The grandson and I are doing a plains game hunt in March. I've booked seats 29G + J for the flight over and return as these seem to have the most room. We are both 6' 4". Any advice on what to do during the flight? Something to keep the body limber and to minimize jet lag on arrival in Jberg. Thanks For the help.

Make sure you have some Ambien to help you sleep on the plane.

Drink plenty of fluids, get up and walk the aisles occasionally and bring along noise canceling head phones. They eliminate much of the noise and make sleeping and watching movies much more pleasant. Wear comfortable shoes that are easily slipped off and on.

If you can grab 44A or 44J you will make the flight a little more comfortable. The exit row window seats beat economy comfort on Delta flights.

The isle seats on the first row of Comfort Economy on the 777 are uncomfortable to me. It seems that every time an attendant moves from Business Class into the Economy cabin, they bump the passengers on the isle.

I've found that the interior seats on the first row (bulkhead) are better. Plenty of leg room (in fact, enough that you can move to the isle without disturbing the adjacent passenger and no one bumps you with a cart. 29 H has no window, I always like the left side of the aircraft. JMHO.

Just keep thinking about the fun that you will have and the memories that will last a life time.

JD: I would charter an SR-71. If you can't swing that load your Kindle or Nook with "Something of Value" for the flight over and "Uhuru" for the flight back. Both are by Robert Ruark. I would also load "The Last Safari" by Bruce VanBuskirk. It is a good frame of reference for what you should expect from your outfitter. I wish I would have read it before instead of after my first trip to Africa with Martin Pieters. I would have known before hand what I should expect from a competent safari operator.

Take along a sweater or jacket. The last trip I made the plane was really cold, and I live in the mountains in Utah. They would not turn up the heat.

quote:

Originally posted by Dale:
Take along a sweater or jacket. The last trip I made the plane was really cold, and I live in the mountains in Utah. They would not turn up the heat.

Especially if you have a window seat next to the exit door; not uncommon for cold air to leak in.

quote:

Originally posted by bobmn:
JD: I would charter an SR-71.

Assuming it was cold enough to keep the SR-71 at Mach 3.5 it would take only four hours to go from ATL to JNB, not counting refuel time (it would refuel right after takeoff since it didn't take off full).

Not counting refueling, the SR-71 could fly to JNB, return to ATL, then fly back to JNB, and still beat the Delta flight by almost 3.5 hours.

Reminds me Ms AZW and I watched an astronaut pal of ours blast off on the shuttle. After liftoff, we returned to the bus in the friends and family area. After sitting there for nearly an hour I looked at her and said, "If this bus doesn't start moving soon, Don will be circling over our heads, having orbited Earth already."

Read an interesting book.
Better still, download several onto an iPad if you have one.

My next 3 flights have a continuous travel time of over 30 hours!!

It is a long flight, but it is much, much nicer than the United flight I had in Dec (Den- to Bangkok).

Delta (at least in 2016 on that flight) treats even economy passengers with respect and TLC. Plenty of food and drink. Not a bad flight at all IMO.

BH63

I wear loose clothing
Take an aspirin at departure
Drink plenty of water and minimal alcohol
Take several sets of foam ear plugs, you will loose some
Take a set of eye shades to block out light
Take something to read between naps
Walk the aisles occasionally
Enjoy the safari

Why not business class ??

Here a good link to find good seats on your flight: https://www.seatguru.com/

As others have stated - noise canceling head phones are a must.
I like to watch a movie on my IPad , read a good book and try to get 6-7 hours sleep.
Agree with the post about Delta crew, plenty of food and beverages. They do a good job.
Ditto on the jacket or sweater, cabin can get cold on 15 hour flight.

Compression socks is a good idea. Had a friend with me on our last trip that had some unusual swelling and was not wearing any for a couple days after landing. He is young very fit buddy of mine about 26 years old. He got some for the way home and had no issues.

quote:

Originally posted by AB109:
Why not business class ??

Here a good link to find good seats on your flight: https://www.seatguru.com/

I always check business class fares before going on a long (greater than 8 hours) flight, but most times the prices are unreasonable. I tried to fly business class back from Bangkok to Denver (online website kept returning errors). It would have cost an additional $4000.00 for my wife and I to upgrade one way. I was going to pay that because my wife got sick a couple of days before the flight. She got better and now I'm glad the website wouldn't complete the booking.

For Africa, rather than spending $10,000.00 on the airfare (two people, roundtrip), I think the money would be better spent on trophy fees. JMO.

BH63

Coach comfort front row + a night cap and a sleeping pill

Thanks to all for the travel advice. I looked into the SR-71 charter. It was slightly more expensive than a first class ticket, but, nonetheless, beyond my budget. One more question regarding tips for staff. Do you carry cash? If not cash how do you offer the gratuities? Seemed like a large amount of cash to carry on your person. Thanks Again

I carried cash.

They voiced to me that they prefer US currency

If you bring cash for tips make sure you bring NEW bills. I fold them up and can fit $2400 US in my money belt.