I just got back from a quick visit to RSA and Botswana and so glad i made the trip. Apart from getting to spend some time with my folks, it also made me appreciative of what Oz has to offer. Many of our friends who migrated from RSA and been in Oz for a while tends to complain a lot about Oz. To me these are petty matters when looking at the bigger picture.
The moment I landed in South Africa I was made aware that I was truly back in Africa. Firstly the lady at the pass port control was eating a fat cake and handled my pass port with her oily fingers.
Then I proceeded to the transit lounge at ORT to get my connecting flight to Gaborone (SAA). The flight was to take off at 6pm. At 5.30pm we get told that there is a delay and the flight will take off at 7pm. There was a total of 15 passengers and due to the delay three passengers (German tourists) decided to go upstairs to get a bite to eat. Meanwhile, at 5.50pm an official arrives and tells us that the "flight has been cancelled but if you speak to air Botswana may be they can help you as they have a flight leaving at 6.15pm". All the passengers start screaming and shouting at this official and demands that he fix the problem and not expect us to do it. He then gets our pass ports and runs to the other end of the terminal to get to AirBotswana counter with us running after him like a mad bunch of fools. Once we get to the counter, the air botswana official says that there are only nine seats available in the air craft so he will only issue nine boarding passes. so he takes the first nine pass ports and issues passes. the last three had to spend the night at ORT. SAA did offer accommodation, but that was besides the point. We then get told that the air botswana flight is about to take off and we had five minutes to get to the gate. So we rush through security and run across the terminal just in time to catch the bus taking passengers to the aircraft. Once we get to the air craft, we find that there are another seven seats empty. So where the "nine only" came from no one knows. As for the three Germans that went to get a bite to eat, thinking the flight was leaving at 7pm, God knows what happened to them because none of all this was announced over the PA system. Nor was it shown "cancelled" on the flight listing displays throughout the airport.
Apart from the above mentioned welcome, driving in both RSA and Botswana was very aggressive, hardly any smiles or welcomes when going to the shops, everything was a mission.
It was quite a sad affair watching my folks, every night, lock up fort knox before going to sleep. On top of all this security, they kept waking up for the slightest noise.
Three days of 8 hour power outages and on some days no water for an entire day.
I love Aus and thank God every day for having given us the opportunity to make the move.
Question
zamunda
I just got back from a quick visit to RSA and Botswana and so glad i made the trip. Apart from getting to spend some time with my folks, it also made me appreciative of what Oz has to offer. Many of our friends who migrated from RSA and been in Oz for a while tends to complain a lot about Oz. To me these are petty matters when looking at the bigger picture.
The moment I landed in South Africa I was made aware that I was truly back in Africa. Firstly the lady at the pass port control was eating a fat cake and handled my pass port with her oily fingers.
Then I proceeded to the transit lounge at ORT to get my connecting flight to Gaborone (SAA). The flight was to take off at 6pm. At 5.30pm we get told that there is a delay and the flight will take off at 7pm. There was a total of 15 passengers and due to the delay three passengers (German tourists) decided to go upstairs to get a bite to eat. Meanwhile, at 5.50pm an official arrives and tells us that the "flight has been cancelled but if you speak to air Botswana may be they can help you as they have a flight leaving at 6.15pm". All the passengers start screaming and shouting at this official and demands that he fix the problem and not expect us to do it. He then gets our pass ports and runs to the other end of the terminal to get to AirBotswana counter with us running after him like a mad bunch of fools. Once we get to the counter, the air botswana official says that there are only nine seats available in the air craft so he will only issue nine boarding passes. so he takes the first nine pass ports and issues passes. the last three had to spend the night at ORT. SAA did offer accommodation, but that was besides the point. We then get told that the air botswana flight is about to take off and we had five minutes to get to the gate. So we rush through security and run across the terminal just in time to catch the bus taking passengers to the aircraft. Once we get to the air craft, we find that there are another seven seats empty. So where the "nine only" came from no one knows. As for the three Germans that went to get a bite to eat, thinking the flight was leaving at 7pm, God knows what happened to them because none of all this was announced over the PA system. Nor was it shown "cancelled" on the flight listing displays throughout the airport.
Apart from the above mentioned welcome, driving in both RSA and Botswana was very aggressive, hardly any smiles or welcomes when going to the shops, everything was a mission.
It was quite a sad affair watching my folks, every night, lock up fort knox before going to sleep. On top of all this security, they kept waking up for the slightest noise.
Three days of 8 hour power outages and on some days no water for an entire day.
I love Aus and thank God every day for having given us the opportunity to make the move.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
9 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.