11th to 13th
April 2011
Returning to Johannesburg and
Pretoria, South Africa
We’ve got to ‘fess up about our return from Zanzibar….the moral
of this story is to ALWAYS check that you actually collect the correct bags…..
In Dar es Salaam, as at Stone Town, there are vultures needing
money (ie porters) who love to harass you until you succumb and let them carry
your bags on their heads off the ferry.
We had a slight problem on arrival at Dar. Our week old Chinese suitcases (identical
brown types – you know the sort) were quite literally thrown off the ferry onto
the wharf and immediately picked up by porters.
We got out of the melee and took a taxi to the airport. Being 6 hours early there didn’t really
matter until, at 11.30pm, we were shocked on opening one that it was NOT
OURS!!!!! Arghhhhh…it was full of
Swahili cloths. Where were our doonas,
sleeping bags, books and shoes???? But
this was an identical colour and size…where is ours??
First option – leave the case here (under the CCTV camera) and
forget about the lost goods and head off through customs….hmmm. Next option was
to share the problem with the security guard – the best thing that could
happen. Phone calls to sleeping ferry
operators, a midnight rendezvous with the security guard at the ferry terminal
with this bag and an exchange for ours and a race back to the airport just in
time for customs….and all this in Africa…unbelievable! In future – always check the contents of
“your case”!
After arriving back in SA we headed back to M & M’s house
exhausted for a couple of days before heading back to Maun.
