Need Some Advice Please....

[clearsomeland]

Here it is - I am coming to S. Africa sometime around mid Jan - to 1st of Feb. I plan on heading up to Botswana, then from there -who knows, maybe I will just hang out for a while and see what happens or as we used to say - "just keep on truckin" (I know it is pretty dated for a pilot to say that but then...)

To be truthful - yes if I find an open seat on an A/C that needs to be flown, I will probiley take it - besides it makes my money last longer. If not, well I will still have a good time and see alot.

I have done alot of Internet searches far as hotels, things to do etc. Here's what I need:

Should I put in to JoBurg or Cape Town first. I havn't finalized whether I will be coming in from Europe or Asia yet. Which city has the cheaper or should I say least expensive hotels? All I need is a clean (not the American version of clean) but a decent room. Easiest public transportation and near some airfields that I can look around. Also recommended Pubs, restuarants, lose women etc. (don't give me the retort about HIV - I am a big boy now and have been using "protection" since when they were real lambskins. ;-))

After there as I head up to Botswana, and put into Gaberone, what about the same there??? cheap but ok rooms etc.

Also for Moen, Recommended hotel, Pubs etc., etc,etc. That's where I know I will end up before deciding on where to go from there.

I also want to add one more item - what are customs officials like - I am thinking about bringing a laptop so I can access the internet if I find any cybercafes or isp's can connect thru.

Any info / links is appreciated. I have done a fairly good netsearch on this the past month, so I might already have seen it. I did notice not too many lisings for hotels in Botswanna - are the Camps like in all tents or do they have other arraignments- I am not adverse to tents mind you - did it for Uncle many years ago, it is just I am not going as a backpacker with sleeping bag etc.

So like I said any info will be appreciated.

Thanks in Advance.

S/ CSL

[Gunship]

Lo clearsomeland and welcome to Africa bru,

First of all - you do what others do not do : You are coming here - means you will most probably find a job.

Jhb vs CT : In Jhb you will find much more pilots, more aircraft, more runways and by far more contacts if you needed them. You are also within reasonable driving distince from Botswana. 4 to max 6 hours - depending where exactly and obviously it is much easier to fly there from Jhb being right in the North. To put your 5au5age away - plenty everywhere ... some you pay some might pay you as they had enough of African wors.
Accomodation - everywhere - the previous guy that asked got free accomodation from a friendly PPRUNER, but I know he works in Mozambique now.

CT in January / February is a party paradise and the wors will work overtime (I pressume you know your first Afrikaans word now : 5au5age = wors = that thing that bothers man always a mile away from home. ;)

We have the odd runway / airport and you might find the odd contact here but definately not the place to be if you are seriously trying to pick up contacts for the North (Botswana).
If you are just here to have a good time before you set of for Wild Botswana - I personally would have stayed and learned culture like cricket - sorry we do not play the old baseball, grid iron and those stuff. February is the cricket World Cup here in SA - good place to be.

Hotel / Guest house prices : there are so many to choose from - at least when you arrive, the mad rush of the locals are finished as our schools start roughly 20 January but a lot of Europeans and especially the cricket fans will be here.

Can anybody assist him with accomodation. Unfortunately I will be gone by then and my daughters are too good looking anyway .. :p

Good luck with your venture - you will love it ! :D

[clearsomeland]

Gunss -

Thanks a bunch for the info and advice - especially my first word in Afrikkaner, ;-).

Yeah I need to learn about your sports down there - it took me forever and a playstation disk with some friends to learn soccer (I know football to rest of the world- hey at least USA did a halfway decent job this time around compared to 98).

You gave me some good info where to start and a part of me wants to head for CT first but the other part says head north - I will figure a way to keep both sides happy - (Though usually the southern "tip" usually wins out.)

Good luck to you, wherever your travels are taking you and don't worry about the daughters- I might be a scoundrel (as some have called me) but I am still a Gentleman.

Thanks again and take care.

S/ CSL

[Gunship]

Lo CSL,

Plesier (pleasure) re info.

As you can see below - till about the 15th Cape Town is hectic :

Cape Town locals and tourists alike stand to be deeply disappointed if they plan on eating at any of the city's elite restaurants this festive season.

And finding a place to stay may be even more difficult.

Most of the city's top restaurants and hotels are fully booked for the festive season - and until the end of January.

'Numbers of foreign people are up from last year'
Many of the hotel bookings were made as early as this time last year or at the beginning of January.

Restaurateurs report some tables have been booked weeks in advance with calls coming from as far afield as New York.

The Ginja restaurant in the city says that it is bursting at the seams.

Speaking for the restaurant, Ronel Smidt said: "We probably have a little space until December 31, but then there are bookings right up until March."

She advised anyone wanting to book a table at the restaurant to call at least two weeks in advance, and added that people had booked as far back as July for a table.

'My main priority is my local regular customers'
Anita van Dyk of Limoncello warned that anyone eager to taste their Italian cuisine would have to book at least two days in advance.

She said there was a decreasing number of tables available but the restaurant was still taking bookings.

The Restaurant in Green Point will be unable to accommodate any groups over eight people until mid-January, said its owner, Graeme Shapiro.

"I still have some space available for small tables but I am full every night until January 7."

The Restaurant can accommodate over 50 people yet Shapiro still advised that people phone in at least three days in advance to book a table.

"My numbers of foreign people are up from last year and many of them are booking long in advance," he said.

Richard Griffith, owner of Madame Zingara's, said his restaurant would not be available for bookings until January 15.

He added that reservations had closed from November 9 already and he had become so busy that the restaurant had resorted to taking the phone off the hook.

The patriotic Capetonian is committed to his local clientele and is closing his doors on Saturday and re-opening only on January 7 to avoid the rush of tourists from Gauteng, Durban and abroad.

"My main priority is my local regular customers; they are the people that you have to take care of. They are the ones that pay the rent during the winter months," he said.

If you thought getting a table was difficult, finding a room in any of Cape Town's upmarket four- and five-star hotels is proving near impossible because they are all practically bursting at the seams and are unable to take visitors for long periods of time.

Two of Cape Town's premier hotels, The Table Bay and Mount Nelson, are fully booked over Christmas and New Year, but will have a few rooms available throughout the season.

The Mount Nelson and Table Bay hotels reported that many of their bookings had been by returning guests who booked last year or early this year.

The Mount Nelson's 206 rooms will all be filled from December 27 until January 4, and in January and February there are only a few dates available.

Both hotels advised that visitors who intended staying longer would have to book well in advance.

At this point they could only accommodate people spending one or two nights in the city.

The Grand Roche hotel in Paarl is jammed up this festive season too, and is fully booked from December 21 until January 10.

The highly rated Marine Hotel in Hermanus will be unable to provide any visitors with rooms until after the new year, and even then bookings will have to be made well in advance.

Groete (cheers / greetings)

[afronaut]

Tassies :- The devils' own p1ss.....and apparently Gunss' poison.

Blamed entirely for my dismal showing at university..... and subsequent aviation career!

Overproduction from the wineries in the western cape is bottled by Tassenberg, and so any one bottle can be a bit of a lucky packet.......vinegar, or the most delicious red!

Cape town is fine for the party, but get to Maun soonest if looking to get a job. the hiring starts in the new year for the season, which runs from about june-november.

They won't hire you if you ain't there.

Places to stay are Audi Camp, Croc camp (more backpacker style) Sedia Hotel, Rileys Hotel - for a cold one in the evening........

The Bull and Bush aka "The Bullet and Ambush" for one rather unpleasant opening night incident!, Sports Bar and Power Station are always good for a party with 50 other piloting hooligans.

Bon chance:cool:

[Little One]

Hey dude

To start I'll answer your query of public transport. In SA we have none the best thing is to get a car to get around.

secondly be in a JHB boy I'd say JHB would be better than CT (but I do despise the capetonians) , but will agree that there are a lot of fly boys out here looking for jobs. But depen on what you can offer and the pay you want as most companies don;t pay well.

Hotel accom in JHB plentiful but a B&B will be cheeper but best is still shaking up with someone you know or if you are going to stay a while a comune etc

Nightlife is excellent in Hatfield in Pretoria. In JHB if you know where to go and depending on the age of the punda you want you can still have a lot of fun:eek:

Pub life usuually preferred though.

If you have a C208 rating it will probably be easier to find work as a lot of the tour operators seem to use these.

[B Sousa]

Whatever you do watch out for Gunship. He drinks that god-awful wine.......Tassies
You would think a guy who lives in the heart of some of the finest wineries in the world would know better, but again he flys Helicopters. Maybe he took a blade strike to the noggin....

Merry Christmas Casie, from the Caribbean............Rum is better than Wine......

[Gunship]

So I missed most of Xmass ... yes, yes due to Tassie's ... the wife is not too impressed as I even barked on TOP of the dog ... DAMN Tassie's .. right that is it - Bert bring me some Rum from Jamiaca mon - it can only be good stuff.

Toi wake up at three in the afternoon on Xmass day and even my daschund dislikes me : Tassie's not only reuin University degrees Afronaut !

Flungdung a better description I could not get other than Afro's one.

PS: I had a DARK :eek: 3 Bottles last night. Must have bin good but the headache says otherwise.

Must admit at about three this morning a jet came over the house and that started the old saying "the boeing is over : let us drink" .... uhmmm cheers and have a Merry one ... oh and please reember what Xmass is REALLY for :o (My kids gave me the old HARDTALK :o "With Tim Sebastian" Cheers ... hik ...

[B Sousa]

"Bert bring me some Rum from Jamiaca mon - it can only be good stuff. "

OK, for all you non-rummies. Best Rum out there is Bacardi Black, now called Bacardi Select (dont want to offend anyone). Its made in Puerto Rico. Next is Cruzan Dark, made in St Croix, U.S.V.I. There are some out there who swear by Pussers British Navy, but it really really sucks. No wonder they mutinied all the time...And for those friends of mine that think Red Heart is the greatest thing since Peanut Butter...let me tell you it is really the bottom of the barrel...........

[clearsomeland]

Hey all - Thanks and Merry Xmas -:) :) :)

Hey - Guns - special thanks for all the info, especially since you guys are going to be in holiday season when I come down. Still haven't decided whether Jo-burg or CT will be my first stop but I definately want to check out all -

Thanks to Little One on the heads up on transportation - I guess I got to brush up on my wrong side of the road driving skills (or do I already drive on the wrong side - it's all perspective:) )

Also thanks for the explanation for what is a Tassie - Hey Guns we have here stateside something simular - It's called Thunderbird and/or MD 20/20 (Mogan-David) Best served wrapped in a plain brown bag (the bottle that is...):D

Like I said before if I get a job, well thats ok - if I don't well thats ok also - At least i will have gotten to see some new things and it will be a fun vacation.

Again - Thanks to all

BTW - B. Sousa - what about the DR's rums - I use to like Barcelo Aneijo, or for a real kick - some good old Aguardiente - (For those that are wondering what that is - it's Sugar cane refined to the nth degree - guareenteed to remove mental capacity, physical abilities and paint.):eek:

S/ CSL

[B Sousa]

"BTW - B. Sousa - what about the DR's rums - I use to like Barcelo Aneijo, or for a real kick - some good old Aguardiente - (For those that are wondering what that is - it's Sugar cane refined to the nth degree - guareenteed to remove mental capacity, physical abilities and paint.)

S/ CSL"

As a Helicopter type, We are only authorized to drink Cheap Rum. So we find the best at the best price. All brands have their expensive side but thats for those fixed wing guys who make all the money.......

[Gunship]

Pleasure CSMLand !

Yeah I think you get the message between the Party Capital and more-serious Jhb / Pta - although I had some of my biggest jols right there !

Anybody got a schack for CSMLAND - Vlamgat help ! :eek: