Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #502

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
South Africa Luxury Hotel Invites Guests To Sleep On A Train Permanently Parked On A Bridge
Karla Cripps, CNN
(CNN)
— Though luxury hotel
openings have slowed to a trick- le this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there are still a few exciting new properties open- ing their doors to guests in 2020.
Among the most intriguing of the bunch is Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge.
Now under con-
struction in South Africa, this unique luxury resort sits partial- ly on the historic Selati Bridge over the Sabie River in stunning Kruger National Park.
As the name implies, a newly refurbished train featuring 24 car- riage rooms will be permanently stationed on the bridge's disused tracks.
The opening date is still up in the air given con- struction has
been paused due to Covid-19, but staff tell CNN Travel they're confident it will be operational by December 2020.
The glass-walled, large train rooms, all of which over- look the river, feature decor cre- ated in collabora- tion with local artists, while there's also a separate dining area and swim- ming pool -- also on the bridge.
Now comes the bad news for
families with young kids. Only travelers 12 years and older will be permitted to stay in the train carriage rooms, though another seven land-based fami- ly-friendly "Bridge House" rooms will be added to the property in early 2022.
Inspired by histo- ry
Kruger Shalati pays homage to the national park's origins as a travel destina- tion nearly 100
years ago, when the first visits to the park were permitted in the early 1920s. At the time, trains would park overnight in the exact spot where Kruger Shalati will be positioned.
The resort is adjacent to the Skukuza Camp inside Kruger National Park, where the so- called "Big Five" - - lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and African buf- faloes -- roam freely. Rates, which start from about $520 per night per person, will include all meals, house- drinks and two daily game drives.
The resort's name was inspired by Shalati, an African warrior queen who, according to leg- end, was one of
the first female warrior chiefs of the small Tebula clan, part of the Tsonga tribe that lived in the bush around the Murchison Range in the present- day Limpopo Province.
As for the nation- al park itself, Kruger is one of the largest game reserves in all of Africa. Covering 2 million hectares of land, it's filled with hundreds of animal species as well as cultur- al heritage and archaeological Stone Age sites.
The park closed on March 25 as part of South Africa's nation- wide lockdown to combat coron- avirus but
has recently reopened to self- drive
excursions for day visitors.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine