African Safari/ Preparing for the Adventure

Where To Go


Africa is a large continent with a large variance in topography, wildlife and politics. When I first began making plans I have to admit the Discovery Channel had an influence. There was a special on the country of Botswana and probably like many of you I had little knowledge of this country.

In the Discovery Channel program it showed a wealth of wildlife on large preserves set aside in Botswana. These large preserves encompass huge areas of the Kalahari Desert. At the northern edge of the Kalahari is an unusual area of rivers and finger lakes called the Okavango Delta. There is a large diversity of wildlife and as the dry season arrives the wildlife moves into theses areas and further north to Chobe Reserve. It was the diversity of the wildlife and the wide range of topography that helped me make my decision to visit Botswana. Before I made my final decision I began a search. I checked with the State Department web site for overseas travelers. Botswana is considered a very stable country. The Botswana government has placed a strong emphasis on ecotourism and the country has one of the largest public land preserves in the world. They also have a very stable economy. Considering it has only become an independent country since 1966 they have progressed considerably. I also checked with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Travel Health Advisory. Malaria is still a devastating problem in all of Africa and no less in Botswana. Any one traveling to this area needs to take measures for prevention of malaria. Also, AIDS is rampant. Bring along a friend with the same blood type in case you need a blood transfusion. These two web sites are listed to the side of this page

Next question, how to get to Botswana and what kind of cost are involved? I started a search on line and found many travel companies that promote African travel. There was a large price variance for Safari trips depending on the type of accommodations and the counties you wanted to visit. Just by chance I found Ebright Travel. Connie Ebright is an experienced African traveler who specializes in Safari travel. With her help we booked a trip that took us from South Africa to Botswana where we spent the bulk of our time and then on to Zimbabwe and Zambia.


Staying in lodges while on Safari did not appeal to me . After a childhood of Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller yodeling his way through the jungle, I wanted a true Safari experience. To the chagrin of my two son-in-laws who were coming with me, I decided that camping in tents would be the best way to experience an African Safari. Also, it was important to me to have a small number people on the expedition. In this case there would be only seven of us with one tracker, one guide and a cook.


Timing is everything. It appeared to me that the end of May and beginning of June was a very good time to make this trip. The cost was less, fewer tourist to deal with and it was the beginning of south Africa's winter which hopefully would mean less bugs and less rain. With little rain the underbrush dies back making animal viewing better. However, I did not plan on the extreme cold we were to experience.



What To Pack

Here is a quick list: as little as possible! You will be flying by bush planes to the different reserves in Botswana. No more than 25 pounds of clothing and gear ( i.e. camera, back pack etc.) is allowed per person. This is a challenge for a two week trip. A comprehensive list can be found at www.african-safari-journals.com/safari-packing-list.html . If you pack all that is suggested on this list you will be over the 25 pound limit.
What not to pack:
Swimming suite; unless you want to be eaten by a crocodile
Razor and shaving cream; who are you trying to impress?
2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner; or at least not much; you are only going to
have one or two showers while in the bush, if you are lucky
Water bottle; there will be plenty of bottled water
Re- hydration salts; most of the food is already very salty
Birth control; did I mention you're only going to have 1 or 2 showers
Small unbreakable mirror; believe me you are not going to want to see
yourself after a week in the jungle
Compass; don't bother, if you get lost you're going to die
Deck of cards; unless you are going to play for money
String or rope; unless you are going to hang yourself after you get lost and
don't have a compass
Travel alarm clock; there is already a jungle alarm clock, you'll understand
when you get there
What not to forget:
Camera, extra batteries and extra memory sticks or film; we took over 1100
photos
Copy of your passport; leave a copy at home
Receipt for travelers checks; banks will not honor travelers checks unless
you have this
List of U.S.A. ( or your home country) Consulates in the countries you
are visiting
BugOff shirts and pants; helps reduce pesky bug bites
Pens & pencils; great items to give to the kids you will see along the way
Two pair of shoes/ boots; you can use old tennis shoes for trading
Travel insurance; some will even cover bringing your body home but with a
reduced benefit should you be eaten by a lion,since only the lion poop is
collected and returned to your loved ones
Now you can check out my blog about our arrival in Johannesburg. Always something unexpected when your traveling.

African Safari/ Johannesburg Arrival

Johannesburg, South Africa

We were traveling well south of the equator where winter is the reverse of ours. I planned this trip so we would arrive when there was less heat and fewer bugs. Malaria is something I can do with out. May/ June is also the dry season which reduces the underbrush in the jungle and makes animal viewing better. So we were expecting cool weather but when I and my two son-in-laws departed the plane, I though we had missed the mark and ended up in Antarctica. A very cold front had moved in from the south. There was a strong southerly wind licking at our faces. We were ill prepared for this frigid air. I hoped as we traveled north into Botswana things would warm. Little did I know what we would encounter.
I had been warned Johannesburg could be a rather dangerous place, as many big cities can be.
"Don't venture too far of the main paths" I was told. But I have to say my experience in Johannesburg was very positive. Our hotel, the Southern Sun, was just a short walk from the airport and we were all happy to get inside to warm up. It was an inviting space with a very friendly staff. I tried out the Swana language I had been practicing months in advance but my bellman looked at me in a blank stair as he placed my bag on the bed. " Tutsi", he said. " I am Tutsi", he repeated. "I don't speak Swana". South Africa is a mix of many ethnic tribes (www.africaguide.com/culture/tribes). Each have their own language and there are many dialects. I did finally find one worker at the hotel that spoke Swana. She was very eager to help me practice and she also got a big laugh at an American attempting to speak her language.
The first night in Africa and where do we end up? The Mall! My son-in-law's luggage was lost. After searching for an hour at the airport he resigned himself to the fact that he had no cloths. We were all traveling with minimal baggage, only 25 pounds each due to the small planes we would be flying into and around Botswana. We did not have enough cloths to share, so like it or not it was necessary to go shopping. Oh boy what fun! The first problem. We had not exchanged any money for South African Krugerrands at the airport. No banks were open. The bellman suggested taking a taxi to the shopping mall and maybe they would take American dollars. I explained the situation to the taxi driver. He told me dollars would not be taken at the mall. He would take us somewhere to get money exchanged and then take us to one of the better malls . The drive to the money exchange gave us a chance to see downtown Johannesburg. It is truly a metropolitan city. One of the largest industrial regions in the Southern Hemisphere. As we pulled into the mud parking lot I was skeptical of the place this taxi driver had taken us. It was an open bazaar that offered most anything you would want. Sort of like Sam's or Wall Mart but with out a roof. There was a fee at the front entrance so the taxi driver took me to a side gate. He talked to a Stoic thin man. The gate opened . "Go see Sotho", said the taxi driver. I have, in years past, exchanged money on the black market. I could never figure out how the exchange rate could actually be better than a bank. After walking around for a few minutes I found the money exchanger , made my way back to the taxi and we were off to Johannesburg's East Rand Mall. I had received only large bills so as I tried to pay the taxi driver he lamented he had no change. He said he would be back in two hours to take us back to the hotel. We could pay him then. What a trusting individual. Needless to say, he got a big tip when we were back at the hotel.
If you blind folded me. Stuck me in the middle of the mall and told me I was in Pittsburgh, but for the accents and South African beer I would have believed it. Every major store that is in most U.S. malls was in this mall. Plus many European designers. The staff at the clothing store was very helpful and they were quite amused by our American accents.
Though the first day in Africa was not what I had planned it turned out to be a very interesting day. The next ten days on Safari got even more interesting. See the post African Safari/ Botswana
( you can see more photos by clicking on the photo at the bottom of this page , then on Rick's public albums)