Rovos Rail’s Taunina Teddies

Brenda No Comment Jun 21,2017 Dar es Salaam, Guests, Our Team

Rovos Rail Taunina Teddies

The tale of our Rovos Rail teddies began 19 years ago with our journey finding us in the capable and talented hands of Taunina.

On an early Dar es Salaam trip we had two delightful Australian ladies, Dawn and Annike, who travelled everywhere accompanied by teddies they collected the world over. At their suggestion, the Rovos collection of limited-edition teddies slowly evolved when, in 1998, Anthea met Bev Duncan who had a small barrow in the V&A Waterfront Shopping Centre full of her handmade teddies.

This chance encounter spanned a 17-year friendship with Bev painstakingly producing 20 collections (50 to a set) of customised, handmade Rovos teddies and 600 kiddies bears. Bev took great delight at the thought of her teddies living worldwide.

Very sadly, Bev developed a brain tumour in December 2013 and after a long, hard-fought battle we lost her in April 2015.

Anthea, deeply saddened by the loss of her friend, pressed pause on the creation and production of our teddies and it’s only recently that Taunina have taken up the helm.

The Taunina story is one of great courage and compassion for the commerce lies intertwined with community upliftment. The company focuses on improving lives of disadvantaged people who operate in communities where opportunities may be limited but where creativity and passion are abundant.

“We provide our artists with the support and market access they need to make a living by using skills many of them learned at an early age. And we actively involve them, sharing in the success of the business. Artists receive a steady income (vs. piece rate pay) in the form of wages that are significantly higher than market-related salaries. In addition, they will receive 30% of the before-tax profits of the company: 20% through the Bear Essentials Fund (which contributes towards the housing, healthcare and education of their families) and 10% in the form of productivity-related cash bonus payments.”

To date, Taunina have created 10 bespoke teddies for us each in the Rovos green, old gold and maroon in keeping with our corporate colours and each with a paw pad and ear in leopard print. The other paw pad carries with it a little Rovos Rail charm. Our first three bears went out on the Dar es Salaam train in August last year with Thebolo, Munaki and Nyenyedzi finding homes in Germany!

All the teddies carry the initials of the women who make them, symbolic of their sense of dignity and pride. Each bear travels in a handcrafted hatbox with his or her very own bespoke passport. A Taunina creation is a work of art, an heirloom to be passed from one generation to the next. It’s a gift that changes lives.

“The name Taunina is an anagram of the African word ‘TAU’, meaning ‘lion’, and ‘NINA’, an acronym for ‘No Income, No Assets’. Taunina gives women who were once without income and assets the power to become lions of their own destinies.”

We’re proud of our association with this fantastic company and are encouraged and inspired by their story. For many, living in South Africa simply means surviving so for women to stare such adversity in the face and create gorgeous teddies that live across the world is just remarkable.

Click here to watch the Taunina video.

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A Tulip is Born

Brenda No Comment Oct 5,2016 Our Team, Station

Picture credit: Bianca Vos-Lynch

In January of this year we wrote a post entitled An Australian, his Bride and a Cow which told the story of one of Rohan’s daughter’s, Bianca, and how her fiancé, Brandon, purchased a gorgeous female Nguni cow as Lobola for his future bride. Brandon named her Mia Bella, meaning my beautiful one, and told us that she was a heifer – pregnant with her first calf – and due in February. Well, February became March, which became April and finally the vet told us to expect the little one in September! We’re not sure how the Nguni cow farmer miscalculated that one but a little girl eventually arrived on September 24th, Heritage Day in South Africa, and a Tulip was born!

You’ll see from the original story that we decided that Mia Bella would need a friend so we purchased another pregnant female who we called Camilla. Her calf, Alfie, was born in June and he is growing into a handsome and quite randy little fella! So all our fingers were crossed that Mia would have a little girl. Eventually, on September 24th (Heritage Day in South Africa), a calf arrived looking very gangly but very sweet – a girl who we called Tulip. In a moment of territorial aggression, Camilla kicked her around so she spent her first few days with a mild concussion, wobbling about, but is now latching and flourishing alongside her relieved mother.

Her name might sound a bit odd to some but there is personal meaning behind it for the Vos family as it honours Anthea’s father who recently passed – he was nicknamed Jimmy the Tulip by his grandchildren after a movie character and, serendipitously, that is how our little Tulip got her name. And she also decided to come into the world on Jimmy’s birthday which made her birth all the more lovely.

Welcome to the world and to Rovos Rail, Tulip Vos-Lynch! We’ll adore you and take care of you forever.

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Long Live the Shongololo Express!

Brenda No Comment Aug 19,2016 Fleet, Our Team, Workshops

It’s been a busy, sometimes overwhelming but very exciting week here at Rovos Rail headquarters. As some of you may know we purchased the three-star Shongololo Express train in January of this year and for the past few months the train has undergone quite a substantial renovation. On Tuesday, 16th August, we walked Gauteng-based tour operators and travel agents through our brand new spruced up train and celebrated with a few bottles of bubbly afterwards!

In true Rovos fashion, the timeline for the renovation was tight but our incredible team pulled off miracles. The brief was to gut all existing bathrooms so that new shower and bathroom floors could be laid down, wooden shower door frames were built with better shower heads, new loos have been installed as well as bathroom cabinets, hair-dryers and some cabins received new sinks! Our plumbing team also worked hard at improving the water pressure in each cabin.

The layout of the Gold cabins was overhauled to allow for more space and there are now twin, double and fixed double options. The more spacious Emerald cabins have also been tweaked to allow for more space and all rooms have been fitted with new wood-panelling, linen, day covers, curtains, paintings, carpets, towels and the Shongololo Express now comes with full amenities kits too.

To be able to walk some of our biggest supporters through our lovely new train was a privilege and our team felt a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

The ‘new’ Shongo departed for a 15-day Good Hope Golf trip yesterday and we feel confident that all guests on board will feel comfortable in their new digs!

Long live the Shongololo Express!

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Rovos Rail Purchases Shongololo Express

Brenda 1 Comment Feb 16,2016 Fleet, Media, Our Team

Early in January of 2016 Rovos Rail purchased the Shongololo Express train of 19 coaches and agreed to employ all the personnel.

“Operating a three-star train had always been at the back of my mind. When I learned that the Shongololo Express was on offer the timing seemed serendipitous and so an opportunity not to be missed”, says Rohan Vos, owner and CEO of the Rovos Rail Group, of the purchase.

The train has been repainted in green and cream and an additional dining car plus an observation car have been added. The accommodation of six Emerald suites (± 10sqm) and 30 Gold cabins (± 7sqm) will remain as is.

The three itineraries, Southern Cross – Pretoria to Victoria Falls (12 days), Dune Express – Pretoria to Swakopmund (12 days), Good-Hope – Pretoria to Cape Town (15 days); have been rebuilt with more stationary time at night and less road time spent on the excursions.

Golf has been introduced to the Good-Hope trip, renamed Good-Hope Golf, with courses such as the Arabella Golf Estate, Ernie Els Oubaai, Fancourt, Champagne Sports Resort, Durban Country Club, Zimbali, Royal Swazi and Leopard Creek being available to guests.

All journeys are available in reverse and, as before, guests can purchase optional extras that include visits to cultural, historical or heritage sites and overnight stays at safari lodges. The rates do not include most lunches, beverages and laundry.

“A three-star product offering will be different for us and I’m sure there will be a few initial teething problems but we’ve been doing this for 28 years so I think we will be able to manage this exciting new adventure”, comments Rohan.

For further information please contact shonogololo@rovos.co.za, call + 27 (0) 12 315 8203 or visit www.shongololo.com. Any media enquiries to brenda@rovos.co.za / + 27 (0) 82 961 9433.

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A World Class Railway

Brenda No Comment Feb 10,2016 Our Team, Victoria Falls

Dear Mr Vos

I am writing this letter as an accolade not only to you but to your dedicated staff who make travel on the train a true five-star experience. I wish to commend you for establishing and running a highly efficient and world class railway. We have travelled on a few trains in different countries and Rovos would have to rank in the top three by our reckoning.

My wife and I travelled on Rovos Rail from Pretoria to the Victoria Falls on 23rd December, 2015. If you cast your mind back, I was the person sitting on the parliamentary chair in front of you when you were addressing the guests prior to our departure.

My wife and I occupied a suite. It was immaculate when we entered and was maintained by staff in that manner throughout our journey. The staff were nothing short of perfect in their efforts to make our trip a memorable one. They were courteous and ever willing to please. The amenities provided in the suite made everything so comfortable – a home away from home.

We had requested special dietary needs for our meals. It was a surprise to us when the chef visited us in our suite to discuss our needs. Allow me to tell you the kitchen staff went beyond the call of duty to cater for us. The meals were immaculately presented in true fine dining style and above all were varied and tasty. To us , it seemed as if the chef enjoyed the challenge of preparing something new each day. I thanked him personally.

The Train Manager on our journey was a true professional. She presented with an admirable work ethic and was a true professional. In conversations with her, I realised what her job entailed. How well she managed it is a tribute to her desire to promote the brand name and reputation. She operated with meticulous precision and it was clear that staff respected her. She was attentive to passenger needs and maintained a cordial relationship with the guests,stopping to converse at each table in the dining car at meal times. Her management of the staff was beyond reproach. This must surely be attributed to a good staff training program!

Finally, the staff on the train were truly magnificent. They were professional and capable, pleasant at all times with no effort spared to see to guests’ needs. It says something when, as guests, we did not want to leave the train at Livingstone because we were already missing the camaraderie we had established with the staff!

I will travel on Rovos Rail again and recommend it to as many people as possible here in Australia.

Thank you and kind regards,

Mr Gona Naidoo

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An Australian, his Bride and a Cow

Brenda No Comment Jan 22,2016 Property, Station

We’re back and have hit the ground running in 2016! If you had a break over December then we hope it was relaxing and lovely. Our first blog post of the new year is called “An Australian, his Bride and a Cow” and it makes for a romantic and funny story! But before we embark on this tale a little background on Rovos Rail and the Vos family.

We are owned by Rohan Vos and together with his wife, Anthea, they have four children – Shaun, Brenda, Bianca and Tiffany. The bride in our story is Bianca, daughter number two, and the Australian is her new husband, Brandon.

Brandon the Australian and Bianca the bride met a few years ago and for a while traversed many countries to be together. They finally set up home and shop in Cape Town armed with not one but five dogs and now a cow.

If any of you have met Rohan or listened to one of his departures speeches then you’ll know two things: 1) He has a dry sense of humour and 2) he teases Australians and New Zealanders because of the long history of sporting rivalry between the three countries.

Bringing home an Australian could have gone either way but Rohan, after a while, started to see it as a great opportunity to practise his jokes and Brandon was the butt of all of them! The last big gag resulted in Rohan inheriting a cow. Over dinner one evening Rohan told Brandon about Lobolo, which is an African tradition in which a prospective husband or head of his family undertakes to give to the head of a prospective wife’s family property in cash or kind. Historically, this property was in cattle but over time it has moved to being mostly in cash.

Well, Brandon took this to heart and being the serious sort of chap he is, started researching Lobolo and what kind of cattle appropriate. “A man is seen to love his partner when he strives to save and pay for lobolo in the way of an Nguni Heifer”. That decided it and he set about finding the top breeder of Nguni Heifer cows in South Africa.

A few days before Christmas Brandon put a call through to Brenda, daughter number one and his future sister-in-law, to tell her that a pregnant cow would be delivered to Rovos Rail Station in Pretoria and that she was lobolo for Bianca. Brenda works for the company and is based in Pretoria and once she had got over the initial shock (and looked around for candid cameras) she believed the story and started to prepare for delivery of one Nguni Heifer!

Mea Bella, meaning “my beautiful one” was safely delivered and is doing well. Being the social animals they are, Brenda brought in a friend for Mea, another Nguni Heifer (also pregnant) and her name is Camilla. The two roam around the property eating well and growing steadily. They have a visit from the vet every two weeks and the reports are always that they are healthy and happy. Their calves are due in early March so watch this space!

Top image: Left is Mea Bella and on the right, Camilla. Picture taken by Regárdo Lewis.

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Happy Holidays!

Brenda No Comment Dec 24,2015 Guesthouses, Guests, Our Team, Station

It’s been a tough year and it seems sometimes that just as we climb one mountain we are immediately faced with another. Living in South Africa certainly has its challenges and 2015 has been particularly brutal in terms of politics. But, we’ll put that aside for now as we want to wish all of you HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We realise that some are working straight through, that others don’t celebrate this time of year and that others simply just can’t but if you are taking some time off we hope it will be a happy holiday for you. Let there be a lovely meal, quality family time and, even though it’s generally chaotic, let there be rest.

Because there are so many of us here at Rovos Rail we had a couple of different Christmas parties as we can’t all take time off at the same time. Our train management team were treated to limos and a good lunch, our site staff enjoyed a big braai (barbecue) where they played soccer, danced and sang at the top of their lungs! The head office team had a fairly polite cocktail party in our boardroom which next year we will turn into a Winter Wonderland…even in this 40°C heat!

We have a great deal to feel grateful for as business for both the trains and our St James Guesthouses is doing well despite our government doing its best to make it as difficult as possible. Forward business is looking reasonably strong and it is certainly encouraging to note numerous enquiries coming through for 2017, mostly of course for the longer journeys with our golf tours attracting considerable attention. All in all, we are very positive about the trend and are planning accordingly for growth.

We could not do this without our loyal travel agents and tour operators who entrust us with their clients each year and to all of you we say thank you, your much valued support is greatly appreciated. To our guests, especially our Rovos Club members who travel with us on a regular basis, your loyalty does not go unnoticed and we are thankful.

Have a happy holiday, friends! We look forward to sharing a safe and prosperous 2016 with you.

Sincerely,

The Rovos Team

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A Lovely Letter

Brenda No Comment Nov 26,2015 Guests, Namibia Safari

We’re in the fortunate position where our guests send us letters; some nice and not-so-nice! Below is an excerpt from a lovely letter we received from a passenger who travelled one of our nine-day Namibia Safari trips with us this year. She writes so beautifully we want to hire her!

Dear Mr Vos

It is literally one week ago that I was enjoying the final leg of the Rovos Rail journey through Namibia. I am again travelling by train, this time through the Scottish Borders and Northern England and having a very different experience. We are all tightly packed, mainly well behaved, drinking from plastic containers and I have not, as yet, braved the loos! But heigh-ho, horses for courses as the saying goes.

But really I want to compliment and congratulate you on your vision in creating a truly superb rail experience. I am still held in the fabulous fantasy bubble of the journey and continue to delight in ‘mulling over’ the sights, sounds and experiences which we shared.

We were blessed by having a really affable and fun group which, in general, gelled very well but this was in no small part due to the welcoming, friendly, tirelessly engaging and train, headed impeccably by Daphne. Nicholas, the font of all African wisdom and knowledge, added immeasurably to our insight of the political geography of your fascinating continent. We certainly left the train physically more challenged, from all the walks and the delicious food and beverages, and hopefully more educated with with heightened awareness and empathy towards the millions who do not have the numerous privileges that most of the ‘Pride of Africa’ guests enjoy.

On reaching Pretoria and seeing the workshops, loco sheds, the nurturing bird and animal sanctuaries etc. and knowing that a percentage of your profits are ear-marked for charitable causes I really wanted to sign on the dotted line and join up! As I have never worked for anyone else, apart from one and a half years of teaching, that is a compliment to your business and it’s implied ethics.

Excursions on the Namibia Safari were wonderful – in particular the sundowner which turned into a full-blown barbeque – it was fabulously romantic, imaginative and unforgettable. In fact, I think Sossusvlei was a real highlight for most of us. The dune walk was absolutely exhausting, exhilarating, fun-packed and mind-blowing.

I thank you and praise you again for your realised vision and would, God willing, that I may be permitted to travel Africa by Rovos Rail again.

Click here to watch our Namibia Safari video.

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Weddings with Rovos

Brenda No Comment Oct 29,2014 Events Train, Private Hire, Station

Oh, how Rovos Rail loves weddings! With a predominantly female reservations and sales team, romantic weddings are on the list of what we love to do and supply us with wistful office chat on Monday mornings.

Weddings with us are different. Very different. The bride arrives not by classic car or horse-drawn carriage – or, for that matter, riding a horse – but on one of our beautiful vintage steam locomotives, the oldest dating back to 1839. The intimate ceremony is held in our charming red-brick station building with speeches given as the locomotive moves off the platform to collect the train that will host the wedding party on a four-hour loop around Pretoria. Guests step aboard our ‘Champagne Train’, for a four-course meal paired with some of South Africa’s best wines. The mood on board is celebratory and sweet with the couple’s most near and dear enjoying their special day.

Once dinner is over and guests have enjoyed apré dinner drinks in the observation car, the train chugs its way back to Rovos Rail Station where perhaps a band is waiting on the platform for some dancing and just a little more bubbly. The couple share their first dance as Mr & Mrs and then, a bit later, coffee and the cutting of the cake. Summer evenings in Pretoria are always warm and with the silhouettes of our big Jacaranda trees casting a dreamy backdrop, the station’s platform makes for an idyllic venue for couples looking for something extraordinary.

We’re so chuffed to recently have been voted one of Pretoria’s top wedding venues by I Do. The couples who have chosen to host their weddings here, at our station, and then on board the train have been lovely and all happy with their choice of venue which tickles us Rovos girls pink!

Depending on the number of guests, our little Events Train can host, with a full bar, a four-course sit-down dinner for up to 120 guests, a three-course sit-down meal for up to 240 guests in two sittings or, for 250 guests, hot snacks, canapés and cocktails served for the duration of the journey.