and welcome to our 2024 trip report. A trip that didn’t always go as smoothly as we had hoped 
But a trip that also produced some fantastic new sightings 
Main characters in this tale are Tony, #1 son and myself (Carla) the narrator of this tale.
As per usual (you can probably feel it coming
) this TR too, starts with a rather long introduction, 
Feel free to skip the first part.
Thursday September 26
After a long, looooooong countdown, it was finally September 26 and leaving day had arrived.
At last we could embark on our next Kruger adventure
Full of anticipation and high spirits, we set off for Düsseldorf airport. We were flying to Johannesburg via Heathrow. At Düsseldorf we learned that our flight to Heathrow had been delayed by 1,5 hours, due to weather conditions in the UK
Ok, no worries, we should still be fine. Once on the plane, we had to wait another 20-30 minutes for a take off slot
Mmm, time is diminishing fast. Starting to get slightly worried 
About 25 minutes later we took off for London. Hooray! We should still be able to catch the connecting flight to J’bo
But, just to be on the safe side, we did asked the stewardess the ‘what if’ question. She told is we would be very well looked after should the worst occur and we miss the flight.When we got to London, we were kept in a holding pattern for another 10 minutes. Then at last…touch down and we had landed
Now just get this bird as quickly as possible to the terminal so we can hook up and get off. But…all of a sudden the plane stopped on the taxi way 
Turned out, somebody or something had blocked the taxiway. The plane in front of us couldn’t move. And if they can’t move, neither can we. By now there were lots and lots of very anxious people on board.
We stood there for some 30 minutes before we started moving. Was that the end of all our misery? Nope. Next thing we stood still again! As I looked out the window I saw a plane and one of them trolleys that push the plane, blocking our way
No movement and nobody to be seen. Another 25 minutes later we finally moved and were able to get off the plane. Against better judgement, we ran to the gate. But is was closed. We had missed our flight 
When we got to the desks in the terminal, it was absolute carnage. All desks occupied with lots and lots of very, very unhappy people
All waiting to be booked onto another flight. When we turned up, they simply closed the lines because they felt it was too busy.We found a mobile desk and just queued up there. As we got to the front, a senior ground stewardess appeared and announced they weren’t rebooking anyone anymore. They were also not handing out vouchers for hotels and food. We just had to find our own accommodation, pay for it all upfront and claim it all back afterwards. We would get a phone call or text message when our new flight was. O really, don’t think so
Not this lady! 
I can tell you, this was definitely not the service we were promised on the plane and by now unhappy people turned into very angry people, giving them what's for
As I was the next in line, I refused to move from the desk until they had found me a flight for the next day (as promised by her colleague on the plane). It took some doing, but she managed to get 3 seats the next evening
With that sorted, we then had to try and find a place to sleep. It wasn't easy but in the end we found an Air B&B that still had 2 rooms available.
Luckily we had booked the accommodation and hire car through a travel company. So I sent them a message to let Kruger know we would arrive a day later and inform the car hire company to hold on to the car for us.
Needless to say, I hardly slept that night. Are we actually on that plane tomorrow was all I could think about.
What a horrendous start to our holiday. Instead of being on our merry way to South Africa, we were stuck in rainy Slough. I sure hoped this was not an omen for the rest of the holiday…..
t.b.c.
