We were up early, packed, breakfasted,toileted and ready to by 7am. Once again Wolf Shuttles ferried us to the airport. I can highly recommend them. They are easy to book, reliable and have considerate and helpful drivers. Our fare from the airport to our hotel at V & A was 620 SA rand and 580 SA rand return to the airport. This was for three people with cases.
Cape Town International Airport is pretty easy to navigate through and after a little duty free shopping we were seated and ready to fly. The beauty of duty free shopping is that your bags have already been weighed and are off your hands! By the way our bags weighed in at 20.1, 20.5 and 20.4. How’s that for perfect packing?
We had a great flight and each managed a window seat in the hope that as we approached Victoria Falls Airport we might spy some wildlife. An added bonus was that the toilet had air freshener! I have never seen that before, and before you ask, yes I did need to use it.
Our seats were not in business class for this flight, hence the 20kg limit, and we are seated right at the back of the plane. Which of course means that we were pretty much at the back of the queue waiting to go through customs.
Actually we were so far back that we were standing outside and an official looking chap came past and got us all to move over to the side to vehicles could pass by. Lance did his usual friendly chatty thing and said gidday and had a bit of banter.
The chap asked who Lance was travelling with and asked for our passports,and then whisked us away past all of the others waiting, past the front of the queue over to the person checking. He gave him our documents, got them checked off then took us to the next area and asked us to sit down and wait for him and he left. We sat the feeling a mixture of bewilderment, smugness, and a tincy worm of worry. What of we never saw our passports again?
Soon he was back with our Visa documentation and took us right through to the luggage collection area and started to help with our bags. We said thanks and Lance shook his hand and he was gone. Lance did wonder of he should have given a tip of some sort, but how would that look? Bribery to get through customs? Anyway, we were gob smacked! Our fellow passengers were still waiting and we were through!
After scanning our luggage we emerged into the airport lobby to look for our transfer. And of course in a place like this everyone has a transfer, and not many of the other passengers had emerged yet. It was almost like paparazzi with signs instead of cameras. We found our man and headed out to the van.
Another passenger was with us, but she needed wheelchair assistance so had been prioritised. She was from Perth and was 83 years old and this was her seventh trip to Zimbabwe. She said the people are so lovely and always look after her, and she was off on a self arranged safari! And you will recall that I mentioned that she needed assistance to leave the airport!
Our driver gave us a run down on things about Zimbabwe as we drove through the very dry and dusty landscape. We had to slow down for some goats, and then for a couple of huge baboons! Our first real wild animal! I’m afraid that I didn’t get a photo, but I feel confident that we will see another soon.
Arriving at the Cresta Sprayview Hotel we were taken to a corner of the lobby to sit on some sofas for check in and as our rooms were not ready until three we really had no other option than to sit in a shady spot by the pool and drink Zambezi beer and have a platter and some cheesy chips.
Tomorrow? Victoria Falls!!!
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