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If you feel you are ready for an African safari, think again. Even if you are travelling to a country you are familiar with, it is still very important to be aware of the physical conditions and safety. This is very important if you are considering a visit to most of the African countries. Here are tips on what to do before leaving home and while you are abroad.

Before leaving home

Make sure you have enough Information about the country you are visiting, including that on traditions and security concerns. This can be got from the travel guides and Directory. Ensure that you are updated on the current issues and changes in the politics.
Remember to make a computer scan of your passport, write your passport number down and potentially learn it in case you lose it. Its important that you note down the diplomatic mission offices to the country you are going to. This ensures easier processing of your documents in case you lose or misplace them.

Photocopy any official documents you might have with you, scan them and email them to your self so that you can access them wherever you are. The internet cafes are almost in every Major and small centre districts of Africa so you would have no trouble over this.

It is very important to have a medical check up to prepare for a healthy holiday. Remember you are looking forward to having the best time, so you would not like a simple illness to distort every thing you planned. if you have a chronic illness( like diabetes, high blood pressure, sinus problems or even nervous disorder), check with your doctor, who can at the same time give you a letter explaining the same problem in English and the details .

Its important to read the health tips for the traveler. Diseases like Malaria have to be avoided. Some of the things you will eat won’t go down well. Be armed!

Make sure you have seen your dentist recently. And it is also advisable to pack a medical kit with pain killers , repellants , bandages , and an antiseptic cleaners, for your self and children travelling with you If you are on regular medication , take care to pack enough to last the travel time.

Ensure that you’re insurance coverage is valid in case you become sick or injured abroad. Some insurance campanies specialize in overseas travel insurance and may allow you to buy short-term coverage.

It is recommended that you attend practical training courses to equip your self with the skills and state of mind for a safe and productive mind for a safe and productive trip.

Check out the political situation in the country you are to visit and get psychologically prepared. Official web sites on the Internet will provide you with the ideal information. Inform your self on the quality of public transport at your destination.

Set a limit on your credit card, so if it is stolen, thieves will be unable to takeout a large amount of money on it.

Clothing is very important. Please get to know the climate and weather conditions before you take on a safari. If you have hired a safari operator, contact the company for recommendation on clothing during the specified period of your travel. Remember that decency is preferred by all the African countries.

At the destination

After you get to your destination, there are more important points worth considering to avoid illness so as to enjoy your holiday .

To relive symptoms of jetlag, eat lightly, drink a lot of fluids but avoid alcohol and caffeine a few days after your trip.

Try to relax and sleep on your flight so you can be energetic nonce you reach your destination .Try to sleep when locals do in order to get used to the local time.

Watch out for road signs: the most common reasons for death abroad is car accidents. Visitors are not always aware of the driving culture at the place they visit.

Use two wallets. Hide one of them with essential belongings in your jacket pockets. Fill the other with a small amount of money. In case of an assault you can hand this one over.

Do not count your money in public, as you might become a target for thieves

Know what notes you have in your pocket and wallet. Keep larger denominations away from prying eyes.

It is better to book an earlier flight than a later one. It is easier and safer to find your hotel and the people you may need to meet during the day than the night.

Try not to stand out in the crowd and if you have an expensive laptop, cover it so it is not apparent.Do not use or take an expensive mobile phone; an older one, reliable model will do.

Learn to identify what the uniforms of the local police look like.

Do not take any taxi you find - check to see if it belongs to an official company . Ask the hotel reception about rates you can expect to pay when you use a taxi.

Always set a price before getting in the taxi or ask for a meter to be used. Pick up the hotel’s business card. You can always present this to a taxi driver if you cannot find way back especially in the local language.

This presents a just a few tips on Travelling to Africa. If you are planning a Safari, some countries not to miss out include Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Botswana and Rwanda.

About the Author:
Richard Ddungu is a Travel journalist in Africa. His articles can be found at
Uganda Travel Guide and Directory
Uganda Travel Guide & Directory

Tags: africa travel warnings., african safari, safety tips for traveller, Travel to Africaafrica travel warnings., african safari, safety tips for traveller, Travel to Africa

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Travel to an African country that borders Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and
Eritrea can be dangerous to your health in more ways than one. But, if
you’re a skydiving, snowboarding, tomb raiding Indiana Jones kind ‘a
trekker, you might find Ethiopia just your cup of strong coffee.

Since the murder in 1975 of the emperor, strangled in the
basement of his palace, Ethiopia has seesawed from absolute rule by a
God-King, to Marxist/Military totalitarianism to the present Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia with a Constitution. Though tribal blood
feuds do exist in parts of the country, the U.S. has an embassy in Addis
Ababa, and you can check the State Department’s travel alerts.

The Last Emperor

Now that you’ve packed and done your homework, you’re ready to go.
You’ve read that Ethiopia’s history goes back to the dawn of man.
Archaeologists have unearthed human remains that carbon-date 3.2
million years ago. I worked in the capital, Addis Ababa during the reign
of Ethiopia’s last emperor. A tiny man with a title larger than himself,
“Emperor Haile Selassi I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of
God, King of Kings of Ethiopia” proclaimed himself the direct
descendant of Menilek I, son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Each Christmas Day, the emperor opened his palace to foreign
embassy bigwigs for tea and sweets while his pet lions strolled around
the gardens. I got to go only because I was taking photos for an official
brochure. Can you imagine tea with Haile Selassi? I lived near the
palace and went to bed each night to the screech of peacocks and the
roar of those noisy cats.

To experience the geological diversity of the land you only have to fly
into the 8,000-foot high capital. The mountains and plateaus seem to
rise up to meet you. Eucalyptus forests, high canyons, steep gorges,
scrub desert and ice-cold lakes are secret untamed places for hikers,
climbers and happy campers. You’ll find yourself eating Injera and Wat
with your fingers. Injera is baked from a sourdough batter and placed on
your tabletop like a gigantic pancake. Wat is the stew that’s served in the
middle of the Injera. You tear off a piece of Injera and use it to scoop up
the fiery stew (chicken, meat or vegetables). You don’t want to find
yourself on the other end of a meal. At the Sudanese border, the Baro
River teems with crocodiles. Sadly, I lost a friend there. See http://
www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/2001/0101/101cllook.html

Hyena Man

Addis is home to Ethiopian Orthodox Churches, U.N. Economic
Commission For Africa, museums and some modern hotels that did not
exist when I rubbed elbows with the little king! Back then there were no
streetlamps. After dark, hyenas skulked into the city scavenging for
anything they could get their jaws around, garbage or human. There
was a man, a prowler of shadows himself, who had a way with the nasty
predators. Wandering the back alleys, he mysteriously lured the beasts
to him and then out of town, kind of like a Pied Piper. We called him “the
hyena man,” and that is all we knew about him. Present day
“entrepreneurs” have made the former event into a thriving business
performed for tourists.

The Blue Nile Falls

We took off in a single engine Cessna T-210 from the ancient capital of
Gondar heading for Bahir Dar and Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile. In
Ethiopia, everything was ancient, including the Cessna. A former
Korean War Ace, Walt had been spraying malaria-infected areas for
years. The Blue Nile, as opposed to the brownish White Nile in Egypt,
gets its name from the waters of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia,
from whence the river flows to Khartoum and on into Egypt. Walt didn’t
fly over the falls; he practically flew into them. Swooping low on the first
run, I nearly lost my breakfast, but I asked him to do it again for a closer
shot. Staring up at me through the tree branches of the surrounding
rainforest was the white-fringed face of a silky black and white long-
tailed monkey. Hunted to near extinction for its beautiful coat, the
Colobus Monkey, the only kind of its species without a thumb, is an
endangered acrobatic marvel of grace and elegance.

Mist from the thundering waters creates a rainbow bridge to the sun. I
was snapping photos when bullets tore through the fuselage,
zapping Walt in his bottom. We couldn’t see the shooters but we knew
they wanted the Cessna. Despite terrible pain, the seasoned pilot wasn’t
going to let them have it. Shouting obscenities over my prayers, he
managed to hold on to the faltering plane while the floorboards
soaked up his blood. We arrived in Bahir Dar with Walt’s pride as
wounded as his anatomy. After medical attention and a few belts of Jack
Daniels, the bush pilot was on cloud nine.

Rock Churches of Lalibela

Ethiopian Airways’ hotshot pilots take off and land on postage stamp
plateaus. A short flight from Addis is the tiny town of Lalibela whose
airport terminal, in my time, was a tin roofed hut. Never mind. Hidden
under ground are eleven monolithic churches carved from rock. Built in
the thirteenth century, the churches are holy places of Ethiopian
Christian pilgrimage. I had to crawl down into the subterranean spaces
on my hands and knees. Once inside, I was in the Middle Ages. A priest
with a torch stood in the darkness guarding an altar and religious wall
paintings. He looked like he’d been standing there for 500 years! Monks
tell you the Ark of the Covenant is similarly hidden in a monastery in the
ancient city of Axum, where Queen Sheba stayed in the 10th century
B.C. Someone should tell Steven Spielberg.

“Simplicity-Courage-Humor-Soul”

Tags: Blue Nile, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox, Haile Selassie, Lalibella Rock Churches, Travel to AfricaBlue Nile, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox, Haile Selassie, Lalibella Rock Churches, Travel to Africa

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