Monday 28 September'26 - Canberra/Sydney/Johannesburg (South Africa) [the 29th is further down this page]
An early 0400 start this morning for the 0610 flight to Sydney. Just over 2 hours connection time before boarding the Qantas A380 for a direct flight to Johannesburg. Flight was just over 20 minutes late leaving and due to severe thunderstorms in Johburg, 55 minutes late landing at just after 1720 local time.
Due to the earth's curvature, the flight plan took us over Tasmania and then "skirted" Antartica before South Africa . Very Interesting...
Still, here safe and sound and the shuttle bus to the hotel for tonight was simple to catch and a short 5 minute drive through torrential rain, so lucky we didn't have to walk it... After checking in, a relaxing drink in the bar before a well deserved sleep. Let the fun begin!!!
Tuesday 29 September'26 - Johannesburg (South Africa)/Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)
Firstly, a very Happy 100th Birthday to my good friend, Linda Gledhill. She isn't really 100 but apparently she was born at 40 years old. 😂
Today was another travel day, albeit, a lot more "leisurely" than yesterday. Jet lag was playing its little game and I was awake from 0130. A nice breakfast at the Southern SUN O.R Tambo hotel (which I can highly recommend if you are transiting or staying just a few days) before boarding the shuttle bus to the airport at 0900. Whilst the flight to Victoria Falls wasn't until 1145, not knowing the airport layout, it was decided a safe move and proved to be correct. O. R. Tambo International Airport is a sprawling place and whilst international flights leave from Terminal A, you have to go to Terminal B (which is also the domestic terminal) to check your baggage in. The Immigration lines are rather long and slow so we were eventually "airside" around 1030.
Boarded our South African Airlines flight to Victoria Falls, which had a peculiar
process of just after locking the cabin doors, staff walk through the cabin with a
disinfectant spray (with overhead lockers open). I was reading the airline
magazine as this happened and noticed the following explanation of the
process. 😂 Just on 1.5 hours later, we landed in Victoria Falls and whilst not the
largest airport I've ever been to, it was well organised and entry, despite 2 flights
having landed at the same time, a very smooth process and we were through
Customs & Immigration very quickly. The baggage pick-up area had a lovely
water feature and in the Arrivals Hall, we were greeted by our dedicated porter,
Blessing, who collected the luggage and took us out to the mini bus to transfer
us to our accomodation for the next 3 nights, Insika Lodge.
African Safari - 2026
Upon checking-in, we were provided a refreshing glass of Peach Iced Tea and had the many services/amenities available at the resort explained to us, before being taken to our rooms. A lovely tranquil seeting I must say.
The room was fantastic. Spacious and very comfortable, with a short 5 minutes walk back to the main restaraunt/bar/pool area.
After sorting out the bags, we headed to the pool for a little R&R and my travel buddies decided to have a Strawberry Daiquiri so I joined them and had a lovely Painted Dog Pale Ale. Given my early morning wake-up, just on 1800 I started to feel the effects of lack of sleep, so we headed to dinner.
After that, returned to the room to a pleasant surprise of a "turn down service" before crashing. I said in yesterday comments, "Let the fun begin!!!", well tomorrow the serious fun starts...
