johannesburg: shumba valley lodge

After spending about 14 hours in the air, I finally touched down at OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg. I really shouldn't complain about the long flight because I was upgraded to business class due to some union strike drama during check-in at Sydney Airport that almost left me offloaded from the aircraft. Compared to the guys, I had it a lot easier, at least I could wriggle and squirm and do kungfu moves in my seat, haha.

First impressions upon touch down - brown; dusty; noisy; smell of burnt stuff everywhere; dry.




Proceeded to pick up our hired car - a hot chilli red ford focus. I had forgotten I was travelling with 3 big guys so the car I pre-booked was a squeeze for us (and the luggage!). It would have been comfy if they were slim like me.




Shumba Valley Lodge was our sleeping place for the whole 5 nights of our trip there. We each stayed in a traditional standalone 'kraal' - spacious straw thatched roof huts. The kraal I slept in was kept warm and cosy by the friendly housekeeping lady who will faithfully leave the heater on just before I come back from work each evening. The people there were nice, the breakfasts were fantastic, the area secure (with electric fencing all around the compound) and all for only about AUD125 a night. Here are several shots I took of the lodge:

Driveway through the main reception




Lounge area at reception






The bar area




The fireplace in the bar with heaps of firewood stacked up




Pool and outdoor dining area




Pathway leading to the kraals




Rows of kraals




And this is mine!




And it's a giraffe unit 111!




Just writing an entry on the nice little place we stayed in has sapped all my energy. I am STILL jetlagged. Think my body clock is in a mess. Just when it's tuned itself to the Joburg timezone, I had to fly back and it is utterly confused as to where exactly it is and what time of the day it is now. So I shall continue my Joburg adventures in separate entries another time. [Updated on 12/7/08: These have been posted here and here.]