C&L South African Adventure Oct 2018 - Travel Day

**LN89** · 27 Nov 18, 10:28 PM

Travel Day

Hey

welcome to my trippie for our recent South African adventure. My pre-trippie can be found here.

Our taxi picked us up at 6am and dropped us to Gatwick north terminal, we dropped our bags off and went through security very quickly. Our flight wasn’t leaving until 10am and we were flying indirect to Johannesburg via Dubai.

We went to armadillo for breakfast, I had the chorizo Benedict with a coffee and Chris had the breakfast burrito with an armadillo juice. We love their breakfast, it came to £26.

We looked around the shops and I bought a new pair of Havanias for about £20. We also decided to treat ourselves to some new travel pillows as we realised we had been using the same ones for about 8 years

! The last few times we’ve got flights it’s been very rushed so it was nice not to be rushing, however the downside - sitting around got very boring! We went and sat by our gate about 8.45 and started boarding at 9.15.

The plane was being refuelled so took off about 20 minutes late. It was the first time we had flown emirates and were so impressed! They served food about 90 minutes into the flight, we both had chicken korma which was really nice. I had a glass of red wine and Chris had a beer.

The film selection was amazing and I was very excited they had all the Harry Potter films so watched the last one, then a wrinkle in time. I tried to sleep for a bit but was quite restless. They served afternoon tea about two hours before landing. Just before landing I managed to somehow break my roll on deodorant and pour pretty much the whole deodorant down my side, definitely a why is it always me moment!

I was quite anxious on the flight because I was hoping we would land with enough time to see my sister, who moved to Dubai earlier this year. We landed about 8.10 and we had been told we needed to come back through at least 90 mins before our flight which was 9.50 but we decided we should aim for 9.30 to play it safe. We rushed off the plane and hurried our way through. It all went very smoothly and we saw my sister at 8.35

.

We had booked the flight before my sister knew she was moving to Dubai otherwise we might have tried to fly our a day earlier to spend some time with her. An hour wasn’t long enough but we were so happy we’d at least had chance to see her.

We went back through about 9.30, it was quiet and got straight through. We were surprisingly hungry and had seen we would only be getting a snack on the night flight. We saw as we walked through there was a shake shack so headed straight there and ordered a burger each and shared some fries. It came to about £24 so seemed quite expensive but tasted amazing!

I received a notification from the Emirates app while we were eating that our flight was boarding. It was very early but we finished up and quickly popped to the duty free shop for some water and replaced my broken deodorant! We then headed to our gate. We had to wait about 10 minutes but then our section was called and we boarded.

I had managed to book us one of the 2 seats at the back, as it was a night flight it was lovely not having to worry about being next to anyone. I started watching some more Harry Potter, watching them backwards haha and we took off on time at 11.20pm.

We had some amazing views over Dubai as we took off. I am off to visit my sister in Dubai in January with my best friend so this made me very excited

.

We both tried to sleep straight away so think we must’ve missed the food (but didn’t want it anyway after our shake shack). I was quite restless, we had some bad turbulence while I was in the toilet - why is it always me! It was very sudden and probably one of the worst bits of turbulance I have ever experienced! Other than that the rest of the flight was pretty smooth flight.

The flight was about 8hrs long and we were served breakfast about 3am South African time. It was ok but for some reason I cannot stand plane breakfasts! So didn’t eat the hot food.

We landed slightly early at about 5.15am at Johannesburg. It felt like we were waiting to get off the plane for ages as we were right at the back. We got through passport control quickly though and when we got to the baggage collection our cases came out first right next to each other

! I was a bit nervous as we were changing flights whether they would turn up so it was a great relief when we saw them!

We were picking up a hire car from the airport, I’d pre-booked this with europcar. We usually would just hire a small vehicle but as we were driving into Kruger National Park we’d read it was better to get a SUV so hired a ford eco sport. It took a while to sort out the paperwork but then were given the keys and went to find the car

.

I’m now going to continue this as day 1 as we fit so much in on our first day.

Thank you for reading

.

Next - day 1

Melbatb · 28 Nov 18, 06:01 AM

How lovely to have seen your sister albeit for a short time!

Looking forward to reading about your trip!

Melvin Pearce · 29 Nov 18, 12:04 AM

Looking forward to reading your trip report, it is a long time since being in South Africa, actually 1975, but our daughter has been a lot including Kruger as her partner is South Africain and his dad still lives there.

Glad you managed to see your sister

Lesley and Melvin

CrispyA · 1 Dec 18, 12:01 PM

That’s a long travel day but how lovely to be able to meet up with your sister!

**LN89** · 1 Dec 18, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

How lovely to have seen your sister albeit for a short time!

Looking forward to reading about your trip!

Thank you

, it was lovely to see her

.

**LN89** · 1 Dec 18, 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by Melvin Pearce

Looking forward to reading your trip report, it is a long time since being in South Africa, actually 1975, but our daughter has been a lot including Kruger as her partner is South Africain and his dad still lives there.

Glad you managed to see your sister

Lesley and Melvin

Oh wow, I imagine it has changed a fair bit since then! We loved it! Thank you for reading

**LN89** · 1 Dec 18, 10:04 PM

Originally Posted by CrispyA

That’s a long travel day but how lovely to be able to meet up with your sister!

It was, but it was worth it

, thanks for reading.

27 Nov 18, 10:28 PM	#1
	27 Nov 18, 10:28 PM LN89 VIP Dibber ✓Premium Member
LN89 VIP Dibber Join Date: Jan 12	C&L South African Adventure Oct 2018 - Travel Day Travel Day Hey welcome to my trippie for our recent South African adventure. My pre-trippie can be found here. Our taxi picked us up at 6am and dropped us to Gatwick north terminal, we dropped our bags off and went through security very quickly. Our flight wasn’t leaving until 10am and we were flying indirect to Johannesburg via Dubai. We went to armadillo for breakfast, I had the chorizo Benedict with a coffee and Chris had the breakfast burrito with an armadillo juice. We love their breakfast, it came to £26. We looked around the shops and I bought a new pair of Havanias for about £20. We also decided to treat ourselves to some new travel pillows as we realised we had been using the same ones for about 8 years ! The last few times we’ve got flights it’s been very rushed so it was nice not to be rushing, however the downside - sitting around got very boring! We went and sat by our gate about 8.45 and started boarding at 9.15. The plane was being refuelled so took off about 20 minutes late. It was the first time we had flown emirates and were so impressed! They served food about 90 minutes into the flight, we both had chicken korma which was really nice. I had a glass of red wine and Chris had a beer. The film selection was amazing and I was very excited they had all the Harry Potter films so watched the last one, then a wrinkle in time. I tried to sleep for a bit but was quite restless. They served afternoon tea about two hours before landing. Just before landing I managed to somehow break my roll on deodorant and pour pretty much the whole deodorant down my side, definitely a why is it always me moment! I was quite anxious on the flight because I was hoping we would land with enough time to see my sister, who moved to Dubai earlier this year. We landed about 8.10 and we had been told we needed to come back through at least 90 mins before our flight which was 9.50 but we decided we should aim for 9.30 to play it safe. We rushed off the plane and hurried our way through. It all went very smoothly and we saw my sister at 8.35 . We had booked the flight before my sister knew she was moving to Dubai otherwise we might have tried to fly our a day earlier to spend some time with her. An hour wasn’t long enough but we were so happy we’d at least had chance to see her. We went back through about 9.30, it was quiet and got straight through. We were surprisingly hungry and had seen we would only be getting a snack on the night flight. We saw as we walked through there was a shake shack so headed straight there and ordered a burger each and shared some fries. It came to about £24 so seemed quite expensive but tasted amazing! I received a notification from the Emirates app while we were eating that our flight was boarding. It was very early but we finished up and quickly popped to the duty free shop for some water and replaced my broken deodorant! We then headed to our gate. We had to wait about 10 minutes but then our section was called and we boarded. I had managed to book us one of the 2 seats at the back, as it was a night flight it was lovely not having to worry about being next to anyone. I started watching some more Harry Potter, watching them backwards haha and we took off on time at 11.20pm. We had some amazing views over Dubai as we took off. I am off to visit my sister in Dubai in January with my best friend so this made me very excited . We both tried to sleep straight away so think we must’ve missed the food (but didn’t want it anyway after our shake shack). I was quite restless, we had some bad turbulence while I was in the toilet - why is it always me! It was very sudden and probably one of the worst bits of turbulance I have ever experienced! Other than that the rest of the flight was pretty smooth flight. The flight was about 8hrs long and we were served breakfast about 3am South African time. It was ok but for some reason I cannot stand plane breakfasts! So didn’t eat the hot food. We landed slightly early at about 5.15am at Johannesburg. It felt like we were waiting to get off the plane for ages as we were right at the back. We got through passport control quickly though and when we got to the baggage collection our cases came out first right next to each other ! I was a bit nervous as we were changing flights whether they would turn up so it was a great relief when we saw them! We were picking up a hire car from the airport, I’d pre-booked this with europcar. We usually would just hire a small vehicle but as we were driving into Kruger National Park we’d read it was better to get a SUV so hired a ford eco sport. It took a while to sort out the paperwork but then were given the keys and went to find the car . I’m now going to continue this as day 1 as we fit so much in on our first day. Thank you for reading . Next - day 1 __________________ Laura Disney Trippies WDW 2022 (first time with a toddler) WDW and Disney Cruise 2019 HK Disney 2017 Disneymoon 2015 Edited at 10:05 PM.

29 Nov 18, 12:04 AM	#3
	29 Nov 18, 12:04 AM Melvin Pearce Imagineer
Melvin Pearce Imagineer Click to See My Villa! Join Date: Feb 09 Melvin Pearce's Reviews Restaurant Reviews: 5	Looking forward to reading your trip report, it is a long time since being in South Africa, actually 1975, but our daughter has been a lot including Kruger as her partner is South Africain and his dad still lives there. Glad you managed to see your sister Lesley and Melvin __________________

1 Dec 18, 12:01 PM	#4
	1 Dec 18, 12:01 PM CrispyA Imagineer
CrispyA Imagineer Join Date: Oct 11	That’s a long travel day but how lovely to be able to meet up with your sister! __________________ West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022

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