Three of the most Commonly Asked Questions…
Three of the most commonly asked questions we hear asked are, do you need a bunch of shots to travel to Africa? How bad are the bugs? How often do you see snakes?
You DO NOT NEED any vaccinations at this time to travel to Tanzania, Botswana or South Africa. Kenya may required a Yellow Fever vaccination depending on your itinerary. You should be up to date on Tetanus. That is true even at home! You should take an anti malarial medications. Our top choice is Malarone. We are very against our clients taking Larium as an anti malarial as it has horrible physiological side effects as well as causing stomach issues in the majority of people who take it. We will send an email with our thoughts on the subject that you can read before having a conversation with your health care provider. Your doctor or a “travel clinic” may suggest other vaccinations such as a Hepatitis, Typhoid and more. Often when you say Africa health care providers immediately assume you are going on a medical mission into the poorest communities in the most impoverished countries on the continent. That is far from the reality of your upcoming luxury safari. You will not be drinking the local water… AT ALL. You will NOT even use the local tap water to brush your teeth. We will not eat food prepared by street vendors. We will be eating only at select restaurants where we know that their staff have been trained in safe food handling and preparation. The same is true of the lodges we will be using regarding their culinary staff.
How bad are the insects? Not nearly as bad as they are in Michigan! We spray our clothes with a long acting insect repellent the week of departure. We take good insect repellent lotion and use it liberally. At certain times of year depending on the weather conditions there are very few insects. Other times there can be a variety of interesting insects buzzing around. We prepare for the worst and are usually pleasantly surprised. Tsetse flies can be obnoxious with painful bites. Thankfully, their numbers have been greatly reduced through the use of treated tarps that attract them and the chemical those tarps are treated with sterilizes them. Other bugs… interesting on occasion, but not overwhelming. Flies can be petty around the vast herds of the migration or Cape Buffalo herds. They are simply an annoyance. If you are sensitive to have flies buzzing you there are some inexpensive bug gear, head covering, jackets and even pants that you can purchase on Amazon. One of our safari mates brought some amazing after bite, anti itch cream a few years ago. Kim and I have carried it with us for several safaris now and consider it an important part of our “go” kit. It is called Dermeleve and you can purchase it online through their own website. If you apply it as soon as you feel an insect bite you, your skin will have very little reaction to the bite. If you already scratched the bite, it is not as effective as an anti itch lotion, but will still help the bite resolve more quickly. We also carry Gold Bond lotion and the combination is fantastic if you have any itchy bites.
Lastly, SNAKES! We rarely see a snake. Particularly in Tanzania or Kenya. And especially if you don’t want to see a snake…
Every once in awhile our guides will point one out to us. We had one year in Botswana when the weather was very unusual and the snakes were much more active. That year, we saw a wide variety of snakes. It was highly unusual situation. The camp staff and guides were excellent at looking out for our safety.