Grand Africa Cruise - Safari Day 5

Cruise Day 45

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

“Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.”  Peter Hoeg

Return to the Ship

We slept in this morning as our transport to the airport didn’t leave until late morning.  They offered a morning game drive, but it left at 5:15 AM, even earlier than Rattray’s, but we thought it prudent to let Val continue to recuperate and get some rest.

We had scheduled our breakfast for ten as it would probably be the only meal we ate until we returned to the ship.  Again, it was very good, and we lingered a bit in the dining area enjoying the quiet and the mild temperatures.  Someone came up from the lodge and asked when we wanted to leave so we got that settled and then returned to our room and packed up.

After packing, we still had time to kill so we walked around the lodge a bit and visited their gift shop where we bought a couple of things.  We returned to our room and sat outside and relaxed until someone came to collect our luggage.  We followed them to the lodge entrance where we checked out and settled our bill and then were on our way to the airport.

It was a short drive from the Moditlo River Lodge to the Hoedspruit airport.

It was about a half hour drive and we did see some animals before we left the game reserve.  We talked to our driver a little bit, but his English was limited so it was mostly a quiet drive.

The airport was small, but pretty busy.  We got checked in, checked our luggage and went in search of something cold to drink as the day was getting warm.  There was a courtyard with some tables and chairs, and it was quite full, but we did find a couple of chairs to sit in.  We had an almost two hour wait for our flight and after a while I went to the security check in and asked if there was another waiting area after security and they said there was so we gathered our carry-on luggage, went through security and found seats in the waiting room.

We waited for a while and then our plane boarding was called, and we were led across the tarmac to the plane.  There were ramps both in the front and rear of the plane so boarding went quickly.  We had expected a pretty small plane, but were surprised at how big it was, but there were only two seats on each side which was nice, and it wasn’t full, so that was good too.  The flight must be a shuttle flight that flies back and forth to Cape Town several times a day as it was definitely a no-frills flight.  Surprisingly they did serve lunch, but not surprisingly it consisted of a very dry, very plain sandwich with nothing else for lunch.

We flew all the way across South Africa from Hoedspruit in Northeast corner to Cape Town in the Southwest corner.

It was about a two-hour flight to Cape Town, and we were soon back on the ground.  We exited the plane from a ramp and had quite a long walk on the tarmac to the terminal, but we made it to baggage claim and after a short wait, we got our luggage and headed off to find our driver.  Our instructions were to walk down a long corridor and look for a sign with our names on it, so we found the corridor and started our walk.  It turned out to be a very long tunnel, but at the end there were a lot people holding signs and we soon spotted ours.  He grabbed our luggage and led us to his car, and we were soon on our way back to the ship.

Our driver was also a tour guide who had been doing this for a long time, so we got a commentary on Cape Town as we drove to the ship.  He was very personable and fun to talk to, so the drive passed by quickly despite the traffic.  He drove us right up to the front of the terminal and even brought our luggage in and up to the point where it was restricted to passengers only.  We said our goodbyes and gave him a generous tip for his excellent service and entered the customs area.

We had expected a long customs process since we had entered South Africa from Mozambique and would be leaving on the ship from Cape Town, but all we had to do was go through a luggage check at the security check point and were quickly on the ship. 

It seemed a bit strange to be back on the ship after five days, but also very good.  It was like coming home after a trip.  We had a nice little surprise waiting for us when we returned the ship; there was a small plate of chocolates along with a welcome back note from the ship.  It was a nice and appreciated treat.

A treat awaited us when we returned to our cabin from our safari.  Some chocolate treats for our enjoyment.

By the time we got back and settled, it was getting close to dinner, and we were hungry.  We got cleaned up and headed off to dinner where we were welcomed back by our dining stewards, Kama and Antony.

There was no casino after dinner as we are in port and the ship won’t be leaving until tomorrow night.  Besides that, we have a tour of Cape Town tomorrow that will last all day and into the evening, so we wanted to get to bed early.  After our safari we had wondered whether we would be up to another full day of activity, but Val was feeling better, and we had decided to go ahead with it.  

The ship wasn't scheduled to leave until ll:00 PM tomorrow, but before we set sail, the South African Customs authorities are asking everyone on board to do a face-to-face passport check between 4:00 PM and 8:30 PM in the terminal. That means all aboard is now at 8:30 as once your passport is checked and stamped for exit, you are not allowed off the ship again.  Our Cape Town tour that was booked many months ago was not supposed to end until 10:00 PM, so that means our tour schedule is going to have to be rearranged as our tour will now be two hours shorter.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.