Johnno Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Just wondering how many Saffas on this board are making the pilgrimage to visit family and friends in SA over Dec/Jan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Stepchook Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 I am. Can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Johnno Posted November 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 I am. Can't wait!Lekker boet, with the exchange rate "jy gaan lekker party". Me too, New Years at V&A Waterfront, can't wait!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Stepchook Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 I'm hoping the Rand will drop below R10 to the A$! All that good food will taste even better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Brad76 Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 I'm hoping the Rand will drop below R10 to the A$! All that good food will taste even better!That's just being ugly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Stepchook Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Seriously, though. Brisbane is sorely lacking when it comes to good restaurants. And I'm not talking high-end either. I've yet to find anything close to Mugg & Bean. Oh, and don't get me started on pizza restaurants! I guess that's where Melbourne is very different. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Johnno Posted November 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Not to mention getting anything to eat after 7pm on a weekday night in Brisbane! I was in SA in Aug for a quick visit and I'm hooked on the Mugg & Bean beacon and banana toasted sarmies on brown bread. Service with a smile was an added bonus but I'd be happy with just the service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Stepchook Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 No wonder the tourists love South Africa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rozellem Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Me and the two boys, 29Nov -20Jan. My husband will only hear if he can get away this week (for 10 days), and the prices are around the 4k mark, so I dont think he will make it. I will leave him with some frozen food (wife of the year ) and a moerse list of DIY jobs. Most involving dark, muddy, trench digging..... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Johnno Posted November 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Me and the two boys, 29Nov -20Jan. My husband will only hear if he can get away this week (for 10 days), and the prices are around the 4k mark, so I dont think he will make it. I will leave him with some frozen food (wife of the year ) and a moerse list of DIY jobs. Most involving dark, muddy, trench digging.....Your husband must love you stukkend! Yeah, flights are a total rip-off in high season! We normally fly with SAA/Qantas (from Perth) but this year we saved $1,000 per ticket going with Air Mauritius and we get to spend a night for free in Mauritius on the way to CT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Oosie Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 We are also going, can't wait. Looking forward to a wonderful time with our daughter and her family. Our daughter in South Africa's baby will be born on the 25th of Nov, our second grandchild in South Africa. We are also looking forward to the nice restaurants in South Africa.To everyone who is going - have a wonderful time.Linda 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Donovan83 Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 I'm headed back for 3 weeks Can't wait to see the family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Renny Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 My brother came over from Aus last month to visit....they did comment that things are kinda expensive in SA.....the only thing they said was dirt cheap was our fresh fish...we get hake at R50 /kg and they pay $40/kg.....and the wine....all he wanted to do is get a bottle of wine for R300 as $30 is a avg/good bottle of wine in Aus.....we did get a Nitida Magnum from the wine farm for R295 My other brother also came at the same time, he is from the Cayman Islands...it's a very expensive place to live and their currency is stronger that AUs and USA.....he went shopping in the V&A waterfront and came back with one bag......said it was over priced and he can get better in Cayman for the same price.Spending time with family was priceless!!!!Best part of their visit to SA was when they took a road trip to PE and decided to fly back to Cape Town. Popped into Checkers to by a one way air ticket. The lady at the counter asked their passports. She issued their tickets and asked them to check it (after tickets has been issued). My brother from Aus checked he's ticket and it stated he's correct name, but he's surname was Sydney....he told the lady that it was wrong and where did she get that surname. She told him on the first page of he's passport it states he's surname was Sydney.....as he opened he's passport he paged to page 4 and there was a lonely visa for some place he went to and the visa was issued in Sydney She just decided to go to that page and pick the place of issue as he's surname......She then had no idea what to do. After telling her that she needed to change the name, she said, well that will be R250 for a name change and can she put it on their credit card. At this stage they were getting a little annoyed....Explained ti was not their fault. Then she said she must cancel the tickets and issue new ones, but oh wait the price has gone up with R300 and she cannot guarantee that they will all get seats as the seats seem to be fully booked. My brother's wife started laughing (her first trip to SA) and my brothers asked her to leave as they started realising that this might end up a disaster. The lady at the counter then decided to phone her manager. They have a floating cell phone that they use for these calls. The phone was flat and they struggled to get a charger. Once the phone was charged they realised they did not have any airtime so could not make a call.....the lady looked at them as if they must give her guidance as to what to do next....my brother looked up at the huge sign above her head that said "airtime for sale" and said Lady you sell airtime every day, buy some airtime and put it one the phone.....That problem solved. Called the manager....about a half an hour later they managed to change the tickets and all the lady at the counter kept on saying was that she do not know who is going to pay for this change....Well all my brother's said that they don't know either, but it is not going to be them.....they eventually got the ticket and made a safe flight to Cape Town 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Johnno Posted November 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 They should count themselves lucky. I tried to change the date on a Qantas flight and they want $400 just for a date change and it's all done on line, you cannot actually speak to anyone to have an argument and vent off BTW, if you shopping for clothes, souvenirs, presents etc then V&A would probably be the most expensive place on the planet so yes, it's expensive regardless of the currency in your wallet. However entertainment, car rental (even domestic airline tickets), hotels, furnished accommodation, etc is all very cheap and of very high standard and that makes for good value......my kinda holiday!PS! I'm 100% with you on the price of fish. Total rip off in Aus when you think about how much coastline we have and how much fish is caught. Same with fresh fruit (in Perth) its an absolute rip off and has a shelf life measured in hours! In SA we buy a tray of peaches, grapes by the box and it's all very affordable and fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Lynnie Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 My hubby was there now for 12 days on business and although he LOOOOOVED the food (he reckons he gained about 5kg ), shopping and seeing the family, he also immediately felt the tension, negative energy, bad service (MTN, Woolies and Dischem to name but a few) and road rage of course He also noticed that compared to a year ago when we were last there - some areas have badly deteriorated and things had gotten horribly expensive (especially luxury items like convenient food in Woolies and clothes). Anyway - he can't wait to come back home, where there are minimal dogs barking at night, alarms going off and cars/taxi's honking all the time Johnno - Have you tried buying fruit and veg from a fruit market? We don't dare purchase at Woolies here - doesn't last very long I agree with the fish - would LOOOVE to have an Ocean Basket close by Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 HansaPlease Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Your husband's visit pretty much sums up our visits, Lynnie - love the food, family, hospitality, but the reminders of why we left are always there in your face... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Johnno Posted November 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 (edited) My hubby was there now for 12 days on business and although he LOOOOOVED the food (he reckons he gained about 5kg ), shopping and seeing the family, he also immediately felt the tension, negative energy, bad service (MTN, Woolies and Dischem to name but a few) and road rage of course He also noticed that compared to a year ago when we were last there - some areas have badly deteriorated and things had gotten horribly expensive (especially luxury items like convenient food in Woolies and clothes). Anyway - he can't wait to come back home, where there are minimal dogs barking at night, alarms going off and cars/taxi's honking all the time Johnno - Have you tried buying fruit and veg from a fruit market? We don't dare purchase at Woolies here - doesn't last very long I agree with the fish - would LOOOVE to have an Ocean Basket close by Yes Lynnie, we try frequent fresh fruit shops but it's not always on our regular route so we sometimes land up grabbing some fruit from the major retailers and the result is mostly a disappointment! Our family loves fresh fish so being a keen fishermen with a nice boat we're lucky to get our own fresh fish on a regular basis. Still not as good or as convenient as Ocean Basket though! Whenever we visit SA we eat at least 2-3 times a week at Ocean Basket, the value, service and hospitality is always great. Added to that my brother also has a boat in CT so fresh crayfish is something that we overdose on Edited November 20, 2013 by Johnno 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 LeeInOz Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 Yes Lynnie, we try frequent fresh fruit shops but it's not always on our regular route so we sometimes land up grabbing some fruit from the major retailers and the result is mostly a disappointment! Our family loves fresh fish so being a keen fishermen with a nice boat we're lucky to get our own fresh fish on a regular basis. Still not as good or as convenient as Ocean Basket though! Whenever we visit SA we eat at least 2-3 times a week at Ocean Basket, the value, service and hospitality is always great. Added to that my brother also has a boat in CT so fresh crayfish is something that we overdose on JonnoThat picture looks good but I was sure there is a limit of 4 crayfish per person so he must have a boat for 8. Also some look smaller than regulation size.But I would love to get rid of the evidence while I am there in Dec RumpelstiltskinMugg and bean is good but there are many good coffee places in Brisbane. As to late night food the Valley is awake until 3 am I spend too much time there because my son plays in a bandGood pizza is found in a few places Sandgate has a favorite of mine, Dougs fish restaurant is also there, reasonable pricesI wish I was as keen to visit RSA as you guys are, we return before Xmas to Brisbane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Johnno Posted November 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 LeeInOz, you are certainly one for details Yes, you're allowed 4 crayfish per license holder, 4 licensed holders per boat per day, that's 16 crayfish per boat per day. Now, if you look closely you'll note that those tails have all been cut in half....length ways with the end result looking something like this pic Rest assured all the crayfish we catch are definitely of legal size, it's not worth losing your boat, car and maybe even a stint in an SA jail Oh, and don't forget the snoek braai 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 LeeInOz Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 I still have fond memories of a few holidays at my brothers place in CT. Crays caught on a rubberduck, in Houtbay area.I remember the patrols and my brother being fined for 1 under size.So jealous of you, maybe I am getting more keen. I was thinking of a flight to CT while we are there. seeing your pics makes me keen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Bams Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 May you all have safe travels to SA... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Johnno
Just wondering how many Saffas on this board are making the pilgrimage to visit family and friends in SA over Dec/Jan?
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