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‘Expect the unexpected’ is the key phrase when travelling in Africa!

There are a few basic health matters that require care and attention if you plan to participate in an African adventure travel. Here are a few guidelines for you to address with your general practitioner. Please also check with your health department prior to departure for any changes in health regulations. Your African tour operator will also be able to inform you.

a) Malaria
As most southern and eastern Africa safari destinations do have occurrences of malaria, a lot of the camps are quite remote and the chances of contracting malaria are low. However, it is definitely worth taking preventative steps. Both chloroquine resistant and normal strains of malaria are prevalent in Africa. Malaria is transmitted by a very small percentage of female Anopheles mosquitoes. They are generally active in the early evening and throughout the night, usually when one is sleeping or sitting around campfires. Expert opinion differs regarding the best approach to malaria prophylactics. It is important to bear in mind that malaria may be contracted despite taking tablets, especially in areas where chloroquine resistance has been reported.

Please remember that the best insurance against contracting malaria is to try to prevent being bitten, so use mosquito repellents liberally. Wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers/slacks in the evenings. You should spray your room prior going to dinner with an insecticide like Doom which will kill any mosquitoes that may have flown into your room. Mosquito coils are also effective. We do suggest you contact your own doctor prior to leaving for your African holiday, to advise him/her of where you will be travelling and let him/her prescribe the best suited prophylactic. If you become ill on your return, while still on prophylactics or even once you have stopped, make sure that your doctor does everything necessary to establish that your illness is not malaria. Malaria is not a serious problem if people are sensible and take basic precautions. If caught early on the disease can be effectively dealt with.

b) Water
It is very important that you drink plenty of water especially if you travel to Africa during the warmer months. Dehydration is possibly the single biggest cause of ill health on an Africa safari. It is generally recommended that guests drink at least 2 to 3 litres of water per day to limit the effects of dehydration. This excludes tea, coffee and alcoholic beverages, which act as diuretics and actually contribute to dehydration. If water is not fit for human consumption then the lodge or hotel will advise guests and supply drinking water, but bottled mineral water is readily available at most places anyway.

c) Billharzia
Billharzia is a disease, which is common in most large bodies of water in the southern half of Africa. In the unlikely event of billharzia being contracted, it is easily diagnosed by a simple blood test and easily and effectively treated with biltracide. We recommend a test is taken after any African holiday, where you may have swam or drank water from rivers or lakes.

d)Tsetse Flies
Tsetse flies are large day time feeding flies occurring in certain low lying and hot safaris areas such the Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe or the Okavango Delta in Botswana. They prefer shady conditions and are attracted to movement, carbon dioxide and lactic acid secretions. We advise that you wear light coloured lightweight clothing on your Africa safari. Avoid deep blue and black (as tsetse are attracted to these colours) to lessen the chance of being bitten by these flies.

e) Yellow Fever
All travellers entering Mozambique from any of the 43 countries where yellow fever has been diagnosed must present a valid certification of vaccination against the disease. The decision has been taken jointly by the Ministry of Interior and Health. Any passenger who cannot present such a certificate at his or her point of entry will be vaccinated at the cost of about 54 US dollars before entering the country. Yellow fever has been reported from 43 countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America. The list includes three SADC countries, namely Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. Consult your Africa tour operator if you are not certain whether or not the country you will be entering from is in fact on the list.

Most private camps in Southern Africa are unfenced, so listen to your camp staff and guides. Don’t push any safety issues – you will not be in any theme parks where the animals are tame. Don’t ever go strolling away from the camp or from your guide.

Most private camps in Southern Africa are unfenced and dangerous animals can and do wander through the camps. Many of the animals and reptiles you will see are potentially dangerous. Attacks by wild animals are rare. However, no African tour operator can guarantee that such incidents will not occur. Neither African Travel Gateway, or any camps or operators, their staff members, associates, agents, nor their suppliers can be held liable for any injuries caused during an incident involving the behaviour of wild animals.

Please make sure that you listen to and abide by the safety talks given by your guides or camp staff prior to your Africa safari. Don’t go wandering off on your own without a guide – even to your rooms; a guide must escort you to your room. After retiring to your rooms at night, don’t leave your rooms. If you are sensible, you should be safe.

Crime has been a much reported evil of certain areas in Southern Africa, particularly the big cities. We have had no problems of this nature happen to any of our Africa safari clients. The hotels we suggest are in good areas and you are invariably out of the rough city centres. However we do urge guests to exercise the same common sense they would whilst in any other big city of the world, and not to openly display cash and valuables whilst out on the street. If you will be self driving for part of you African holiday, don’t pick up any hitch hikers or stop near informal settlements (shanty towns), unless you are with a guide who will have good local knowledge.

Geoafricatours, its agents, operators, suppliers and its associates cannot be held responsible or liable for loss, damage, or theft of personal luggage and belongings, nor can they be held liable for personal injury, accident or illness. Please ensure that you have yourself and your belongings adequately insured before you depart for your Africa safari. Insurance is compulsory for all our trips. If you do not possess a policy, we can issue insurance at competitive rates. It is, however, better to purchase your policy locally as this will cover you for repatriation back to your home country. Please contact your broker or your travel agent for details. We cannot be held liable for any losses or damages incurred during your African holiday.

a) Health Insurance
It is very important to have full medical, emergency evacuation and repatriation cover for the period of time you are away.

b) Cancellation and Curtailment
You might have to cancel or curtail your Africa safari due to unforeseen circumstances. If you cancel a trip close to departure date for any reason you could lose all that the safari was going to cost you. Should you have to leave the safari early, we cannot refund you the portion of the Africa safari you do not complete. Dependant on the reason for cancellation and curtailment, insurance may cover you for this eventuality. In such an event we do try our utmost to get the various suppliers to waiver cancellation fees, but this is something that we cannot guarantee, as each African tour operator will have different views on the issue.

c) Baggage & Money Insurance
It is advisable to take out insurance to cover you for damaged or lost baggage or cash, especially if you are carrying a large amount of cash or expensive and valuable camera equipment. You should always carry such equipment as “carry-on” luggage. Do not put anything of value in your checked baggage! On some Africa safaris, you may travel in canoes, motorized boats or mekoros (dugout canoes). It is rare that these overturn, but it is possible. So have insurance and also bring waterproof bags for your cameras.

It is the responsibility of the client to ensure that their passports are valid for travel to Africa, for at least 6 months after the date of termination of services, provided by Geoafricatours. The passport must also have at least 3 – 4 blank pages in it. This is critical as you will not be allowed into South Africa without meeting these requirements.

If your African holiday itinerary has you entering Zimbabwe or Zambia twice i.e.: arriving and then routing through Zimbabwe / Zambia again to catch your flight, then make sure you purchase a multiple entry visa on arrival, it is a lot cheaper in the long run than purchasing two single entry visas.

It is also the responsibility of the client to ensure that they are in possession of valid visas for all countries being visited during their African holiday, and that all necessary health certificates for these destinations are in order. Geoafricatours does not arrange visas, but will dispense verbal information received from a country’s consulate regarding visa and / or health requirements. This is a courtesy but not a service. Geoafricatours will not be held responsible for any misinformation, errors and omissions with regard to this information.

In South Africa current is 220/240 volts at 50 cycles per second. Please note that some game lodges do not have electricity and run on generators. You will not find plug sockets in the rooms/tents at lodges.

In Namibia, appliances all run on 220/240 volts. Outlets are round 3-pin, 15 amp type. Points for electric shavers (electric current 250VAC) are available at major hotels and most state-owned rest camps and resorts. It is advisable to bring battery operated or conventional razors if visiting remote areas during the course of your African holiday.

In Botswana most safari camps are situated in remote areas and have to generate our own electricity. They do so in a number of ways. Generally each camp has a generator, which runs for about 6 hours per day (3 hours in the morning and 3 in the afternoon when guests are out on activities). These generators then charge batteries located at each tented room which provide good 12v lights all night (if used sensibly). There are generally no 220v or 110v power points in camp. If you need to have your video battery re-charged we can do so while you are out on an activity – please therefore bring a spare for use while the other is being charged. These systems are simple but perfectly functional. If you are expecting to use a hairdryer in your room, please think again. You are on the wrong Africa safari!!

In Zimbabwe they use 220/240 Volts. Outlets are of the 3 pin, 13 amp type. Not all the lodges have electricity and they rely on generators in a similar fashion to the Botswana safari camps. You will invariably not find plug sockets in these rooms/tents.

Most places, even the safari camps in Southern Africa, accept credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and Amex); however it is a good idea to carry some cash with you to pay for curios, bar accounts, gratuities etc…

In South Africa it is advisable to change your money into Rands as it is the accepted currency countrywide. When travelling in Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and even Namibia, it will be easier to carry some cash in USD, but in small denominations. The reason being when paying for something with USD, you will receive change in the local currency, which you can then use whilst you are still there, but won’t be able to change back to USD once you have left the country after your African holiday has ended.

If your itinerary includes Zimbabwe please take note, that most places no longer accept credit cards. You should take forex cash with you in small denominations (USD is best). Please do NOT change forex into local Zimbabwe currency, as you will get the official bank rate of exchange, which bears no relation to the reality of the cost of goods in Zimbabwe, and you will then find everything that you pay in Zimbabwe VERY expensive! Travellers cheques in Zimbabwe are not advisable, but if you have to take them you will be required produce the original bank letter that you are given at time of purchasing your travellers cheques, or the Zimbabwe banks will NOT exchange travellers cheques. Travellers cheques are generally not accepted at restaurants so again forex cash in small denominations is the best solution.

The roads are rough and bumpy and occasionally you will travel “off road” where it is possible that one may hit a pothole or a trees branch. So if you have back problems its best to advise your consultant so that we can suggest an area that will ensure smoother safaris be it on road or boat.