Your journey begins in Pretoria - home of The Blue Train, and site of the historic presidential inauguration of South Africa's best loved national hero, Nelson Mandela.

Follow in the footsteps of missionary-explorer, Dr. David Livingstone, as you journey deep into the African continent in quest of the greatest curtain of falling water on earth - the Victoria Falls.

Travel west to Mafikeng and across the border into Botswana before turning north through the capital, Gaborone, and onward over the undulating expanses of the Savannah. These are the enduring African plains of thorn bush and grass - unchanged for millions of years.

Stop in Kwa Bulawayo for an off-the-train excursion and visit the unique landscape of the Matobo Hills National Park. These hills were given their name (Matobo - 'bald-headed') by Mzilikazi - a Zulu warlord and founder of the Ndebele nation. The hills were inhabited by Mzilikazi, who fled Zululand to escape Shaka's bloodlust early in the 19th century. They are most commonly and accurately described as a 'moonscape of endless granite humpbacks', and they cover a 2 000sq km area south of Kwa Bulawayo.

The most spectacular sections of the Matobo Hills are landscapes, dams, and wild life, caves of bushmen paintings and world's view grave of Cecil John Rhodes. The massive granite domeat in the Park marks the highest point of the hills, and that is where Rhodes is buried.

Not far from Rhodes' grave is the large and imposing Memorial to the Shangaan Patrol, a tribute to the twenty men who engaged in the battle with 30 000 Zulu warriors during the Matebele Wars of 1893. In essence, Matobo hills are packed with history and myth of Shona dynasties, and the countless battles fought between Ndebele armies and British colonists.

The Blue Train then journeys towards the thundering Victoria Falls, named after Queen Victoria by British explorer David Livingstone in 1855. "Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight", exclaimed Dr. Livingstone, when he first saw the falls.

Known in Zimbabwe as 'Mosi-oa-Thunya' - the smoke that thunders, the Falls are believed to be one and a half times as wide and twice as high as Niagra Falls. The water plunges almost 450 meters (1 476ft) in a sheer drop. This magnificent seasonal waterfall carries 500 million liters of water a minute, when in full flood - creating a permanent rain forest and a cloud of spray that rises high into the sky, which, in good rainfall periods, may be seen from as far as 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.

A tour of the valley including a visit to Kwa Bulawayo museum - an original home of royal citadel of Lobengula, mighty King of the Matebele, makes this journey truly memorable.

On the return trip from Victoria Falls, stopover on an excursion to Hwange National Park. An area approximately the size of Belgium, the Park is home to more than a 100 species of mammals and is one of Africa's last great elephant sanctuaries. An open 4x4 vehicle will take you on a spectacular game viewing drive in one of Africa's most abundant wildlife regions.

Predators include lion, cheetah, hyena, black-backed jackal and wild dog. Rarer animals include leopard, gemsbok, tsessebe and pangolin. In the dry season, most of the animals move down to the waterholes. During and immediately after the rains, wildlife is more dispersed and the vegetation is correspondingly higher and greener.

Birdlife is stunning with over 400 species - including one of the most lovely of African birds - the lilac-breasted roller.