Cronje one of our more experienced guides at Sunway Safaris has the following tips and advise for anyone wanting to travel to Africa on a safari... Whenever one is planning a trip or holiday to an exotic destination the first thing you do is to buy the ‘Lonely Planet’ or similar kind of travel guide for that country or countries you plan to visit. You also do as much research by asking your friends who have visited the same destination before you and since they have done it they are now ‘expert’ advisors to these countries or destinations. You do a lot of reading up on ‘reliable sources’ like TripAdvisor or Hello Peter to get an ‘expert’ opinion of other travelers who ventured into the deep dark yonder before you.

These following few tips I’m about to share with you is first hand misconception and insecurities that my clients have had over the past few years working as a tour guide. Its questions and concerns that I have to deal with on a daily basis and all of them start with “I read in Lonely Planet ………………” or “I read on TripAdvisor …………” or “My friend were here last year and told me ……………”

I would like to say keep in mind that most of the travel guides that are available on the shelves today have information that is highly outdated esp. when it come to the tips for travelers sections. The accounts on travel websites like TripAdvisor are mostly negative accounts of people that had bad experiences. For every unhappy client that posts his bad experiences on the social media there are hundreds of happy campers that haven’t posted their experiences cause they have better things to do like planning their next trip.

 

 

Firstly, we have in Africa a whole lot of dangerous critters and creatures that are hairy and scary with claws, teeth, quills, fangs and talons that can bite, sting, spit venom, strangle, suffocate, constrict and kill. But luckily these are the least of your concerns. There are two things in Africa that can’t be seen or touched that kills faster than the strongest lion or most venomous snake and they are responsible for the most deaths in Africa. They are called Malaria and dehydration. So for you as a would be traveller to Africa I want to say, bring as much protection as you can against Malaria and the Sun and also drink plenty of clean water because Africa is hot!!!

Next is water. So to ensure you don’t dehydrate you need to take in copious amounts of water. Luckily for you as a would be African Explorer water is everywhere to be found. And in most parts of Africa ordinary tap water IS safe to drink (unless otherwise stated by your guide). Even the ice cubes in your G & T’s is made from safe water as well as the lettuce in your salad were cleaned using safe drinking water. But don’t despair there is always a big supply of bottled water available at hotels, lodges, bars, restaurants and shops. Please don’t be creating too much rubbish with the discarded plastic bottles, as we don’t have a very good recycling industry in Africa.

 

 

Another very important thing to remember is to, listen to your guide!! In most cases your guide is a highly trained well-experienced professional. With a passion for what he/she does. They share a wealth of information which is of utmost importance not only to make your adventure the best but also to keep you alive and out of trouble.

We have a saying that says: ‘When God created the world he gave Europe the watch and Africa the time’. This is very true as things tend to happen at its own pace in Africa. So please be patient when it comes to things like dining out at restaurants, have a third or fourth beer. When the checkout queue in the supermarket is a bit slow have a chat with the local in front or behind you, you might find us Africans quite a friendly bunch. At border crossings a lot of patience is needed, but whatever you do at a border crossing please don’t take a picture it will cause you a lot of trouble and your camera might get confiscated.

Lastly it’s only you who can enjoy your holiday and it’s your attitude that will determine if your adventure was a success or not. Your guide is exactly that, a GUIDE there to guide you along on your adventure.

 

P.S. If you see your guide run, keep up!