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  • Trip To South Africa

    I have been going through some of my photos on my computer and found some of my trip to South Africa in May 2006. Of course we flew the Golden Goose in Y but I was unable to get any photos on our outbound trip. Hope you enjoy. If you haven't been to South Africa I would certainly recommend it.

    Itinerary

    Flight SQ230 Adelaide To Singapore
    Depart 1315
    Arrive 1745
    A/C Boeing 777-200 (Non AVOD)

    Up early to arrive at Adelaide Airport T1 in plenty of time to try and get good seats (tried online check-in but couldn't get it to work). Very quick check-in, assigned good seats and boarding passes for both flights. Thought we might be in trouble with excess baggage but check-in girl informed us that it wasn't a problem as we could take up to 32kg (strange I always thought it was 20kg but I wasn't going to argue).

    Early departure from Adelaide. Usual excellent cabin service, even the non-AVOD was a hit with "little soak01". Very smooth flight and early arrival into Singapore.

    As we were going to be in transit for 9hrs and too late to do a Singapore Tour Mrs soak01 took advantage of the duty free whilst I and "little soak01" took to the pool at the transit hotel.





    The last few hours seem to take forever (especially with this being the last SQ flight for the day) but we finally boarded our flight to Johannesburg.

    Flight SQ478 Singapore To Johannesburg
    Depart 0215
    Arrive 0700+1
    A/C Boeing 777-200 (AVOD)

    Took off and flew straight through a lightning storm so cabin service was delayed but finally after about an hour everything got going, by this time most passengers were asleep. Our flight took us out over the Indian Ocean and over Madagascar before making a gentle descent into JNB.

    Our arrival into Johannesburg was greeted with the news that we could not disembark at the terminal so we had to park at an outer apron and be bussed to the terminal. Took ground services a while to swing in to action but we finally made it to the terminal. CX, MH and BA had all arrived just before us so it seemed to take an eternity to clear immigration and to colect our luggage which by this time had probably been around the carousel numerous times.

    The arrivals hall is a mass of people. Airport authorities try to keep taxi touts out of the building but it doesn't seem to work. I would certainly recommend pre-arranging transfers before arrival. Our guide and driver were waiting for us and escorted us to the vehicle. Next Stop "Sun City" the previously white only casino and hotel resort in appartheid years (about a 2 hour drive).

    Sun City


    Inside The Casino


    Entrance To The Palace


    Valley Of The Waves - With Man Made Wave Pool


    The Tower Of Courage


    The Elephant Wing At The Palace


    And of course we had to do the obligatory game drive (Pilansberg Game Reserve which has private access from the resort) and a visit to the elephant sanctuary.








  • #2
    Pilansberg Elephant Sanctuary





    Sun City comprises of 4 hotels:

    The Cabanas - the most casual and family friendly
    The Sun City Hotel - the original hotel
    Cascades - Definitely the best of the bunch (excl The Palace)
    The Palace - What can I say....prices for a room start at $AUD1000 per night

    Views From The Palace





    The Cabanas




    Even though we stayed at The Cabanas, guests can use the facilities in any of the other hotels accept The Palace.

    Next Stop Pretoria

    After leaving Sun City our guide again collected us and took us to Pretoria. From here we were catching the overnight train to Cape Town.

    On arrival in Pretoria after the resort living of Sun City, you quickly come face to face with just the sheer number of people that are in this city and how cosmopolitan it is.



    Pretoria Skyline




    The Union Buildings - Home to the South African Government


    Me and Mrs soak01


    Next Stop - The Voertrekker Monument
    Last edited by soak01; 19 February 2008, 02:18 AM. Reason: Add Elephant Pictures

    Comment


    • #3
      Loving the pics mate - more please!
      All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

      Comment


      • #4
        Pretoria To Cape Town

        For anyone who is considering a trip to South Africa, but who cannot afford the likes of the "Blue Train" or "Rovos Rail" I would certainly reccommend catching the South African Railways "Premier Classe" service. I believe it now only runs between Johannesburg and Cape Town (rather than Pretoria) but still highly recommended.

        http://www.premierclasse.co.za/index.html

        For the cost of R1750 (about $AUD 250) per adult you get all meals and private berth accomodation. Current schedule is as follws:

        Route Information

        The Premier Classe departs from Johannesburg to Cape Town every Thursday and Sunday, returning from Cape Town to Johannesburg every Tuesday and Saturday.

        The duration of the trip between Johannesburg and Cape Town is approximately 25 hours, stopping at some of South Africa’s prime tourist destinations. Please note that the stop-overs do not allow for excursions off the train.

        The scheduled train programme is as follows:

        Thursday / Sunday's Schedule from Johannesburg to Cape Town

        14:00 Guests convene at the Premier Classe lounge at Johannesburg station for pre-departure tea and coffee
        15:00 Depart from Johannesburg station with welcoming drinks and snacks served in the Lounge Car
        19:10 Dinner is served in the Dining Car

        Friday / Monday's Schedule

        07:00 Early morning tea or coffee is served on request
        09:00 Breakfast is served in the Dining Car
        10:00 Morning tea is served in the Lounge Car or your room
        12:30 Lunch is served in the Dining Car
        15:30 High tea is served in the Lounge Car or in the comfort of your room
        16:16 The train arrives in Cape Town

        Tuesday / Saturday’s Schedule from Cape Town to Johannesburg

        08:00 Guests convene at the Premier Classe lounge at Cape Town station for pre-departure tea and coffee
        09:05 Depart from Cape Town station with welcoming drinks and snacks served in the Lounge Car
        12:30 Lunch is served in the Dining Car
        15:30 High tea is served in the Lounge Car or in the comfort of your room
        19:10 Dinner is served in the Dining Car

        Wednesday / Sunday's Schedule

        07:00 Early morning tea or coffee is served on request
        09:00 Breakfast is served in the Dining Car
        10:00 Morning tea is served in the Lounge Car or your room
        11:03 The train arrives in Johannesburg
        The only thing left to pay is your bar bill (which I can assure you will be very little due to the cheap cost of alchol in South Africa). Just to say for our group of 6 having a couple of bottles of red with lunch and dinner, spirits, the boys drinking beer and the girls getting through several bottles of South African Champagne our bill at the end of the trip came to only $AUD80.

        Here are a few shots:



        3 Berth Cabin


        Dining Car


        Lounge Car


        Johannesburg Skyline


        Short Stop At Beaufort West - In the middle of the "veldt"


        Lunch Menu






        First Glimpses Of Table Mountain


        Comment


        • #5
          In and Around Cape Town Waterfront

          Well we made it to Cape Town.



          Cape Town Waterfront






          Street Performers






          No trip to Cape Town can miss a visit to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned




          Entry includes a guided tour with a former inmate


          And Of Course Nelson Mandela's Cell

          Comment


          • #6
            Table Mountain & Surrounds

            When in Cape Town take advantage of the Cable Car to the top of Table Mountain. It provides a fantastic vista and teh cable car rotates as it ascends and descends so that everyone gets to see the view.













            Little soak01 At The Top


            Next it was off to Cape Point and the home of the South African Navy at Simonstown

            Simonstown




            Cape Point


            Just A Short Hop Home

            Comment


            • #7
              Great pics! Love it!

              Comment


              • #8
                Enroute To Singapore

                After being away for 4 weeks in South Africa it was time to head back to Singapore for a week for a rest.

                Flight SQ479 Cape Town to Singapore (via Johannesburg)
                Depart 1135
                Arrive 0705+1
                Aircraft Boeing 777-200 (AVOD)
                Reg 9V-SVH

                SQ478 arriving from Singapore and Johannesburg to return as SQ479




                A few other visitors at Cape Town




                Johannesburg Airport














                Comment


                • #9


                  Arriving back into Changi ahead of schedule we quickly cleared customs collected our luggage and were on our way to Sentosa Island within 30 minutes. (Why can't all airports be like SIN?)

                  We had a great week on Sentosa stying at the Rasa Sentosa. Little soak01 had a fabulous time and wants to go back.









                  Can't go past the nightly 2 for 1 happy hour






                  Things some people do for the camera






                  After a week in Singapore headed home to Adelaide on the overnight SQ229.

                  Flight SQ229 Singapore To Adelaide
                  Depart 2345hrs
                  Arrive 0745hrs+1
                  Aircraft Boeing 777-200 (AVOD)

                  Sorry didn't get any snaps. Next trip off to the exotic city of Hobart....................? Well its nice to get away anyhow. Will be flying DJ so I'll report when I get back.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by soak01 View Post










                    Didn't realise Air Zim had a 767. I wonder if uncle Bob's been "procuring" this jet for his regular jaunts to GVA leaving the masses stranded in HRE as usual?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Likin' your TR, soak01 ... a lot!
                      ‘Lean into the sharp points’

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thanks for the TR & pictures, soak01. Looks like you & your family had a wonderful time!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Thanks for the TR. I miss SA I used to go there very regulalry about 10 years ago but have not been there for about 4 years now.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by SQflyergirl View Post
                            Didn't realise Air Zim had a 767. I wonder if uncle Bob's been "procuring" this jet for his regular jaunts to GVA leaving the masses stranded in HRE as usual?
                            Air Zimbabwe operates the two 762s, Z-WPE as well as Z-WPF to Singapore from Harare and Beijing too if I am not wrong.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Great pics!!! Thank you for sharing!
                              There's only One way to fly.... SINGAPORE AIRLINES!
                              If SQ is too expensive, the other way to fly is Qatar Airways

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