The Shongololo Express

All Travellers booking with Shongololo Express contract in accordance with the Standard Terms & Conditions below

RATES
Tour rates include rail transportation, accomodations, transfers, meals, and activities as specifed in the tour itinerary. NOT included in our rates: airfares (National / International), lunches, beverages, laundry,
gratuities, and purchases of a personal nature. The activities and rates for “Specialised Activities” are subject to availability and change without prior notice.

SHONGOLOLO EXPRESS
Shongololo Express (Pty) Ltd, Registration Number 1997/016816/07, (hereinafter referred to as “the Company”), is a registered member of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA). The Company possesses all licenses and permits necessary to conduct business as a tour operator in Southern Africa. The conditions set out below apply to all tours, routes and itineraries operated by Shongololo Express in South Africa and other African countries.

EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY, SUPPLIER’S TERMS & RISKS
The Company acts as the operator as well as an agent/broker in packaging the tours and travel arrangements featured in this brochure, utilising the products of various travel suppliers, including those of the Company. The Company does not have direct control over the provision of all the services by suppliers and shall not be liable for any loss, damage, injury (whether fatal or otherwise), additional cost, accident, delay, irregularity suffered by the Traveller that may be occasioned by any error or default, act or omission of any supplier in carrying out the arrangements of any tour, or otherwise in connection therewith. The Company also accepts no liability for changes, omissions or delays before or during the course of any published tour occasioned by technical difficulties, weather conditions, strikes, war or unrest, communication breakdowns or events beyond the control of the Company. All expenses occasioned by such events, including but not limited to unscheduled extensions or curtailment of accommodation, changes to scheduled flights, additional air fares, telephone, meal costs and/or other disbursements, etc. will be for the Traveller’s account. If in the opinion of the Company the fulfilment of any tour is considered impossible, illegal or inadvisable because of weather conditions, unrest, strikes, war and/or any other adverse factors beyond the Company’ control, the Company may at any time cancel such tour or what remains of it or make alterations to the route, accommodation, price and/or any other aspect thereof as it deems fit, and any losses and expenses resulting from such cancellation or alteration shall be for the account of the Traveller.

TOUR PRICES AND DETAIL
Although the Company will endeavour to uphold prices quoted, all prices are subject to currency fluctuations, tariff adjustments, fuel increases, Value Added Tax and principle increases by any of the national railways within the countries in which we operate. Once full payment has been received, no adjustments will be made to the tour price. All information contained in the Company’s brochure, itineraries and price schedules are to the best of the Company’s knowledge and belief, true and correct. The Company accepts no liability for any errors/inaccuracies or incorrect information contained therein. Prices quoted do not include any items or services not specified in the Company's brochure or pro forma invoice (if issued). Typical items that are not included may be: airport taxes, costs of obtaining visas and passports, telephone calls, laundry, entertainment arrangements, gratuities and additional portage, meals and beverages in addition to those provided for in the itinerary, airfares, transfers to and from the arrival/departure point of the scheduled tour (excluding transfers Airport to train and train to Airport) or any other item of a personal nature not specified in the itinerary.

RESERVATIONS AND PAYMENT DETAILS
Booking requests are to be sent to info@railsnw.com
A non-refundable deposit of 35% of the total tour price is required in order to secure space on any of the departures. A Credit Card Authorisation form will be e-mailed/faxed to the Traveller upon receipt of the booking request. Once the Credit Card details have been received by the Company, the transaction will be processed, the booking will be made and a confirmation sent. When paying by Credit Card, the Traveller shall be solely liable in the event that the final amount that appears on the traveller’s Bank Statement is different to the authorised amount on the Credit Card Authorisation Form, due to currency conversions and fluctuations, bank charges and the like and the Company accepts no responsibility for such discrepancies. The balance is payable no later than 90 days prior to departure of the tour. The Company reserves the right to cancel any reservation for which the total fare has not been paid by the due date, in which case the deposit will be forfeited. Full payment is required immediatly upon confirmation for all bookings made within 90 days of arrival. Confirmation of the booking and payment of the deposit shall constitute a binding agreement between the Traveller and the Company on the terms and conditions of business set out herein. It is the responsibility of the Traveller to ensure that details of the confirmation are correct. It is the responsibility of the Traveller to ensure that the Company receives correct flight details (arrival/departure), dietary requirements and special requests. The Company will endeavour to comply with the special requests, which will be for the cost of the Traveller, but cannot guarantee that such requests will be met.

In the event of cancellation for any reason whatsoever, such notice of cancellation should be given in writing and in such instances, the 35% deposit will be forfeited. In addition, the following cancellation charges will apply:
90 days or more prior to train departure………..No additional cancellation fee
Under 90 days prior to train departure:..........…….100% total cancellation fee

All Travellers are advised to and are solely responsible to take out comprehensive travel insurance that includes but is not limited to cover that pertains to cancellation charges. RailsNW offers trip coverage at 7% of your tour value. Please inquire to add this option at any time. Should a Traveller fail to join a tour, or join a tour after departure date, or leave the tour without completion for whatever reason, no portion of the tour price will be refunded. The Traveller shall be liable for all costs (including repatriation) and the administrative fees of the Company incurred as a result of any en route cancellations, by the Traveller, including but not limited to cancellation because of ill health or injury.

AMENDMENTS
The Company reserves the right to substitute train units, touring vehicles and other services listed with others of a similar or higher category at no additional cost to the traveller, even after the commencement of the tour. The accommodation indicated in the brochure is subject to the availability of the various classes of accommodation. In the event that the requested accommodation is unavailable, the closest equivalent will be offered.

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS, PASSPORTS, VISAS, VACCINATIONS, INOCCULATIONS, RE-ENTRY PERMITS AND INTERNATIONAL DRIVER’S LICENCES
All Travellers will be personally responsible for ensuring that they are in the possession of correct travel documents to include: passport, visa/re-entry permits valid for all countries being visited; health, foreign exchange, and other legal requirements.

TRAVEL DECLARATIONS
By law, all foreign payments that are made on behalf of any South African Traveller, must be deducted from the traveller(s) foreign exchange allowance. A currency declaration to this effect must be lodged before final documentation can be released.

CLIENT COMPLAINTS AND REFUNDS
We aim to provide the best train trip possible. However, if Travellers are not satisfied with their experience on Shongololo Express they are to complain as soon as possible to the Train Manager who will do everything reasonably possible to sort the problem out. If the Traveller is not satisfied with their response they must notify RailsNW head office (Telephone 1-800-717-0108) during office hours (8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday). If the Traveller is not satisfied with the attempts by head office to resolve the matter, the traveller must lodge a written complaint to Shongololo Express offices (email:info@railsnw.com) at their earliest convenience. The written complaint must reach Shongololo Express offices within 30 days of the last day of the Shongololo Express tour. Failure to complain as set out above may reduce or extinguish any rights the Traveller has to claim or be considered for compensation. Any such rights will be reduced or extinguished if, the Traveller had done so, or we could have taken steps to reduce or prevent the inconvenience suffered.

GENERAL
The Company shall not be bound by any representation, any warranty, any promise or the like not recorded herein or agreed to by it in writing. No representation, term, warranty or condition express or implied shall be considered to be or have been made or agreed or implied by reference to any other writing, advertisement or conversation. No indulgence, which the Company may grant to any party, shall constitute a waiver of any of the rights of the Company who shall not thereby be precluded from exercising any rights against the customer and/or the traveller which may have arisen in the past or which might arise in the future. Should the Company appoint a tour guide in respect of any tour, then the Traveller shall be obliged to comply with all reasonable instructions of such tour guide. The Company reserves the right to terminate the tour of any Traveller who wrongfully or unlawfully fails to adhere to the reasonable instructions of an appointed tour guide and/or causes any wrongful disruption, disturbance or nuisance to any other Traveller, tour group or service provider. All Travellers shall comply with any prohibition on smoking imposed on any coaches and at any hotels/venues on any tour. The Traveller shall be solely responsible for ensuring that he/she is physically and mentally capable of undertaking the journey and participating in the activities that constitute the scheduled tour and note that the tour takes place in remote and wilderness areas where medical assistance (specialised or general) may be limited or non-existent; the carriage passage ways, access stairs, bathroom and doorways configurations, tour vehicles and off-train activities, are not equipped for wheelchair access or modified for people with disabilities. Any first aid or medical treatment provided by the Company at its expense to any Traveller, shall be discretionary and on a compassionate basis. Under no circumstances shall the provision of such treatment be tantamount to an admission of liability by the Company for any injury sustained by the Traveller. In the event that any term or provision of this agreement is declared to be invalid or illegal for any reason, this agreement shall remain in full force and effect and it shall be interpreted as though such invalid or illegal provisions were not a part thereof. The remaining provisions shall be construed to preserve the intent and purpose of this agreement and the parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify the provisions held to be invalid or illegal to preserve each party’s rights and responsibilities hereunder.

SHONGOLOLO EXPRESS (PTY) LTD
Physical Address:
304 Main Avenue
Ferndale, Randburg 2194