The Kruger National Park (KNP) will be launching a train hotel in 2019, as part of a new tourism campaign to revive the rich history of the national park.
The Kruger Shalati hotel will be strategically placed at the same spot where the very first visitors to the park entered by train, the Selati Bridge. It is adjacent to the Skukuza Camp, a popular area for visitors.
General Manager of Kruger Shalati, Judiet Barnes explains that the development is expected to launch over the next two years.
“A treat for those visiting the Kruger will be Kruger Shalati, the Train on the Bridge, a unique accommodation offering that is bound to become hugely popular when it launches at the end of 2019/beginning 2020,” she said.
Nearly 100 years ago the first warden of the KNP welcomed and served dinner to a group of guests under the stars who then returned to sleep in a parked train on the bridge. The inspiration for the new hotel stemmed from the historic evening of events.
Thebe Tourism/Kruger Shalati Train hotel
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Barnes explains the story behind the development of Kruger Shalati. “Not many people realise that this is where tourism to Kruger started – in the early 1920’s the only way to visit Kruger was by rail; the train would stop in this exact spot, the guests welcomed by Lt Stevenson-Hamilton (the park’s first warden) and storytelling with a prepared feast would amuse the guests before they would get back on the train where it would be stationed on the bridge for the night before departing the next day,” said Barnes.
The Kruger Shalati will be centered around providing guests with an ‘Afro-Chic’ styled boutique accommodation in a train that is permanently stationed on the Selati Bridge.
A reception area for the Kruger Shalati hotel will be situated a few metres away from the Selati station platform. A unique dining space for hotel guests and visitors to Skukuza will be available and is a part of the Kruger Station food concept expected to launch in mid-2019.
Guests will enjoy a unique experience while staying at the Kruger Shalati train hotel, with up-close-and-personal encounters with wildlife.
“From one’s room on the train, you’ll be able to look down to the Sabi River running underneath, a breathtaking view that may have you seeing The Big Five from a very different perspective, as they visit the river 30 or 40 metres below the train. This is likely to become a favourite experience for both international and local tourists,” Barnes explains.
Picture: Thebe Tourism
