians overseas and from the WHO. It felt like every few weeks we were postponing our contingency plans until at last we were able to say that February would realistically be when we could let our industry partners know that we were back on track and fully operational. It was indeed a relief and also a very happy month!

We have operated numerous journeys since February, including exceptional private charters which have been lovely successes. Our first advertised Cape Town to Dar es Salaam trip departed on 2 July with train manager, Hennie, at its helm. Despite one or two unforeseen challenges, guests and staff enjoyed a fabulous trip with the team receiving the highest of compliments! Thank you to our wonderful group of guests for their joviality and positivity.

Hennie’s and his team had a few days off in Dar es Salaam before the train, carrying a new band of intrepid travellers, set off on our second ever Trail of Two Oceans sojourn which will take guests from the Tanzanian capital through Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with journey’s end in Angola. The sojourn was certainly an adventure and the train arrived safely into Lobito on 3 August.

The maiden voyage of our 15-day Copper Trail trip also departed in July and the first leg of the journey was a lovely success with guests thoroughly enjoying themselves and giving us constructive feedback so that we can further improve the itinerary. Train manager, Lawrence, and his team travelled through parts of Africa none of us have ever seen and sent through some funny, heartwarming and wild stories!

In amongst these two long trips, we have also operated shorter journeys to Durban, Cape Town and Victoria Falls so it is safe to say we are back on track! Our train teams are busy, Rovos Rail Station is once again a busting hive of activity and our inboxes are full.

To celebrate our restart and in many ways a new beginning, we put together a photo and video shoot with new faces, new coaches and new energy!

We would like to sincerely thank Simone Dominique Shapiro from The Safari Gals for being our lady of the day, Jonathan Boynton-Lee for being our dapper gentleman, Ross Hillier for his phenomenal photographic talent and Dylan Hohls from Motionworx for capturing it all on video. You were a dream team and we hope to be able to work with you all again one day soon.

We are delighted to be able to share our video with you and will be releasing our new photographic content soon.

It feels so good to be back on track and we can’t wait to welcome you on board one of our journeys soon.

Rovos Rail is back on track
Oh, the places you’ll go!
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East to West Success!

Images courtesy of Jos Beltman 

Our train arrived back from its mammoth journey on Friday, 6 September and we feel quite proud of this success. This train essentially travelled six different journeys, each with its own group of guests, and is the first passenger train in history to travel the east-to-west Copper Trail, from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Lobito, Angola. We called it the Trail of Two Oceans and did we mention that our maiden voyage was a success?!

The six journeys included:
* Pretoria to Cape Town
* Cape Town to Dar es Salaam
* Dar es Salaam to Lobito
* Lobito to Dar es Salaam
* Dar es Salaam to Cape Town
* Cape Town to Pretoria

Our one train travelled a distance of 23 400kms!

Daphne Mabala, our ever graceful and fearless train manager, over saw the operations of our new east-to-west route and we feel that the journey’s success was in large part due to her dedicated management. She was supported by her management team and our owner/CEO, Rohan, who seemed to spend most of his time shaking the hands of dignitaries, politicians and tribal leaders whilst posing for photographs.

Also on board were historian and raconteur, Nicholas Schofield, hair stylist and guest liaison, Craig Geater, a formidable management team, our own locomotive drivers and mechanics, hostesses, dining car staff, barmen and women, an excellent kitchen team, a strong maintenance duo and of course our laundry team who, together with the barmen and chefs, are the real stars of the show.

The trip was a great success in both directions with minimal adjustments to the running schedule. The receptions at Lubumbashi and Kolwezi were a surprise while the officialdom and huge crowds meeting the train in Angola was unbelievable. Governors, ministers, tribal leaders, mayors, railwaymen, clergy and many other dignitaries all dressed up in their finest were on hand to meet the train at all major stations, accompanied by numerous musical groups and tribal dancers.

The tourism department and railways went way beyond the call of duty to ensure a safe and successful journey, while the journalists and TV crews had a field day giving our visit huge publicity. Our thanks to everyone who met us along the way with such enthusiasm and support – you added a memorable and touching element to the journey that we could not have anticipated or hoped for.

The saying goes “save the best for last” and the best of this entire experience had to be our wonderful guests. Our band of intrepid travellers who braved this new route with us! Thank you for travelling with us and helping make it the success that it was. Thank you too for your wonderful feedback and constructive suggestions on how we might improve the itinerary all of which are being fiercely debated between Rohan and journey coordinator, Regárdo! The journey is sold out in 2020 and our commitment to a memorable and once-in-a-lifetime experience for our guests is almost stubborn so your feedback is much valued and appreciated.

Our motto at Rovos Rail is to celebrate our wins but never rest on our laurels so planning for 2020 and beyond is well underway. And because Rohan is not one to sit still and because Research and Development is his passion, we suspect that not only will he tweak the Trail of Two Oceans itinerary to perfection but that he’ll be flying all over Africa exploring additional routes too.

Stay tuned!

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