There were sponsors waiting to meet certain players, others had a bit of shopping to do, skipper MS Dhoni had to address the media and attend a meeting and a few tried catching up on rest.
These were all very important for the bunch of 17 cricketers who would soon embark on what can be described as perhaps one of the toughest assignments in world cricket - taking on the Proteas in their own backyard.
After landing in Johannesburg, there would be no time left for anything else than concentrating on the game itself. Even if curtailed, a two-Test series against the world's top-ranking team would be enough to give Team India - rejoicing a spectacular home run in recent months - a good idea of where they stand.
The opening batsmen are still to be tested by the best; the new No. 3 hasn't faced a probing examination till now; there's no No. 4 till Dhoni announces the replacement; No. 5 has set high standards in ODIs and needs to replicate that form in Tests; No. 6 will play his first Test overseas and No. 7, the skipper himself, is now the senior most batsman.
If the visitors play a three plus one bowling combination, these seven batsmen will be in focus as Indian cricket prepares to go through its biggest transition in the last 20-odd years.
For a side that has won its last six Tests at home, embarking on this tour would've meant leaving high on confidence. But for a side that has also lost its last eight Tests abroad, it is difficult to guess what may have been playing on their minds. They're up against a team that has also won its last six Tests at home and boast of one of the most balanced sides in the game's longest format.
Here's what Team India could be staring at...
The opening duo of Graeme Smith & Alviro Petersen: The former an aggressive, high-scoring batsman who has anchored South Africa's batting for over a decade now. The latter, younger in experience, is just his opposite - a coolheaded, self-styled run-collector, known for his penchant to make fielders work hard. SA selector Andrew Hudson, a former opener himself, rates this combination - not just the individuals - as most viable for South Africa.
The ever-dependable No. 3: Hashim Amla, the irrepressible run-collector, blessed with talent, temperament and supreme elegance. He's been the most dependable South African bat in years after the irreplaceable Jacques Kallis.
Jacques Kallis: One of the greatest all-rounders the game has ever seen. In MS Dhoni's words, the man who lends such balance to the South African team that it appears unbeatable.
Lending balance: If South Africa ever look at launching assaults, AB de Villiers is their marksman. A wicket-keeper batsman who further balances the combination, de Villiers is a match-winner on his day. To have a batsman who averages 51.45, coming in at No. 5, says a lot about this team.
The domestic giant: Faf du Plessis was almost lost to England as he played for a long period of time for Lancashire. But his string of performances in the last few years in South African domestic cricket made the selectors sit up and take notice. A leg-spinner, more popular for his batting, du Plessis is quintessential South African - of course with the gift of supreme agility on the field.
Young blood: The 26-year-old Dean Elgar who has come up the hard way, toiling the domestic circuit for six years after he impressed the selectors as a Colt. In the middle-order, it'll either be him or Duminy - depending on current form and fitness that will lend South Africa a decent option with the bat and the ball.
An attack to envy: Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir form a compact four-man army that has pace, swing, spin and accuracy in its weaponry to unleash and inflict serious wounds that any batting line-up can be wary of.
It is this combination that India are up against. Zaheer Khan has been recalled to the Test side because an opposition like this one calls for the best. Barring Zaheer and Dhoni, the rest of the team heads to South Africa only knowing the opposition's reputation. On the positive side, there's less baggage to hold. The negatives, only time till tell.
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