Friday September 11 – Sunday September 13, 2009
Our long awaited trip to Africa started with a long wait for our flight from Boston to JFK airport in New York. We were supposed to leave Boston around 2pm, but didn’t leave until 6. For a 45 minute flight.
Luckily, our flight to South Africa didn’t leave until the following morning at 11:30am, so unlike many other travelers on our NY-bound flight, we weren’t panicked about a connection that evening. All we had to do was find the airport Holiday Inn and get a little supper.
For a scary moment at the bag claim at JFK, we thought my bag didn’t make it. The belt stopped, and so did my heart, just a little. About 5 minutes later, it started up again and voila, there was my bag.
The United/South African Airways codeshare flight from JFK to Johannesburg is non-stop to South Africa. Fifteen hours in the air. That’s a long time. A very long time. On the way back, it stops to refuel in Dakar, which amazingly enough is the half-way point. Makes you appreciate just how big the African continent is. That flight clocks in at more than 17 hours with the one-hour ground stop.
The food is okay. It was much better on the way over than on the way back, but if I were to do such a long haul again, I would bring some snacks. I would also purchase extra water at the airport. I always bring at least one bottle of water and sometimes a soda too. I’d bring more next time. The flight attendants do try to bring enough by, but it is nowhere near enough to keep you well hydrated.
We arrived at about 8am or so Sunday morning. Passport control and customs were smooth sailing and at the meeting area, we had no trouble spotting the representative from Journeys of Distinction. She gave us our itinerary and vouchers and guided us to the shuttle for the Southern Sun airport hotel.
A little tired, a little thirsty and more than a little excited, we were off on our African adventure.