We are travelling Southern Africa in 1988 and have reached Cape Town.

Cape Town, with its backdrop of Table Mountain, is spectacular.

With views of the Atlantic Ocean ascending the famous cable car.

Returning eastwards we find, once more, the Knysna-George line.
How about this for a character bridge?

As the daily mixed powers through!

Another view of this famous train, this time out in the bush.

And a final view of the Kaaimans River bridge, a truly spectacular scene.

And so to Port Elizabeth where the 2ft narrow gauge and the 3ft 6ins standard gauge come together at the docks.

But sadly the Port Elizabeth narrow gauge network is coming to the end of its commercial life,
although steam still lives on the Loerie to Patensie branch.

As the empty carriage of the narrow gauge mixed from Patensie trundles by.

Pretty much the end of the narrow gauge mixed worldwide really. Farewell!

We reach Grahamstown.

Where the old bells are in need of a restoration project.

And Grahamstown station is in need of trains.

Until very recently Grahamstown was on an attractive steam worked branch to Port Alfred.
Sadly we have arrived too late!

We therefore return to Johannesburg from nearby Alicedale.
At Cradock thee sheep join our train.

Johannesburg is a famous gold mining area and one gold company, Randfontein Estates, still operates steam
as a smart GMAM Garrett passes by.

At Kinross mine we are given a full tour.

And this includes a spectacular gold pour.

This is an earlier bar.
If you can lift it with one hand you are told you can keep it!

Northern Transvaal is another spectacular area.

As we reach the Kruger National Park and go looking for wildlife.

We find warthog.

Impala.

And Giraffe................but elephants proved elusive.

Until we find fresh elephant dung.

And then, by the next turning, several large elephant.

One needs to be wary in this situations as your car roof only comes up to their knees
and this picture was taken with one foot hovering above the accelerator pedal.

And so to Bulawayo once more, where we now await the departure of a classic train,
the Overnight Mail to Victoria Falls.

It begins routinely enough with diesel haulage to Thompson Junction but there steam takes over and a 15th Class Garrett
shunts onto the front and where, if fortuitously armed with a footplate pass, one is able to climb into the cab and join the crew.

And this, with the sun coming up, was a truly incredible ride.

Which just got better and better.

Our driver peers ahead.

And hard work for the firemen too on these big engines.

But the crew seemed happy to have me aboard and this was, I think, an enjoyable journey for us all.

Victoria Falls themselves are stunning.

And we view them by foot and by bike, as we ride across the bridge to the Zambian side.

Signs warn of local hazards and one with a crocodile on it could also be added to this post.

And from amazing Victoria Falls we begin our journey back to Herefordshire
and what a stylish start it is!