Austin to Cape Town, South Africa

So my long awaited safari to South Africa has begun.  I departed Austin at noon on September 20 and headed for Dulles International where I would then transfer to South Africa Airlines for the second leg of my journey.  I made it to Dulles without incident and then walked over to where South Africa Airlines departed.  I made it there just in time and shortly after I checked in I boarded the airplane.  I had tried to make a seat change over the internet and then at the check in counter but there were no attractive alternatives.  As it turned out things were working for the best.  Sometimes God just has plans for us that we don’t understand.  As I was putting up my baggage in the overhead I noticed that my seat mate had thrown in a book on birding in his seat while he stowed his gear.  By this serendipitous coincidence he was a birding guide from South Africa returning from the Birding Expo that recently concluded in Columbus, Ohio.  His name is John Kinghorn and he works for a South African tour operator in Johannesburg. We immediately struck up a conversation and I learned a great deal about birds and birding in South Africa.  I mentioned that our group was trying to find a boat for a pelagic trip out of CapeTown and John offered to check into whether his company could arrange for one.  So you see sometimes it is best to just go with the flow.  I could not have asked for a better seat partner and we became good friends as we spent the next 17 hours together.  Yes 17 hours!  That’s how long the flight is from Dulles to Johannesburg and take my word for it, that is one hell of a long time to be in a seat on a plane.  Our flight was overnight and as the sun crept over the horizon we were just reaching the African continent.  Our flight was bound for Accra, Ghana where we would let passengers off and take more on but the primary purpose was to refuel the aircraft.  I must say the meals were reasonably good—supper consisted of beef curry, rice and mixed vegetables, a salad and piece of cake, and the service was very good.  However, it is very difficult for me to find a way to sleep on a plane but I did manage to get about four hours of sleep.  We landed in Accra at 8 in the morning (this is 5 hours ahead of Austin time) did the necessary refueling and cleaning of the inside of the aircraft and then departed on time for our 5 and one half hour flight to Johannesburg.  Shortly after departure they served us breakfast, yogurt, fruit, and blueberry pancakes which again was good.  John and I continued to talk and he would take breaks to read his book and I to work on studying the birds of South Africa.  Our flight was blessed with good weather.  In the course of our flight we crossed Nigeria, Liberia, Namibia and finally flew over Botswana where I was able to see the Kalahari Desert below.  Lunch was good as well with meatballs and rice, green beans, salad and apple crumble cake.  No complaints about food.  I was also able to sleep off and on after breakfast, taking short naps.   We arrived at Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg a little early.  After my trip through customs is when my otherwise uneventful day ended.   I picked up my bags and headed to the hotel where Kim and I were going to stay for the night.  Near the exit I asked a policeman for directions to the Protea Hotel and he directed me to the exit and over to a pickup location were all the hotels had shuttle service.  I got on the shuttle and reached the hotel.  When I tried to check in they could find no reservation in Kim’s name and after further studying the documents I provided I was informed that they hotel I was to stay in was back in the airport at their other hotel.  So they reloaded my bags and took me back to the airport.  When I went in I asked for directions to the hotel and was told to I would need to go back through security and I would need a boarding pass.  At the security gate they told me that my stub from my earlier boarding pass was not sufficient and I would need to go to the airline and get one.  I stopped at the information desk and I was informed that it would not be possible to get to the hotel without returning through security.  They called the hotel for me and asked if they could send a car to pick me up and take me there.  I was told that was not possible.  So I headed to South Africa Airlines for help.  After standing in line for 45 minutes and explaining the situation to them I was told there was no way they could give me a boarding pass or get me to the hotel and it was best just to find another hotel for the night.  By now it was after 8 in the evening and they directed me to a porter to help me find a hotel.  My porter suggested that I go to the Aspen because their rates were much lower and he found the right person who arranged for me to be picked up and I was swiftly headed to this place of lodging.  By now it is late, dark and I am heading in a car with a person I do not know and I began to think thoughts that I might have been set up.  After a 15-minute ride we arrived at a gated facility and I was quickly checked in this small 8 room motel for the night.  It was very inexpensive about $45 USD.  I was so tired that I went in, took a very nice hot shower and got ready for a good night’s sleep in a bed, something I had failed to appreciate before.  The place also had Wi-Fi and I was able to finally contact Kim, who likewise made the same mistake I had and was scrambling to get lodging for the night so I learned.  We arranged to meet at 8:30 the next morning at the Mango Airlines desk in the airport.  I assured Kim I was ok and not to worry.  I awoke and was pleasantly surprised when I heard birds outside my room.  After I dressed I went outside and I could see many birds moving about.  The courtyard of this small motel was well manicured, had two palapas and the trees were alive with birds.  I was able to identify a common swift, laughing dove and southern-banded weaver before I was shuttled to the airport and met Kim.  We secured our tickets, made it through security and to a coffee shop where I finally got my coffee and a roll.  Then on to our boarding gate and finally aboard our aircraft to Cape Town where I am currently writing this blog.  We arrive in Cape Town about 1 and Kim and I will pick up the vehicle and head to the house where we will spend the next 10 days and spend a relaxing afternoon doing some photography at the beach and going to the grocery store.  So I will end this post hear and we will pick up tomorrow.

Cape Town—We arrived on time, picked up our rental vehicle and headed out to the Strand where we will be staying for the next 10 days.  After checking in with our host and moving our gear into our rooms we proceeded to do some biding.  Between the birds I saw at my hotel this morning, the ones we saw on our drive to the Strand and our excursion out around Gordon’s Bay I tallied a total of 24 new species.  Late in the afternoon we were able to photograph a few bird which I am attaching to this blog, Orange-breasted Sunbird, White-necked Crow, Cape Robin-Chat, as well as a beautiful scenic site along our drive along the ocean and the Hottentot-Holland Mountains and a picture of a Kilpspringer, a small antelope found here.  From there we headed to the grocery store and then back to our house where we are staying.  

Gordon Bay & Hottentot-Holland Mtns,

Kilpspringer

Orange-breasted Sunbird (female)

Orange-breasted Sunbird (male)

White-necked Raven

Cape Robin-Chat