I Learn a Geography Lesson and Arrive Safely in Cape Town

The flight from Dulles to Johannesburg was a direct flight with a stop in Dakar, Senegal. The distance and flying time to Senegal was 3,800 miles/7.5 hours. Now the geography lesson...the distance and flying time from Senegal to Jo'Burg was 4,200 miles/8.5 hours; flying time from Dulles to LA, California takes under 5 hours. Looking at a map, you can then begin to appreciate the enormity of Africa...you can fit the US, Western Europe, India, China, Argentina plus the British Isles into an area the size of Africa.

 A minor incident occurred in the Jo'Burg airport...as I was walking to board my flight to Cape Town, a gentleman informed me that my backpack flap was open. At first, I thought that someone had attempted to pick-pocket my backpack but what happened was that the zipper split, releasing the flap. My cameras and kindle were about to fall out of my backpack....thank goodness a major incident was avoided. I was fortunate to be upgraded to first-class on the 2 hr flight to Cape Town ---china service and a glass for the wine. The host for my stay in Cape Town, Ken Baldwin, picked me up at the airport ....I am staying at the Baldwin's  B &B located at the foot of Table Mountain. It is an absolutely beautiful B &B with four properties where you can either rent a single room, double room or a separate home; each is en suite with kitchen facilities. After a short hello to Ken's wife, Jackie, and a glass of wine, it was time for bed....zzzzzzz.

If your thinking of a trip to the Cape Town area see http://www.capetown-southafrica.co.za/Oaktree.php...

Jan 29 - 30: Depart for and Arrive at Cape Town, South Africa (SA)

About this BLOG....Last year when I created a BLOG for my SE Asia trip, I found it difficult typing the text using aged PCs and software that I encountered in most Internet cafes. What I have done for my Southern Africa BLOG is to pre-enter a draft entry for each of the locations I will be visiting. I extracted  text from from the itinerary that was sent to me and incorporated  the text into the BLOG draft. As I proceed though my trip, I will update the text, attach many pictures and post the entry. I also attempted to include in each entry an Internet link to the lodge/guest house/campsite where we will be that night...you can evaluate how much I am "roughing it" in the wilds of Africa.

Ann Marie and I will have lunch at Baja Fresh before heading for the airport. I will depart Washington's Dulles airport at 5:40 PM today and fly non-stop to Senegal for a on-hour layover before continuing on to Johannesburg arriving at 5:30 PM on January 30. After a short layover, my flight to Cape Town departs Jo'Burg at 7:20 PM and arrives at 9:30 PM. A friend will meet in Cape Town and I will stay at his family's B & B for a few days.

See you in Cape Town, South Africa!!!!

Preparation

I will be departing for South Africa in two days. I have spent the past 2 months preparing for this trip which is the longest one in duration that I will have taken. Traveling is not just about being prepared for the trip but making sure that what you leave back home will operate until your return. Key actions that I took:

1. Visited the Fairfax County Health Clinic in early November for a consult on travel to Africa. The clinic provides useful information - sanitation, mosquito repellents, cautions regarding food/water consumption, and immunization issues. My shots are up-to-date and I received a prescription for malaria pills which I will begin taking 2 days before the trip begins, during the entire trip and for 4 weeks after the trip ends.
2. Explored via the Internet each country that I will be visiting ..........learned about the geography, people, culture, foods, things to see, etc.
3. Prepared a document outlining financial, insurance, location of critical documents and other pertinent personal information in the event Ann Marie, my wife, needs access to this critical information.
4. Prepared emergency contact information in the event my family needs to get a hold of me.
5. Developed a financial scenario to pay my bills during my absence.
6. Purchased a digital SLR camera so that I might take pictures of the "Big 5" from afar; cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino....a "point and click camera" just won't do!
7. Purchased a small AMAZON kindle on to which I loaded 10 electronic books to read ...this eliminated the need for carrying heavy paper-back books.
8. "Unsubscribe" from Internet solicitation and newsletters that I receive; notify my "email friends" of my absence and request a halt to all emails until my return.....my "email cup" would overflow!!
9. Notified my ATM and credit card companies of my travel plans....if they are unaware of my travel plans; there is a good chance that my ATM/credit card transactions would be denied. Made a list of all card numbers and related emergency contact info in the event I lose a card.
10. Set-up a SKYPE Internet telephone account so that I could call home from Internet cafes as I traveled throughout Southern Africa. I loaded family and friend phone numbers and the customer service numbers for my credit card and ATM accounts.
11. Money, money, money...how much to take, denominations, where to carry it....decisions, decisions!! I decided to take $800 in varying denominations.
12. Establish a travel email account (I use Hotmail) so that I can communicate with family and friends individually...this BLOG serves as my primary vehicle of keeping my family/friends advised of my travels....facebook is another vehicle.
13. My travel company sent me a pre-departure document which provided general information on clothing requirements, health considerations, travel and accommodation expectations, visas, currency and emergency contact information.
14. Selected my clothing for the trip  and sprayed them with Premelin to ward off mosquitoes (malaria) and other insects (tse-tse fly)....besides clothing and sleeping bag; packed necessary medicines, personal items, camera, kindle, international telephone...total weight not to exceed 40 pounds.
15. Pack, pack, pack...from chaos to a single back pack weighing no more than 30 pounds...I did it.