10 days in Southern Africa

[craven morehead]

After a good night's sleep, we had a light breakfast the next day and went back to the Airport for our flight to Victoria Falls.

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There would be 4 internal flights throughout our trip, all on Airlink Embraers. I wish I could've flown Comair when they were around because I could've earned a lot of SCs. It was a remote bus to the gate and a 2 hour flight to Victoria Falls. We got some good views of plenty of aircraft, but I'll save pics for our return leg because I got better photos then.

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There's the airport. We had to do a holding pattern as the airport was busy. It appears flights only land for a few hours per day and there's quite a few squeezed into there considering the side of the airport.

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Had some dramas at immigration because we were told we could go visa-free but had to buy visas, then having been sold visas, only found there were single entry (we were hoping to do a day trip to Zambia). Ah well, what's done was done. At least I got a big visa sticker in my passport. From the airport, we were met by a driver who took us on a 30 minute drive to the lodge where we'd be staying the next 3 nights.

The hotel was called 'The Palm Lodge' and was only opened in late 2021, personally by the country's President.

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Agreed, the Comair SCs were excellent value. IIRC I once got 80 SCs for AUD$300

 

[craven morehead]

Enjoying your report and I was also interested to hear about Airlink. I have a flight with them in April and hadn't been able to find out much about them and what to expect.

Cemair is another one that is basic but decent. Although they mainly have the dreaded Dash 8s. I once flew JNB-DUR with lounge access for AUD$100 which included a beer and a packet of crisps on the flight.

 

[bPeteb]

Cemair is another one that is basic but decent. Although they mainly have the dreaded Dash 8s. I once flew JNB-DUR with lounge access for AUD$100 which included a beer and a packet of crisps on the flight.

We've booked Airlink to Livingstone from JNB and then Lift from CPT back to JNB. Mixing it up

 

[love_the_life]

Agreed, the Comair SCs were excellent value. IIRC I once got 80 SCs for AUD$300

Our Comair flight from JNB to VFA was in 2015 but based on the state of the plane I wouldn't be rushing to book them - rattletrap rustbucket comes to mind. We did end up with QF points and SC though.

 

[craven morehead]

On the way back to Cape Town, we went a longer route, on the other side of Table Mountain and nearly into the CBD. We saw a few interesting sights including some apartment blocks that had an interesting history in the apartheid era and a couple of universities, although didn't get pics of them. The pictures I did get were good.

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The next couple essentially look over the bulk of Cape Town proper - all of it other than Downtown.


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Peak hour traffic.

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Did you get a chance to do Chapmans Peak Drive? It is sensational, especially at sunset.

 

[NSun]

Agreed, the Comair SCs were excellent value. IIRC I once got 80 SCs for AUD$300

I originally planned a trip to South Africa in mid-2020. $4k return in business class including ComAir internals to Cape Town, knowing even without DSCs it would've got me nearly 500 all up. Ah well.

Did you get a chance to do Chapmans Peak Drive? It is sensational, especially at sunset.

Having Googled it now, I actually think that was part of the route we took on the way down, although didn't see it at sunset. Next time.

 

[NSun]

Last day in Cape Town. It actually rained during my morning walk at Camps Bay but it wasn't too heavy.




We did little until 11am when we were driven to CPT airport for our flight to JNB. I am a huge fan of this airport's drop-off set up.



I actually took quite a few pics because there were a lot of interesting aircraft and airlines around, most curiously Condor.





And here is the Airlink Embraer shuttling us to JNB.



I got a window seat this time so took quite a few pics.







Made it.

 

[NSun]

We'd been warned that Johannesburg is dangerous and to only stay in Sandton if we had to stay there. I'm not expressing any view as to whether or not it is the case - that is just what we were told and chose to stay in Sandton, although we would go on a guided tour the day after, including to Soweto.

Our hotel was the DaVinci suites which was right near Nelson Mandela Square and above the shopping centre. It was about 30 minutes drive in 35 degree heat - thankfully we had air conditioning.





We were dropped at the door and taken in a lift to the reception.





Our room for one night.





Terrific fitness centre and pool. The gym was thankfully open 24/7 so was able to workout at 3am to try and adjust back into the Australian time zone.

 

[NSun]

We had a 7pm dinner booked, so I took the liberty to have a look around the shopping centre and the square.









Dinner and breakfast would be at a restaurant called Maximillien that is a flight of stairs down from the lobby.





It was a Cosmo and a Chicken Tikka for me.

 

[NSun]

Fast forward to the next day - the last of the trip. I was with 3 other people, 2 of whom were staying another 2.5 weeks, but I and someone else had to go home. So we were booked with a driver who would take us around Johannesburg and drop us straight off at the airport in time for QF64.

The first stop we made was the Apartheid Museum. We went via a suburb called Houghton where Nelson Mandela died and drove right by the house. The whole area reminded me of Bellevue Hill, where I know quite a few South Africans who live (you know who you are if you're reading this)!









You can't see in these photos, but people who stopped by wrote tributes on those stones.







On we went to the Apartheid Museum. This may be a silly comparison, but I actually felt a little like I was in Dallas. Maybe it was just the skyline and the decent roads (at least here).

 

[NSun]

Made it to the apartheid museum. We were told we could spend an hour in here. I personally found that was enough, but I am the kind of person who doesn't like spending hour and hours looking at the same thing, although I've never been diagnosed I suspect I have ADHD. I do respect that for others, the time I spent there would be nowhere near enough. And we had to almost drag my companion out. Anyhow...I didn't take as many pictures as I could've as they said you couldn't, although its not like they had guards everywhere making sure you don't take photos. I'll let them do the talking.





You're given a ticket with one of the above entrances.



And this is what you see once inside the gate...

 

[NSun]

Nelson Mandela is a big focus of the museum, but there are other exhibits too. This one was 'dedicated' to a President in the 1960s who was a staunch defender of apartheid. The TV screen is of a speech he gave after surviving an assassination attempt. He didn't survive another one, only a handful of years later.









And it ended by promoting the nation it is today...well, at least the one it is meant to be in theory. Now don't get me wrong, I love the country, would happily return many time and acknowledge it has come some way since then, although things could be a lot better, especially considering it is Mandela's party that is still in charge. I'll leave it at that.



And here you have it, the final exhibit - with the last verse of their anthem on loop.

 

[craven morehead]

Made it to the apartheid museum. We were told we could spend an hour in here. I personally found that was enough, but I am the kind of person who doesn't like spending hour and hours looking at the same thing, although I've never been diagnosed I suspect I have ADHD. I do respect that for others, the time I spent there would be nowhere near enough. And we had to almost drag my companion out. Anyhow...I didn't take as many pictures as I could've as they said you couldn't, although its not like they had guards everywhere making sure you don't take photos. I'll let them do the talking.

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You're given a ticket with one of the above entrances.

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And this is what you see once inside the gate...

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I spent 4 hours there and felt like I needed more. To help balance out what I knew from history and had also spoken of at length with my Afrikaner friend's. Who having grown up through Apartheid had their own opinions. Well worth the visit

 

[NSun]

After this, we set course for Soweto, it was about another hours' drive and then we just drove around the area for another hour or so, with a few of interesting sites pointed out.









This hospital is apparently the largest in Africa and the largest in the world.





The cooling towers. The ones where Karl Pilkington was tempted by Ricky Gervais to bungee jump for him to buy a hut for someone.





This was a famous church that Desmond Tutu was affiliated with.

 

[NSun]

One of a number of cemeteries reserves for anti-apartheid activists.





Then we drove through the area home to Nelson Mandela's last house before he was imprisoned. Desmond Tutu's house was nearby and we saw that too.









Among other things we saw:
- A dedicated busway network that takes people to Johannesburg peoper
- A few railway stations
- Our only stop was here - at the Kliptown Youth program. I didn't take any pics here as it was a school but I think the site is self-explanatory. I was impressed at the infrastructure there, relative to the rest of the neighbourhood, and how excited the kits were to see it. We were given brochures with donation options although I didn't find it as pushy as that time in Agra when I got taken to that shop that claimed to have marble made by descendants of those who made the Taj Mahal. I wasn't expecting it so it was a nice surprise.

 

[bPeteb]

Did you pre-organise this day NSun? We're also staying in Sandton after flying up from CPT and will have the day to spend in Jburg before we fly out on 63. Your day looks like it is doing the things we've discussed doing.

 

[love_the_life]

I spent 4 hours there and felt like I needed more. To help balance out what I knew from history and had also spoken of at length with my Afrikaner friend's. Who having grown up through Apartheid had their own opinions. Well worth the visit

One of my fairly close school friends ended up in South Africa in the early 70s. In the same period I had gone to Monash Uni which was quite radical (sit ins, the. moratorium etc). I remember visiting her once when she had returned to Australia in about 1974. I could not believe her attitude and the way she spoke of the 'blecks'. It was a real eye opener.

I remember the Mandela House in Soweto - a very sobering place to visit.

 

[drron]

When our son went to boarding school in Sydney his House Master was from Zimbabwe. Nothing would shock me after his tales.

 

[NSun]

Did you pre-organise this day NSun? We're also staying in Sandton after flying up from CPT and will have the day to spend in Jburg before we fly out on 63. Your day looks like it is doing the things we've discussed doing.

I didn't organise it, my companions did. If you wanted I could send you my guide's contact details privately - I'd highly recommend him.

 

[bPeteb]

I didn't organise it, my companions did. If you wanted I could send you my guide's contact details privately - I'd highly recommend him.

That would be greatly appreciated