In Transit- Joburg Bound.

In Transit

Johannesburg, South Africa.

August 17^th, 2013

Arrivals gate at Nairobi.

Ek is life vir jou Suid Afrika (Afrikaans for, I love you South Africa).

The first place I ever went to in Sub-Saharan Africa seems like a world apart from the rest of the continent at this moment.

The busiest hub in Africa. And they actually have fire trucks, lol.

Joburg has electricity, paved roads, high speed trains, a type of structure and punctuality that in some ways resembles Europe and in some ways Africa, it is a world apart from its brothers to the North.

Coming back to “The Burg” is always a pleasure, its sunny skies, colorful people, and the edgy danger that lurks in some of its more dodgy neighborhoods all adds to its charm.

Joburg from my hotel.

Although for myself, this stop in Joburg is merely transit, trying to make it from Madagascar to Cape Town. A feat that when written seems not so daunting, but when you actually put it together, factoring in a stopover in Nairobi, with its burnt down airport, well let’s just say, the shadow of Table Mountain seems pretty far off at this point.

But I am close! I am actually in the same country! And tomorrow I shall get a ticket and board that plane, fingers crossed.

This all started with a morning run in Tana, Madagascar. I got up at 7am, did a stretch on my balcony that overlooks a beautiful side of Tana, ran down the hill and jogged around the lake in the centre of town, taking in the sights and sounds of a Friday morning crowd. I got back, had my last French style breakfast, got in the taxi and headed for the airport.

Leaving Tana, as the locals press on with daily life.

It took an hour to reach the airport, where I was greeted by a lovely departure tax, one of my favourite things in the world of travel (Sarcasm). All I kept thinking as I handed over my 20 USD was which Malagasy politician will be spending that 20 dollars on his next shopping trip to Paris. But corruption is something one cannot avoid when travelling Africa, and at times it can work in your favour.

I kept telling myself, South Africa is almost there! The brandy, the wine, the beautiful shores, the Afrikaners, Braai’s, rugby, all these things that I love.

Air Kenya can get you to Joburg, albeit very slowly, lol.

The plane was needless to say, over an hour late. Very fortunately I had a scheduled 5 hour layover in Nairobi before transiting to Joburg, anything less and well I expect I would be writing this from an airport hotel somewhere near to JKIA.

The airport at JKIA, due to the fire has become quite an improvised miracle. When you arrive, you taxi to your allotted spot, get on a bus that takes you to a tent, where you wait for your flights turn to connect, where you will then be taken to the former domestic terminal, and then ushered onto your flight.

They managed to make a duty free.

I went through this whole process, which naturally was behind schedule by one hour, but needless to say, since this flight is bound for South Africa, I just had a renewed sense of confidence that the flight would get there! And it did! I made it, and in the morning I shall be bound for Cape Town.

A side bonus to visiting south Africa is that I love talking to Afrikaners, they always have the coolest stories, especially the ones working and living in different parts of Africa. And needless to say, this flight to Joburg had plenty of amazing people on it. I have always maintained that Afrikaners provide a bridge between European and African cultures, as they are a bit of both. And each time I speak with them, I feel I come a little bit closer to understanding this continent and its very unique ways.

LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Anyways, I have some business to attend to in the morning, Cape Town bound! Let’s see what happens.

Cheers,

William Delaney