TRAVEL BLOG December 10th, 2021 - TANZANIA to KENYA to ZIMBABWE to SOUTH AFRICA

 

12/10/21- Three hours sleep. That’s all we get before getting ready for our next flight. This hotel is not the best but it beats sleeping at the airport. That probably should be their slogan. We’re very happy they have cold air conditioning, so that’s a plus.

We check out at 1am, pay the amount for the dinner (which they did charge us the whole amount but no worries) and call an UBER to pick us up. We have only 9,000 Shillings left (which is about $4 US) and the taxi back would cost 15,000 Shilling cash only, so we were happy to see UBER in the area.

A driver accepts the fare but after five minutes doesn’t move his car. I get a message from him asking where we were going, which is odd because it says on the app, and when I say the airport he says “Ohhh, need money for baggage”. The shake down is real people! 

Since the UBER was ultra cheap, a tip is fine by me, but it was the way it was handled that puts me off. Regardless, we get to the airport, I slip him 5,000 Shillings and we’re in business.

At the check-in counter, we show our screenshot of our COVID test and are told only a paper printout will work. The hotel's machine was down so I couldn’t do it before and I never realized the paper doc was necessary. She points me to the Stationary store not far away and get the print outs for 2,000 Shillings each. Now if you’re doing the math you can add the 5,000 + 2x (2,000) Shillings and equals to exactly 9,000 Shilling, which is all I have. Unbelievable luck!

In the security line I’m asked about my tooth necklace I’m wearing. I say I got it in Brazil years ago and he asks if I declared it. Never been asked that before but I quickly tell him it’s a fake and very cheap. He asks how much I paid and I reply $2. He lets me through.

Our flight leaves on time and takes an hour to get to Nairobi Kenya, our first layover. At our gate in Kenya, we're asked for our Yellow Fever card, which we don’t have because Tanzania is not listed as a Yellow Fever zone. She says it is, but will let us pass because Cape Town is not strict on that. Wow, that almost threw a monkey wrench into the whole works, but I quickly say thank you and move on my way. The Yellow Fever shot was one of the reasons we chose carefully on where to go in Africa because it would have cost us about $400 for them in the US. Of course, now I’m wondering if we’ll be asked again later.

Second flight turns out to be the exact same plane we just got off of; we even have the same seats. The flight takes 3 hours and lands in Victoria Falls, which if you remember was the place that we had to change from due to the quarantine rules. Ironic that our journey takes us here, but instead of disembarking the plane, we stay on for forty minutes before it takes off again for South Africa. To sum up, we take the same plane three times, hitting four different countries, all in the same day. Didn’t realize planes had bus schedules.

The last leg of the journey finally touches down in Cape Town around 1pm. We deplane, go through customs (which we fly by without anyone asking about Yellow Fever) and find one of our bags has a rip in it. Before leaving the airport, we make a claim with Kenya Airways for the bag and they'll look into it for a reimbursement. Either way, this bag will have to be retired after this journey.

They have UBER here, which we set up, but on our way out we are hit with ten different people claiming to be from UBER asking if we need a ride. Aren’t UBERs supposed to be APP only? So, I’m going to say ‘NO’ on the scam, but good luck on your next victim.

The drive takes twenty minutes and we arrive at our bed and breakfast, Valley Heights, and immediately feel good about the decision to stay here. It’s only for one night as we're switching tomorrow, but it’s in a great area with beautiful scenery and the host is friendly.

Feeling hungry, we walk to Harry’s Burgers and along the way stop at a pharmacy and find a camera cap for my lens of all places. Then walk across the street to see free wine tasting and spend the next hour chatting it up with the locals. We could’ve stayed longer but our stomachs are really growling at this point. We get to Harry’s, eat some delicious burgers and then walk home before sunset.

Fun observations so far: People here love our American “accent”, which is funny because I didn’t think we really had one. Their eyes would brighten as they’d talk to us, as if we're going to tell them some hidden secret to life. Also, even though this is a richy area, high crime is prevalent as observed by the electric fencing put up on their outside walls. The first thing people tell us is to be careful with our stuff while walking around and not to go out at night if it can be avoided. So, I think I found how the movie The Purge got its inspiration. Lastly, everything's very cheap due to the exchange rate as our dinner was only about $12 USD total.