It all started out so well. We left Moshi for the hour drive to Kilimanjaro airport at 9am, got on the plane and arrived in Dar-Es-Salaam on time (11am). Then it started getting not so good. Our flight from Dar, Tanzania to Johannesburg was delayed ‘2 and 1/2 hours’. This turned into 6 hours by the time the engineers fixed whatever was wrong with one of Zambian Airways 4 planes, flew the plane from Lusaka, Zambia to pick us up in Dar. So we got on the plane around 8pm. The plane flew to Lusaka where it was supposed to stop on the way to Jburg. When we arrived (midnight), we were told the plane was not going to Jburg tonight. We have to go thru Zambia immigration and they want us to purchase a $50USD visa for a 6 hour stay. We refused and after a whole bunch of some African language being spoken between the airline girls and the immigration guy (I think they were brother and sister), the airline purchased our visas. Next we are in the parking lot and they are trying to figure out how to get us to the hotel they are putting us in. Eventually we end up in the staff van with all the other Zambian airways workers and two very ass-like eastern Europeans who were too cheap to get a taxi into town. One of them had a shovel. Next thing we are driving at very high speeds through the tiny dirt roads dropping off staff members at their houses. Lots of Bemba being spoken, or what I think is Bemba (popular language in Zambia). We get to our hotel shortly after 1am, i bum a few bottles of water off the receptionist and tip the nice guy who carried our bags with the last of our Tanzanian shillings as we had no Zambian currency to speak of. A few hours go by and next thing it is 5:40AM and the same driver is outside to pick us up (was supposed to get us at 6:30). We rush off to the airport and struggle to get them to remember who we were and get us on the plane in time for Jburg. Amazingly it works and we get on the plane! After a beef pastrami sandwich for breakfast and some sleep we finally arrive in Jburg at 12:50. Short break there and back on a plane for Cape Town. After all was said and done we arrived at the very super Cape Town Backpackers Hostel at around 4pm. It’s cold here.
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