There is a specific scent that lives in the back of my mind—a heavy mix of coal smoke, hot steel, and the crisp air of the Karoo. It’s the smell of my childhood. Both of my grandfathers were employed by the South African Railway, and I was lucky enough to spend many happy hours travelling with an enthusiastic grandmother who absolutely loved travel.
I can still feel the rhythm of the train rocking us to sleep with the comforting “clickety-clack” as we rushed past the Karoo at night to escape the heat. For a long time, I thought those days were gone. Especially when the railway tracks that carried the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe were buried under mudslides by the 2006 floods, eventually silencing the famous Choo Tjoe in 2010.
But this weekend, at Hartenbos Station, I heard that whistle blow again.
Thanks to the Ekström brothers—Mossel Bay locals with a shared passion for steam—the magnificent restored locomotive Sylvia has brought that magic back. Stepping into those restored early 20th-century coaches—including the compartment wagon, dining car, and saloon—felt like stepping through a portal.
The trip from Hartenbos to Mossel Bay’s Santos Beach is a journey through an almost forgotten era. Seeing the older generation share the experience like a proudly worn badge with the younger generation was the highlight for me. They know, because they know. From the historical coaches to that iconic “clickety-clack” rhythm, this is a piece of our culture that belongs to every generation.
May this never leave our culture and our love for iron horses.
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