11th August 2025
The initial plan was to get a room in the hotel within the international terminal of the airport. But since our flight from Johannesburg to Harare is on a different airline we could stay in that hotel (and yes we did ask if there was a way to check back in tonight … there wasn’t). I’ve always thought it would be so convenient to just wake up and not have to rush to get to the airport or through security especially for a very early flight. Maybe next time.
Of course the next best thing would be staying at the hotel that is still on the airport grounds. That was apparently the backup plan. Thankfully there are plenty of eager porters (who work for tips) at the Johannesburg airport, including one very enthusiastic man cleaning the men’s restroom. Derek and I found a friendly and helpful porter willing to walk with us to the City Lodge Hotel. The beautiful lobby was buzzing with people. Turns out the place was completely booked for the night.
Option 1: Wait around until 11pm in hopes that there will be some cancellations or no-shows.
Option 2: Get some dinner in the restaurant and then plan to sleep in the hotel lobby in the comfy chairs.
Option 3: Search for a nearby hotel and see if they have any rooms available.
Between the two of us we chose wisely. The Southern Sun Hotel nearby had rooms available. Derek was already familiar with the hotel which had clean rooms, decent food, and a shuttle back to the airport terminals running every fifteen minutes around the clock. Another friendly porter took us right to the shuttle.
We checked in, got a bite to eat, and got ready for bed. We have to be back at the terminals early which means the free breakfast will be taken on the go. Thankfully there’s a kettle in the room for making coffee in the morning. The chicken soup at the hotel restaurant was excellent. I forgot to take a photo of the mini crème brûlée I had after dinner. The only thing missing from our meal was a nice strong espresso to go with dessert.
P.S. Derek and I are apparently taking turns sleeping. It’s his turn now. Hopefully we’ll be better acclimatized to the time difference soon. We depart for Zim in the morning. It will be great to see the Chichayas.
-Lewis VanAusdle
Leave a Reply