South Africa holiday diary

Reminds me of a long time ago, when I was in the R.N.. I'd gone home on a week's leave, to find that my parents were planning on moving house! (They/she hadn't told me beforehand!)
What to do with my models and radio gear? 
They wouldn't promise to look after and take care of them - so I bought a load of ply and timber, and made two boxes that they would all fit into, with external frames to act as handles - and packed everything in, screwed the lids down, and crossed all extremities.
They moved house.
About 8 months later, I got leave again, and went to the new house. When I'd found it, I got the usual greeting - "Oh it's you, when do you go back. Sit down and shut up, Coronation street is starting". Dad was at work, of course!
Next day, I found where they'd put my model boxes - down at the bottom of the garden - outside. When I'd shifted stuff around to get to them, I found they'd been thrown or dumped from a great height, this way up signs ignored, the ply and frames had all split, and everything inside was soaked and ruined.
I might just as well have just chucked them into the bin in the first place, and saved myself the expense and work of making the boxes.
I didn't go 'home' again until I left the R.N., and got onto the housing register ASAP. I had to live with them in a tiny room for about six months, before I was offered a council flat, which I grabbed!

The airlines treat 'special needs' baggage differently, they don't put it on the conveyors.At the final destination you don't find it on the carousel, it's dumped over in a corner where no one can find it! Ask me how I know! The first time it took me an hour to find it after waiting for the carousel to empty!

Take a tip from the Chinese ARTF industry, and use loads of sticky tape - put each component into it's own plastic bag, then tape each plastic bag VERY thoroughly to the box and/or each other, making the contents one solid lump that cannot shift or bash about.

At the SA end you could wait a very long time at Passport control, Landside assistance takes you straight through the Crew control. Once you have your baggage it's about 50 metres to the arrivals rotunda, I'll be waiting just outside the sliding doors.

1 month to takeoff Tony!