Next stop South Africa

We left Perth on Tuesday night, taking to the air just before midnight, for our 12 hour flight to Johannesburg and then on to Cape Town.  Because of the six hour time change we hoped that the late flight would mean the kids would be awake later making the time change less of a shock.  Waiting to board the flight we had to keep prodding Joe to keep him up so that he could board himself whilst Luke was a lost cause.  

Unsurprisingly once on-board Joe's eyes miraculously brightened and he stayed up for an hour chattering away.  There were loads of kids and babies on the flight and the airline had clearly decided that we would all sit together in a kid-zone at the back of the plane, but amazingly there was very little noise until the last hour when there were a couple of screamers.  Our boys slept for most of the flight and played/read happily for the remainder of the time, but by the time we disembarked we were all thoroughly confused by the time (having been served dinner just after midnight (Perth time) and breakfast at 4am (SA time).  As we came down the steps from the plane Peter was his usual hyperactive self pretending to be a Ben-10 alien using his airline eye-mask as a face mask.  To the other passengers it looked like he was wearing a Swine-Flu mask, which caused us some embarrassment!

We had a four hour wait in Johannesburg before boarding our onward flight to Cape Town (during which time we managed another couple of snacks - eating really helps pass the time).  This second flight was only 2 hours and with Luke sleeping for the duration it was very easy again.  

On arrival at Cape Town we were through immigration and customs quickly and our bags soon appeared at luggage collection - nearly there.  There was a slight hiccup at the car hire desk when they handed me the keys to a Ford Fiesta which I quickly pointed out could hardly be described as "intermediate" (as booked) and after pointing to Nicola and the boys standing by our luggage they soon found a Ford Focus for us.

The drive to our hotel in Cape Town was a slight disappointment - normally the drive from the airport provides an amazing view of Table Mountain as the motorway descends towards the city, but cloudy and wet weather completely obscured Table Mountain.  However, when we arrived at our apartment in the city our spirits were quickly lifted.  

Our Bargain hunting had turned up a real gem - our apartment is a lovely modern flat with a large open plan kitchen/living room and two good sized double bedrooms.  Luke is particularly pleased because he not only has his own cot, but there is a large bath in our en-suite.  Nicola is happy that we not only have our own washing maching, but a tumble dryer too (and a wireless internet connection).  For me, having a large freezer is great so I can pick up all of the bargain bin items in the supermarket! (and a wireless internet connection).  Peter and Joseph were delighted to find that there is both a TV and DVD player.

The first couple of days have been marked by jet-lag induced apathy, so we are particularly pleased that the apartment is so nice because we have spent so long here.  The TV was a useful distraction for the boys when they were up at 5am on the first day.  The weather forecast says the weather will improve early next week, and with lots of visiting to look forward to (Hatish and Asha - our friends from Guernsey, and Ann and Rod - Dean's parents) and sights to visit the next week is likely to disappear fast.

Dave