Into the Air We Go
(Friday 25th November, 2022)
Maropeng Visitor Centre entrance in Magaliesburg near Johannesburg.
The alarm clock’s light flashed 2:15. With a yawn and a stretch, I got out of bed, feeling like I had been run over by a truck. Getting to bed on time had not been successful the evening prior. Still, I had a sense of excitement within me as I got ready; for we were about to embark on an adventure. And when you’re embarking on an adventure, it feels a lot less bad to get up really early.
After saying goodbye, we dragged our suitcases down to the curb where the taxi awaited us. In the cold night we drove towards the airport. There, we checked our bags in and made our way through security. The flights were all timely and soon we were getting ready to board the plane from Copenhagen – Amsterdam. There was a tingling feeling of nerves and excitement in my stomach as we took our seats and the plane took off.
It was a game of take-off and landing, and then take-off again. The second flight was the 10 hour one with the typical, blue KLM airplane. The flight was long and it felt long. To divert my mind from the fact of being in flight in an airplane impossibly far above ground, I played an obscene amount of bejewelled. A couple of movies also snuck in there.
At points, the friendly stewardesses came with food for us. While looking at it was enticing enough for me to taste it, I will say that my taste buds were not pleased with any of the offers. I had a distinct thought that this classified as the worst airplane meal I’d ever had.
Another classical thing is me booking the window seat to enjoy the view – and to feel as comfortable as possible with my nerves. As we boarded the plane, I realised I had chosen a seat straight on top of the wing. Well, on an occasion that I wrestled my eyes and mind away from the bejewelled game, I was still able to see thunderstorms far away and below. Lightning lighting up the sky, shooting above the clouds and disappearing in a flash, imagining the rolling thunder shake the windows of any house below. The plane had to correct course a bit to avoid one of these storms.
Oh the joy of disembarking safely on ground in Johannesburg. My feet touched solid ground and I felt happy to be back in Africa. Walking out the airport, we orientated ourselves in order to find our shuttle bus to take us to our hotel, OR Tambo Garden Court Hotel.
Flying is exhausting, and so we did not do much but eat and relax and go to bed in order to start our on-ground adventure here in South Africa tomorrow.
See what the adventure brings when we visit Gauteng:
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