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Memorable journeys
With a family of four young children , the disenchantment and worry Rohan and Anthea would have felt is unimaginable . Still determined to make the business a success , Rohan signed a deal with British travel agent , Jules Verne , which unbeknown to him went on to be a catalyst in spurring the business forward for a stable , prosperous future .
“ I can remember it as though it was yesterday ,” Tiffany recalls . “ The package , a train journey from Cape Town to Victoria Falls , was advertised in a UK newspaper , the Sunday Telegraph , in late December , and I can remember him answering a call with trepidation , which suddenly faded away as Jules Verne told him that sales were going extremely well , and they had sold tickets for nearly four full trains .
“ So , we avoided bankruptcy by a whisker , and fast-forward to today , we ’ re gearing up to celebrate our 35th anniversary in business . To exemplify how he turned the company around back then , we acquired 38 redundant rail carriages from South African Railways . We started to travel to different places and launched our now renowned 16- day trip from Cape Town to Dar es Salaam , which is still my favorite trip we offer .
“ As kids , we grew up on trains while my parents were working . At one time , they were the only staff , so my father managed the train and my mother helped to clean rooms . Although I ’ ve done the journey between Cape Town and Dar es Salaam more times than I can remember , it ’ s still my favorite because it captures the essence of five different African countries , with so much activity like traveling across the Zambezi Bridge and visiting large falls .
“ Although that ’ s my personal favorite , any journey we offer promises to provide a memorable experience both on and off board ,” she states . “ It ’ s crucial that people know they ’ re visiting Africa . We ’ re refocusing our branding this year to emphasize
... all our products are made in South Africa , from our wine and glassware to our linens ...
traveling in and around Africa , as well as setting the tone for passengers coming aboard our vintage trains , which hold a lot of history and can transport guests back to the Edwardian era .”
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