African Safari – Flight to Africa
16-17th May 2025
It is time to check out one of the southern parts of this vast continent, from whence we all came. It remains the most genetically diverse part of the world and there will be a number of firsts, some known and others unknown waiting to surprise me. These days I travel life without too many expectations, thus avoiding disappointment. Added to this, my geographic knowledge of Sub-Saharan Africa is very poor. I do know that the flight for London to Johannesburg will be from North to South. This is my first-long-haul flight travelling in the same time zone, give or take one hour for daylight saving.
Having vowed, after two long tedious flights last year, I have vowed to eschew economy, unlike my mother, who put up with it all her life. I’m starting with Premium Economy with BA. Surprise number one, on boarding the 777 Boing and turning right in the search for row 32 is the rows and rows of Business class pods (all occupied) fitting 4 across the body of the plane. Halfway down the plane I find five or six rows of Premium Economy. At six seats per row, they are slightly wider and with more leg room. The arm rests are constricting and the tables fold into a slot between passengers. It feels a bit like Economy used to be. The toilet is behind a curtain in the only economy section where everyone is packed in like sardines in a row twelve across. It is a shocking sight, taking up only a quarter of the plane.
What’s going on? Is everyone spending their money (like me)? Are they somehow richer? I’m guessing that with fewer passengers in the business class part of the plane, there is less weight both from bodies and baggage that more lucrative freight can be carried. Am I being cynical in my old age?
I sleep for at least six hours of the twelve-hour flight, But I’m not sure that it was worth the £1,500 upgrade.
From Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in the elderly Airlink plane, has by contrast very comfortable economy seats. The small immigration hall is crowded with people scrabbling to fill in forms. No one knows how much the visa will cost except that it has to be in $US – cash. I’ve come prepared for cash and know that the entry price will vary, depending on nationality. $55 is a shock.
I can see a baggage carousel in the distance and try to spot my small checked in sports bag, I’m travelling light with just my trusty rucksack as hand luggage. Both bags add up to ten kilograms – the limit is twenty. Ther is no sign of my bag and this is always a time of anxiety for me, especially as I’ve transited at Johannesburg. My bag is there at a different carousel. Phew.
Bill, from Australia who is also joining the Outside the Square, group is there and we are welcomed by our driver, Washington and transported to the Victoria Falls Safari lodge. The accommodation is impeccable and we enjoy a drink at the bar overlooking scrubby landscape with a picturesque water hole in the mid distance. A variety of deer and other as-yet unidentified animals and birds are drinking or waiting to drink. The waterhole seems to be guarded by a very tall solitary bird, which remains motionless – there are a lot of new species to be identified and learnt.
I take the opportunity to stretch my limbs in the swimming pool. It is cool and refreshing but the rocky surround, irregular shape and sloping sides means it doesn’t work as a training pool. The best I can do is six or seven strokes with under water push-offs in streamline position.
Later, we meet the rest of the group. There are seventeen of us. Thirteen are from the US who quickly identify as Californian and Hawaiian. This is intended to make us newcomers more comfortable, and it does. The two women of the group are from Aotearoa NZ, which make me feel even more comfortable, especially as I have heard the name Annie Ruth in connection with New Zealand Theatre. We immediately identify a lit of people we know in common and discover that they live in the same apartment as my cousin in Wellington.
Learning names is my next challenge (Americans are always good at this) and I make a concerted effort. It should be easy. There are two couples, both from Hawaii, called David and Robert. But which is which? It’s not a easy as you might think. Then there is another David with partner Steve (not Stephen). Jack, I remember by thinking ‘Beanstalk’ and his husband Francis – was the last pope. The Americans subtly make it clear that they are not supporters of the current president and I sense that there is great sadness and some despair. Dinner delivers excellent cuisine beautifully presented.