This train goes nowhere. Now it’s a luxury attraction


Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge is a luxury hotel made up of renovated carriages spanning a historic bridge in the middle of Kruger National Park, in South Africa. Look through the gallery to see more.

The park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the best places to see Africa's "Big Five" (elephant, lion, leopard, rhinos and buffalo). The hotel's position over the Sabie River is a particularly good location for watching wildlife.
Most of the hotel's rooms are converted old Transnet train carriages. The company behind the enterprise, Motsamayi Tourism Group, told CNN it wanted a modern and "non-colonial" finish to the interiors.
Windows look out toward the east so visitors can watch the sunrise -- a busy time for animal activity down by the river.
The hotel was inspired by a train service that would pass through Kruger National Park a century ago. Trains were a vital way to access the park, and visitors on the Selati Railway Line would stop overnight on the bridge as part of a tour.
The hotel today has embellished the bridge with luxury touches including pools, so you can take a dip while hippos and crocodiles do the same in the river below.
Some visitors at the hotel (where rooms start at 9,950 Rand ($530) per person, per night for international guests) prefer to stay on site and relax, with fine dining included and spa treatments available, says Jerry Mabena, CEO of Motsamayi Tourism Group.
With an enviable nature-watching position on the bridge, some visitors choose to have a stationary safari with home comforts close by.
The hotel offers safari guides as part of its standard package, with visitors whisked into the park by experienced guides.
Self-drive safaris are possible in Kruger National Park, but Kruger Shalati guide Thuli Mnisi says visitors are much more likely to see wildlife with a guide. "We communicate with one another, we know where we can find the animals," she says.
Beyond the "Big Five," the area surrounding the hotel is rich in bird life, from birds of prey to this petite lilac-breasted roller.
The hotel opened in December 2020 after delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and is now welcoming guests for its fourth summer season.
The company behind the hotel also operates the nearby Kruger Station, home to a steam locomotive lovingly preserved with period features, but totally isolated since the train tracks leading out of the station were removed decades ago. "The culture of steam trains and the culture of historical trains I think is beginning to re-emerge," says Mabena. "We don't have a moving steam train, but one day, I think we will."
Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge is a luxury hotel made up of renovated carriages spanning a historic bridge in the middle of Kruger National Park, in South Africa. <strong>Look through the gallery to see more.</strong>
The park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the best places to see Africa's "Big Five" (elephant, lion, leopard, rhinos and buffalo). The hotel's position over the Sabie River is a particularly good location for watching wildlife.
This train that goes nowhere has become a luxury attraction

South Africa is home to some of the most luxurious, nostalgic train journeys on offer anywhere in the world. But for certain enthusiasts, a train going nowhere is the country’s star attraction.

Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge is a hotel in Skukuza in Kruger National Park, one of Africa’s largest game reserves and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Comprising a set of train carriages renovated into 24 modern suites with balconies and a pool overlooking the Sabie River, it marries luxury accommodation with an intimate view of wildlife, including sightings of Africa’s “Big Five” — lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalos.

Jerry Mabena, CEO of Motsamayi Tourism Group, which owns the hotel, says the venture harks back to the earliest days of the park, when steam trains would pass through Kruger in the 1920s on the Selati Railway Line.

Trains were once vital for tourists accessing Kruger, and would even park overnight on the same bridge where the hotel sits today. A new railway line built on the edge of Kruger in the 1970s pushed the Selati line and bridge into retirement, but in 2016 an idea was formed to restore the bridge to its former glory.

“The idea for us was to re-enact the experience in some form or another,” Mabena says. “When we had the opportunity to buy mothballed old carriages from Transnet — which is our rail logistics operator in South Africa — we couldn’t say no to the idea.”

The carriages’ interiors have been renovated with a modern finish, albeit with a few Art Deco flourishes (“we were trying to find a look that is non-colonial,” says Mabena).

A visitor relaxes in one of the hotel's pools, perched over the Sabie River.

A visitor relaxes in one of the hotel’s pools, perched over the Sabie River. 

If guests leave their curtains open, they can wake with the dawn and catch the first signs of life outside from east-facing floor-to-ceiling windows. The river is a wildlife focal point, meaning guests can spend all day lounging on balconies or swimming in the pool while checking out activity below. “Having hippos grunting underneath the carriage attracts people who want to be in the wild but don’t want to be immersed in the wild,” says Mabena.

Nevertheless, many visitors strap on boots and head into the bush with a guide on a game drive.

Staff including senior guide Thuli Mnisi were recruited as part of efforts to involve the local community in the enterprise. Mnisi had worked as a guide for other companies since 2014 before joining Kruger Shalati. “(It’s) totally different from other lodges,” she says. “When (guests) visit the train for the first time, it’s breath-taking, the view is unique.”

Kruger National Park allows self-driving safari experiences, but Mnisi says there’s no substitute for having a guide. “We communicate with one another, we know where we can find the animals,” she says.

“If you’re (on) a self-drive, you can just wander around Kruger National Park, and it’s a very big area. If you go with a guide, they know what they’re doing, they know where to find what and exactly at what time.”

Elephants spotted on a game drive near Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge in Kruger National Park.

Elephants spotted on a game drive near Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge in Kruger National Park. 

Gardeners have planted indigenous species on the hotel grounds and nurture a kitchen garden, with produce used in Kruger Shalati’s fine dining restaurant. Local delicacies served in the refined setting include crocodile, venison, and springbok carpaccio.

“Mother nature is the true artist,” says chef Vusi Mbatha. “It’s one of those philosophies that we share: take simple ingredients and transform them into something amazing.”

After development delays courtesy of Covid-19, the hotel opened in December 2020 and is welcoming guests for its fourth summer season.

Double and twin rooms aboard the train start at 9,950 Rand ($530) per person, per night for international guests, with discounts for longer stays. One of the seven rooms in the adjacent Bridge House cost less. Rates include all meals, certain drinks, two game drives and airport transfers.

If all this sounds like too much wildlife and not enough trains, Motsamayi Tourism Group also owns Kruger Station, just south of the bridge and home to the last train to operate in the park.

Stranded after most of the tracks in the park were removed in the 1970s, the South African Railway Class 24 steam locomotive has lived many lives (including a funeral coach for a former prime minister) and now enjoys a happy retirement alongside a restaurant and bar.

“The culture of steam trains and the culture of historical trains I think is beginning to re-emerge,” says Mabena.

“We don’t have a moving steam train, but one day, I think we will.https://berikanlah.com/

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