Pre-tour 1: Delay, delay, delay and then FINALLY up, up and away

Brisbane - Sydney - Johannesburg

If only that were the "simple" sequence - didn't quite get to do the simple transit through Sydney. Our "expected" rushed connection turned out to be "almost" the longest day ever.

If you want calm, cool and collected in airport dramas - this is your man. He was onto it!

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS:

Up and at 'em .... early 

No worries responding to the 3 am alarm and ticking off the last-minute jobs on the list and our transport master @Aunty Gail reversed up the driveway on the dot of 3.45. We were locked and loaded and in the car heading to the airport at 4 pm and were almost the only car on the road. It all seemed so empty - we managed our drop off right in front of the QANTAS domestic terminal.

The long and short of our early get away - Aunty Gail lucky recipient of our household rubbish. Thank you.

Not so fortunate inside through - what a queue. So many people lined up at the International Check-in desk - the staff had to sort passengers in order of departures - and even with this "priority" entrance, we still had to wait 30 minutes in the luggage drop off queue. 

On reflection, that was actually a really good little training run for deep breathing and patience. We would have thought that was a breeze if we had known what the rest of the day held.

Loved our little T80 QANTAS hack that @Liz McPhee shared - following her lead we managed to move ourselves from row 16 to row 5 for the domestic leg and although was "same, same" for the flight - what a difference it made on landing. At this stage, we were naive enough to think that we were making a 10 am flight - so felt very special when as row 5-ers we were off and running "first up" to gate 15 for the transfer to the International Terminal in Sydney. Got the "first" bus AND even scored a SEAT.

Thought we were winners up front!

Extremely smooth run through security - although the knee did invoke the pat down and the full body scan - but all so effortless.

A quick manoeuvre in Sydney - DREAM ON

What was supposed to be a 2 hour 25 minute turn around with a 10 am departure, evolved into a day long saga of highs and lows with an eventual departure at 10 pm. Oh dear, talk about drama, false alarms, smoke and mirrors, half-truths and Chinese whispers - in our 12-hour time on the ground we had it all. It unfolded something like this:

7:17 am - message to advise that flight time had been changed - and were asked to "monitor" the changes. So monitor we did. Mind you, we were still in the air from Brisbane to Sydney when this popped through.

10.12 am - message to advise that the flight had been further delayed and instructed to contact Travel Agent for Flight Credit or Refund. Thanks @Sharyn Bleakley for being there. We also contacted @Jude at @Masihambe Afrika to keep her in the loop and share info with connections in Johannesburg.

11.28 am - now this was a serious one - the message advised that the flight was CANCELLED and we needed to rebook! Now we really needed @Sharyn Bleakley - but her systems were not showing any flight cancellations. We had to just "sit tight."

Small sample of the endless stream of conflicting info

11.43 am - then received an EMAIL (not a text) that apologised for the message cancelling the flight - it was a MISTAKE - the flight was still happening it was just delayed. Had a little laugh here, because whoever was managing the flight boards changed the status of the flight to "RELAX" - we did get a chuckle.

Somebody had a sense of humour

 Vouchers/Gift cards have been issued so that we can get some lunch. Gave us $15 each - not sure they have actually purchased food at terminal recently  .. but it was a good start. And departure adjusted to 13:00

Got lots of vouchers left over for return trip!

3:27 pm - received an "ambiguous" text message that suggested flight was not going ahead and we had to ring a QANTAS number to update our travel plans. @Mac was straight on the phone and got 4 assurances from the staff member that the flight was still on - QANTAS just wanted to reaffirm our plans to commit to "wait" for the flight. Interestingly, we were getting text messages a good 10 to 15 minutes before other passengers. Some passengers were pulling up stakes and leaving thinking that the flight was cancelled. The groups that we had been sharing stories with enjoyed the benefit of @Mac's call and decided to stay put. At this stage - board suggested an 18:00 departure.

5:11 pm - another one of those "crappy" text messages that alluded to "cancellation" and indicated that we would be "rebooked." Another flurry of panic. The troops were definitely getting restless and "at last" a brave QANTAS staffer appeared to set the record straight. 

All passengers were called to assemble at Gate 24 where he informed everyone that the flight was "still on" - IGNORE the text message! A part had been sourced and a 2 hour repair was under way. Anticipated departed now 20:00 - handwritten adjustments to the boarding passes were made and more vouchers were issued.

5:40 pm -"new Captain and flight crew have been brought in (gotta keep them "fresh") and they did the rounds of the assembled passengers - updating and reassuring and in our case - trying to make phone calls to reach out to our Johannesburg connections (no luck "yet".) The board actually reflects the statues of QF63 as DEPARTING at 20:00. Progress. 

By this time we have walked many laps, finished a book, saved the Realm, tried salads, sandwiches and coffee and shared stories and laughs with other passengers. We are getting "wild" stories of camps and animals from the South Africans heading home who seem to delight in our naivety (my absolute favourite was the eye watering account of the croc snapping off the dog's testicles - imagine the precision of that mouthful - swimming absolutely banned for @Mac), eye opening accounts of load shedding, tuning in to health updates and the furphys being flung to get a berth in the QANTAS lounge; hooked up with a fellow crochet hooker (no, I didn't bring any projects) and sharing photos of gardens!

7:20 pm HALLELUJAH - board just ticked over - GATE OPEN - time to BOARD. There was a flurry of activity - people coming from all the nooks and crannies around the terminal, last minute toilet rushes and even smiles and nods as we gathered outside Gate 24. We sent celebration messages to all and sundry. 

Of course, very very short-lived excitement. 

7:50 pm A QANTAS staff member announced "Unfortunately I have some bad news ........" - there were groans and growls all round. But, do concede that for a little nanosecond we did think it was going to be a cancellation - actually a little relieved it was "only" another 2-hour delay. Boeing needs to check the performance of the repairs. Well, that is a good thing I suppose. But definitely tempers are fraying with some of our fellow passengers. The new departure time was announced as 22:00.

The countdown was really on. Apparently, Sydney had 11 pm curfew - so this is probably the last throw of the dice.

More vouchers on offer - by now we were up to $160 - a small fortune! Some of our fellow travellers are not counting them in $$$ signs but rather in glasses of wine or boxes of chocolates. Our South African crowd who have just returned from a New Zealand visit are stocking up on souvenirs! They haven't actually visited Australia - just doing it via QANTAS vouchers and the airport.

9:20 pm - Board flipped to BOARDING - we were away! No hesitation from anyone - there was a dash to the gate for boarding. Eventually backed out of the gate at 22:02.

Johannesburg and the Transfer

Well, to be honest - at the time of writing - this is an absolute mystery. We are scheduled to land in Johannesburg at 3.45 am and despite efforts by us, @Jude and even the QANTAS Flight Attendants we have not been able to raise any communication with our accommodation hosts and the organisers of our transfers. Literally, flying on a wing and a prayer and holding onto the assurances from the QANTAS staff that they will take care of us at the other end. By this stage we were just thinking "getting there" will be enough.

Updates and outcome "PENDING."

DIVERGING and SHARING Background Medical Prep

Of course, did our premedical check-up way in advance to make sure we had all the boxes ticked for leaving and returning to Australia and for transiting borders to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.  Our Travel Doctor checked our yellow international immunisation record and cross checked with the CDC recommendations.

• Hepatitis (yep, years ago)
• Yellow Fever (don't need it - but have had it)
• Rabies (had for Asia - so tick it off)
• Polio (we had the booster last year)
• Typhoid (we needed to have a new injection - we were over the three years since the last one)
• Tetanus booster (already covered)
• Covid (5th course of injections - because we can)
• Seasonal flu (yep, even @Mac rolled up his sleeve on Dr's advice)

Also have started

• two dose pre trip anti cholera 
• 8 week anti malarial drugs

Carrying

• antibiotic tablets and creams
• gastrostop
• plenty of Bushman"s DEET repellent
• personal first aid kit (although don't have the recommended "suture" kit!)

..... and promised the Dr we will keep covered up with long trousers and long sleeved shirts, will stay out of the water (especially now we know about the snipping ability of the crocs), will consume bottled water and will avoid all cuts and scratches. 

His main concerns were focussed on the "micro" level of unseen germs, infections and those pesky mosquitoes - I am more focussed on the lions, elephants, buffalo, hippo, rhino, adders and mambas, scorpions, wild dogs and hyenas.

Our only wildlife sighting of the day - still safe

Nervous Anticipation

Had the most amazing support from @JudeHartley from @MasihambeAfrika pre tour - a 45 minute phone call going over the specifics of preparation, reviewing accommodation and power, checking packing essentials, talking security and providing general tips.

Definitely wanted to make @Jude aware that we are NOVICE/INEXPERIENCED campers.  We were squatters on Moreton Island once with Mum, 35 years ago when the children were toddlers; we got flooded out camping in a river bed with Caroline (original maker of THE rum balls) and John Orpin with primary aged children 30 years ago; and laughed hysterically when Mindy and Ian took us camping, complete with bear hide, 7 years ago in Canada. 

Just saying ..... think we will have a few things to learn over the next few weeks. Bring it on.

Weather: freezing cold in Brisbane - no idea in Sydney - spent the day in the airport - but the sky looked clear and blue!

Steps: 11 963

We kept our optimism, enthusiasm and smiles because "today is our day."