Day 1
My flight to Joburg wasn't until 4:40am, but decided to catch the last train to the airport at 12:30am to avoid having to take a taxi a bit later. After checking in, grabbed some Macca's then crashed on the one of the reclining chairs at the airport. Plane left on time and got into OR Tambo airport at 10:40am. Got a 3 month visa on arrival, although am off to Botswana tomorrow though
. After an unsuccessful hunt for an ATM, managed to change $US100 for some rand, although they charged an extortionate $17 for the privilege
. After dodging the taxi touts, managed to find the Gautrain for the 30 minute ride into town. Only $12 and much better than the $50 for a taxi.
After a 10 minute walk from the train station, made it to the hotel for the first night of the trip. Very new and modern, makes preparation for camping for the next 13 nights all the more harder though
. After a bit of a rest, went for a run through the city. The combination of the jet lag and the elevation (6000ft above sea level) made it a bit tough, but the cooler weather was welcome after the Dubai summer
. Got back and had a shower, and then went for a walk into town. Quite a modern, clean city, definitely closer to Auckland than Nairobi
. Went to Nelson Mandela square where they had a big statue of Madeba.
Had a big mall too which was very Dubai-esque
. Found an ATM and got some south african rand for the trip kitty. Went back to the hotel and crashed for a bit before the trip meeting at 6pm. Watched some South African TV too and was disappointed they only spoke English and not Afrikaans
.
I booked my trip through Intrepid (
www.intrepidtravel.com) and we had the trip meeting at 6pm and got meet everyone. 16 people on the trip with Aussies, Americans, Germans, Canadians, UK and 6 Kiwi's
. The guide and driver are a husband and wife team, Alfred and Emma. After sussing out the paperwork, had a quick burger for dinner and hit the sack for the early start tomorrow morning.
Day 2
Big travel day today so got up at 4:20am and had a shower before meeting up with everyone ready to head off for to Botswana.The truck is about 6 years old but has done 1.5 million kilometres
!
Alfred at the wheel heading north at sunrise.
Morning coffee stop
.
At the lights.
Me helping swap out a flat tyre with Alfred at the Botswanan border
.
Made it to Khama Rhino Sanctuary at 4pm and jumped in the 4WD's for some Rhino spotting. First animal snapped was this warthog though
.
Wildebeest.
Some Impala in the bush.
With the light starting to fade, we finally spotted some Rhino, and a couple of ostriches.
Having a drink. Unfortunately it was overcast, but was still great to see these big creatures up close.
One of the males having a strut.
Another male.
Only about 20 metres away for this shot.
And even closer in this one
. One of the photo's I got printed and framed from this trip.
With the fading light, we spotted a jackal as we were heading back.
And spotted some Zebra heading off in the distance.
And some more Impala.
The sun now well below the horizon.
And back to the campsite for a good feed from Chef-de-cuisine Alfred
.
