Safari in south Africa - BA: ABZ-LHR-JNB-CPT-PLZ-CPT-JNB-LHR-ABZ - BA Y,F,C
Apr 8, 2016, 11:51 am
#31
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Honors Diamond, Mucci de buveur de gin
Posts: 3,060
I had contacted the hotel about a week before I arrived and asked if they could sort out a car to take me to the hotel. That was no issue and the guy was waiting in arrivals for me. He was a nice guy and we chatted all the way to the home. He was enjoying telling me about South African history and pointing out all of the neighbourhoods we passed through. He was interested too in Scotland and also explained the whole Zuma situation when I asked about that. A great drive to the hotel.
I checked in and was thanked for being an Ambassador member. I had booked a suite so there was no upgrade available. A guy took me up to the room and took my case which was nice and I handed him a few hundred Rand. Probably too much but it's all I had on me.
The room was spacious and looked out over some suburb.
I had booked a ticket on the Red Bus which included a tour around Soweto and a stop off at Nelson Mandela's old house. I got an Uber into the city centre and, as luck would have it, the bus was sitting there with 2 mins to go until it headed off. I jumped on and took a seat upstairs. The tour itself was fine. It was nice to see the city of Johannesburg from the safety of the open top bus. The best part was the Soweto tour though. The folk doing it (me, two ladies form New York, one lady from Zimbabwe who lives in London and a Welsh guy.......we all had to introduce ourselves) jumped into a mini bus and got introduced to our wonderful tour guide. Her name has slipped my mind but she was a gem and had exactly the right personality to be a tour guide. Everything was "Now my darlings......." or "Now my pretties, I need to tell you" in that brilliant South African accent.
Anyway, some shots of Jo'burg. It's quite a dirty city and it didn't help that the street cleaners are on strike at the moment!
And heartening to see that you can find fish and chips anywhere!
Hi football stadium!
"Now my darleeeeeeeengs, we are going to stop at this sign"
That was the Hector Pieterson memorial. He was a 13 year old who was shot by police while protesting against the State's implementation of Afrikaans and English in schools. It was quite sobering hearing the story. We then moved onto Mandela's old house. Again, another sobering experience hearing the story and seeing the place in which he stayed with his family.
And then we headed back into the city and got caught in some rush hour traffic. Oh, and it was FREEZING by this point. But being Scottish, I had left the hotel without a jacket because it was positively tropical and I was now freezing my nads off.......BRR!
We went to the Constitutional Court.....I SO wanted to jump off and go have a look but it wouldn't have been sitting at that time.
So we were then back at Gauteng Park station and I hopped off the bus. I then did something very naughty. I hopped into a taxi. My mum would kill me if she knew. She thinks that all South African taxi drivers carry guns and try to extort money out of unsuspecting tourists *crying smilie emoji*
Anyway, back at the hotel, I chilled in the room and then headed down to the Club Lounge. Jeeeeeez that place is tiny and obviously not big enough for the number of club rooms that there are. I managed to grab a seat at a table with another guy though and had some nibbles and some wine before heading through to the restaurant for some dinner.
Hotel
I ordered springbok - didn't have a clue what it was but it was flippin' amazing!
Just look at how that is cooked!!!
And after a long day, it was time for bed. The bed was comfy as anything and I slept like a wee baby all night.
Woke up in the morning to what looked like another nice day. Not that I had any time to do anything really. I nipped down to the lounge and grabbed breakfast. Thankfully it was just me in there this morning SO I could grab a pic or two!
Nice selection of food - cereal, fruit, hams, cheeses and pastries. Oh, and my morning staple: COFFEE.
Pool area.....
I sat on a lounger for a while and chilled. It was brilliant. There was nobody there apart from me. The peacefulness was ace.
I popped back to the room, put a pot of coffee on and threw the few things I had used back into the suitcase. I booked an Uber to the airport and it was great. This guy, John, was in his mid 50s I would say and when we got chatting, he was so interesting. He told me about this tiny village he grew up in where 95% were white and 5% were black and they had separate polling stations to vote in but then all joined together after voting and had a massive meal. He enjoyed hearing about the UK - possible Brexit and Scottish independence and I enjoyed hearing about his thoughts on Zuma. I seem to have got lucky with drivers in Johannesburg.
And then he dropped me off at JNB.
To be continued.
See what I have done since though on Instagram........ @stu19855
I checked in and was thanked for being an Ambassador member. I had booked a suite so there was no upgrade available. A guy took me up to the room and took my case which was nice and I handed him a few hundred Rand. Probably too much but it's all I had on me.
The room was spacious and looked out over some suburb.
I had booked a ticket on the Red Bus which included a tour around Soweto and a stop off at Nelson Mandela's old house. I got an Uber into the city centre and, as luck would have it, the bus was sitting there with 2 mins to go until it headed off. I jumped on and took a seat upstairs. The tour itself was fine. It was nice to see the city of Johannesburg from the safety of the open top bus. The best part was the Soweto tour though. The folk doing it (me, two ladies form New York, one lady from Zimbabwe who lives in London and a Welsh guy.......we all had to introduce ourselves) jumped into a mini bus and got introduced to our wonderful tour guide. Her name has slipped my mind but she was a gem and had exactly the right personality to be a tour guide. Everything was "Now my darlings......." or "Now my pretties, I need to tell you" in that brilliant South African accent.
Anyway, some shots of Jo'burg. It's quite a dirty city and it didn't help that the street cleaners are on strike at the moment!
And heartening to see that you can find fish and chips anywhere!
Hi football stadium!
"Now my darleeeeeeeengs, we are going to stop at this sign"
That was the Hector Pieterson memorial. He was a 13 year old who was shot by police while protesting against the State's implementation of Afrikaans and English in schools. It was quite sobering hearing the story. We then moved onto Mandela's old house. Again, another sobering experience hearing the story and seeing the place in which he stayed with his family.
And then we headed back into the city and got caught in some rush hour traffic. Oh, and it was FREEZING by this point. But being Scottish, I had left the hotel without a jacket because it was positively tropical and I was now freezing my nads off.......BRR!
We went to the Constitutional Court.....I SO wanted to jump off and go have a look but it wouldn't have been sitting at that time.
So we were then back at Gauteng Park station and I hopped off the bus. I then did something very naughty. I hopped into a taxi. My mum would kill me if she knew. She thinks that all South African taxi drivers carry guns and try to extort money out of unsuspecting tourists *crying smilie emoji*
Anyway, back at the hotel, I chilled in the room and then headed down to the Club Lounge. Jeeeeeez that place is tiny and obviously not big enough for the number of club rooms that there are. I managed to grab a seat at a table with another guy though and had some nibbles and some wine before heading through to the restaurant for some dinner.
Hotel
I ordered springbok - didn't have a clue what it was but it was flippin' amazing!
Just look at how that is cooked!!!
And after a long day, it was time for bed. The bed was comfy as anything and I slept like a wee baby all night.
Woke up in the morning to what looked like another nice day. Not that I had any time to do anything really. I nipped down to the lounge and grabbed breakfast. Thankfully it was just me in there this morning SO I could grab a pic or two!
Nice selection of food - cereal, fruit, hams, cheeses and pastries. Oh, and my morning staple: COFFEE.
Pool area.....
I sat on a lounger for a while and chilled. It was brilliant. There was nobody there apart from me. The peacefulness was ace.
I popped back to the room, put a pot of coffee on and threw the few things I had used back into the suitcase. I booked an Uber to the airport and it was great. This guy, John, was in his mid 50s I would say and when we got chatting, he was so interesting. He told me about this tiny village he grew up in where 95% were white and 5% were black and they had separate polling stations to vote in but then all joined together after voting and had a massive meal. He enjoyed hearing about the UK - possible Brexit and Scottish independence and I enjoyed hearing about his thoughts on Zuma. I seem to have got lucky with drivers in Johannesburg.
And then he dropped me off at JNB.
To be continued.
See what I have done since though on Instagram........ @stu19855
Apr 8, 2016, 11:26 pm
#36
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver, Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles Platinum
Posts: 2,375
As a Saffa...
It's really interesting to read others trip reports about my home country, and so far Stu is putting me to shame, as he's seen more of Johannesburg area than I have!
Thanks, and have a wonderful time!
Thanks, and have a wonderful time!
Apr 9, 2016, 10:19 am
#39
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Honors Diamond, Mucci de buveur de gin
Posts: 3,060
Coming up soon Grande Annee!
Thanks Tiffywren - glad you are enjoying it!
Oh me noniron - SFO777 has high standards.....more so than me - lol.
I have to admit that it was a great steak MatthewLAX
Cris L - thanks for reading. You'll have to make a point of seeing more of Jo'burg!
Thanks SYDSiderFlyer
Cheers stevie. Agree that BA F is not up there and yeah, the screen is a bit small. I'm just glad that I wasn't sitting down the back!
Cheers stevie. Agree that BA F is not up there and yeah, the screen is a bit small. I'm just glad that I wasn't sitting down the back!
Apr 9, 2016, 10:58 am
#40
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Honors Diamond, Mucci de buveur de gin
Posts: 3,060
After I said bye to John, I made my way to the BA check in desks. No fast track security but there was only one guy in front of me so I was through in no time and making my way upstairs to the SLOW lounge.
This is a nice lounge with some good views and an absolutely MASSIVE selection of food. I mean, you could stock up in here for days! Yes, it was crowded but I still managed to find a seat somewhere and have some cheese and crackers, soup and a few beers.
I was rudely reminded that I'll be taking an easyJet flight the weekend after I come back home by this cheeky wee one.....
A call for boarding was made in the lounge and I headed to the gate. Boarding was a mess with no priority boarding enforced. It was each man for himself. Anyway, I was soon on board the 737 for the short 2 hour hop to CPT.
BA6419, JNB-CPT, ZS-OAP - had to laugh at the plane reg....made me think of Uncle T
Welcomed on board with that gorgeous South African accent which I have come to love. It was strange but nice at the same time hearing the words: "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome on board this British Airways flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town....". Then the First Officer came on. Now she was another one who clearly loved her job: "Ladies and Gentlemen I just want to welcome you on board......" blah blah....... "This flight is flown on the beautiful Boeing 737. It's a wonderful plane and I am so happy to be flying you today on it. It really is a pleasure to fly. But I need to say thanks to you. Because if I didn't have any passengers then I wouldn't be able to fly this aircraft today so thank you very much". She later came on with the most detailed routing I've ever heard on a plane and then, before we landed, told us again at what altitudes we had flown at, where we had passed and what each side could see out of the window before we landed. A joy to listen to.
I was in 2A (which I had expected to be front row (as per seat map) but it turned out there was a row 1 (not on seat map). Oh and boy was I glad to be on the A and C side. The middle seat is kept free a la business class. On the D and F side - no chance. THE E SEAT IS SOLD TOO! Wow, those guys looked a little bit cosy!
I had to laugh at the markings on this plane....
Service started on the ground with PRE-DEPARTURE DRINKS! Waaaaaaaait a minute, this can't be BA. Oh I could get used to this my babies (channeling my Jo'burg tour guide there)!
Bye bye JNB
Then we were treated with some stunning views of Johannesburg after taking off. I hadn't really appreciated that the city sprawled so much - the views were brilliant. I'll let the pics talk.
Then the ladies sprang into action and handed out hot towels and then the boss took drinks orders and handed out wee bottles of still or sparkling water.
Fizz plz!
The meal was a choice of beef or some vegetarian thing. Erm, beef please! And wow, it was great. A cold dish but it tasted wonderful. The artichokes and cous cous were very tasty.
Changed to red wine after the meal. Served out of proper full bottles!
Boss: "Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiir, is it time?"
Me: "Time for what?"
Boss: " A refill.....your glass is empty"
Me: "Oh I love you" - well that's what I was thinking!
The scenery we eventually saw when the clouds below us scarpered was out of this world.
Lining up.....
Gonna catch you shadow!
And with that, we were in Cape Town!
Bye nice plane!
More soon. I'm in the hotel lounge gasping for another G&T.
Get sneak peeks of what I have been doing on IG - @stu19855
Bye!
This is a nice lounge with some good views and an absolutely MASSIVE selection of food. I mean, you could stock up in here for days! Yes, it was crowded but I still managed to find a seat somewhere and have some cheese and crackers, soup and a few beers.
I was rudely reminded that I'll be taking an easyJet flight the weekend after I come back home by this cheeky wee one.....
A call for boarding was made in the lounge and I headed to the gate. Boarding was a mess with no priority boarding enforced. It was each man for himself. Anyway, I was soon on board the 737 for the short 2 hour hop to CPT.
BA6419, JNB-CPT, ZS-OAP - had to laugh at the plane reg....made me think of Uncle T
Welcomed on board with that gorgeous South African accent which I have come to love. It was strange but nice at the same time hearing the words: "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome on board this British Airways flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town....". Then the First Officer came on. Now she was another one who clearly loved her job: "Ladies and Gentlemen I just want to welcome you on board......" blah blah....... "This flight is flown on the beautiful Boeing 737. It's a wonderful plane and I am so happy to be flying you today on it. It really is a pleasure to fly. But I need to say thanks to you. Because if I didn't have any passengers then I wouldn't be able to fly this aircraft today so thank you very much". She later came on with the most detailed routing I've ever heard on a plane and then, before we landed, told us again at what altitudes we had flown at, where we had passed and what each side could see out of the window before we landed. A joy to listen to.
I was in 2A (which I had expected to be front row (as per seat map) but it turned out there was a row 1 (not on seat map). Oh and boy was I glad to be on the A and C side. The middle seat is kept free a la business class. On the D and F side - no chance. THE E SEAT IS SOLD TOO! Wow, those guys looked a little bit cosy!
I had to laugh at the markings on this plane....
Service started on the ground with PRE-DEPARTURE DRINKS! Waaaaaaaait a minute, this can't be BA. Oh I could get used to this my babies (channeling my Jo'burg tour guide there)!
Bye bye JNB
Then we were treated with some stunning views of Johannesburg after taking off. I hadn't really appreciated that the city sprawled so much - the views were brilliant. I'll let the pics talk.
Then the ladies sprang into action and handed out hot towels and then the boss took drinks orders and handed out wee bottles of still or sparkling water.
Fizz plz!
The meal was a choice of beef or some vegetarian thing. Erm, beef please! And wow, it was great. A cold dish but it tasted wonderful. The artichokes and cous cous were very tasty.
Changed to red wine after the meal. Served out of proper full bottles!
Boss: "Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiir, is it time?"
Me: "Time for what?"
Boss: " A refill.....your glass is empty"
Me: "Oh I love you" - well that's what I was thinking!
The scenery we eventually saw when the clouds below us scarpered was out of this world.
Lining up.....
Gonna catch you shadow!
And with that, we were in Cape Town!
Bye nice plane!
More soon. I'm in the hotel lounge gasping for another G&T.
Get sneak peeks of what I have been doing on IG - @stu19855
Bye!
Apr 10, 2016, 2:09 pm
#44
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: North of Carlisle
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 1,538
Hi Stu, just catching up on some trip reports whilst sitting in the F lounge at Houston airport. My second F trip at long last, looking forward to experiencing the Concorde lounge tomorrow morning but will pass on the alcohol as I'm driving home from Edi. Great report, enjoy !
Great report, enjoy !
Apr 10, 2016, 7:06 pm
#45
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 220
Welcomed on board with that gorgeous South African accent which I have come to love. It was strange but nice at the same time hearing the words: "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome on board this British Airways flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town....". Then the First Officer came on. Now she was another one who clearly loved her job: "Ladies and Gentlemen I just want to welcome you on board......" blah blah....... "This flight is flown on the beautiful Boeing 737.
Nice report. Great pictures and wonderful style.