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Discovering Eastern South Africa and Swaziland
Preparation of the trip to South Africa - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
This journey began a long time ago, when, maps, Tracks4Africa and Google Maps in hand, we started to study the itinerary and the various stages.
The study and planning are one of the most important parts of a trip because you have to select well the things to see, the places of interest, the roads, the travel times, etc. and then start sketching a route.
Ready! - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
Unbelievable! Tomorrow finally we leave!!!
We have been studying this journey for months, preparing for it, buying things and going through maps and books, but most of all it is months that we daydream of returning to our beloved Africa and our Dr. Livingstone, our car!
Finally the time to go back has come!
Tomorrow evening we take our Ethiopian Airlines flight that will get us to Johannesburg, with a stopover in Addis Ababa.
Ready to fly! - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
Finally the day we have been waiting for months has arrived! Today we leave!
Last night we finished to pack our suitcases, those of this trip were particularly demanding because, in addition to clothing, accessories, cameras, lenses, binoculars and books, we had to buy a series of objects for our car that is waiting for us in Johannesburg: Dr. Livingstone!
We have four suitcases to send, we also have two camera backpacks and two trolleys as hand baggage, thank goodness we fly in business class with Ethiopian Airlines otherwise god knows how we would have managed.
Ethiopian Airlines - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
At 8.15 pm last night we were boarding so we left the Montale lounge and went to gate B4; this gate is located in the oldest part of the Malpensa airport, but this area has been recently restored.
Our flight by Ethiopian Airlines was on time and we took off at 9:15pm; we were on board a Boing 787 Dreamliner, a brand new aircraft, as well as the rest of the Ethiopian airline's fleet.
OR Tambo Johannesburg - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
How nice to be back in Johannesburg in South Africa, we're so happy, the problems, the work, the hassles are literally thousands of miles away; here only the safaris await us, tracks, meetings that will surely be exciting and sightings of animals that we hope will be amazing.
After collecting the luggage we leave the area reserved for passengers, it is nice to know an airport because you know where to go to find what you are looking for.
Dr Livingstone - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
There it is! Finally it has arrived! How much time have we waited for this moment in the last few months!
We got Dr. Livingstone, our car, delivered directly to the hotel by Klip Kop, the company where we parked it during these months.
It's nice and clean, a rarity to see it this way, also it has just done a check-up by the mechanic and then it is in great shape ... how much we want to get on and go off to the adventure, but we have to wait a couple of more days.
Casa Montini Winery - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
During our trip to South Africa and Swaziland we decided to take our favorite wines with us; if on the one hand South Africa is a wine producer on the other we have preferred to have with us some Italian wines, to take a piece of home with us.
We brought with us the wines of Casa Montini, a winery that, for five generations, has been producing and vinifing grapes in the Oltrepò Pavese, following the criteria of Certified Organic Agriculture, respecting the environment and health.
Johannesburg shopping - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
Before leaving for our trip around South Africa and Swaziland it is essential to shop here in Johannesburg, where there is practically everything.
To tell the truth some things we have brought them from home, such as the Aperol, that here is hard to find, but it is essential to make the spritz in the savannah, now a great classic of our African travels.
This year we also brought the wine, we have three bottles of our favorite winery in the Oltrepo Pavese: the Casa Montini; we have two whites and one red: a riesling, a chardonnay and a croatina.
Rosebank - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
We are in Johannesburg, South Africa, today was destined to go shopping and buy everything we need for the trip; incredibly we managed to do everything by lunch time so we decided to dedicate the remaining time of the day for a ride.
For some time we wanted to go to Rosebank actually we wanted to visit the Art & Craft Market, but since we have never come to this part of the city, it is now an opportunity to see another part of the immense Jozi.
Lesedi Cultural Village - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
Today we finally leave by our car, Dr. Livingstone, for our journey; the first stop is short, just an hour away, but the important thing is to leave: we are too happy!
Also today we follow the directions of Google Maps and Maps.me that easily lead us to our destination, the Lesedi Cultural Village, near Lanseria.
We arrive around 11.00 am, we left deliberately early from Johannesburg, to have the whole day to enjoy the place, for a tour and even for shopping.