So despite LNER’s worst efforts, we got to Heathrow in bags of time for the flight. Which was very high tech, even in the bowels of economy class. Basic WiFi is included ( restricted to WhatsApp type messaging, but that’s handy) , the food was decent ( even veggie option ), and after re-watching “The Big Lebowski” ( still a classic) I even managed to get a couple of hours kip. Then there’s this game-ified map display :
Smooth landing / passport control at Capetown, then the bit we really weren’t looking forward to : 9 hour wait for the onward flight to Port Elizabeth. The original cunning plan was for a mid-day flight, but the local economy airline Safair ( short for “What’s the catch ? ‘s a fair question…you’ll find out later“) told us 3 days ago that it would now be 5 hours later.
That’s a long time in an airport, esp when you can’t even go through to departures for the first 7 hours. But luckily we found space to sprawl out and snooze across some seats for a while ( now that’s what I call a drop-off zone). And caught a glimpse of a famous skyline from the entrance…
And Woolworths ( SA version) was a revelation – similar range / quality to an M&S in UK, and kept us supplied with salads / snacks. Even got some Wildebeest Biltong for later 🦌 …….
Anyway : the time passed , as it tends to, all went well on the flight , then we picked up a MASSIVE 4X4 at Port Elizabeth ( a car I had declined originally , predictably going for the cheapest option with reasonable pot-hole clearance, but now got anyway as a free upgrade. Everything comes to those too mean to pay for it ). Drove through the dark to Amakhala reserve, fighting for an hour with the ‘intelligent’ lane assist which kept yanking the steering wheel out of my hands.
But we got here by 20:30, had a delightful dinner, rolled into bed and fell asleep … Setting alarm for 5:30 am and the first Game Drive……🐯🦁🐰🐷🦓🐗🐢🐐🦏🐘🐆🐒🦤
Nice the picture greetings Marianne