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South African Safaris Safety Tips for the Adventure of Your Life
Travel in South Africa offers an abundance of safari experiences, from lush subtropical beach forests to the exquisite seclusion of the desert to the world famous Kruger National Park. South African safaris not only offer the beauty and cultural diversity that makes South Africa so unique, they can also be one of the safest travel adventures you can experience.
If you are considering taking a guided South African safari, your chances of encountering difficulties are minimal. Due to inaccurate media representation, people often harbor unfounded concerns about the dangers of going on safari, including an exaggerated fear of civil unrest and crime. In fact, tour operators make it their business to be intimately familiar with the areas in which they travel, thus minimizing risk for travelers. Nevertheless, it is sensible to take customary precautions on your African safari, especially when traveling through urban areas.
The following are a few guidelines to help you adequately and safely prepare for your trip:
Documents and Money • Always have a photo copy of your passport and required visas • Make a list of traveler’s cheque numbers (packed separately from the originals) • Never carry large amounts of cash; credit cards are widely welcomed • If you need cash handy for purchases at local markets – keep it in a travel wallet or a zip pocket
Cameras
In all likelihood, you’ll want to take some sort of camera with you on your trip, whether it is a still camera or video camera. Use common sense and pack camera equipment in your hand-carried baggage and never leave it unattended. Car Hire Cape Town Airport When walking through an urban area, keep your camera concealed in a bag.
Look But Don’t Touch, Frighten or Feed
Your safari guide will typically discuss safety and safari etiquette with you prior to your safari, whether your game viewing is to be done from a vehicle or on foot. Although all wildlife can be potentially dangerous, if you follow the instructions your guide gives you, there is little need for concern. At viewpoints, hides, camps and other more heavily populated areas, wildlife is more accustomed to people and will usually be less threatened by your presence. A general guideline is to refrain from teasing or cornering wild animals as it may cause a potentially dangerous reaction. In addition, feeding or calling animals should be avoided, as this can cause them to lose their fear of humans.
Other Creatures
Although a multitude of potentially dangerous species like snakes, scorpions, spiders, and insects are indigenous to Africa, very few visitors are adversely affected if common sense is used. Snakes are typically shy and generally stay away from highly populated areas. Safari lodges and camps usually have insect (especially mosquito) proofing. If you go on a walk, a good rule of thumb is to always wear enclosed walking shoes, socks, and long trousers.
Medical
Although travel to South Africa generally poses no medical threat, malaria is prevalent in certain areas. Prior to your trip to South Africa, you should consult your physician or health department for the latest anti-malaria prophylactics.
Travel Pillow and Sheets – Your Best Travel Companion!
The best travel pillow and sheets are indispensable, especially if your trip is bound to take for hours. Any seasoned traveler knows that it’s a big no-no if you forget to pack the appropriate pillow and sheets during your travel. Travel pillow and sheets would definitely make you feel well-rested and healthy after that long and tiresome flight.
Unfortunately, the quality of service of airlines today is slowly decreasing. When your travel time would take for ages, the most common scenario is that most passengers would want to relax by taking a nap – that’s really not a problem. But, the annoying part is that some airlines either have limited stocks of travel pillows or what they have is not of the best quality. If you think that’s already enough, after checking in a hotel, you’ll soon discover that the bed sheets and pillow cases are filled with bedbugs and dust mites. Now, you see the practicality of having your own set of travel pillow and sheets.
Well, you do have to consider some restrictions in your luggage space. The good news is that most pillows and sheets for traveling are now available in different types and features to make them easier to place in your luggage.
The two features that a great travel pillow should have are flexibility and proper neck support. Actually, inflatable and buckwheat pillows are the two most popular types of pillows today.
The inflatable pillows available in the market are very easy to fill with air – just 10 to 12 air puffs and these are good to go. The air-filled design lets you firmly rest your neck and supports the proper alignment of your neck and spine. Just by releasing the air inside and folding it into several folds, inflatable pillows will completely fit into your luggage without taking up much space.
The type of pillow that’s been gaining recognition these days is the buckwheat travel pillow. Unlike the feather or foam filled pillows, buckwheat pillows perfectly conforms to your neck and back outlines so that there would be no strain exerted on those parts.
Today, it really doesn’t matter anymore if you’ll stay on a cheap or ultra-expensive hotel. As long as you get the cleanest bed sheets and pillow cases, everything else is trivial (Unfortunately, that’s not always the case). To protect yourself from allergens and other bed insects, choose a travel sheet (a.k.a. sleeping bag liners) that’s hypoallergenic and made from high-quality materials, like silk. Silken sheets are convenient because they’re lightweight, easy to clean and will dry off quickly.
Whether you’re an experienced or an admitted amateur traveler, it’s always good to remember that you need a versatile, comfortable, and proper-sized travel pillow and sheets (if you need to find the right one at the kids’ section, you’re more than free to do so). A baggage is only considered complete if you have the best travel pillow and sheets with you.
Getting the Best Travel Deals
Would you like to get the best travel deals available? Then get ready to be open-minded and flexible. Consider going to any one of several destinations, and going at different times than you may have originally planned on, and even doing different things once you get there.
Flexibility Buys The Best Travel Deals
Almost any travel destination has “seasons” which are more crowded and therefore more expensive. Also, airfare varies widely in price from month to month and even according to the day of the week or time of day. Finally, there many activities which may be marginally more entertaining yet cost much more.
Suppose you go on trips to several destinations over the years, using the usual strategy of “I want to go here now and do these things.” On some of these trips you’ll be at the height of the season, meaning it will be expensive for hotels. Airfare will cost a lot if you happen to choose the expensive days and times. With a fixed idea about your activities, you’ll also likely pay more than you need to have a great time. You’ll miss out on some real fun that could be much cheaper.
On the other hand, what if you go somewhere during the off-season, go on the day that has the cheapest plane tickets, and start with the interesting activities that cost less? Perhaps you spend just half as much on average, even though over those years you go to all the same destinations. The savings could mean even more opportunities to travel because of the money saved.
Years ago I went to Ecuador because it was an inexpensive destination. The February departure was chosen because I found plane tickets for $258 round trip from Miami. And though I hadn’t considered taking a tour to Mount Cotopaxi, I discovered that I could do that day-long trip to walk on the glaciers of a volcano for just $15, so I went. You create your own best travel deals if you are flexible and open minded.
Best Travel Deals – The Formula
Try this simple formula for getting the best travel deals:
1. Watch a few travel programs, read some travel magazines, and make a list of six to ten places you might like to visit eventually.
2. Look for the best time to go to each. This means when it would be interesting for you and cheaper than other times – an “off-season” that is still a good time for you to visit.
3. Gather information online. How much will hotels and meals cost? What is there to do and how much you are likely to spend on each of these activities. Take notes, of course.
4. Do an online search for plane tickets before you are ready to start planning. Experiment with different days of the week for departure and return flights to find the cheapest possibilities. This can change, so you’ll be doing this again when you are ready to actually start specific planning. For now you just want an idea of the days that are likely the cheapest.
5. When it’s time to travel, pick from among your listed destinations that are off-season and search all the possible dates you might travel, to find the cheapest airfare. Actually it’s best to do this before you arrange for time off work, so you can take advantage of the best possible travel dates.
6. Purchase your tickets, do some more research, and start packing and planning.
Here’s another tip for getting the best travel deals: Book a hotel only for the day you arrive, and then find your hotels(s) once there. There are many nice, less expensive hotels that you won’t find online, and in our experience, even good package deals are never as cheap as finding your own hotels once you get there, as long as you are not coming there at a busy time. Doing this also allows you more freedom, so you can change your plans as you go, taking advantage of whatever great deals come up.