One Man in South Africa

I awoke bright and early on Monday morning as, according to the Tourist Information Office, the South African Air Force (SAAF) Museum only closed at Christmas and New Year. There was also a 'Heritage Trail' to follow around the old town which sounded interesting. Despite this being another public holiday I thought I would have a good day. Alas, when I arrived at the SAAF Museum it now closed every Monday! I headed back to Beach Road and followed it in the direction of the town to see if I could find the park and the 'trail'. I found myself at the Market Square and turned left up the hill. This proved fortuitous as I ended up parking next to a large open grassed area. 

No - not my hotel lol As it happens Monday 28 th is a public holiday so a busy weekend for Guido's. On Sunday I borrowed the truck and set off for Port Elizabeth a little later than I had expected as Toby and I had a wine tasting session the night before! I went up towards Grahamstown then along the N2 to Port Elizabeth as this is a more direct route though the scenery is just as dramatic, it reminded me of Scotland when I went to Pumba Game Reserve. Lo and behold a signpost to 'Lothian' a little further along the route. I drove into Port Elizabeth not recognising any of the signed routes so headed for the airport and then down to the beach road looking for the 'Road Lodge' hotel I had been booked into when I first arrived in South Africa. Driving along I couldn't spot it so turned across a convenient junction to book into a hotel opposite, easier said than done. Three hotels in a row and I couldn't find a door into any of them. Eventually I entered...

This year I decided to leave Tenerife for a two month sojourn in South Africa. A quick web search established that I did not require a visa and a quick trip to Tenerife Insurance Services in Las Chafiras gave me a flexible 90 day travel insurance so the next requirement was a trip to renew my travel concession document then onto the internet to find suitable flights. I advise using a desktop or a laptop, trying to complete the necessary on-line forms on my 'Tablet' proved slow and frustrating and I gave up in the end. Would you believe it was cheaper to fly to South Africa from Madrid via London than from Heathrow direct. Off to Tenerife Airport North at 07:45 on the 29th March having stayed overnight with my good friends in Santa Cruz resulted in a speedy check-in and off to Madrid at 10:00 courtesy of AirEuropa. Landing at Terminal 2 at 13:20 hours (the mainland is 1 hour ahead of Tenerife) I was surprised that I had to claim my bags, catch a shuttle bus to terminal 4 (about ...