FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: An Albany African Adventure

It seemed like we had been planning this trip for a LONG time and somehow it still managed to creep up on us! With so much work related stress in the months leading up to this trip, it couldn't have come at a better time for us to rest and regroup, spend time with the children or at the very least, just escape everyday life!

We were limited to 15kg of luggage per person on account of the small planes we had to fly in. I was extremely proud of the family with managing to pack just over 50kg worth of check in and carry on luggage! A big feat considering that included 3 laptops, one DLSR, one full frame mirrorless camera, a Nintendo switch and 2 kindles! I firmly believe this great height of packing nirvana can be achievable whenever Malcolm is only restricted to bringing 3 pairs of shoes.

We opted to take the train to the airport as it was cheaper than taking an uber or cab despite the surcharge to stop at the airport stations. We also did not want to chance getting stuck in Sydney peak hour morning traffic. We had airport lounges to visit!

Our business class tickets saw us breezing straight through immigration and security. They were happy enough to let the children through as well despite them flying economy. The Qantas Lounge, surprisingly, was not as busy as we expected. We managed to find 5 seats together fairly easily and the children were off on autopilot searching for breakfast. We moved on to the AMEX lounge as their seats were a lot more comfortable with more readily available charging stations. A brief stop enroute at Better Burger with our priority pass cards got the children some free bottles of water and juice for their flights and for our overnight stay at Johannesburg. We were now ready to fly.

Yay a seat for everyone together on the train

Stretching out at the Qantas International Business Lounge

Qantas also happily allowed the children to board the plane early so we could seat them in their economy seats and wave them goodbye. We proceeded to our seats on the upper level of 747 jumbo which felt more cosy than the 2-3-2 business class configration of the lower deck. The plane could be cleaner but the seat was comfortable. To be picky...the food was tasty though presentation could be vastly improved. They also ran out of certain options by the time it came to us for both dinner and lunch! Fortunately, the meal that had run out was not one we would have chosen anyway...not that we disclosed that bit of information! Our 2 Qantas cabin attendants were meh.

Meanwhile down in economy, Jonah had a nosebleed which was attended to by Qantas staff. We were blissfully unaware until we saw him walk out of the plane with a facewasher to his nose...oops. Something I can't remember if I have mentioned in my previous blogs was that you can pre-order your meal on the Qantas website (first meal only if more than one is provided). What this means is that you get served first, they don't run out of your choice, and your tray gets cleared first. Subsequently, you get access to the toilets first beating the post meal rush! All vital when in cattle class! The rest of the flight was uneventful and we arrived in Johannesburg 14 hours later intact and in good spirits.

A much more relaxed Malcolm enjoying his wine pre-take off and perusing the menu

Even the planes have a traffic jam in Sydney....

My entree at lunch. A very ugly looking but delicious duck salad!

Barramundi for main

Ice cream sandwich for dessert

This trip was arranged with &Beyond. 18 months ago, we gave them a budget and a time frame and asked them to plan and book an itinerary within those restrictions and they did! They cut back on budget where appropriate but were understanding of our concerns with safety and border crossings. Pre-departure, our travel agent Nicci was responsive, organised and helpful. Our first face to face contact was immediately after disembarking the plane! Lucky ,the &Beyond representative, was waiting for us with our names and walked us right to the airport hotel. It was all a bit of blur as everything happened quickly. He waved us through an immigration lane where there was no one else waiting. The immigration officer was quick and before long, our bags had been collected and Lucky was wheeling our bags to the airport hotel. En route, he showed us where to go for our domestic flight the following day. Once at the airport hotel, he made sure we in line for check in and then handed us our travel documents beautifully presented in a black box. This was a big contrast to Flight Centre who had forgotten to send us our e-tickets for our flights!!

The City Lodge OR Tambo Airport hotel was located on top of the airport carpark and was an easy walk from the airport via an undercover walkway. Mal didn't realise that "OR" was part of the name of the airport. He read the itinerary as a choice between City Lodge or Tambo Airport Hotel and was secretly annoyed at the travel agent for being indecisive. Bahahaha!!!! The hotel and clean and comfortable rooms and was convenient. One child was ectastatic to have to her own room. She was deemed the most reliable...The eldest lost his right when he reported that he had already lost an item! His laptop charger! Grr....Dinner was at the hotel cafe. Food was average but also reasonably priced. It was all we could manage before we headed back to the room and crashed. By this stage it was 3am Sydney time and the children had done amazingly well. We will have to think about tomorrow...tomorrow! In a way, it was nice for a change to have had someone else make the arrangements on our behalf, even if it did come at a premium price.

Last but not least, it was such a good omen for the first 2 people we met in Africa to be named Lucky and Happy (the lady at reception)! Bring on the rest of Africa!