ironmanjt

So, I had yet another work trip to Johannesburg, and decided this time due to the way meetings feel that I would take a week of vacation in the middle. Original plan was to head to Namibia for 5 days, followed by two each in Zimbabwe and Botswana. Before we get to the details, if you want to check out my previous trip reports:

I. London to Iran and Afghanistan in a mix of C, F, and LCCs
II. Above the Arctic Circle with UA/CO/LH and SK in whY, C, and F
III. Around the World in 40 Days for 40 Years
IV. 8 Places People Who Are Right in the Head Do Not Spend New Years
V. 12 Countries, 10 Airlines, 4 Islands, 27,080 miles, 11 Days
VI. 6 Countries in 6 Days - Caribbean Island Hopping and first AA Experience
VII. Guyana, Suriname, and French Guyana with an unexpected sidetrip to Caracas!
VIII. To Haïti - for vacation and a milage run!
IX. Around Senegal and West Africa
X. 4th Annual New Years in Dangerous Places - Libya Edition
XI. Kosovo and FYR Macedonia - Milage Run in United Business + TK/LH
XII. Washington to Peru and Machu Picchu on COPA and TACA
XIII. To Johannesburg...for 36 hours!
XIV. Here a Stan, there a Stan, everwhere a Stan Stan....
XV. Air Burkina, Air Cote d'Ivoire and 7 countries in West Africa
XVI. Turkey for Thanksgiving....with a side of Tajikistan, Serbia, Montenegro, and Moscow
XVII. Into the Heart of Darkness... Congo, Angola, Gabon, OH MY!
XVIII. HI! Four Islands, Lots of Planes, Beaches, and Convertibles
XIX. Plenty of Salt, Not Enough Oxygen...a Trip to Boliva, Colombia, and Ecuador
XX. Learning to Relax - Long Weekend in St Christopher and Nevis
XXI. You're spending New Years WHERE? IRAQ? (2009-2010)
XXII. Pineapples, croissants, and neon OH MY! A trip to Hawaii, Paris, Andorra, and Vegas
XXIII. South Pacific, Israel, Lebanon - 6 weeks - 71,500 miles - 24 countries
XXIV. Sundae bloody Sundaes...a 2014 United Year in Review
XXV. Lakes, Lemurs, and Lithuania: Horton Hears a Houthi!
XXVI. First Americans tour to North Korea 2005 - Arirang Mass Games
XXVII. Doing the Needful - Lufthansa Business US to Chennai
XXVII. C-ing things: Canada, Curry, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Camels, Chengis Khan and China!
XXVIII. Learning my ABCs: Algeria, Bahama, Cuba and the Cubana IL-96
XXIX. Exploring ZMapp of West Africa...or how I got detained by the CDC
XXX. Transatlantic to Bangkok with United, Austrian, Air Canada, and Thai
XXXI. Being Lazy in Belize
XXXII. Quick Trip to Cape Town with United, SWISS, South African, and Lufthansa
XXXII. FUNny thing happened going to and from Tuvalu...Cathay F, Etihad Apts, Fiji Biz
XXXIII. Achievement Unlocked: AFRICA! Visiting Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal
XXXIV. FIN. (and thanks for all the fish)
XXXV. What do you do after visiting every country? RTW in First with NH, TG, SQ, QR, EK, LH
XXXVI. Rock in the Abkhazia - Progress on the Unrecognized Countries List
XXXVII. Collecting Continents: Circle of the World, but not RTW
XXXVIII. Cocoa Puffs? Nah, I'm coup coup for Zimbabwe!
XXXIX. My Struggle is real: 10 days in Germany with roundtrip Lufthansa First Class
XXXX. I hate tacos...said no juan ever! Off to Mexico City for work!

I was hoping to fly from Namibia to Zimbabwe on Air Namibia, and after a night in Harare fly down to Bulawayo on Air Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, between the planning phase Air Zimbabwe went from three working planes down to one, and it was dubious if this would work. Worst case, I figured, I would take a driver from Harare to Bulawayo and then catch the train from there into Botswana.

Flights ended up being:




Driving plan in Namibia was:



Of course, this is Africa, and nothing ever works out as planned. So, with this trip report, I'll cover what actually DID happen, and take a post in the middle to do a short recap of what...didn't.

So, in the realm of what did transpire:

1. DC to Geneva with United Fauxlaris and long layover in Geneva
2. Geneva to Johannesburg with Lufthansa in Business and First (incl Geneva Swiss First Lounge)
3. Few days in Johannesburg
4. Johannesburg to Walvis Bay with Air Namibia, overnight Swakopmund
5. Driving Swakopmund to Sesriem, overnight
6. Dunes, dunes, dunes, and overnight Moon Mountain
7. Moon Mountain to Windhoek, overnight Windhoek
8. What went wrong...and eventually Windhoek to JoBurg on British Airways
9. Few more unexpected days in Johannesburg
10. Johannesburg to DC with Lufthansa Business and United Polaris

So buckle up, the roads in Namibia are rough...

worldtraveller73

Awesome. This looks like my exact Namibia trip from 2016. Except that I was fortunate enough to make all my flights on Air Namibia without any issues. Can't wait to see some familiar landscape!!!

nequine

All signed up!

offerendum

Can imagin roads are rough..... Looking forward to it!

ironmanjt

Soooo, off to Southern Africa again for work, this being the fourth trip in as many months. Despite it being a lot of travel, it's good for the mileage balance, and each time has enabled me to explore slightly different ways of getting there. I know lots of people like the 1-stop flight on South African, but to me it's just too long in a plane, and South African pulls way too many plane changes to risk getting the old seats.

My favourite route is pretty much via Europe with Lufthansa, but unfortunately this time the nonstop flight to Frankfurt was actually sold out when I went to book! Oh well, connecting in Europe it would be. There was space on the nonstop United flights, but I refuse to pay good money to sit in their absolutely horrid 2-4-2 configuration where you get to play twister with your seatmates to get to the aisle. No ma'am.

Yes, it was an upgradable fare, but there was no guarantee that would clear on United, so I went with the sure thing: a double connection in Europe where I could ensure the middle seat in United's 2-1-2 configured 767s. Plus, there was a chance I would get "real" Polaris since there were now four of 24 or so planes configured. Unfortunately, no such luck. Right, on to the details you're actually interested in.

Nobody in their right mind goes to the United Clubs at Dulles at mid afternoon international rush, heaving as they are with Chase credit card holders and more star alliance gold card holders than you can shake a stick at. Being familiar with the shuffle, I decided a stop by the Lufthansa Senator Lounge was in order first. Unfortunately, they've switched to serving terrible Prosecco, so I can't imagine I'll be going there much longer either. Disappointing.



Next off to Turkish Lounge almost right next door, but they were serving the same awful prosecco so I opted for a moderately ok glass of wine. What they lack for in booze they more than make up for in delicious baklava and turkish bread pudding. Don't judge. I may have had more than one piece.



Next off to the famous Dulles "moon buggies" for a ride over to the D terminal, where my flight to Geneva was just getting ready to board. Somehow, there were no "gate lice" crowding the boarding lanes, and I was actually first in line just five minutes before boarding. Go figure. Just in time to hear a group of non-revs negotiating with their friend the gate agent and asking her "come on, can't you move one person so we can sit together?" Ugh. Thankfully, the gate agent played by the rules.

United flight 974
Washington, DC, Dulles (IAD) to Geneva, Switzerland (GVA)
Depart 17:35, Arrive 07:40 next day, Flight Time: 8:05
Boeing 767-300, Registration N677UA, Manufactured 2001, Seat 1D
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 29,635
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,549,697

Sitting IN my seat when I boarded, but fortunately I was able to move it on top of my monitor. Yup, guess we have no shortage of amenity kits today!



Welcome abord Ch teau l'Oscar 2018 dans plastique.



Meal service started out with, you guessed it, mixed warm nuts and a glass of wine for me. I asked for a flight to try the wines, and was told "they didn't load them." Hrumph. Good thing I didn't ask about the bloody mary cart...



Appetizer of smoked duck with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and mustard was almost good, but the duck just didn't taste right. I give it an A for effort, but just didn't quite get there. I don't like that you don't get to select your own bread anymore, but as the two they give you are my two favourite kinds, I forgive it. Oh, and the salad? One of the best I've had on United. Costs so little to improve it to this level I'm glad to see they've finally done it. Hopefully this is the new norm.



The five spice short rib and wasabi grits? Well, the short rib hasn't changed in years, so that was predictable. I didn't taste any wasabi in the grits, and the sauce on the short rib had absolutely no flavour. Disappointing. Some days this dish is actually pretty tasty home cooking, but not tonight unfortunately.



United gets a C on the cheese course this time. All I know for sure is it was "international" cheese. I'm going to guess a brie, blue, and what tasted like a poor imitation manchego. It's better than the chedder and swiss they often try to pass off as international, however....



One ice cream sundae, hot fudge, no glass chips.



I was told I didn't have the option to say no to breakfast, so it was brought to me. I intentionally didn't sleep on the flight to stay on Washington time in an attempt to battle jetlag, and so far it was working well. Yes, I had a champagne breakfast, don't judge me...I think it even shocked the crew. Pretty sure they're not used to getting that request right before landing.



I had a 10 hour layover in Geneva before my connection to Frankfurt, and decided that's when I would sleep. I tried a new website called www.dayuse.com which offered me a room at the Ibis Palexpo right next to the airport for a very reasonable rate.

Unfortunately, after immigration, I jumped on the shuttle to the WRONG Ibis, and ended up walking back to the correct one, about a 20 minute walk away. The walk was actually nice after being on a plane all night, and when I got there I was ready to crash. But, the room...like many European hotel rooms, was WAY too warm and of course there was no air conditioning since it was April, so I had the pleasure of sleeping in a 25C room. At least after a shower I was ready to completely peace out for five hours.

Overall impression of the hotel? The room was a small cube with barely enough room for the bed and a desk, but it was perfectly functional. This was supposedly the nicer of the two Ibis properties as well. That said, it was a bed, and it was functional for that. The lobby looked to be a bit of a refugee camp with people on long layovers, and lots of small children, but the room itself was quiet. If not for the heat, it would have been absolutely perfect....plus where else can you get a 79 franc room in Geneva for 10 hours?!

Checked out after a wonderful solid nap, well worth every penny, and back to the airport to enjoy the lounge a bit. But first, random snack at Starbucks. Not sure it's a meal or what, but it was nearly $18...who said Geneva is expensive....



Overall lesson so far: this routing to South Africa works. Flight leaves DC too early to sleep for me, but gets to Geneva just in time that I want to sleep...and sleep came easily. The United 767 certainly isn't cutting edge, but if you get one of the middle seats it's not a bad product. Overall, I was happy with my choice, and it was time to head to Frankfurt now!

steveman518

there are no cherries in the sundae!

ironmanjt

Perceptive! You clearly remember my year of sundaes with cherries trip report.

Unfortunately, and I forgot to mention, they had no cherries

Fredrik74

Unfortunately?

I think the UA food looks quite nice. It's not what I thought. I was under the impression it's quite bad but then again this may reveal how little I understand.

ironmanjt

It's all a matter of preference. It's certainly an improvement over past days, but the main course and the cheese especially are not what I expect on a business class ticket.

It's like your grandmother's cooking: tastes ok and predictable, but there's nothing "outstanding" or "impressive" about it - which personally is what I think business class should aspire to.

AhogZ

I am in, I am in, great reading ahead!

roadwarrier

Oh my, last time you went to Zim, we missed each other by hours. I just spent another few days in Harare - 23- 27 April to be exact. Did not stay at the old Dame this time. My client put me up in a lovely Lodge instead. They did run out of Bohlinger’s beer though, and I have subsequently learnt that FOREX is once again an issue, hence a shortage of raw ingredients for the breweries and soft drink industries. Delta Corp seems to be hardest hit.
If you are into Mozambique prawns, try Paula's Place for decent prawns and chicken.
Looking forward to the rest of your TR!!

deuce1

Glad to see another report here Jason!

ironmanjt

After a nice rest, and waking up with Starbucks at Geneva Airport, it was time to find the SWISS First Lounge. I'd done some online searching, and people on Flyertalk generally seemed pretty unhappy with priority security at GVA as well as the lounge. I decided to leave myself about 90 minutes of lounge time to make my own assessment.

Premium security was pretty quick, and waited maybe five minutes in line. Super efficient. The lounge wasn't very hard to find, and when I offered my F boarding pass from Frankfurt to Johannesburg the agent directed me through the magic door on the left to the F lounge. Now, maybe it's not the biggest most impressive lounge in the world...but I had the entire place all to myself! How can you not like that?

I liked the decor - not at all crowded, but not a big fan of the chairs. Just found them a little awkward to sit in and the cushions a little too big and firm. I know, first world problems. Did I mention I had the whole place to myself for the entire 90 minutes?



Plus, the buffet had a really nice cheese setup!



Oh, and macarons! I didn't try any of the other sweets, but one of the downsides of an empty lounge is you know the food isn't turning over often and isn't really the freshest.



The macarons weren't the freshest, but didn't stop me from sampling a few while I waited...



After a perfectly nice stay in the lounge (only complaint? it was too warm, but that's just my personal pet peeve almost everywhere in Europe) it was off to the gates. Boarding was delayed about 15 minutes, but we had a great few of other planes and the mountains in the background while we waited. It's really hard not to like Switzerland...



Boarding was a complete scrum, but despite boarding 15 minutes late we pushed back only five minutes late. Not too bad at all for a completely full flight...except for the other seat in my row! One empty seat on the plane, and it's next to me once again. Definitely having some good luck on this trip so far.

Lufthansa flight 1223
Geneva, Switzerland (GVA) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)
Depart 17:55, Arrive 19:10, Flight Time: 1:15
Airbus A319, Registration D-AILL, Manufactured 1997, Seat 4F
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 29,921
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,549,983

Did I mention it was a gorgeous day and we had an amazing view of Lake Geneva, the mountains, and the airport as we did a 180 right after takeoff?



Yes, 55 minute flight and they served a rather substantial snack. As someone who loves sour cherries, and cheese...esp cheese with fig compote...it was definitely a great snack...and I had to try really hard not to ruin my appetite for the upcoming stop at the Lufthansa First Lounge and flight.



Landed right on time and...we ended up at a remote stand. I saw the driver next to the plane, and he didn't have any names, but I hoped...and yup, he was there for me! I'll never complain about a remote stand when I have my own driver!



Given the driver could only take me to the main airport and not the First Class Terminal (boo!) I opted for the B terminal, knowing that would also eventually guarantee me a ride to my plane which was departing from the Z gates. It would be a semi-short visit to the lounge today, so I headed straight to the dining room for some Schnitzel and champagne! Layovers are so trying when you get served a dinner like this...



...and I think Lufthansa must seriously be stalking one of my social media accounts. As I was eating, the lounge attendant came up to me and said "Herr Mayfield, I thought you might want a duck?" Haha, I'm not sure if I find it creepy or thoughtful....who am I kidding, definitely thoughtful!



After a quick shower, I settled in to watch a little tv until the flight...given the programming, a drink was definitely in order. With over 100+ different scotches/whiskeys to try, it's going to require many more trips through Frankfurt to make a dent in Lufthansa's offerings!



Off to the plane we go...Porsche tonight.



Rain or not, there's always something magical pulling up next to the plane in a Porsche and walking aboard like you're a VIP. No matter how many times I do it, it never gets old!



Only two passengers tonight, which was a bit strange as I've found this in the past to be one of the hardest routes for business to first upgrades. Chatted a bit with the other passenger, as well as the flight attendant serving first, and everyone agreed it was an unusually light load. Not going to complain, though!

Lufthansa flight 572
Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) to Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB)
Depart 22:05, Arrive 8:30 next day, Flight Time: 10:25
Boeing 747-8i, Registration D-ABYH, Manufactured 2013, Seat 2K
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 35,301
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,555,363

Let's see, what's for dinner tonight...I mean, not that I need dinner after the lounge



One thing I like about the length of the Johannesburg flight is it's long enough to get a good sleep in...and



Like the transfer, it never gets old. Welcome aboard macadamia nuts, champagne, and a simple rose...



I'll start off by apologizing for the dark pics...I find it much harder with the iPhone taking pictures in a dark cabin. Any tips are, of course, very welcome! Amuse bouche of salmon, creme, and some fig spread....wasn't a huge fan.



Starters from left to right....the asian beef was super tasty, and just the right combo of flavours and textures. The goat cheese with bell pepper and olive was alright but nothing special. I generally avoid shellfish on planes (except maybe lobster!) but the scallop was surprisingly tasty, and perfectly cooked.



Sad was uninspired, and very surprisingly for Lufthansa several of the leaves were wilted and browning. Unusual for Lufthansa (and the crew) to miss something like this.



As the other passenger chose to sleep, the question wasn't "do you want" caviar, but "how much do you want" - decided to start with a quarter of the tin, which was already a pretty generous portion!



...followed by another quarter of the tin. I may have a problem.



Very rarely do I do the fist option on planes, but when it's monkfish I cant resist. I was cooked really well, and lighter than a beef dish would have been. Overall it was really tasty and a good choice.



Oh Lufthansa with your amazing cheese cart and sweet biscuits...there are not words enough to describe how fond of you I am!



Raspberry and yogurt cake with pistachio ice cream...not only was the presentation amazing, it tasted fantastic. Plus, I love pistachio ice cream, so it was extra amazing!



...and as is my custom with overnight Lufthansa first flights a couple of pralines and some Johnny Walker Blue to nod off.



Crew kept the cabin nice and cold at my request (after making sure the other passenger didn't mind) and I crashed....hard. So hard that my request to not wake me up should I be sleeping had to be honoured, and I was woken up 15 minutes from landing after a solid 7+ hours of sleep. Probably one of the best in-flight sleeps I've every had, and a wonderful end to another great flight.

Now, time to hope the immigration line isn't too long, and spend a couple of days resting and recovering before getting down to work!

steveman518

I've been paying close attention to your in-flight desserts ever since Just a shame UA doesn't measure up to LH though...

offerendum

"Not the freshest" is not what you expect at a F-Lounge.... To be honest I only once was at an empty F-lounge and as it was 1am I wasn´t too hungry.