A few phone shots of Jo'burg as we came into land - it looks huge, rather industrial, very flat and extremely brown.
On two previous holidays (Botswana/Zambia 2016 and then Namibia 2018) we've transited through OR Tambo Airport and on each occasion it has been a nightmare so we weren't particularly looking forward to it. We knew in advance that Health Questionnaires would be required so had downloaded and completed these for all 3 entries so when we came to the Screening Post we were prepared unlike many who then had to scrabble around for pens and complete the forms standing up. On then to Immigration which was fairly good and then to collect our baggage which seemed to take a long time to come through and clearly the priority tagging is completely ignored. All in all though, a better experience that we'd envisaged.
We wandered out into the Arrivals Lounge and scanned the many, many name cards being held up looking for CROOK and just as I was about to suggest to Ian that he waits in one spot with the luggage whilst I scout around a wider area, I suddenly noticed a chap sitting down holding a small ipad showing our name. Our driver, also an Ian, was originally taking us north to the border but now would just be ferrying us around Jo'burg. He then went off to get his car and arranged to meet us outside by the 3rd pillar. After what seemed like an age he finally returned but made no attempt to get out of the car and load our bags, so Ian did the necessary - it turns out he had a bad car accident 20 years ago which left him with a deformed leg (hence sitting down in Arrivals) and had just had an operation on his shoulder so couldn't lift anything. But he's a very nice chap, very informative and a good driver and delivered us safely to The Peech Boutique Hotel which is located fairly close to the Wanderers Cricket Ground and is in Sandton, one of the better (safer) districts of Jo'burg, although when we asked if it was safe to venture out to the local shopping mall, Ian suggested we go by taxi.
We knew we'd arrive before check-in time but in fact we only had about 40 minutes to wait before our room was ready. One of the hotel's USPs is its lovely gardens and rooms overlooking them and so we were less than impressed when we reached ours; part of a block of 4 rooms, two up/two down and seems to be in a cage and this is the view
The room however is very nice, although dark.
And the bathroom superb.
We probably don't fit Safari Consultants average client profile as we don't have endless money to spend and having had to shell out an additional £1,600 for the flight to Mashatu I'm feeling rather cost conscious and can't help wondering if a perfectly adequate, cheaper, alternative couldn't have been found. Being mid winter it's far too cold to swim in the pool, there's nothing flowering in the gardens and it's also not really warm enough to sit outside. Okay moan over.
We asked at reception about walking to Melrose Arch, a nearby business/shopping/restaurant complex we'd driven past on the way and whether it was advisable. We were assured it was no problem during daytime but we decided to leave camera and phones in the hotel so that we had absolutely nothing on us that could attract attention. The walk was fine and took us about 20 mins, mostly past gated residential dwellings, but the state of the pavements left a lot to be desired. The whole complex is gated and there is a lot of armed security around so it felt very safe and also the clientele were all clearly professional, middle class types, of all colours. With a few directions from helpful people we found our way to Woolworths (yes, it still exists here as it does in Australia) and purchased some wine, a couple of sandwiches and some crisps for later.
It was now about 1500 so we stopped for a drink and something to eat at Paul (a French chain of bakery-café restaurants now in 47 countries) and very nice it was too. There were no empty outside tables in the sun, but furniture was quickly moved for us and we spent a pleasant hour watching the world go by. White wine and a Tuna Mayo baguette for me, whilst Ian opted for a craft beer and a Chicken baguette and the bill came to an extremely reasonable £18 including tip.
By now the sun was starting to go down and it was getting quite chilly so we wandered back to the Peech to repack our bags ready for the light aircraft flight to Mashatu tomorrow. We've carefully weighed all our clothes and will make sure we're wearing the heaviest items and if necessary I'll carry a camera/lens around my neck. Mashatu is the only place we're going to (or indeed have been to in Africa) where an open bar is charged for separately - US$50 pppn which sounds an awful lot to us and we can't imagine it would be a cost effective option. But it's made us a bit worried about how much they might charge for wine and Coca Cola and so we've decided to "smuggle" a couple of bottles of wine in our bags to reduce the amount we buy there. A bit naughty probably but ..........................