South African luxury hotel offers a one-of-a-kind experience where guests can stay on a train permanently parked on a bridge

Although new luxury hotel openings have significantly slowed this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a few exciting new properties are still welcoming guests in 2020.

One of the most captivating of these is Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge.

Currently being built in South Africa, this extraordinary luxury resort is set partly on the iconic Selati Bridge, spanning the Sabie River in the beautiful Kruger National Park.

As the name suggests, a fully renovated train with 24 rooms will be permanently stationed on the bridge’s old tracks.

The opening date is still uncertain as construction has been delayed due to Covid-19, but staff have told Dinogo Travel that they are confident the hotel will be ready by December 2020.

The spacious train rooms with glass walls, each offering a stunning river view, are decorated in collaboration with local artists. The property also features a dining area and a swimming pool – both located on the bridge.

Here’s the downside for families with young children: Only guests aged 12 and older will be allowed to stay in the train carriage rooms. However, seven additional family-friendly 'Bridge House' rooms will be introduced in early 2022.

Drawing inspiration from history

Kruger Shalati honors the park’s roots as a travel destination dating back nearly a century, when the first visitors were allowed in the early 1920s. At that time, trains would stop overnight exactly where the resort is now being built.

The name of the resort is derived from Shalati, an African warrior queen believed to be one of the first female chiefs of the Tebula clan, part of the Tsonga tribe that lived near the Murchison Range in what is now Limpopo Province.

Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa, spans 2 million hectares and is home to hundreds of animal species, as well as important cultural and archaeological sites dating back to the Stone Age.

The park was closed on March 25 as part of South Africa's national lockdown to fight the coronavirus, but it has recently reopened for self-drive tours by day visitors.