I am flying to South Africa soon, through SAA. Does anyone know the cost for taking a kite travel bag across? Is a 'golf'-kite bag worth the additional cost?
Thanks!
i flew from perth to south africa, then to mauritius and same back home and had 3 surfboards and 3 kites plus a luggage bag and didnt get charged a cent. pretty sure your allowed 32kg's! i had it all( 3 kites and 3 boards) in a Dakine triple board bag and clothing in a small suitcase plus a heap of other stuff. came in exact weight, actually maybe i was over slightly but didnt get charged at all- oh and Castle beer- they have it on the flight is damn good!
I fly back every year and usually find it works well if pack kite gear with wetsuits etc to 23kgs and cram my clothes into hand luggage, as they don't usually weigh that. Certainly when leaving S/Africa they will be pretty flexy if you just mention sports equipment and say the word fragile, things seem to get treated differently and you get extra 10kgs? Just when leaving Aus can be tricky at check in.
You probably won't like the sound of this as I know we do all grow to love our own kite gear, but I actually just rented gear when I went last. In Durban and Cape Town there are so many good kite shops that do gear rental and you get to try the latest kites, boards etc. Then you can pick and choose right kites size each day, they will even pump it for you on the beach and run lines out. You will just need to put your Castle lager down, give the thumbs up and walk into water. Think it cost me about $30 per day but absolutely worth it as I wasn't paying for days we were not in the water. You will save it all back on cheap beer!
I used a golf bag and got an extra 10kg's but not sure if they still do it. If its not in a golf bag, I've had situations where they are pretty anal about the 28kg limit and can hit you with some nasty charges for excess luggage.
I'd get verification from them about golf clubs (preferably in writing) and then keep it as a backup in case they give you hassles at the airport.
I flew through with a golf bag and didn't have any problems, except for a heart stopping moment when the check-in guy asked to see the golf clubs when I flew out... Luckily he was disctracted by something else and just put it all through 
Also be sure to padlock your bags (zip ties are not good enough) as theft at Joburg airport can be a problem.
And stay away from the Castle beer, it's horrible stuff, Windhoek is what you want to be drinking 
SAA sports equipment flies free...
see the SAA website
The following Sport equipment mentioned below will allow an additional 20kg per passenger - this is valid to both the Weight and Piece Concept:
Surfboards/kite surfing/paragliding: smaller than 200cm
www.flysaa.com
The term 'When hell freezes over' comes to mind......
Plastic wrap is the only safe way to go. I work in post entry arrivals in Perth Intl. Airport and I can break in and out of your bag without leaving a single trace, with a ballpoint pen. Plastic wrap is the safest way to go, do yourself a favour though, get 10 metres of glad wrap from woolies, put your bag on a swivel chair and wrap the sucker up and save yourself $10-$20.
Never been there before, but looking at a trip early next year from Sydney.
Is SAA the best airline to get you there?
Is it worth staying in Joburg for a couple of days if you are on a kiting trip, or best to head straight to capetown?
A friend who brought his gear out here from johanesburg? cost $190 excess weight of bag was 29kg
I guess he did say "I can", not "I do"
Anyway, what is the point of the clingwrap? Surely they can just cut it. There's no way to prove you put it on in the first place. I can imagine a luggage handler loving picking up a heavy bag with no handles.. "I'll just kick and throw that one cause I cant grab it" ??
Airlines with digital technology should be able to show a pic of your locked bag at 'x' weight at check in. If the lock is removed, or the weight has changed at pick-up then you dont touch it, the airline should then open it.
Bag weight is increased, dont touch it. No more 'Shappelle Corby' incidents as the weight would have changed!
Surely its not that hard??
Hi etiennePr
I have a brother that lives in Cape town and I visit Him every two years or so. I've been caught out with excess luggage by SAA. Basically took a golf style bag at 30kgs and 10kg backpack. Left Sydney no problem no excess charge. When it came to leave Cape town they wanted to charge me au$600. for 10kgs excess. I left a backpack full of clothes with Brother.
Now I pack two kites wet suit and harness bars ect into my biggest kite bag. have a bigger board bag than necessary and pack clothes ext around my board. I can almost take the same amount as stuff as before when you subtract the 5 or 6 Kgs of wheeled golf bag. from the 30 Kgs you can usually get away with.
I agree with the guys about the plastic wrap. Many third world airports now have plastic shrink wrapping Services in them. It is very easy to split a zip with a pen. Yes if they do want something in your bag they will just cut it open. But you stop the criminals from opening the bag a little and feeling around for something and then leave the bag looking untampered. My brother lost a camera and a laptop from this sort of crime flying from JHB to Dubai. He only realised when he got to his hotel and opened the bag. The airline completely rejected his claim.
Do Cut a hole in the plastic for handles or wisha is right they will destroy your bag
RSA has some great beers I personnel like Black Label try them all. The only Castle I'll drink is the Pilsner from Zimbabwe.
Pretty sure (well at least in Aus) you customs guys leave a tag to say that you have opened the bag (which I assume is policy)?
As for 3rd world 'customs'...maybe a few carefully placed razor blades around the length of the inner zip. Feel free to put your wrist through your little hole...
Disclaimer - Your bag may be covered in red DNA at pickup!
Nope, if something is seized then we would leave an Order in form, otherwise we don't need to leave any information... it's all in the constitution.
Wow, you,re a legend.
What happens if the stuff is damaged whilst being searched, assuming its accidental.
oh **** tough luck!! or is there some kind of compensation? i have seen some custom people be a bit rough sometimes.
We endeavour to do our best, however sometimes things are damaged and if so ACS and other border agencies will not admit fault, basically when you buy an airfare ticket read the fine print, it's all there-- saying you accept all damages that may occur to your luggage whilst in transit. Dont like it? Dont travel.
I think Infinidie the answers is don't give customs the reasons to search your kit.
Clean your gear before you leave and before you come home. Remove all sand and sea weed (V common in CT.)
Don't try anything stupid.
I thought you might say that. Well thanks for the answer :)
Yeah i agree, don't give them a reason and clean your gear, also being pleasant does not hurt!!
Interestingly enough, I've heard the states customs can sometimes be pretty nasty. I've heard stories of people finding small drill holes in the board where they've been checking for drugs
ahhhh!!! i would break!
thhey must have had a really good reason to do something like that, i doubt they would do that to spike someone with a bad attitude.
ahhhh!!! i would break!
Yeah all that is possible yet unlikely, you'd have to be really unlucky. Plus there is some pretty cool loopholes I can let you know about if I ever see you out on the water (ie releasing state secrets on a forum=not secure).
IanR- damn straight! Don't assume anything, or take the Incoming passenger card at face value, it's a legal binding document and just by ticking the wrong box can get you 10 years imprisonment... although highly unlikely.
I as a kitesurfer let most fellow surfers and kiters straight out cause I know they arent going kiting in freshwater... the main reason Freshwater is a trouble is cause of this bastard, NZ knows all about it:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didymosphenia_geminata
