Dammam to Johannesburg

Pre-tour of Africa

End of August 29, 2011

18-Day South Africa Overland Explorer   

Kirsty and I broke from our normal routine of flying from Bahrain and opted to fly from Dammam, Saudi Arabia instead. In all of my trips since I’ve arrived in Saudi, I’ve flown from Dammam once.  And once was enough. While it is a beautiful building and modern airport, services and customer service is lacking. Plus, Kirsty would have to don an abaya and lug it on every trip we took. 

Our official tour didn’t start until August 30 so we would have an afternoon to ourselves in Johannesburg once our overnight flight from Dubai arrived there. The aim was to go the Cresta Shopping Mall, which was nearby, and try and find me a hat that Kirsty insisted I needed for the tour. We were told the mall was excellent and a quick look on the website showed it had several stores that might carry enough hats to give me a chance of finding one that fit. 

Several friends told us Kirsty would be okay without an abaya providing she wear long sleeves and keep things modest. That was no problem. We weren’t hassled at all at the airport and the service provided by Emirates Airlines staff was superb. And before we got to board our flight to Dubai where we would transfer to our flight to Johannesburg, I actually got to see the ground crew load a shiny red Ferrari into the cargo area of the plane. As we were flying out the day before the Eid holiday started, some rich Saudi probably had plans of spending Eid in Dubai and wanted his favorite toy with him. Cheaper to rent one in Dubai, but when you can afford a red Ferrari you probably don’t need to worry about that too much. The flight was a mere hop and only further heightened our expectations. 

We had a brief stopover in Dubai. Enough time for Kirsty to buy a Timex watch (and get one for free), and before long we were boarding our plane for Johannesburg. Someone was in our seat when we got there but realized he had made a mistake, apologized, and moved on without a fuss. I gave Kirsty the window seat, as per usual, and the seat beside me was taken by a cameraman from Azerbaijan heading to Namibia to film some adventure sports. 

I actually managed a few hours of solid sleep on the overnight flight so when we landed at OR Tambo airport in Jo’Burg I felt refreshed. We quickly cleared customs, enjoyed seeing our luggage come around the carousel, and headed to the reception desk to wait for our pick-up to take us to the Drifters Johannesburg Lodge, our home for our only night in Jo’Burg. 

One of the things that impressed me the most about the tour I selected was that Drifters had their own properties in the places we were going. Kirsty didn’t want to do camping so this tour was perfect, as all 18 nights would be spent sleeping on mattresses with a solid roof over her head. And all places had running water, electricity, and hot showers. Another bonus as far as Kirsty was concerned. The South Africa 18-day tour took to all the places we wanted to see and then some.  

We were joined by Beat (apparently named after his mom’s favorite band) and Melanie, a young couple from Switzerland, and Anne, traveling on her own from Paris. Two others would join us later. Our pick-up was for noon and the driver arrived shortly before then to lead us to his 8-seater van to take us to our lodge, located in a safe residential area in a northern suburb. We were greeted by a couple of playful beagles as we entered the property, and guarding the main store from the comfort of his oversized bed was Bruno, and massive mastiff more likely to drool and sleep on your leg than chew it off. Kirsty and I were staying in room 15 on the ground floor, a quaint and clean little thing with an en-suite bathroom with the only necessity I needed – a good shower.

Kirsty enjoying the sun on arrival at the lodge. 

The smile wouldn't leave my face all trip. 

The garden path to the pool. Coming at the end of winter the outdoor pool was a little cold. 

Dinner would be served at 7 o’clock so we placed our order and headed off on a guided city tour. Anne really wanted to see the city but the tour needed a minimum number of people to go so Kirsty and I decided to skip the mall and see Johannesburg instead. Our driver, Duncan, was friendly and informative, and allowed us extra time at sites along the way when we asked for it. Like any big city, Jo’Burg has safe places and not-so-safe places. We tended to avoid the not-so-safe places. We saw the courthouse, Nelson Mandela’s house in Jo’Burg, went up the tallest building for panoramic views of the city, and headed back to the lodge without getting to stop at the Beers of the World building where 10 South African Rand (just over a dollar) gets you a tour and a beer at the end of the tour. I don’t mean to offend anyone from Jo’Burg who might be reading this but the city just didn’t do it for me. I’m sure the people are nice and wonderful, as I find South Africans are, but I didn’t like the city itself.

Beat clowning around with some local street art.

More art on display. 

We tried to have a quick nap before dinner, as we were both starting to flag, and probably managed 40 winks between us. After a quick rinse of the face, we headed for dinner.

Bartender ... can I have anything with alcohol? 

At dinner we were joined by Ricky and Barb, two married Australians who left their husbands at home so they could have a great holiday. This was not the first time they had decided to travel this way either. Kirsty and I had kudu kebabs, served with chips and steamed vegetables. Kudu is the second largest of the African antelope species, comparable in size to a North American elk. And if you like red meat, and especially venison, you will not be disappointed.

The breakfast nook. 

After a brief meeting with the tour operator where he gave us some tips, told us about our driver and guide, and wished us a great holiday, it was time for bed and some much needed sleep. Our 5:30 am wake-up call would come before we knew it.

The best way to see Africa! 

To be continued...