Swiss World Cargo 2015 to 2017

Why “luggage transportation”? Didn’t all the “luggage” travel by camper on the ship to Port Elizabeth? – No! On the one hand, the Wallenius Wilhelmsen shipping line limits the contents that may be carried in the vehicle to

• Vehicle accessories (sand plates, 2 spare wheels) and on
• Camping equipment (tables and chairs, cutlery, crockery and bedding)

and on the other hand, all keys had to be handed over to the shipping line, including those for living space and outdoor storage rooms (new regulation since July 2015).

We therefore decide to leave the rest of the luggage – and that was more than we had imagined in connection with extensive photographic equipment, tools and spare parts. Below you can see the prepared rear storage space, then the layout for our additional luggage – and finally what we have nevertheless shipped in the double floor of our vehicle (and elsewhere)…

There are basically two options for shipping additional baggage: a) by means of separate shipment and b) by air freight. Shipping was out of the question for us, because we would then also have had to check in the luggage a good 3 weeks before departure and because the arrival of the luggage in a South African port would have been difficult to coordinate. So air freight. We have chosen SWISS WORLD CARGO because Zurich Airport is only about 30 minutes away from our home and because there is no need to reload on the Zurich – Johannesburg flight, which is a plus in terms of safety.

Although we are a very small fish for SWISS WORLD CARGO, we were served in a very friendly, efficient and competent manner from start to finish. The formalities were also kept to a minimum. We only had to draw up a

“rough packing list”

to create. Of course, we had all the boxes neatly labeled and marked and secured with cable ties.

Swiss World Cargo also has an office in Johannesburg – so there are people to contact. However, the goods are delivered via Lufthansa’s cargo terminal.

As soon as our flight arrived, we picked up our rental car, which we had hired to transport our luggage to the port of Port Elizabeth. We then wanted to pick up our luggage at the Lufthansa terminal straight away. The Lufthansa terminal was also open and basically we could have – very efficiently – taken our extra baggage with us …. so: all cargo terminals open, but South African customs had just closed at 11 a.m. – just missed by a few minutes! We went back the next day and were able to get our luggage out without any problems:

1. Pick up your waybill at the Lufthansa Cargo terminal
2. Go to South African customs in the high-rise next door and have your papers stamped
3. Have the papers for ZAR 2000 issued by an agent in one of the floors above (I wasn’t sure what for)
4. Back to the Lufthansa Cargo terminal, hand in the papers and wait – until someone has time to bring the luggage – it’s first come – first serve, only if there’s a large load being processed in front of you, it can take a while…
5. Load your luggage and set off ….

In our case, the lady at the South African customs counter was very generous and nice. No questions, no discussions about the value and quantity of the goods. Perhaps our “Temporary Residence Retirement Visa” also helped here. The waiting time was about 20 minutes. Then a pretty, elegant black woman caught me in the corridor and took me to one of the countless agents, where I had to wait another 30 minutes or 45 minutes for Lufthansa. Not bad, eh?

Lufthansa Cargo Terminal, OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg -26.111360, 28.240148

Customs building OR Tambo Airport Johannesburg -26.114804, 28.238460