Craven Suid Afrika 2022 TR

[craven morehead]

So now it's my last afternoon/evening at Emfuleni Camp just out of Ixopo town.

Just enjoying the peace.



Shouted and enjoyed a beer with Gizzard the Gardener. A very hard-working chap.




Gave Lizzy the cleaner a sizeable tip for looking after my washing & ironing. Lovely lady.



Peanut the Guard Dog well, more like alarm dog.



Another basic and filling dinner.



My last morning at Emfuleni Camp. What a relaxing time and so good to see my friends again after 3 years.

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A couple of bacon & Egg burgers for breakfast after a fairly hectic last night



And goodbyes never get any easier. Angie on the left will be visiting us in Australia next May. Her first time ever out of the country

My mate Sean will be running me back to King Shaka Airport on the Northside of Durban. About an hour and a half if you get a good run.



Back to JNB and the Protea Hotel again this afternoon.

 

[craven morehead]

We had a good run back to the airport. Managed to get a handy parking spot and then headed inside. King Shaka is quite a decent airport IMO

The fuel cost for the return trip Ixopo - King Shaka is ~ZAR$800. Now when you consider my mate only earns ZAR$16k per month, fuel costs are having an impact over here for sure. He now rides a motorcycle to work hence he could lend me his vehicle. Naturally I paid all fuel costs.



Heading upstairs to check in. There was no lounge option on my booking this time. It would have been a waste this time as I preferred to have a quick bite with my mate before saying goodbye.



Check in was a little slow as there were a few punters that weren't "match fit" Especially #23!





Routes offered by CemAir



Righto, back downstairs to Mugg & Bean for a feed.



A Chicken, Cheese & Avo toastie did the job.



It was now to time to head back up and get through security.



Once I got to the gate, the first bus was chockers to head out to the remote stand. So, they just left the door open while they waited for the bus to return for a second run. So much for security, anyone could have walked out onto the tarmac. I'm standing 2m outside the door taking this photo and you can see our ride for today over the back. Another Dash 8 to be fair I think the Dash 8's make up most of their fleet.



Today's flight was 5Z1901 DUR-JNB and cost me a little more than the flight across. ZAR$1524 or AUD$132 and that was without lounge access this time. Still a very decent price for the flight. It's probably been 15 years since I've seen that sort of pricing for something similar like my normal Dash 8 run from EMD-BNE.

 

[craven morehead]

Bonus, there was only 7 of us on the bus for the second run. JNB here I come



A once mighty airline.



My fave the Dash 8



It was a full flight on this Saturday afternoon. I think I was in row 18 for the first time in my life





Noticed the sign on the side of the bar cart



Refreshments much the same as the way over. Different flavour of chips (Mrs. Balls Chutney) and a Castle in a can instead of a Stubby.
More than sufficient for a one-hour flight.



Uneventful flight, that got away a little late but no problems for me as I was staying the night back at the Protea Hotel.

Time to deplane and jump on a bus again.





Off to the terminal we go.



Once again, no complaints with CemAir. Decent product for the price and it's only a short flight anyway. However, I do the miss easy Comair J 60-80 Status Credits for a few hundred bucks.

 

[craven morehead]

Bag came out in reasonable time and then I headed over to the Hotel Shuttle pick up zone. Would have only waited 2 minutes before the van turned up. Nice easy 7–8 minute cruise over to the hotel. Easy check in. I asked how much for late checkout IIRC it was ZAR400 / AUD35. I ended up checking out about 13.00 but they forgot to charge me for the late stay. A few more photos of the hotel for those that haven't seen it in prior posts. More of outside this time.



















Is that a Lufthansa 747 by any chance @Mattg

 

[craven morehead]

When I was in Newcastle KZN, my friend's son timed his visit to his parents to catch up with me, which was very nice of him. He lives in Boksburg JNB which is a 3.0-3.5hr drive to Newcastle but only about 10kms from my hotel. The least I could do was shout him dinner and drinks on my last night in country.

Like myself, he's partial to a beer or three



Burger & Chips for Big Mikey and a Lamb shank & mash for me. No entree's as we had consumed too many Castles.



I asked for a Beyerskloof Pinotage (This grape, unique to South Africa, is a hybrid of Pinot Noir & Cinsault)
Anyway, they were out of stock so old mate recommended this drop: Nederburg Pinotage 2020"The grapes were sourced from top-performing vineyards situated in the Darling, Stellenbosch and Paarl wine-growing areas of the Western Cape" anyway, it was classically styled food-friendly wine and not expensive.



A very enjoyable evening and chat with a very decent young man. We said our goodbyes about 11pm and then it was time for me to have a camp before packing in the morning.

Time for a nice, relaxed brekky.







A bit of a mish mash



Time went fast enough and after packing and a shower it was time to start the big trip home. Checkout was easy and as mentioned upthread the silly buggers forgot to charge me for late checkout



Joined another middle-aged Aussie couple for the commute back to the Airport. Righto let's go!

 

[Sprucegoose]

Arrived safely and at an acceptable price at the Pullman SYD AP.

First stay here and the room is probably over the top for one night but hey, you only live once.

Lovely lady checked me in, and I was all sorted in about 1 minute. Didn't bother using my free drinks and just headed up to the top floor.

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I'm not sure what the go is with these dogs, but they are all over the place.

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The executive suite aka the room:

Walk in and there is a separate toilet and powder room.

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Separate bedroom with massive ensuite.

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Was that Room 1217?

 

[VPS]

After leaving Ultra City, I continued on a little further to Park Rynie where I would turn off the N2, go over the highway and head up the range on a windy road towards Highflats and then onto Ixopo. Last time I travelled this road the potholes were terrible. What I had forgotten was the logging trucks that struggled up the range, at times in low gear. It was nothing to have 8-10 vehicles backed up behind the trucks. The locals are pretty crazy and overtake on blind corners and all sorts of madness. I drove aggressively but with as much caution as I possible, otherwise, your 1.5hr trip would quickly turn into 2+hrs. I passed through a few smaller villages on my way up to Highflats and with the ubiquitous speed bumps in the middle of these places requiring reduced speed, I didn't really have the luxury of taking photos while watching the road and keeping my wits about me. I have attached a series of videos in sequence with some loose commentary (maybe 2 swear words max) I hope this gives you a feel for what I am experiencing, instead of a plethora of still shots. It's certainly not a glamourous, glossy brochure type tourist trail that I'm on and I haven't known a single person for the last 4 days. I hope they are of some interest

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Approaching Highflats:

Approaching Ixopo:

Heading into Ixopo town:

Entering the main street to the Engen.

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Off to the ATM

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Back to the car:

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Heading back out of town part1:

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Part2 Busiest Street in town:

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Arriving back at Emfuleni Camp 4km West of Ixopo town:

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How did you take the videos - are you wearing a webcam on your head?

 

[craven morehead]

How did you take the videos - are you wearing a webcam on your head?

@VPS not advocating this for everyone, but I had my Samsung Galaxy in my left hand while driving but I like your idea for next time

 

[Ron Calls]

Great TR CM. Thanks for sharing your adventure, I enjoyed following along. Probably a few places I will never get to, so thank you.

 

[craven morehead]

Was that Room 1217?

I'll have to see if I can find my invoice. It was definitely a top floor corner suite.

 

[craven morehead]

Great TR CM. Thanks for sharing your adventure, I enjoyed following along. Probably a few places I will never get to, so thank you.

Cheers @Ron Calls never say never in this game

 

[craven morehead]

Arrived at O.R. Tambo roughly 3 hours before departure. A short 5-minute wait for check in.







I was given an invitation to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. If I'm not mistaken this is only available for WP's and above.
Previous trips, I have visited the BA Lounge, Slow Lounge, Shongolo & Mashonzha Lounges. So, this is a first for me
It's a bit of a hike from check in over to security. Once through, the lounge was easy to find.





A waiter takes you to a table/seat of your choosing and provides menus straight away.





A small mezzanine section. Would be suited to families.

 

[craven morehead]

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse continued:

Looking down from the mezzanine.



Maybe only a dozen people in here at present. That figure probably only doubled at most during my stay.



F&B offerings:





I must have missed the beer & wine list. Anyway, I decided to imbibe a few Windhoek Draughts and abstained from the red at this time. A rare occurrence indeed I chose the Mini Chicken Bunny Chow, sambals and plain yoghurt. It was sensational and just the right portion size before boarding for a long flight.



After a few relaxing hours in this very decent lounge with great service, it was time to trudge off to the gate.

My first view of today's Bird for flight QF64.





After about a 20-minute delay it was time to jump onboard. It looked to be a very full flight.



Today's B789 was "Boomerang"

 

[craven morehead]

Great TR CM. Thanks for sharing your adventure, I enjoyed following along. Probably a few places I will never get to, so thank you.

Cheers @Ron Calls WP

 

[Sprucegoose]

Safe travels home CM.

It seems the terminal has received a light face lift?

Decent lounges (even BA). I remember the SAA flagship lounge also had a great offering of food and drink - important before a long flight.

 

[Sprucegoose]

@VPS not advocating this for everyone, but I had my Samsung Galaxy in my left hand while driving but I like your idea for next time

Probably the least of your issues over there!

 

[craven morehead]

QF64

Different coloured amenity kit than on QF63

Showing off my one and only WP Coaster I contacted QF after I received my first welcome pack a few years back about getting a second coaster. The response was, Qantas was trying to save the planet one coaster at a time. Basically, told me they were reducing plastic etc





PDB and forensic sleeping suit. Check



Oh look the same seat as on the way over.



Sadly, it's time to go.





Take Off

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My last look at this beautiful county until next time.









Bye Bye South Africa. It's fair to say, I'm fond of this country, warts and all and I have met so many wonderful friends that give me an excuse to keep coming back

 

[Sprucegoose]

It's fair to say, I'm fond of this country, warts and all and I have met so many wonderful friends

Agree CM. It's raw, hot, and dangerous. While I have no doubt you would have been way out of your comfort zone at various times, the people are well grounded with their environment, adventurous and always good for a laugh - very generously spirited. They form part of the Big 6!

I always choose to be with the Boks in any Rugby crowd.

I regularly keep in touch with several former work colleagues, all relationships that don't require constant reassurances, and we pick up where we left off no matter the circumstances.

Your TR was thoughtful and appreciated.

 

[craven morehead]

Tucker time:



The soup was very nice. It really goes well with a glass of



Watched a few movies as one does.



The beef tagine was also delicious



The food was very decent on this flight although the "selection" of cheese was rather poor! Possibly the worst I've seen



There was no need for any mid-flight snacks as we were hooting along ahead of schedule.



Breakfast was the omelette with bacon, spinach and relish, which was excellent.



Looks like Australia.





And we are on the ground



An enjoyable flight with a great crew. Due to 150 knot tailwinds at stages, we touched down in SYD 10.5 hours after departing JNB
The captain told me about the tailwinds, but that part of the story will come up shortly.

 

[craven morehead]

Agree CM. It's raw, hot, and dangerous. While I have no doubt you would have been way out of your comfort zone at various times, the people are well grounded with their environment, adventurous and always good for a laugh - very generously spirited. They form part of the Big 6!

I always choose to be with the Boks in any Rugby crowd.

I regularly keep in touch with several former work colleagues, all relationships that don't require constant reassurances, and we pick up where we left off no matter the circumstances.

Your TR was thoughtful and appreciated.

@Sprucegoose, I don't think I could have summed RSA up any better than that. Cheers