The Harts Honeymoon in South Africa: Flight Survival Tips
Before sharing more about our safari, I thought I would talk a bit more about our flights to South Africa. More specifically, how we survived them. There’s no way around it - getting to SA from the US is anything but quick and easy. On the way to SA, we flew from Eugene to San Jose to London to Johannesburg. All told it was a 33 hour journey from the Eugene airport to Jo’burg. The return flights were even worse. Our Cape Town to Istanbul to San Francisco to Eugene journey took well over 40 hours. Although the individual flights were not the longest I’ve endured the total flight and travel time was a new record for me. Starting a honeymoon dehydrated, exhausted, and with swollen feet obviously is not a good time, so I have several things I do to make long travel days more bearable and to arrive as rested as possible.
1) Dress for comfort. Do I really have to describe this? You know you’re going to regret those cute heals long before you arrive at your destination, no matter how “small” they are. Wear comfortable shoes that you can walk literal miles in and definitely wear layers. This was especially important for our honeymoon given that we were going from summer in Oregon to winter in SA.
Comfortable jeans, boots that I didn’t mind wearing for two days straight, and layers. I also brought a jacket in my carry on.
And my number one flight fashion tip? Wear compression socks. For real, get over yourself and buy some cute patterned compression socks. You’ll thank me later. For me, this one item of clothing is truly the difference between feeling at least moderately okay after a long flight and being completely miserable due to swollen feet and ankles. Plus, they reduce your risk of blood clots when you’re sitting for hours on an airplane.
2) Treat yo’self. Even in small ways, incorporate things you enjoy into your travels. This could be bringing along that book you haven’t had time to read, calling a friend to catch up while you're waiting for your next flight, or actually stopping for that 15 minute airport chair massage. Brandon brings along all of his favorite movies. One of my favorite ways to do this is to enjoy a nice meal or two along the way. We started our honeymoon by trying a new to us spot in Eugene and enjoyed a couple of decent airport meals along the way. Much better than airplane food. Also, if you have lounge access, use it.
3) Water, water, and more water. I can not say this enough. Spending time on an airplane is dehydrating and the only thing that will help is drinking enough water, more water than you thought was possible to drink. And you know you will never be given enough water during a flight, so bring your own if you can (although some flights won’t allow this, even if water is bought in the terminal). There are even products like Liquid I.V. that you can add to your water to make it more hydrating. More than anything else, drinking enough water will help you stay healthy on a long flight.
4) Catch some ZZZZs. I think the world is divided into two types of people - those who can sleep on an airplane and those who can’t. Even for the latter type, there are things that can help you rest, even if sleep is an impossible goal. Brandon always brings a pillow (yep, it almost takes up his entire backpack) and I always bring melatonin. Although some recommend not drinking alcohol at all, I find a glass of wine with dinner helps me relax. Much more than that, and you’ll likely have increased difficulty staying asleep. Eye masks, hand lotion, a little lavender essential oil (respectfully dosed so as not to overwhelm those around you) - seriously whatever it takes to help you relax. This trip, I also downloaded my favorite yoga nidra meditation from the Insight Timer app, which does wonders for helping me fall asleep wherever I might be.
5) Stay active. If airplanes are for sleeping, then airports are for walking. Seriously, between flights I am either eating or walking the terminal. Not only does this help with the whole foot swelling issue, it honestly makes me feel so much better after all that sitting. And make sure that you’re getting up and down at least a little during long flights. All that sitting is bad for your body. Plus, you’ll never know what you’ll find along the way. In London, walking from one end of the terminal to the other, we stumbled upon The Harry Potter Shop, which was tucked away in the corner.
6) Plan for a refresh. This may just be me, but after a long flight, what I want more than anything, usually more than sleep, is a nice long shower. This may not always be possible between flights, but I bring the essentials - clean undies, my toothbrush, and sometimes even a change of clothes. On our flight to Istanbul, it honestly felt like the AC was broken - it was hot the entire flight. Which meant I had been sweating for hours by the time we landed in Istanbul (to a terminal that also felt like it had no AC…). Taking 15 minutes in the bathroom to wash my face, brush my hair, and put on clean clothes made a world of difference in how I felt the rest of the journey.
7) Make it an adventure. Let’s face it. Long travel days mostly suck. And then there is the unexpected - the delays, the Turkish airpot officials stealing your coffee (I may or may not have cried). But I’ve found that if I approach travel with a positive attitude and sense of anticipation, I am more able to handle whatever comes my way (except the coffee loss, nothing could have prepared me for that). I try to make the journey fun and look for the adventure. This is not necessarily about doing anything differently, but rather the attitude I choose to have along the way.
I was so excited to fly on my first double decker plane!! Yes I did intentionally get second story seats (which were 2 by 2 across, just perfect for the two of us).
8) Bonus: Timeshifter App. One last thing. On this trip, I decided to try an app to reduce jet lag. After perusing several options, I downloaded the Timeshifter App. I can highly recommend it! I simply input our flight details and was given a customized, detailed plan for shifting my schedule both for the trip to SA and upon returning home. Starting a few days before we left, we began adjusting our sleep schedule, exposing ourselves to and avoiding light at various times, and using caffeine in specific ways. I have to say, it definitely made a difference. Of course we were fatigued after both journeys, but the ongoing jet lag was simply not there - no headaches and we were able to function. Even returning home, we noticed a few days of waking up earlier than normal, but no afternoon exhaustion. If you are planning a trip through multiple time zones, this science-based app is worth exploring. Your first trip is free. Subsequent trips are $9.99 each or you can get a yearly subscription for $24.99 if you’re a frequent traveler.
So there you have it! Some of my tips and tricks for surviving long flights. Up next, we are back on safari and at the lovely Katekani Tented Lodge!