If you are fortunate to live elsewhere, you’ve probably enjoyed watching flowers bloom in March and have been basking in the beautiful combination of sunshine and spring breeze. In Ottawa, for reasons best known to the god of the weather, we’ve had no such luck. We held our breaths for spring weather in April, but still had wintry days for much of it. Expecting that it might be a lingering winter when I noticed the vim with which winter continued to attack in February, I booked a flight to sunny South Africa.
Flying from Ottawa to anywhere is already a challenge on its own. As a capital city, it is surprising that you are more likely to find a direct flight from Toronto or Montreal to Europe for example. Air Canada recently started (or resumed) flights from Ottawa to London Heathrow – a move we are all grateful for, but, for many flights, I’ve had to take the train to Montreal for a more seamless journey. Air Canada does not fly to Africa. Unlike some American airlines that offer direct linkages to some of the biggest African markets, Air Canada relies on partner airlines to provide connecting flights. So for this trip, my journey from Ottawa to Johannesburg looked like this:
7:15 am (Ottawa) – 10:15 am: (Halifax). It’s a two-hour flight and the destination is one hour ahead of Ottawa;
10:15 am – 11:00 am: 45-minute Layover in Halifax
11:00 am (Halifax) – 9:00 pm (London, UK). London is 4 hours ahead of Halifax)
9:00 pm – 10:15 pm: 1h 15-minute layover in London Heathrow
10:15 pm (London Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic) – 10:20 am (O.R. Tambo International in Johannesburg the next day).
Talk about tight connections. Luckily, the flight from Ottawa arrived earlier than expected at Halifax and the flight from Halifax took off on time from London. The only hitch? My bag. When I checked in at Ottawa Airport, I was told to pick up my bag in Johannesburg, which was a big relief given my tight connection in London. The Air Canada app has a great feature that informs you of the status of your bag at every point, but once you switch to a different airline like I did in London, you stop getting notifications. I hoped that my bag would be transferred from Air Canada to Virgin Atlantic in the 1 hour 15 minutes that I had, but I had a nagging feeling it wouldn’t make it. So when I arrived in Johannesburg, and the conveyor belt ground to a halt without my bag, my fear was confirmed.
I went to the Virgin Atlantic desk to lodge a report and was promptly informed that my bag would arrive the next day. I agreed to return to the airport to pick it up as I did not want further delays. I had bottles of maple syrup in there that I wanted to give my friends. Bag or no bag, I was in the city of sunshine and I was determined to have fun. I made my way to Avis Car Rental where I picked up the car I pre-booked. I lived in South Africa for more than a decade so I am very comfortable driving there. I’ll admit it takes some time for my brain to adjust to the fact that I am driving on the right side, but that typically takes a couple of deliberate turns before it becomes second nature again.
Holiday Inn in Rosebank is a traveller's hotel. Located close to everything you need.
Breakfast available
Parking available
With my phone connected and my favourite Spotify playlist on blast, I drove from the airport to the Holiday Inn hotel in Rosebank where I booked to stay. When many people visit Johannesburg, they love to stay in Sandton, which is understandable. It is the richest square mile in Africa (or at least it was once touted to be). I like Rosebank better for a short visit except I have business primarily in Sandton. Rosebank has a more touristy feel. The mall there is connected to a couple of excellent hotels and there is a wide range of restaurants you can check out without having to drive anywhere. The Holiday Inn is what I would call a good hotel. It is in an excellent location, it is clean, and the staff are friendly and helpful. It was refreshing to hear good sarcasm and friendly jibes again, something I think Ottawa could use more of, but that’s just me.
After check-in, I went straight to Rosebank mall to buy essentials I could claim back from Air Canada/Virgin Atlantic – a pair of denim pants, a t-shirt, a belt, a hairbrush, and toiletries I urgently needed. Virgin Atlantic has a guidance of £ 75 per day for a delayed bag, so it is certainly not an opportunity to go wild on designer purchases. While Air Canada does not have a clear limit, it’s best to stick to essentials and avoid any drama when you want to claim your money back.
I had dinner plans with my friend that night so I grabbed a very light lunch and returned to the hotel to shower and rest. I was careful not to fall asleep as I wanted to avoid jetlag and ease into South African time. Dinner was at 6:00pm which made it easier to stay awake. We went to Proud Mary where we had a delicious seafood dinner and a decadent ice cream for dessert. I will write about all the restaurants I visited in another post. (Also, if you are not, you should really follow me on tiktok @homeandabout_).
The next day, after a delicious light breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, I drove to the airport to collect my bag. The Virgin Atlantic official had told me my bag would arrive at the same time my flight arrived the previous day so I timed my departure from the hotel accordingly. Driving through the city reminded me of how beautiful and bright Johannesburg is. The feel of the sun on my skin energized me, and I soon found myself singing out loud and dancing at the traffic lights. There is truly something wonderful about the sun and the effects we suffer when we lack exposure to it.
Holiday Inn in Rosebank is a traveller's hotel. Located close to everything you need.
Breakfast available
Parking available
I arrived at the airport and made my way to the collection office where I was informed that my bag had been picked up by a delivery driver who was headed to the hotel. Bummer! The officials were helpful and asked the driver to leave my bag at reception. I drove back to the hotel to find my bag safely stowed by hotel staff in one of their storage rooms. I had other plans with friends for the day (really, follow me on tiktok), so I immediately got into my bag to sort out my stash of Canadian gifts (i.e., maple syrup and ice wine waffles).
To claim my essential purchases from the day before, I submitted to Virgin Atlantic, who put the responsibility on Air Canada. I wrote to Air Canada and submitted all my receipts for the delayed baggage claim. It has been more than a week. I am back in Ottawa and I haven’t heard back. When I wrote to ask them about the status of my claim, I was informed it was in a queue, and I would be contacted about it by the Claims department.
Regardless, my trip to Johannesburg was healing. I felt like a plant undergoing photosynthesis after a long time in the dark. Was the journey there long and arduous? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. The food I enjoyed and the warmth in the atmosphere was enough to pull me out of winter funk. I’ll share more in another post.
