Namibia – November 5th to 21st 2019.
It’s bonfire night but we won’t be at home to see the fireworks as we’re off on our travels again with our very good friends Bob & Sue. This time we’re going to be answering the call of wild with a trip to Namibia (although it we don’t expect it to be all that wild as we’re going on a Saga tour but you never know!).
5th November 2019 – Home to Heathrow.
One of the services that Saga offer as part of their holiday package is an included transfer to the airport and we were duly collected at 10:30 this morning before making our way around to Bob & Sue’s to pick them up. Once we were on board the driver made a point of telling us that he had originally been told that he was to collect two more passengers from Nottingham for the journey down but had persuaded the company that it would be a tight squeeze so we would now be the only four for this part of the trip (As it turns out the two who should have been collected from Nottingham ended up taking a private taxi because their driver didn’t turn up - oops!!).
The route our driver took was not the one we’re used to, he drove straight across the A46 to Warwick and took the M40 and this seemed to work very well. As we had some time to spare before our check in we stopped en-route for lunch and still made the airport in plenty of time. This time we were flying from Terminal 2 which is much more civilised that the bigger terminal 5 so we were checked in and through security with lots of time to spare and we even got a wheelchair straight away!
Our flight today was very long at eleven hours and was also pleasantly uneventful however the seats were pretty cramped and not particularly comfortable so none of us managed to get any sleep.
6th November 2019 – Johannesburg to Windhoek, Namibia.
We arrived in Johannesburg fairly early in the morning and were met by a whole raft of wheelchairs and our ‘pusher’ suggested we might be better waiting in a coffee shop as the gate for our next flight wasn’t yet open so that’s what we did. Our flight to Windhoek was just under two hours and that too was uneventful. We finally arrived in Windhoek at around 13:00 a full 25 hours after leaving home and we were all feeling pretty shattered by then.
On arrival we were met by our guide (Paulo) and driver (Peter) and met up with the other 15 people who were on the same tour. Once we were all on the bus (which is a 29 seater for 17 of us) Paulo asked how we felt about making a stop in the town of Windhoek before going to the hotel as it would free up more time for us tomorrow. The consensus was that this would be a good thing so we took a short city tour en-route to our first hotel. Once there we had a little free time to sort ourselves out before Paulo provided us with a briefing for the rest of the tour and it was then on to what turned out the be a very good dinner. Not surprisingly everyone was extremely tired by that time so it was an early night for all of us.
7th November 2019 – Heathrow to Windhoek, Namibia via Johannesburg.
We left our hotel at 08:00 this morning after a good sleep and an equally good breakfast. We’re currently heading South and our first stop was at the small town of Rehoboth where we visited the towns museum and learned something of the history of the town and the local community. A brief stop to pick up some supplies for lunch was next on the agenda before we started on a rather longer journey to our home for the next two nights.
We arrived at the Lapa Lange Lodge at around 14:00 this afternoon and very nice it is too. It is a property that used to be a traditional farm but which had been converted (As have many in the area) to a private game reserve and tourist destination. There is a fairly small main building which houses the reception, restaurant etc. and then there are a number of rooms around a lawned area, a short distance away is a watering hole which we’re told attracts a variety of wild life.
On arrival we were given the opportunity to book some optional excursions one being a Cheetah walk and the other a game drive. We, along with the majority of the group, booked for both and the Cheetah trip was booked for this afternoon at 16:30. We had been told that they had a very large fenced area where they had three Cheetah who having been orphaned had been hand reared by the staff on site and we were expecting to take a short walk to see them in their enclosure. We did exactly that but were then rather surprised to be invited in to the enclosure to meet these beautiful creatures face to face which was really something. In total we spent around half an hour in the enclosure and we had the opportunity to get up close and personal with them which is something I don’t think we will ever forget. It was well worth the 300 Namibian dollars each it cost!
As we returned to the lodge there was another slight flurry of excitement as a fairly large mixed herd of Wildebeest and Eland had come to the watering hole along with two very, very large White Rhino. A quick drink later and there was just time for a quick shower before heading back to the restaurant for another very good meal. This was followed by another early night as we were still all pretty shattered.
8th November 2019 – Lapa Lange Lodge, Mariental, Namibia.
First on the agenda this morning (after breakfast of course) was an included walk with some local Kalahari Bushmen. We were introduced to them at 09:00 and spent the next hour walking with them whilst they gave us an insight into living in the bush; they are known as trackers and hunters and they told us what had passed by using their footprints and dung. They also told us which plants could be used for medicines and which should be avoided. All in all it was an interesting hour.
Once back at the Lodge we indulged in a nice cool (soft) drink before on the terrace before relaxing for an hour or so watching out over the water hole where we saw a number of Ostrich, Eland and a variety of birds.
Following a light lunch there was more time to relax and catch up on sorting some of the pictures I’d taken over the past two days.
At 17:00 we were off again this time on a 4x4 game drive into the private reserve. Now when a say a 4x4 I don’t mean one like you would see on the roads at home but rather truck with 16 seats across four rows in the back. In total the drive lasted around 2 hours and we were fortunate enough to see quite a variety of animals including two giraffe which I for one hadn’t expected to see. The trip ended in the bush with a sundowner drink for each of us which was very pleasant as we watched the sun turn bright red before it sank completely from the sky.
As we didn’t return to the lodge until quite late we had no time to shower before dinner so we all sat there eating looking rather like something the cat had dragged in but I guess we were all in the same boat so, hey ho!
9th November 2019 – Mariental to Fish River Canyon.
We left at 08:00 this morning knowing that we had a long drive ahead of us, in total it was only around 440km but the last 105 was on dirt so we were warned it would take time. The first 35km was on gravel and returned us to the town of Mariental where we made a brief pit stop, the next 200 or so kilometres seemed to go on for ever as there was little to see other than mile after mile of scrubland (it’s hard to imagine anything being able to survive out here). When we eventually reached the town of Keetmanshoop we stopped for fuel and then at a small shopping mall for a comfort stop and a stretch of the legs before setting off again in the direction of Fish River Canyon.
Once we reached the Fish River itself (which incidentally seems unlikely to have seen any water for a good few years let alone fish) we made another short stop for a picnic lunch that had been provided by last night’s lodge. It was shortly after that that we took to another gravel road and although this one was a little bumpier that the previous ones we were still making good time until that is we turned off onto the private road to the lodge which is to be our home for the next two nights.
The sign at the road entrance stated that the lodge was a further 19km on and we were told that as the road was both rough and twisty it would likely take another hour and this proved to be a pretty accurate assessment.
It may have been a bit of a long, rough journey but it’s fair to say that the location of this Lodge is something pretty special. There is a main building housing the reception, restaurant and bar and then there are a number of separate buildings each housing an individual room and each one of these buildings is perched right on the edge of the Fish River Canyon which is said to be the second largest canyon in the world (after the Grand Canyon). The views from each of the buildings is fabulous and the rooms, although a little quirky, are also very good.
The only slight drawback for Graham and I with this property is that the only activity included in the package is not going to be sensible for us as it is a Rim walk lasting around 2 hours and as the ground is covered in loose stones this isn’t going to be a viable option for us. There is another optional excursion available but it not only leaves very early but it’s also very expensive so we’re giving that a miss too this means we may have a fairly long day looking at the views but at least the views are worth watching.
10th November 2019 – Fish River Lodge, Namibia.
As we suspected Graham and I have had a largely lazy day today. We had breakfast with some of the group before they left for their rim walk, we then spent an hour or more sorting photographs before kicking back to take in the views and watch the wildlife.
After a not so busy morning we had what we thought would be a light lunch (the house salad) but it turned out to be huge. We were also joined by a number of others from the group who had, by this time, returned from their walk. It was then back to sorting more pictures (albeit we can’t load them to the blog as, not surprisingly bearing in mind where we are, the internet signal is a bit suspect).
Our guide Paulo has invited us all for a sundowner drink before dinner this evening and we should find out then just how early we have to leave tomorrow as it looks like it’s going to be another long drive to get to our next stop which will be a little different as it’s on the coast.
11th November 2019 – Fish River Canyon to Luderitz, Namibia.
It hasn’t, after all, been quite such a long day today. We left at 08:00 and spent the first 1 ½ to 2 hours retracing our wheel tracks back to the tarmac road where we turned West towards to coast. Once again there hasn’t been a huge amount to see along the way as we’ve been travelling through desert scrubland.
We did make one brief comfort stop at the small town of Aus , that was then followed by an even briefer stop to visit a water hole which is frequented by wild horses, at least it is most of the time but there weren’t any there today (we did however see a few further along the road). One further short stop was taken to view the ghost town of Kolmanskop, a diamond mining town that was deserted in 1964.
We arrived on the coast at around 13:30, took a brief orientation tour around the town on the bus and then drove out to our hotel which is perched on rocks overlooking the sea. The hotel is okay, nothing special but okay. It is quite modern and seems to be the only sizable hotel in the area which is why I guess Saga frequent it. There isn’t a great deal to see in the town and we have to re-trace the last 125km of our journey before we can head north tomorrow so I can see no other reason why Saga and other tour operators visit the town.
After Graham and I had a light(ish) lunch Sue accompanied me in to the town so I could visit an ATM as it was too far for Graham to walk and I didn’t think it was a particularly good idea to make what would be a fairly obvious trip to an ATM on my own.
12th November 2019 – Luderitz to Sossusvlei Lodge, Sesriem, Namibia.
We had another 08:00 departure this morning as we had some 430km to cover and the vast majority of it was on gravel roads. After approximately an hour of driving we made a brief comfort stop (at the same place as yesterday in Aus) and then headed back to see the wild horses we had missed yesterday. This time there were lots of them at the water hole including five fouls; we were all pretty surprised to see how good a condition they seemed to be in as the environment they are surviving in is incredibly harsh.
We were then back on the road and pretty soon took to the gravel which made the journey a little less comfortable and quite a bit slower. During the course of the morning the scenery changed quite a bit with some areas being quite hilly and others extremely flat, the one thing that hasn’t changed is that everywhere is totally parched. The whole of Namibia is experiencing a very severe drought and livestock and wildlife alike are really struggling to survive which is a great shame.
We had been provided with a packed lunch today and Paulo had arranged for us to visit a very remote Roadhouse to eat our lunches. It is owned and run by a very pleasant gentleman (and his lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback dog) who set the property up as a small café cum shop but it is so remote that anyone wanting to stop there has to pre-arrange the visit as the owner lives around 40km away in the nearest town.
It was once we got back on the bus that things got interesting as we discovered that he air conditioning had failed. Now please bear in mind that we were travelling across a desert with temperatures well into the 30’s and the bus had been standing for approximately an hour so it was like an oven. Peter, our driver, tried a few possibly remedies but to no avail so the only thing left to do was carry on with all of the windows open which meant we were all getting blown away and covered in dust but still, at least we had windows that opened!
We made one more short ‘photo stop at a small canyon and it was there that someone noticed the air conditioning belt hanging under the bus so although Peter wasn’t able to fix it there and then at least he knew what the problem was. Fortunately he was able to fix it later this evening so we’re back up and running for tomorrow.
We arrived at the Lodge at around 17:00 and it is rather nice thank you very much. There is a central area with a bar, a swimming pool and a large outdoor eating area and then each room is a separate building which is a cross between a bungalow and a tent. Thankfully there was time for us to take a shower to wash off some of the grime before sitting down for a very nice meal which included a substantial choice of different game meats. We’re now ready for an early night as we have a very early start tomorrow (up at 05:00 and out for 06:15).
13th November 2019 – Sossusvlei & Dead Vlei.
It may have been an early start but it was worth it; after a very quick breakfast we were taken by coach to the entrance to the Namib- Naukluft National Park which is home to what is probably one of the best known landmarks of Namibia i.e. the Red Sand Dunes.
Once inside the park there was a drive of c60km in the bus (with the occasional stop for photographs and Dune viewing) before we reached the parking area beyond which only 4x4 vehicles are allowed. We then transferred to some 4x4 shuttles run by the Park which duly delivered us to the closest spot for visiting the Dead Vlei the literal translation for which (we’re told) is ‘Dead space’. From here there is a 1.1km walk across the dunes in sometimes thick sand which meant that it really wasn’t an option for Graham so he sat out this part of the visit and waited for us under a convenient tree (along with two others from our party). I turned out to be a hot, slow walk, but it was definitely worth it, in all I think we were gone for around 1½ hours.
After this visit we were picked up by a different shuttle, this one a tractor pulling a trailer kitted out with seats, and we were driven to another viewpoint before making our way back to where the coach was waiting. Once back on the coach we had a fairly short but very bumpy ride to visit the Sesreim Canyon, a relatively small but interesting chasm in the parched earth.
Our last stop was at the one very small supermarket cum petrol station just outside the park where we stocked up on provisions for lunch before heading back to the Lodge. After a picnic lunch on our terrace (where we could see a group of Wildebeest at the at the watering hole) we took a brief stroll around the Lodge, had a cool drink and then returned to our room for a well-earned rest and a much needed shower before dinner.
14th November 2019 – Sesriem to Swapokmund, Namibia.
Today has been another long day. We left at 07:30 and were immediately back on gravel roads, in total the journey was around 430km and all but the last 30km or so was on rough and sometimes extremely rough gravel roads.
The first stop we made was at a remote roadhouse in the settlement of Solitaire which is, apparently, famous for its apple pie so as well as providing a decent comfort stop it also gave us the opportunity to buy some bits and pieces for lunch which for many of us included the apple pie (and it was indeed very good).
We then drove through two small passes, the first being the Gaub pass which had some interesting geology. A little further on was the Kuisah pass which, to my mind, was more interesting as it involved some fairly twisty roads. The journey continued taking us in and out of the Namib-Nakluft Park before we finally stopped for a late picnic lunch at Dune 7 just outside of Swapokmund (not surprisingly it’s a sand dune).
From there we made a slight detour to see some Welwitschia plants; these are the national plant of Namibia and unique to this part of Africa. There are apparently separate male and female plants and they say they can be as much as 1000 years old. After a brief stop to see the plants we drove on to see an area known as the Moonscape as it said to look like the surface of the moon. It certainly is a strange looking area.
From here it was finally on to our hotel which is a large fairly modern hotel in what was the old railway station. It’s quite a nice building but nothing special. We had limited time to get ourselves ready for dinner so a quick wash and brush up was all we managed.
15th November 2019 – Swakopmund, Namibia.
This morning’s was an 08:00 start as we had a boat trip booked for 09:00 which left from the port town of Walvis Bay some 40km away.
The trip was billed as a wildlife cruise with the possibility of seeing a range of sea life including fur seals. It was obvious from the start that many of these seals are very used to the boats as within a few minutes one of them had launched itself onto our boat and was being fed by a member of the crew. It also sat on one of the seats and allowed itself to be stroked and to have its picture taken.
We were also joined on the boat by a couple of Pelicans who also took their turn at being fed and photographed. During our trip we also saw, albeit briefly, a humpback whale and lots of flamingos. Unfortunately the trip was somewhat spoiled by the fact that we were joined by five young Nigerian’s who were already half-cut when they joined the boat (they were supping cans of cider as they boarded) and who continued to take advantage of the booze offered on board throughout the trip, (until that is the captain told his crewman not to give them any more). As a consequence they were very loud and inconsiderate despite having been asked to pipe down. This has been fed back via our Saga rep. in the hope that no-one else suffers the same issue.
After our boat trip we returned to the hotel for a much needed shower before we were out again at 15:00 to visit some homes in one of the local townships. There were only eight of us who went along and, to be honest, we thought about not going as it seemed a bit ghoulish going to see how the poorer members of the population lived.
As it was we were really glad we did go as the people seemed very happy to see us. After a brief drive around we stopped to visit Mama Erica a 68 year old lady who had been living in the township for most of her life. It was a very interesting visit as we were able to ask her as many questions as we wanted about how her life has changed over the years. We were also able to have a good conversation with her eldest grand-daughter who acted as her translator and who is going to be going to university to study law.
Our next trip took us a little further into the township and we called in to see a lady called Petra who is a herbalist. She spent some time telling us about the various herbs and ingredients she uses (including baboon poo!) and how she became a medicine woman, which incidentally was a position she inherited from her grand-mother. The other totally fascinating thing about this visit was the language she used as she uses one of the click languages, she also read us a story in click and showed us how it is written (she also attempted to get us all to speak in clicks but it was pretty much a total failure).
The other thing we were all impressed with in the township was the cleanliness and the pride people take in looking after their homes (such as they are) the people there all seemed to be happy which was great to see.
Once back at the hotel we had limited time to get ourselves ready as we were being taken out to a “special” dinner. I must say I was a little dubious as I was expecting a contrived show dinner put on for busloads of people but it turned out to be a very nice private dinner for our party. We were driven a short way out of town to a dry river bed where a bomer had been set up especially for the occasion. The entrance to the bomer was cleverly lit with candles inside paper bags which gave a nice effect and we sat at tables set up (complete with table cloths etc.) under a very large tree.
After a short run back to the hotel it was time for another fairly early night.
16th November 2019 – Swakopmund to Twyfelfontain, Namibia.
Unfortunately I woke with a really bad head this morning so skipped breakfast before boarding the bus at 08:00 for yet another very long journey (fortunately my headache improved as they day went on).
We left Swapo as the locals call it and headed north along a coast road before making our morning comfort stop at a petrol station and coffee shop. From there we continued north and a bit west to visit the Cape Cross seal colony and we picked a really good time to be here as the seals are all pupping. There were absolutely hundreds, if not thousands of them including lots and lots of pups who must have been born overnight as they were, in many cases, still attached to the placenta. The only drawback to this visit was the rather pungent aroma that surrounded the colony.
Once we’d finished checking out the seals we were driven to a nearby (but far enough from the smell) lodge for lunch. The lunch itself was very nice but way too big, it also took rather too long to serve and eat so we were almost an hour later than anticipated leaving there.
We were then back on gravel roads for a further three hours before finally reaching our lodge at 18:00 and I think everyone was glad to get off of the bus by then as it felt like a really long day. The lodge consisted of a number of thatched buildings and had some fabulous views over the open countryside the only issue for us was the slopes both inside and outside of the buildings. It wasn’t an insurmountable problem just a bit awkward. There was one slight fly in the ointment for us though as we had no hot water so Graham had a cold shower and I opted out for tonight as I’d showered this morning.
The Lodge restaurant was on the first floor of the main building and offered some great views whilst the light lasted and after a very nice carvery meal (which included crocodile) we were unexpectedly entertained by the restaurant staff when they suddenly broke into song which sounded absolutely great. A brief drink in the open air bar followed but as it was getting quite chilly by that time we fairly soon retired to our mosquito netted bed.
17th November 2019 – Twyfelfontain to Epacha Game Lodge.
As we left the lodge at 08:00 this morning we were taken on a very brief tour of some rock carvings that are at the entrance to the lodge. From there we drove around 35km to visit the UNESCO world heritage site at Twyfelfontain itself. The plan here was to take a walk with a local guide to see the petroglyphs the site is famous for but as it was going to be quite a walk Graham (and two others) decided to sit it out and it’s a good job he did as we ended up imitating mountain goats to get to much of the area. In total the visit lasted about an hour so we were all pretty glad of a seat at the end of it even if it was back on a bumpy bus.
Next on the agenda was a visit to the Petrified Forest which again entailed quite a walk so Graham once again sat it out. We were then back on the road but, fortunately, much of the rest of the journey was on tarmac so it was a much smoother ride.
We stopped for a rather late lunch in a very small town called Outjo and as we sat waiting for our food the power went off, fortunately the power cut didn’t last too long so were back on the bus at the allotted time.
We’ve now driven the last 1 ½ hours to Epacha which is a private game reserve with its own lodge and very nice it is too. Once again there are some interesting slopes to contend with but if we take it easy we should be fine.
Dinner tonight is a barbeque in a Bomer at the side of the lodge and it’s likely we’ll be making it an early night as we have to be up very early tomorrow (04:15) as we’re going on a game drive into Etosha National Park.
18th November 2019 – Etosha National Park.
It was definitely worth the early start this morning. As I mentioned yesterday we were up at 04:15, had a quick breakfast and we’re off on our way to Etosha (approx. 70km north) by 05:30.
During the drive there we saw some Kudu and a warthog but not much else but the trip into Etosha certainly made up for it. We arrived at the park at around 06:30 and the seven of us (including Bob & Sue) who had elected to pay extra for a 4x4 trip rather than staying on the coach were picked up by our driver/guide George.
As we made our way in to the park proper it became obvious that there was something of interest ahead and we stopped and watched a group of Lions slowly making their way through the bush; not bad for our first sighting! During the remainder of our six hour tour we saw all sorts of beasts including, Giraffe, Oryx, Wildebeest, Impala, more Kudu, lots and lots of Springbok and a little further in to the morning we came across another pride of Lions and this time there were around 9 of them including some fairly young ones. We spent a fair bit of time (along with a number of other vehicles) watching them as they went about their business and they came really very close to the vehicles at times which was great. It was also obvious that despite the very arid conditions they were well fed as there was a very large mixed herd of prey animals within a few hundred metres of them.
Other sightings during the morning included a couple of Black Backed Jackal, two (separate) Spotted Hyena and a number of fairly small Hornbills. Just as we started heading back to the resort where we were to meet up with the rest of our group George spotted something none of the rest of us had i.e. a very large Bull Elephant. It was quite a distance away when he first spotted it but he surmised it was heading to the nearby waterhole and doubled back a short way so that we ended up almost directly in its path. It eventually passed within a few feet of our vehicle which was brilliant to see. Just before reaching the resort we also happened upon another two Elephants sheltering from the very hot sun under a fairly small tree.
We met up with the rest of our group at one of the resorts within the park and sat down to another very good but very much too big three course lunch after which we re-boarded the bus for another short game drive.
By now it was around 14:30 so still rather too hot for many animals to be out and about so we didn’t see that much until just before we left the park when we heard that there was a Black Rhino at one of the waterholes and we were fortunate enough to get there whilst it was still cooling itself.
Once we left the park it was almost an hours run back to our Lodge and we’re currently here trying to get some of the dust off of us before we go for dinner at 19:00.
19th November 2019 – Epacha to Midgard Country Estate, Namibia.
Having had a too much to eat yesterday lunchtime we discovered last night that, as we were pretty much to only guests there, the Lodge had laid on a special five course dinner for us which was, once again, very nice but just too much food! A quick drink in the bar overlooking the waterhole was all we could manage after as we had another fairly early start this morning.
As this Lodge is inside a private Game Reserve part of the deal included a two hour game drive before we left, so we all breakfasted early before clambering on to the Lodge’s 4x4’s. The first part of our drive was pretty sparse on animals but by the time we’d returned we had done pretty well having seen Oryx, Kudu, Giraffe, Jackal, Zebra, Lanar Falcon, Vultures, and a number of other birds.
Once back at the Lodge we were provided with a quick coffee before we hit the road for our last long ride of the trip. In total we had another 440km or so to cover but as most of it was on tarmac it was a quicker, smoother ride than most we have been on, so we made good time.
We had a break for lunch at a fairly busy crossroads town and then made another stop further on to see a big craft market where the vendors were trying really hard but we were determined we weren’t bringing home and wooden animals or clay pots so we came away empty handed.
The last 60km or so was back to gravel but we still made it to our last overnight stop by around 16:30 so we had time to have a quick walk around and to see their small vintage car museum. This truly is an old Estate too, it has quite a few stables and horses and as it has its own underground water supply it is far greener than anything we’ve seen en-route so, not surprisingly, it attracts a number of different animals. I can honestly say I have never seen so many warthogs!
Dinner and a quick drink was once again all we could manage so it was fairly early to bed before our long journey home.
20th November 2019 – Midgard, Namibia to Johannesburg, South Africa & beyond.
I know I’ve said this before on this blog but today really has been a very long day. When we first booked this trip we were told that the flights home were going to be a little inconvenient as there would be a 6 hour layover in Johannesburg and because of that we would be booked in to one of the airport lounges. Some time ago we received a letter from Saga telling us that South African Airways had put on an extra flight which meant we could leave later and have a much short layover.
Unfortunately SAA have been having problems with strikes whilst we’ve been over here and they cancelled the new flight so we were back to the earlier flight but with no guaranteed lounge unless we paid for it ourselves!!
As Paulo was anticipating an element of chaos at Windhoek airport as a result of the strikes we left our hotel at 08:30 this morning and took our last bumpy, dusty ride to the airport. We arrived in good time and were checked-in without incident which is more than could be said for some of our fellow travellers as at least three of them were given boarding passes with someone else’s names on. Two of them were also told that Saga had only confirmed them on the first flight to Johannesburg and not the flight to Heathrow. After a fair bit of messing about they managed to get their bookings confirmed but then had to arrange for their luggage to be re-tagged as that too was only confirmed to Johannesburg!
The first flight was only two hours and the on-board crew advised that they would be serving us a snack lunch but they certainly took their time in doing so which meant some of those on board were just getting theirs when the captain told us we were on our final decent. It didn’t help that we flew in through some really heavy rainclouds so it was quite bumpy for the last little while.
Once on the ground Graham was collected by wheelchair and taken for a very long wait in the departures area where we had a couple of coffees and a huge scone each whilst whiling away a few hours. Whilst having our first coffee we sat watching a really good thunderstorm crashing and flashing about and all the time we waited the rain kept coming, it really did bucket down which seemed odd having just left Namibia which so incredibly dry.
We boarded our last flight on time, left at around 21:00 and settled in as best we could to the not very comfortable seats.
21st November 2019 – Johannesburg to home.
As I mentioned the seats on this flight weren’t very comfortable and the legroom was limited which didn’t help either. Fortunately I think most of us got at least a little sleep but we were still all glad to get off of that aircraft which we did at around 06:20.
This being Heathrow Terminal 2 things were a little better as far as the wheelchair service went and we were through to luggage reclaim fairly quickly. Once we’d collected our bags it was time to say goodbye to our fellow Saga travellers and head out to meet our driver.
This time there were six of us in one car (including the two who were left behind at the beginning of the trip) so there was a bit less room to move but not too bad. Unfortunately the driver they sent for us wasn’t the best as he tended to sit right on the backside of the vehicle in front but we did at least make it home in good time following two drop offs in Nottingham area and a quick stop at Bob & Sue’s.
We arrived home at 12:15 to be greeted by our friends Marion & Barry who having been staying here whilst we were away which was great as, apart from anything else, the house was already warm.