We first booked on the Flock to Marion cruise with Bird Life, South Africa in March 2020. The pandemic was not really even a consideration, something that would be over in a few months!!! We then thought about what to do pre and post cruise. The plan was for us to visit Kruger for a week, getting to Durban for the cruise and then a day or so round Cape Town before flying back. Over the next two years the cruise was postponed, the route turned round and we were booked onto three different ships. In the process we got a cabin upgrade from Ocean View to Balcony, which was a real bonus.
The cruise was eventually confirmed for January 2022 but until just before Christmas, there was no guarantee the the UK government would allow travel to SA and a fortnight before it was confirmed the boat would be allowed to sail. We booked flights, car hire and accommodation in Cape Town and organised a post cruise three day extension to visit the Sani Pass into Lesotho. To enter SA we needed a PCR test 48 hrs before flying. The options were to do a postal test or a drive thru/personal visit. The postal test proved difficult because of our late flight time, which made it difficult to get it in the post in time to get the results back but we found a place in Folkestone that tested in situ and got the results back within 24 hours. We also had to organise a test in Cape Town Airport before boarding the ship. All that was left was to pack.
A flat battery and a crash that blocked the road added to
the stress but as we had allowed plenty of time, we had time for an all day
breakfast and a look in the perfume department. Terminal two at Heathrow was
amazingly empty, although the flight was pretty full.
A short two hour stopover and we were on our way to Cape Town. We settled into our seats set up a video, had a not too bad meal of salad and lasagne, with a very yummy chocolate cake and cheese. For some reason, although I managed to get off to sleep, I woke again fairly quickly and then couldn’t get back to sleep. It was one of the most uncomfortable overnight flights I think I have experienced. Breakfast was a semi spicy green tinged wrap with yoghurt and the weakest tea you could imagine.
We landed earlier than we expected and I got offered a wheelchair ride. This took us through the queues, passport checkin desk and into luggage claim quicker than I have ever done. The sting was “then you can give me something” not deterred by the fact that I only had a fiver, she was happy to change it!
The temperature was 36+, a wall of heat as we exited the plane and went to see if we could change our test. We could but it involved rebooking, a lengthy process but sorted eventually. Then we collected our car, relatively painless but it was very hot. We thought we’d try and get up Table Mountain but couldn’t find the right road, not helped by neither of us remembering to bring a map. So we headed for Kirstenbosch, as a sign appeared for that.
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