oneworld82

A trip to South Africa is one of those journeys that shouldn't be undertaken without preparation. Going to a country so important in racial relations development without knowing much about it would, well, be a shame. From diamonds to bauxite, from apartheid to multiculturalism, this country seems to have it all, for good and bad. Although my journey was meant to bring us to visit the vast and beautiful Kruger Park area, I made sure to read and research about the history of this beautiful and tormented land. What I found was a land that is shamefully beautiful but still plagued by a huge racial divide. What most impressed me (and my family) was the cheerfulness of the people – regardless of their ethnicity – that made us feel welcome anywhere we went. If you are interested to know more – or to see some pictures of this incredible land – please read on.

This report is divided into two sections:

1. Flight report, focusing on my trans-Atlantic sector on AA business class (link to full report);
2. Trip report about South Africa and Swaziland, with lots of pictures (link to full report).

Like always, I post here part of it. I have literally way too many photos to link them all here, and I apologize for that. My blog contains the full text with pictures and videos.

I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Please don't feel shy about commenting on the report either! I value praises as much as I value constructive critiques.

Thanks for tuning in!

P.S.

- This is the link to a list of my past and future flight reports; a list with links to all my trip reports can be found here.
- Please forgive any typo. I have written this report hastily. I am now in the process of proofreading everything.

oneworld82

On my way to South Africa, I had decided to fly oneworld to get some valuable miles while my precious Platinum status still lasts. Thanks to a friend, I was able to use a SWU to upgrade both Trans-Atlantic halves on my itinerary. As I had never tried AA’s business class on the 772, I was mildly excited about these flights (nevermind the ensuing 12-hour flight on BA World Traveler to JNB…). I tried to book a nonstop DFW-LHR (instead of going through ORD), but that would have cost me $300 more, which I wasn’t willing to pay in this case. So I set up for a not-too-bad route via ORD. I think this idea was a definitive winner, for a simple reason: I got to to experience American Airlines’ “airport of the future” at DFW’s Terminal A… and I get more miles! For those of you who don’t know, AA is rethinking the way US airports work. The new design, materials used, layouts remind of open spaces so well used by Qantas in Australia (and of which self bag-tagging is another reminder). The new idea is being tested in half of Terminal A at DFW; the check in area has been reconverted, and the new design includes a secluded check-in area for premium customers. It looks much better than the old layout, with no conveyor belt nor ugly metallic frames (substituted by warm wood panels). Here are some shots.







If AA is going to roll out this new concept across the system, it will have a definite winner. Hopefully, airport operators and other airlines will take note and try to follow AA’s lead in improving the shameful condition of US airports. The signage is also new, with directions painted/printed on the walls in a very intuitive way (and much like the ones found at London Heathrow). After security, new gates have been laid out as well. Similar concept, with the addition of well distinct, opposite-side lines for boarding of premium/priority passengers to avoid funneling issues so common in the traditional boarding process. Again, a winner. Now, AA has just started rolling it out and I have already heard complains about the desk size, height, etc. by one of the agents… Hopefully, common sense and a customer-centric focus will prevail. I then headed to the AAdmirals Club at Terminal A, which I had never visited before. I was very impressed by it; it looks newer/better kept than the one in Terminal D… The showers were remarkable – one of the nicest I have seen so far – and the lounge eve features a small fitness room equipped with cardio machines. I just had the time to grab a Johnnie Walker Black Label that it was time to board…







We landed in Chicago about 20 minutes late, which meant that I had to walk straight to my departure gate with only a short stop on the way to buy some necessities I had forgotten to pack. Boarding was already halfway-through when I got there, and it wasn’t long before Iwas sitting into my comfortable business class seat.

ORD-LHR, Flight AA50

9:30p – 11:25a+1

B772, Seat 10H, Business Class

A lady asked me to switch seats with her husband, which I of course agreed to. Unfortunately for me, that meant I had to give up an aisle seat for a window one. Oh well, not too bad.

This was my first time aboard AA’s 772′s business class. While I do not like the 2-3-2 configuration, the cabin looked alright. It was pretty packed, and at the very last second a guy took the seat next to me, panting from a run from another gate where his flight arrived late. Too bad, as for a moment I had thought I would seat by myself!

Pre-departure drinks and menus were offered, and before taking off I took some pictures of the cabin.





We took off more or less on time, and the captain announced a short 7h10m (if Iremember correctly) flight time. How can I fit dinner AND breakfast AND some sleep in such a short time? First World problems…

AA old business class seat is comfortable enough, but not having 180 degree lie-flat on all its routes might become a drag in the long run for AA’s competitiveness. Retrofitting couldn’t come faster! I took a look at the amenity kit, which had all the basics you need for a trip like this. In particular, I like Dermatologica products (which are offered in the lounge shower as well in the form of body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion.



Then, I took a look at the menu, as the flight attendant was coming by taking dinner orders:

It read as follow.

DINING SERVICE

Starter

Cured salmon with poached pear and avocado creme

Salad

Seasonal greens with fresh vegetables, sweet and spicy pecans and blue cheese

Pepper cream dressing

or

Premium extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Entrees

Grilled Fillet of beef

Accented by roasted shallot butter, vegetable risotto with mushrooms and sauteed spinach

Sauteed Chicken

Accompanied by ratatouille sauce, bacon mashed potatoes and baby vegetables

Pan-seared Halibut

With truffled corn salsa, truffled sweet potato puree, haricots verts, tomato and red onion

Brie and Leek Ravioli Pasta

With San Marzano tomato sauce and vegetable medley

Dessert

Traditional Ice Cream Sundae

Vanilla ice cream with your choice of hot fudge, butterscotch or seasonal berry toppingsm whipped cream and pecans

Gourmet Cheese Plate

An assortment offine cheeses with garnishes

BREAKFAST

Breakfast breads

Fresh seasonal fruit

Entrees

Scrambled Eggs

Served over a buttermilk biscuit with creamy poblano sauce, potatoes au gratin and New Mexico turkey sausage

Cereal

Kellogg’s cereal with fuit yogurt

(Express breakfast was also offered)

I would just note the tackiness of stating the cereal’s brand on the menu…

The wine list featured Gosset Champagne (nothing really special, Andre’ quality to give you an idea), white and red wines, Port and Sherry wines.

The salmon came out after I had my gin and tonic with nuts. It was tasty, and AA definitely seems to have mastered salmon appetizers. Not that difficult, but still a good thing.







The meat itself was alright albeit too cooked and not too flavorful. What was really bad was the moist, tasteless rice and the watery mushrooms, which created a lot of juice and made the beef float. Unfortunately, it left me sorely disappointed.



I skipped the always-wonderful sundae as by now I was full after two dinners. I started watching a corny movie called “Jack the Giant Slayer“, which was uninspiring enough to make me fall asleep for good 3/4 hours. Next thing I know we were approaching Ireland.



I had just the time to go to the restroom and freshen up a bit, finish watching the movie, and read some book, that breakfast service started. I opted for the biscuits, and I was positively surprised this time. The dish was very good, as biscuits were as they should be, the gravy was not too heavy/thick/buttery, the eggs were good and the potatoes were restaurant-worthy.





Some fruit and a muffin that I selected from a bread tray completed breakfast. As I like dunkin’, the muffin went perfectly with my coffee (cream, no sugar only for me!).

We landed shortly after breakfast in a refreshingly chilly London. Heathrow was extremely busy today, and it took me ~2 hours to get to the BA Galleries lounge at Terminal 5. I will not post a review of the lounge here as I have posted one already a few months back on my way to/from Dubai (here). But I will mention that the new catering – of which many people complained about – seems to have got its acts together. The food was slightly better than the previous caterer.



My flights to/from Johannesburg were on BA economy (when, WHEN will SWU valid on BA as well??), so I won’t report on them. One thing I will say though: I asked for a paid upgrade in London and was offered the chance to fly Premium Economy for 209 pounds or Club World for 609 pounds. On the way back, I was told that such upgrades were not available.

oneworld82

South Africa, finally! After an interminable, 30-hour long journey, I was there! Johannesburg’s sky was as blue as it can get, the air was refreshingly chilly, and the traffic around the airport moderately organized. A stark contrast with my first time in Africa, in 2004, when I landed around midnight in a hot and humid Dakar, in Senegal. Hoards of people there were fighting for my attention to cab me to my hotel, making my first experience to Africa – and to a developing country for that matter – somewhat distressful. But nothing of the sort happened here. Everything was orderly, quiet…

Our first and main destination of this trip was the single, most important park in all the country: the Kruger National Park. We spent the first few days very close to Kruger, but not quite inside it. You see, the park itself is surrounded by a number of “private game reserves”, which are directly connected (no fences) to the park. As these reserves are private, sophisticated, luxurious hotels have sprung up all over; these are discreet, fully blended-in lodges that provide the quintessential safari experience to whomever seeks it.

Getting to the Kruger area from Johannesburg takes around 5 hours. You first drive on a new, spotless toll road and – around Belfast – you turn north-east towards Limpopo and the Drakensberg. The scenery is beautiful, the country enchanting. You pass through Dullstrom, the coolest town in South Africa, renowned for its pine trees and trout fishing. Our first meal in South Africa was at the Gourmet Barn, a cute little place well-located in this charming town situated at 2200 meters above sea level. The food was a good introduction to what we were going to find in South Africa.





Well past dusk we reached Toro Yaka Game Lodge, located within the Balule Game Reserve. Let me tell you: this place was beautiful! The hosts – Steve and Nicole – and all the staff were most gracious, the rooms were SPECTACULAR, the grounds fabulous, and the food heavenly. And Toro Yaka is considered to be on the low end of luxury resorts! But I will let the pictures speak for myself.



You realize you are in Africa and not a very nice zoo once you venture around the “bush”. The shear number of animals living freely in the park is a reminder that this is their territory and that we are only intruders seeking to peek into their lives. I must say, they most graciously let us do it, as long as we do not disturb them. And in that, Toro Yaka excelled.

The drives were masterfully led by the staff – and I want to sincerely thank Stacy for her great driving and tracking skills. Balule, north of Thornybush, is home to all the big five, and action wasn’t certainly amiss. We spotted buffalos, many elephants (Ezulwini – the guy in the picture below – was simple beautiful), giraffes, zebras, countless impalas, warthogs, kudus, wildebeests… and a committee of vultures eating the carcass of a giraffe! That was absolutely brilliant, as it showed us how cruel yet functional mother nature is. Granted, we didn’t see any big cat (although we saw an African wild cat!), but we heard lions growling around our lodge and we saw fresh tracks of leopards and black rhinos as well – sometimes you just have to be lucky to see animals. We also did a bush walk with Steve, which was incredibly informative. Also – for those of you who might be afraid of wildlife – let me assure you that at Toro Yaka the staff seemed to take safety very seriously. You really just need to sit back, relax, and enjoy! Here are some pictures…















The bush is a place where you can see nature doing its course in full swing. We found the carcass of a giraffe that died probably the day before of natural causes (it appeared to be an older giraffe, given its dark spots). While big predators like lions or hyenas hadn’t found the carcass yet, vultures did. When we got there, they were literally feasting on the dead animal. Here’s a video I shoot while observing.







I want to add that the drive to/from the Kruger Park area is scenic and very nice. Gentle hills leaves way to higher ranges, all surrounded by endless farms and breathtaking scenery. As we were kind in a rush I did not take many pictures, but here is one to give you an idea.





One of the most-overlooked sights of the country is the Blyde River Canyon, the third largest in the World, which cuts through the Drakensberg Mountains Range. For us it was an easy detour, given the proximity to Hoedspruit. The approximately 70 km of road , takes you from beautiful vista points at 1800 meters of altitude to the magnificent sights of Bourke Luck’s Potholes – incredible hollow rock formations at the end (or beginning, depending where you’re coming from) of the canyon. Panorama points are well signposted along the road, and the view that you get from them is simply majestic.

oneworld82

It took us a leisurely day of driving to get from Hoedspruit to Nelspruit, and this detour is highly suggested. Nelspruit was for us a convenient stop en route to Swaziland, yet the city itself seems most uninteresting.

Yes, our next destination was Swaziland. A country many people have never heard of. Which is fair, given that the most renown feature of the country are the colorful King Sobhuza III, who has 13 wives, and an HIV pandemic that affects 26% of the total population. Yet, I am glad we took the time to spend a couple of days in this little yet interesting kingdom. What drew me here in the first place was my cultural anthropology background, as I wanted to see by myself the Swazi culture and what the Sobhuza dynasty had created. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect; but this tiny country managed to surprise me.

The road that from Nelspruit takes to Mbabane – the capital city of Swaziland – is a continuous succession of up and downs on rolling hills. The scenery is very suggestive, alpine. Gradually, the highveld gives way to the lowveld, and the weather becomes warmer. We drove by the town of Barbeton, which had a strange outpost feeling, but we didn’t really stop by: the town didn’t seem particularly interesting.







Swaziland is similar yet remarkably different from South Africa: the landscape is familiar, with rolling hills and mountains in the background to create a dramatic backdrop; the roads are similar – well signposted and in very good conditions. But the people are different. The first notable difference – of course – is that it’s not white people driving SUV’s and BMW’s, but black people. That must mean something; also, the country is far more rural than South Africa, which means that there are no slums Johannesburg-style and that poor people seem to live a more dignified live than Swaziland’s bigger neighbor. Not a small feat, if you ask me.





the Parliament house, the national stadium, thermal baths… and the Mantenga Reserve, home to the Swazi Cultural Village. This is a reproduction of a traditional Swazi compound; the 100 Elangeni admission fee gets you to things: a dance/singing performance and a tour of the village. The former is performed at 3.15pm every day, and I think this should not be missed by anyone visiting Swaziland. The crew dancing and singing does an excellent job in conveying the essence of Swazi traditional music and dance. The 45 minutes-long show is highly entertaining and interesting. I was very impressed.



Here's a good video of the performance.



Among the highlights of Swazi culture: no limits on the number of wives a man can take; price of a virgin wife set at 17 cows; strong importance in the grandmother of the family; mobile villages with huts easily transportable in order to find the best fields for feeding animals and growing plants.

Near the village, the Mantenga Falls are also an interesting natural sight worth a detour:



The other – and perhaps more important – reason that brought us to South Africa was the Mkhaya Game Reserve. This is one of the three biggest game reserves in Swaziland – and likely the most famous one. It’s main draw? One of the biggest populations of wild white and black rhinos out t here. The tour here didn’t disappoint us. Whilst we didn’t see any black rhino, we managed to see no less then a dozen different white ones. These animals are simply splendid, so peaceful, so gentle, yet so ruthlessly poached by ruthless mercenaries who sell horns to the new rich in Vietnam and China, who falsely believe that a rhino horn is an elixir that can cure it all. Superstition has only done bad to these poor animals; World governments have decidedly stepped in after the “rhino war” of 1988-1992 against poachers, and some good results have been attained, as the population of white rhinos keep increasing.

















Swaziland isn’t a big country, and crisscrossing it gave us a good idea of the landscape and the people. While generally it looks poorer than South Africa, it is by no means a hopeless country. Many criticize the King for his lack of investments into improving poor people lives. That might be true, but the general feeling here is that the average person here is much better off the his/her South African counterpart…

And this brings me to the most pressing (and arguably controversial) topic of them all. Inequality in South Africa. Twenty-something years after the end of apartheid – that monstrous machine set on by Afrikaners who made of Hitler a model to follow and who enacted such laws as the Race Separation Act and the Immorality Act (which forbade people of different races to have any kind of romantic/sexual involvement) – it seems like little progress has been made to improve the general welfare of the majority black population. Strip the country of its people, and South Africa is a developed country: nice roads, nuclear power plants, world-class hospitals, fertile lands… Too bad that almost all these riches are in the hands of 10% of the population. It is really sad seeing white people zipping through the highway on their flaming-new SUV’s, while black locals have to walk for hours to get to work to earn just enough to feed their family. Mind it, I am not blaming it entirely on the whites and their decades-long oppression. An incompetent, corrupted, populist regime led first by Thabo Mbeki and now by Jacob Zuma (the former who denied that HIV was a sexually transmitted disease, the latter barely acquitted of rape charges) has failed to bring much wealth to the vast majority of people. A tension, a division among whites and blacks is clearly still felt. You will hardly see any black person in pubs and restaurants patronized by whites. You will hardly see any black and white people sitting at the same table sharing a meal. The rainbow nation looks more like a bottle containing oil and vinegar: they share the same bottle, but never mix together. Clearly, a lot must still be done.

The bright side is: the land is really beautiful and rich. Fruit orchards, plantations, grazing fields, precious minerals and stones bless this land of contrast. If future generations will make good use of these resources, there is no doubt that South Africa will shine as one the economic powerhouses of the World.

oneworld82

But now I digress. Because I want to talk about the Kruger Park. This mighty national park – now stretching into Mozambique as well – is the size of Israel and houses an incredible array of wild animals and plants. We only spent a day here, but we saw more animals than all the other days combined. Granted, you do not have the luxury and amenities of the private game reserves, but nothing can beat the shear number of animals living here. The stretch of park running between the Skukuza resting camp and the Lower Sabie one – along the Sabie river – is likely you best bet to see the big five and more. In just a day we managed to see rafts of hippos, tons of impalas, kudus, baboons, many elephants, giraffes, zebras, an African wild dog, crocodiles, warthogs, buffalos, and two lions. We didn’t see any leopard nor cheetah, but the formers were sighted that very same day along the area we drove by. it was simply brilliant seeing so many elephants crossing the road while driving your own vehicle. It’s a very unique and rewarding experience that I am lucky to have experienced and that I look forward to repeating in the near future.

I will let my pictures speak for myself.




An African Wild Dog - very difficult to spot!










Lions! A male and a female happily resting by the Sabie River

oneworld82

Last but not least, I would like to talk about South African food. Before leaving, a friend of mine told me that South Africa is a meat-loving country. Well, he was right. If you think that Americans eat a lot of meat, well then come to South Africa. Not only that, but the quality is most outstanding. The beef has a taste that I have only experienced in a couple of steakhouses in the United States (and those were expensive ones!), with the added bonus that a 2/3 pounds of sirloin or rump steak cooked to perfection will hardly cost you more than 13-14 dollar at even the fanciest of the steakhouses in the small towns around the Kruger Park. I am not a huge red meat eater, yet I managed to have five consecutive steak dinners during my holidays. Enough said.









Also, South Africa has excellent game meat. Impalas, Springbok, Kudus, Ostriches can be found pretty much everywhere in the form of biltong (dried meat), steak, stew, or pate. I myself brought back some wildebeest and zebra pate. It’s redundant to say that chefs here know how to cook a good piece of meat, which makes eating out all the more enjoyable (but vegetarians be not afraid – the country offer plenty of salads and soups and breads to satisfy your hunger).





South Africa… what a state of mind. A lot of driving, great food, incredible people, unbelievable nature, and memories of a lifetime. The Rainbow Nation and its little neighbor Swaziland didn’t fail to impress us. Sala kahle, South Africa. I am sure I will see you again… and pretty soon indeed!

P.S.
- Bring a good binocular. Animals can come incredible close to you, but sometimes you will see incredible things t a distance. A binocular will make everything so much easier to enjoy and experience.
- Food is South Africa is good. Like, really good. Even if you do not eat meat you will always find vegetarian options.
-- Biltong – a traditionally-Southern African dried meat – is this region’s best=kept secret. Tons of stores specialize in it, and a more commercial version can be found in every convenience store. Flavors vary, from beef to ostrich to impala. Please be sure not to miss it!

oneworld82

++++++++++++++

Coming Back Home

After 8 amazing days in South Africa and Swaziland, it was time to come back home. Please refer to my post on South Africa and Swaziland to read more about these two incredible countries. Here I will focus on my journey back home.

British Airways has its own Galleries Lounge at JNB airport. It’s actually a small First and a small Club lounge next to each other. It features showers, a nice buffet, and drinks aplenty.









JNB airport is not bad at all. I wish US Terminals all resembled JNB’s Terminal A! Anyways, my Y class flight to LHR was uneventful. I managed to sleep for a good portion of it, and we got into London at around 5.20a local time. As you can imagine, that was early enough to quickly transfer between Terminal 5 and Terminal 3 with no hassle. I quickly headed to the BA lounge there, and I had myself a nice little breakfast.



I have to say that the bacon sandwich is as good as always, although I liked the former presentation better, when you had tomatoes and mushrooms on a small tray and could just “make your own sandwich”.

I then headed to the BA Elemis SPA to take shower but was told that – as I was holding an AA ticket – I had to use the AAdmirals Club for that. No big deal, since AA’s lounge is just down the aisle from BA’s. The AAdmirals Club here in London is way better than any Club I have visited in the US. It even has free food! Like, real food! Showers were big and looked new. A good surprise.







About 30 minutes before my flight I moved to the gate. 3/4 of the people had already boarded, so that it didn’t take me long to get on board.

Flight AA99, LHR-ORD

7:45a – 10:30a

B772, Business Class, Seat 10B

I took my seat and shortly thereafter a middle-aged gentleman took his, next to mine. He didn’t speak a single word the entire flight. I will not digress on the seat itself, as it was the same as the one on the outbound flight. The cabin was only 2/3 full, a first for an American carrier, as non-revs tend to fill up these cabins.



Now, airlines can adopt whichever policy suits them the most, but I wish they put some limitations to the number of employees that travel on premium cabins for non-business purposes. After all, if I am a paying customer in business or first class that means I (or someone else on my behalf) is spending a lot of money to make me seat there (or that I am using a lot of miles). If the airline cannot fill the cabin with enough paying customers, all the better for those people seated in the premium cabin who will receive – hopefully – a more attentive, more personalized service. But this is merely my opinion of course.







The menu read like this:

BRUNCH

Starter

Smoked salmon with warm bagel and fresh fruit

A selection of breakfast breads

Entrees

Smoked Cheddar Omelette

With balsamic caramelized onions, asparagus and a bacon and potato stuffed tomato

Blueberry Pancakes

Served with cherry maple sauce

Grilled Chicken Risotto

With sauteed mushrooms and red bell peppers

LIGHT MEAL

Entrees

Chateaubriand

Served chilled with caramelized onions and a green salad with asparagus, Parmesan cheese and Greek vinaigrette

Cocunut Coriander Shrimp

With mango chutney and potato salad

Dessert

Sticky Toffee Cake

Take off happened on time, and the captain announced an earlier arrival at around 10:15a. Flights from London to the East Coast/Chicago are pretty short in terms of long hauls, and they give you just about enough time to enjoy the food, the IFE, and the service. Next thing you know, you are at your destination. And that works for me.

Before brunch I entertained myself with some readings…



Alan Paton’s books on South Africa’s apartheid period have been an inspiring source of information on this tragic time of the Rainbow Nation. I will talk a little about more about it in my related post on South Africa, but here it suffices to say that I strongly recommend this author and especially is masterpiece novel “Cry, the Beloved Country” to anyone visiting South Africa.

About half hour into the flight, the flight attendant came by with drinks. I asked for a mimosa and the gracious lady working my aisle had no problems preparing me one. I must point out that – in both directions – I had a good crew. Not necessarily all smiles, but polite and efficient. That always help!



Breakfast “breads” were offered, and they included muffins, cinnamon rolls (which I chose), and croissants (if I remember correctly). I liked the “make-your-own” salmon lox deal. The bagel was too hard though, and I couldn’t help but making lots of crumbs when I opened it. Regardless, the salmon tasted fresh, the cream cheese was fluffy to the right point, and capers made the lox just right. Also, the cinnamon roll wasn’t sticky, which made it easier to eat and to dunk into my coffee (if only AA served espresso/cappuccino in its premium cabins…!).



The main dish ensued. I decided to try the pancakes, which looked like this:



The pancakes were not bad (which doesn’t mean they were great), and the chicken sausage was a good complement. Overall it was a decent and filling breakfast that left me satisfied and in good mood to watch some classic movie, “Thuderball” – one of Sean Connery’s great 007 stories.

Halfway through the flight, cheese and fruit was offered. Also, near the galley a tray with packaged snacks was set up for business class passengers to “enjoy”. Sarcasm intended, as I think that offering cheap and highly-caloric packaged snacks to premium cabin customers is – well – cheap (compare it with sandwiches made on the onboard kitchen on British Airways, for instance).

In any case, 90 minutes before landing the light meal service started, preceded by a drink and nuts.







My neighbor’s Chateaubriand looked good as well (better than my dish), but after 5 consecutive steak dinner in Southern Africa I didn’t feel like having much beef anymore! As dessert, a sticky toffee cake was offered on the tray, which wasn’t anything particularly memorable.

We landed a bit ahead of time and I quickly proceeded to immigration. I love entering the US through JFK/ORD as agents are quick and friendly (which is not always the case in DFW). I collected my bag, rechecked them, taken the train to the AA terminal and made my way to the AAdmirals Club for a refreshing shower. After that and a glass of orange juice I made my way to my gate for my 2hrs flight to DFW. Nothing to talk about here, but Iwill just post a picture of the snack offered, which was a rather good beef salad.



We landed at DFW 20 minutes ahead of schedule and so my South African adventure came to an end. My AA flights to/from London weren’t particularly bad nor memorable, but after 11 hours in economy I really appreciated the extra comfort of a business class seat.

Thanks for reading. Next trip? Australia and New Zealand in August. Stay tuned!

Loose Cannon

Fascinating Trip Report. For what it's worth I would be interested in the details of your experience in Economy Class.

SuperDudley

Fascinating pictures. Thank you for sharing them.

mkjr

Nice TR. I too would love to see even the Y picks.

Nice. The AA J looks very good. I was worried about the J for 3 of us to NRT from JFK but honestly, that looks great.

Nice choice for reserve. Selecting a property/reserve that is open to Kruger is something I understand is good and bad. Good, you never know what you are going to see…bad, you will not be guaranteed to see all you want…personally, I like the former.

When I had a business trip cancelled, I was prepared to buck up and stay at Londolozi….on a friends advice in part, given your notes about Sabi Sand. If it was going to be once in a lifetime, and for me it was, I was prepared to spend handsomely for the all in experience….

Love the wall of shame when I was doing research but driving through Kruger could be a great idea also. http://www.sanparks.org/gallery/inde...ghtings/IDIOTS love the HTM link.

Dianne47

I lived in South Africa in 1977, the very depth of apartheid. Your commentary about the lack of progress for the majority is right on. Swaziland is a delightful place, good for you for making the time to go there.

On the topic of non-revs in premium cabins, I must respectfully but strongly disagree with you. I worked at a major hub for a legacy carrier in the early eighties. This was when it was still fairly easy to get on a flight as a standby, although there were plenty of times when I would "get stuck" and have to wait hours or, once in Majuro, three days for the next open flight. Airline employees put up with a LOT, even more so now than 30 years ago. Non-rev travel nowadays is very very difficult. Being able to ride in business class is small compensation for airline employees, it amazes me that people resent this small perk.

Thanks for the informative and interesting report. Your game photos are excellent.

Frederik123

Impressive pictures and a nice TR - Thank you for sharing them!

Gamecock

I have been to Swaziland twice for a total of about 40 days. Lovely country. Great people. Visited the same game preserve.

Did you happen to eat at a place called Quatermains? (sp)

I also enjoyed the BA lounge in JNB. On my second return trip I actually scored a double upgrade from Y->J!

Thanks for bringing back some good memories.

oneworld82

Hey Dianne,
thanks for putting some perspective on my commentary. I appreciate the opionion of someone who worked on the other side of the fence. I personally have nothing against non-revving; it's non-revving in premium cabins - especially when unlimited - that bugs me a bit. But I agree with you, airline employees have put up with a lot and I think they deserve some rewards. Perhaps let's put a cap on the number of premium cabin flights they can take in a year?

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures!

oneworld82

Thanks for the compliment and the feedback. I have added a few pictures and comments of BA World Traveler product on my blog post. Feel free to take a look!