My arrival in Johannesburg was about two hours before my flight to Durban, but S had warned me in advance what to expect. Since I was transferring from an international flight to a domestic one, I had to cross from one terminal to the other and claim my baggage. Ongoing construction slowed me down a bit, as did several baggage porters who looked at my luggage tags and offered to help me carry the bags.
The South African Airways flight was smooth and only took an hour. S was waiting for me at the airport and we drove north along the N2 up to Umdloti, where she is sharing an apartment with C who is volunteering in a nearby community. After settling in and taking a nap, we all went for dinner at La Casa Nostra, an Italian place up the road. We sat outside and enjoyed a complimentary “focaccia” (more like naan though). The wait staff (mostly Indian) impressed us by their thorough knowledge of the menu; my pumpkin-mushroom panzerotti was delicious. Wine is super cheap (you can get bottles for R30 or about $4.50CAD) with hardly any markup.
My first exposure to parking attendants came tonight: there's a guy in the parking lot that keeps an eye on your vehicle and helps you back out of tight spaces. He's not in a booth or anything, and is not employed by any company or any of the stores in the plaza as far as I can tell. As you leave, you're expected to pay him a small amount (R5 or so). An unusual custom for sure.
Complete set of South Africa pictures in my Flickr set.
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