Category: travel

Robben Island closed for the winter

Posted on

Robben Island Museum (RIM) announced this morning that the popular cultural tourist attraction set to close for 2½ months for renovations in the lead up to South Africa’s hosting of the G20 summit later this year.

This will be a huge blow for anyone visiting Cape Town in the winter months, as this is a unique place to visit. And imagine if you have timed a quick break with us at the end of July, and the Cableway is shut as well.

Eish!

The good bit about these announcements is that the facilities and safety of these iconic attractions are improved and maintained, keeping them in great condition for guests and visitors in the future.

Just a bit unfortunate if you are turning up in our little corner of Africa and braving the winter weather, and you don’t get to see the (top of the) Mountain or do the Robben Island tour.

Thank goodness there’s still the wine route(s).

A silly poem

Posted on

Ever been stuck in a regional airport?

In a foreign country?

With no WiFi?

For four hours?

My poor wife has. Although, maybe she hasn’t, because there’s no WiFi and I can’t get in touch with her.

I was doing some work earlier, and was thinking about her plight. And in my head, I wrote a silly poem.

And in lieu of anything better to pop on here today, why not this?

FOUR HOURS IN BODRUM AIRPORT

I’ve got…

Four hours in Bodrum Airport and I don’t know what to do.
We don’t fly out til 6 o’clock but they picked us up at 2.
There’s nothing here for entertainment or to help us pass the time.
Except tourist tat and coffee, and appalling Turkish wine.

So it’s…

Three hours in Bodrum Airport and I’m really rather bored.
The last few nights are catching up on me and leaving me quite floored.
Perhaps I’ll gently close my eyes and have a nice, quick nap.
Because just sitting here and waiting is such a load of crap.

But there’s still…

Two hours in Bodrum Airport and it’s not getting any better.
If I’d known I would have brought some wool: I could have knitted a whole sweater.
It’s not glamorous or exciting, it’s actually rather dull.
And honestly, I just can’t wait until we  leave and fly to Istanbul.

So thank God there’s only…

One more hour in Bodrum Airport and they’re about to call our flight.
I’ve been stuck here all bloody afternoon: I won’t be staying the night.
I could have been drinking cocktails or sitting on the beach.
Or working on the wording of next year’s Rose Bowl acceptance speech.

At last…

So goodbye, Bodrum Airport. Thanks for putting up with me.
We’re finally leaving your runway at precisely 6:03.
Your little town is super: the beach, the sea, the grub.
But you really could do better with your major transport hub.

Disclaimer: I’ve never been to Bodrum Airport. It might be lovely.

Plane turns round. Twice.

Posted on

Much excitement last night as one of the BA flights from Cape Town to London Eefrow reported smoke in the cockpit and turned back to the Mother City. Here’s what that looked like on the big map of Southern Africa.

Halfway up Namibia is clearly enough for anyone.

But when my wife told me about this story, I was vaguely concerned that either she or the site had got it wrong. Because I had heard this story before. And it wasn’t a BA plane from Cape Town to Heathrow. It was a BA plane from Heathrow to Cape Town.

But neither of us was wrong. Because it was both of them. Look:

That’s a BA flight from LHR to Cape Town. A few days ago.
And clearly Algeria is far enough for anyone.

But hang on just a second: THAT’S THE SAME PLANE!!!!

That diversion was due to a “full electrical shutdown”. And that’s concerning, because that might have affected the entertainment system. No wonder they went back. It’s only influencers that pretend to rawdog their flights.

No-one on that first story (which was actually the second diversion), seems to have picked up on that second story (which was the first diversion). But I would say that two diversions for one plane on a single round trip is a bit dodgy.

And honestly – without being dramatic – I’d be thinking twice about getting on board G-XWBG when it leaves Cape Town (for however long).

This all sounds a bit dodgy to me.

Heathr-no

Posted on

Like the airport, but with a different ending.

Amazing Covid-esque like scenes at Europe’s busiest airport this morning, as a fire at a nearby substation crashed the power to the whole place, necessitating its closure for the day.

It’s like a plane-free ghost town there at the moment:

Especially when you compare it to other normally-running European airports like Schiphol:

or Frankfurt:

The later local flights from Cape Town, which set off yesterday evening, but then found that they had nowhere to land, have diverted to Barcelona and Madrid.

Buenos días, señor.

I mean, lucky them. The other flight ended up at Gatwick.

Eww.

The flights that were due to come down from LHR to Cape Town made it out before the whole gemors, and – if all goes well – should be able to leave on time tonight. But obviously, the flights which were due to depart from Heathrow to Cape Town this evening will now, not.

We’re not going to have a lot of influence on the global repositioning of the planes from the 1,400 flights that will be affected. But the knock-on effect for tourists wanting to EsCape Town tomorrow will be tangible.

Oh no. We’re going to have to stay another day or two rather than going back to London.

Heartbreaking for them.

Make life (a bit) better

Posted on

Look, I don’t spend a lot of time on social media.
Maybe I’m just too old for it, maybe I have better things to do with my life.

Maybe both.

But when I am on there, the algorithm tends to give me a lot of similar stuff. In no particular order: football, travel, photography, geography, quiz questions. Those kind of things.

And it was while I was watching a video from an American lady preparing to visit Africa (specifically Nigeria and Kenya), and asking the online world if she should be taking anti-malarial medication*, that I noticed that a local “influencer” – who is not medically qualified, obviously – commenting and saying no, she shouldn’t, because (and here I quote):

They just mask the symptoms of the actual illness.

This is quite clearly bullshit.

Now, we should all be well used to influencers spouting BS, because that’s how they make their money. Honestly, who in the right mind is going to genuinely criticise a brand or product that is paying for their flights, accommodation and everything else? But doing puff pieces for money is one thing (and yes, it’s actually rather iffy, isn’t it?). Giving medical advice – and at that, terrible, potentially life-threatening medical advice to strangers on the internet – when you have no qualification in the field at all, is quite another.

And so I called the local influencer out on it. Now, I should note here that I’m not a doctor either, but I do have plenty (or more) experience and qualifications in Microbiology and Biomedical Sciences.

I’ve also had malaria, and I know that it’s no joke. It can kill you (mine didn’t). You don’t want it.

Anyway, she chose not to reply [colour me shocked], but she did instantly block me on all platforms.

And OMG, it’s been so wonderful. I hadn’t realised how much of her content was being served to me and how intensely irritating I found it.

Are there any downsides to this? Well obviously, yes:
Now I’ll never know about “this secret beach just 30 minutes from Cape Town” that’s actually so “secret” that it’s completely packed every weekend. I don’t get to “guess which airport she’s flying into” from the shots out of the plane window. And I’ll never get to see another composite shot of her in a wood-fired hot tub beneath a startrails sky.

On that note, I took the hint and blocked her influencer boyfriend as well (IYKYK), and now my social media is now like a breath of fresh air.

Well, not that one, obviously, but I don’t go there anymore, anyway.

If you want to find me on those other platforms, look here.

And if you want my advice on how to make the online cesspit just a little bit more bearable? Unfollow all those influencers that are telling you how great so-and-so brand or product is, while not being completely honest, because if they were, they’d not get any more business. Rather look at Trip Advisor for more honest answers from people who actually had to pay their own way to get to where they were going.



* hey lady, hot tip: maybe try asking your doctor?