Maun - Addis Ababa - Heathrow - Home

Today will be just a long and boring travel day. I always feel that the journey to our destination is part of the trip, whereas the journey home is just a pain in the butt.

Breakfast

We order a full English breakfast, but have certainly had better food: the bacon is fatty, the hash browns soggy, and although we ask for soft eggs, they arrive rock hard!

Maun Airport

It’s a leisurely start this morning, with Moscow picking us up at 10:00 for the ten-minute transfer to Maun Airport, where we have to wait for the Ethiopian Airlines counter to open.

Once upon a time, I used to think air travel was fun. Not anymore – everything seems like a hassle. First of all, they query my 600mm lens which has its own flight case and always travels in the hold. Several people have a conflab about it, and eventually, an agreement is reached – Bertha can travel with us home. That’s a relief.

The next hurdle is my Norwegian passport. I am asked to show them my visa for the UK. I explain that I do not require a visa, but I can show them my Settled Status confirmation. They accept that, although later as we are sitting in the waiting room, someone comes over and asks to take a photograph of it. They also make me complete a form – its seems not many Norwegians come to this airport, certainly not Norwegians living in the UK.

Just as we think everything is going smoothly, they weigh our bags. Our tickets state we have a 30kg allowance, but the girl at the check-out claims 23kg is the maximum of any one case (nowhere on the tickets does it explain that, and it was not brought to our attention on the way out). I take some photographic equipment out of my checked-in bag and into my carry-on, which is now too heavy, according to their published rules. They are not the least worried about that. What difference does it make if the extra 3kg are in the hold or in the overhead compartment – it will still be on the same bl**dy plane, for goodness sake!

It seems Maun Airport has only one wheelchair, and there are three passengers who have booked wheelchair assistance, causing a lot of confusion and quite a delay.

Our plane

At least they let us board first, and we settle into our allocated seats. Thankfully there is no one in the seat next to David, so we can spread out a little. After a small meal of a chicken mayo roll and a drink, a snooze a little, before we land in Ndola in Zambia. We are not required to get off the plane here, and when more passengers get on, we are delighted that we are still able to spread out, this time with David sitting behind me in the window seat. The food on this flight is tasty beef in a sauce with rice, and an almost-fresh bread roll, followed by cheese and biscuits plus a Moon Cake.

Addis Ababa Airport

Thank goodness I have ordered Special Assistance here, as the ‘walk’ to the Holding Area is very long. Unlike on the way out when we just sailed through, today we are ordered through Security and the X-Ray.

While David watches football on his phone, other passengers are impatient and nervous and the usual chaos ensues.

Knowing that we have plenty of time, we are not too bothered about having to wait in the holding area downstairs, and after a while, someone arrives with another wheelchair to take us to the gate area. We are still very early, so when we arrive, the flight before us is still boarding (to Gatwick and Manchester), and the absolute shambles keeps me amused for a long time. A neverending stream of passengers snake their way around us, in all sizes, shapes, and colours, and I love watching their clothing and luggage, which also ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous.

I have no idea how all these passengers are going to fit on one single plane, but eventually, the line of waiting passengers ends, and some sort of normality returns.

When it is time to collect the Heathrow passengers, we are required to go through another X-Ray and body scanner. Shoes must be removed, and while I am gently ushered forward through the scanner, once I reach the other side I am left to my own devices. Trying to put my shoes back on again proves rather difficult, as I am unable to put any weight on my right leg. With no seats around, I am panicking slightly at this stage, and I can see David is angry at the total lack of care, and goes behind the desk to fetch a chair from the worker’s area for me to sit on.

The porter takes us to Gate 14, as there has apparently been a gate change from Gate 16. It appears nobody has informed the pilot of this change, as when the plane arrives, it drives past Gate 14 to Gate 16. Not knowing what is going on, the porter pushes me back to Gate 16, but almost immediately afterwards the pilot reverses the plane to Gate 14, and stays there briefly before changing his mind and returning to Gate 16. You really couldn’t make this stuff up!

We move inside the gate area, and when the time comes to actually board, the very kind porter takes me and my bag all the way to my seat. He appears to be the only person in this airport who has any sense of customer care, and we tip him well.

The flight from Addis Ababa to Heathrow is uneventful, and we spend our time eating, sleeping, and watching movies.

London Heathrow

On arrival at Heathrow Airport, there is a distinct lack of wheelchairs as usual, so I walk to the top of the ramp, where there are a couple of them. A porter takes us to the Special Assistance waiting area, where we catch a buggy to the next holding area. Here we are told there is an hour wait for a buggy to take us to passport control, so David takes charge and pushes the wheelchair with me in it the rest of the way. At immigration control, we use the Special Assistance lane, where there is a buggy in front of us. The immigration officer makes all the passengers get out and walk through individually before getting back in the buggy. What nonsense! Surely the fact that these people have requested Special Assistance is because they have limited mobility!

And so our incredible Great Africa Trip 2024 comes to an end. Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations and their local teams for all the arrangements.