Cousin Orville
Inventor of Air Cooling
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2000
Good morning from South Africa! [cue the Circle of Life music]. Last we left off, we were getting back from the Northern Italy ABD. This time, it's my oldest son Gavin and me heading off to South Africa. Often on ABD's it's interesting to ask other guests who have done ABD's before what their favorite one was. Typically if they've done South Africa, that get's mentioned as a favorite. So, I've had my eye on it for a few years now. Finally, here it is.
First, some logistics for any future travelers that may be traveling as a solo parent. South Africa is absolutely serious about carrying the approved paperwork for traveling with a child without both parents. I always travel with a notarized letter from my wife in case anyone asked any questions. In all my traveling, I've never been asked for it. For S. Africa, look up what the requirements are. There's a letter on the S. Africa gov't website that must be filled out and notarized. You also have to travel with an original full birth certificate and notarized copy of the other parent's passport. They are not screwing around. They will ask for this, both the airline and S. Africa passport control. Huge thanks to @*WDW*Groupie* for helping me with this. If there's anyway I can pay it forward for future travelers let me know.
Second, when choosing flights, United often flies to S. Africa through Brazil. If flying through Brazil, consider getting a Yellow Fever vaccine. S. Africa requires proof of this if traveling from certain countries. Brazil seems to be the only one some people may fly through that requires this. S. Africa doesn't specify if passengers in transit (just changing planes) need this, but from my research it's a possibility. In light of this, I chose not to fly through Brazil.
That about covers the very important, but not well publicized info. On with the show:
Houston to Cape Town
We flew United/South African Airways from Houston to London to Johannesburg to Cape Town. Because of the evening flights to London and then to J'burg, it basically takes a day and a half to get there. Thankfully we were able to get our tickets on points and move up to business class.
Gavin as you can tell loved it. It was very comfy. Service was ok, nothing spectacular. You can get a wine flight on United which was pretty cool. But she delivered it while I was helping Gavin with something so I missed which wine was which. Still cool.
We arrived in London in the morning and had a 9 hr layover. We actually just got back from a cruise out of London/Dover a couple of weeks ago, so there wasn't anything particularly pressing we wanted to do in London. However, a friend of mine mentioned how London had the largest Lego store in the world and was the only place where you could have a Lego portrait made. So, that sounded quick and fun. We headed off to Leicester Square on the Piccadilly Line. It was a straight shot from Heathrow and took about 50 minutes. We went to the lego store, then headed over to a Pub for lunch we've eaten at before and it was great. Had the fish and chips. It was huge - we could have shared it, but it was delicious. We headed back early to the airport and lounged for a couple of hours before our Johannesburg flight.
The flight to Johannesburg was another 10 hours or so. Business Class was nicer here than on United. Better service and S. African wines...
We changed in Johannesburg to get to Cape Town and arrived just after noon. Overall it was a long never-ending day, but the business class, wine, and even the break in London helped. Finally we arrived in Cape Town, but I'll save that for next day.
First, some logistics for any future travelers that may be traveling as a solo parent. South Africa is absolutely serious about carrying the approved paperwork for traveling with a child without both parents. I always travel with a notarized letter from my wife in case anyone asked any questions. In all my traveling, I've never been asked for it. For S. Africa, look up what the requirements are. There's a letter on the S. Africa gov't website that must be filled out and notarized. You also have to travel with an original full birth certificate and notarized copy of the other parent's passport. They are not screwing around. They will ask for this, both the airline and S. Africa passport control. Huge thanks to @*WDW*Groupie* for helping me with this. If there's anyway I can pay it forward for future travelers let me know.
Second, when choosing flights, United often flies to S. Africa through Brazil. If flying through Brazil, consider getting a Yellow Fever vaccine. S. Africa requires proof of this if traveling from certain countries. Brazil seems to be the only one some people may fly through that requires this. S. Africa doesn't specify if passengers in transit (just changing planes) need this, but from my research it's a possibility. In light of this, I chose not to fly through Brazil.
That about covers the very important, but not well publicized info. On with the show:
Houston to Cape Town
We flew United/South African Airways from Houston to London to Johannesburg to Cape Town. Because of the evening flights to London and then to J'burg, it basically takes a day and a half to get there. Thankfully we were able to get our tickets on points and move up to business class.
Gavin as you can tell loved it. It was very comfy. Service was ok, nothing spectacular. You can get a wine flight on United which was pretty cool. But she delivered it while I was helping Gavin with something so I missed which wine was which. Still cool.
We arrived in London in the morning and had a 9 hr layover. We actually just got back from a cruise out of London/Dover a couple of weeks ago, so there wasn't anything particularly pressing we wanted to do in London. However, a friend of mine mentioned how London had the largest Lego store in the world and was the only place where you could have a Lego portrait made. So, that sounded quick and fun. We headed off to Leicester Square on the Piccadilly Line. It was a straight shot from Heathrow and took about 50 minutes. We went to the lego store, then headed over to a Pub for lunch we've eaten at before and it was great. Had the fish and chips. It was huge - we could have shared it, but it was delicious. We headed back early to the airport and lounged for a couple of hours before our Johannesburg flight.
The flight to Johannesburg was another 10 hours or so. Business Class was nicer here than on United. Better service and S. African wines...
We changed in Johannesburg to get to Cape Town and arrived just after noon. Overall it was a long never-ending day, but the business class, wine, and even the break in London helped. Finally we arrived in Cape Town, but I'll save that for next day.
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