Mental Baggage

I love the letters in the Traveller lift-out of Saturday's The Age - there are often good tips. Lately however it seems to have become a whinging forum about seat backs being reclined to the annoyance of the person behind. Seat backs need to be upright during take-off, landing and meal service - with cabin crew advising people when appropriate. At other times it is the choice of the traveller, and everyone is free to recline their seat whenever they like. I have found that this does not stop me from watching the in-flight entertainment or reading or sleeping.
The letters made me wonder about not only the physical baggage we carry on a flight, but also the mental baggage. If such a trivial thing is so important, how do you cope when something serious goes wrong? - if this is the worst thing that happens on your trip, be thankful!
Lighten up!

Light travelling!
Marie

Successful Safari

Running through Sydney Airport to catch our flight to Johannesburg I thought - "here's another reason to travel with just a cabin bag!" Due to high winds all flights into Sydney were delayed but we managed to get on an earlier, but still delayed, plane out of Melbourne. By the time we reached the boarding gate, the tail of passengers was disappearing fast! Would checked luggage have made the transfer? I don't think so, especially at Sydney with so much distance between the domestic and international terminals. So travelling with checked luggage we could have had to wait until we reached Cape Town, 3 days later, before our bags caught up as we had taken the train from Jo'burg! On the issue of having to fly to Sydney to catch the Johannesburg flight - the plane flies directly over Melbourne, south of Adelaide and Perth then to Jo'burg! Where's the sense in that Qantas?? Have a stop in Melbourne!

How gorgeous is this leopard!

Our trip was fantastic - everything went well and great sights were seen. A highlight was getting a lifetime "Big 5" but it got better when we managed a trip "Big 5", thanks to some very lucky sightings of the shyest of cats, the leopard. The Big 5 comprises lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and water buffalo - these are the hardest for hunters to catch for trophies (like to think that doesn't happen any more).

Warm jacket, thermals, buff, gloves, beanie - I'm warm!

I was very happy with my packing. Every thing was worn except my swimsuit (bit cool for swimming in African winters!). All garments washed and dried overnight, sometimes even in a few hours! Never did I have dirty washing in my bag. And everything was perfect for the climate - we reaped the benefits of checking each countries' climate before we left. The best buy for me was a warm jacket (thanks Snowgum!) for early morning game drives in open vehicles - think I was the only warm person in the tour! My husband is heading to the latest Snowgum sale to buy the same jacket! Polarfleece is warm and Gortex can keep out a lot of wind but this jacket with Polafil Insulation was perfect. And we did hit zero degrees one morning in Botswana!

Which would you prefer to carry?

Thanks to blog follower Jacqui, I had a supply of rice cakes and a jar of peanut butter to tide me over if no gluten free food was available - a life saver as gluten intolerance is a fairly new concept in parts of southern Africa. Qantas provided excellent GF meals ex Sydney although the ones ex Jo'burg were suspect so beware.

A highly recommended trip - the tour company is Kiboko, a South African company. The guide was very happy loading my bag (the zebra print) and my husband's (red) into the safari truck - compare the others! Go to www.kiboko.co.za and check it out - we did the "comfort" trip as camping is not my style.

Light travelling!

Marie