A Travel and vacations forum. TravelBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » TravelBanter forum » Travel Regions » Africa
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Maleria in South Africa



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old March 16th, 2004, 06:35 PM
billybob
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Maleria in South Africa

Hi, I am thinking of a trip to South Africa next January & February. I do
not know much about malaria and the pills. Would we have to take them every
day of the 8-10 weeks we are there? Are they expensive?

Also if anyone has some suggestions on a route around . How much is car
rental's and the safety.
Thanks , Val



Canada
--


  #2  
Old March 16th, 2004, 11:06 PM
Scott Elliot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Maleria in South Africa

Val, you should go to a doctor that specializes in travel medicine. Your
family physician should be able to refer you to one. There are some
vaccinations you will need before you go. Not all parts of South Africa are
prone to malaria, so what and when you take a malaria prophylactic will
depend on where you travel. Also some strains of malaria are resistant to
some medicines so a travel doctor should be up to date on what to prescribe.
Most medicines have to be started a few weeks before you go to a malaria
area and continued a few weeks after. Some have to be taken daily and
others weekly. My daughter is currently traveling in South America and the
Larium she is taking is giving her nightmares, although it did not bother
her when she was in South Africa. The last time my wife and I went to South
Africa our travel doctor recommended a different medicine because of the
possible psychotic effects.

There are innumerable activities in South Africa, so where you go will
depend a lot on your interests. For 8-10 weeks I would consider starting in
Cape Town and spending a few leisurely days doing wine tours, easy hikes and
other attractions while I adapted to the time change from Canada and got
used to traffic on the left side of the road. Then I would rent a car and
start up the Garden Route, heading northeast along the coast. Be sure to
take lots of side trips for whale watching, cave exploring at Oultshorn,
surfing at Jeffries Bay and many other activities along that stretch.
Continue along the coast, finally making a big arc northwards through the
Drakensberg and Kruger National Park until finally flying home from
Johannesburg. Whether you like historical sites, hiking, game watching or
bird watching, there are many things to see and do along that route. On
that route you don't get to see the Kalahari Desert in Kgalaghadi
Transfrontier Park, but January and February would be extremely hot in that
area. Save it for another trip, we have enjoyed our trips to South Africa
and are planning another one.

For car rental rates, check out Avis on the internet. They may not be the
cheapest, but will give you a good comparison and will quote in Canadian
Dollars.

Safety is always a concern, but we have not had problems. Try to find a
place to stay while it is still light, ask recommendations on places to eat
and try not to walk around too much at night, especially in big cities. Ask
local people's advice and heed their warnings.

Scott Elliot
Kelowna, BC
http://www3.telus.net/selliot/

"billybob" james@ wrote in message
m...
Hi, I am thinking of a trip to South Africa next January & February. I do
not know much about malaria and the pills. Would we have to take them

every
day of the 8-10 weeks we are there? Are they expensive?

Also if anyone has some suggestions on a route around . How much is car
rental's and the safety.
Thanks , Val



Canada
--




  #3  
Old March 17th, 2004, 09:49 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Maleria in South Africa

"billybob" james@ wrote in message om...
Hi, I am thinking of a trip to South Africa next January & February. I do
not know much about malaria and the pills. Would we have to take them every
day of the 8-10 weeks we are there? Are they expensive?

Also if anyone has some suggestions on a route around . How much is car
rental's and the safety.
Thanks , Val



Canada
--

Hi Val
Depends where you are going? There are only malaria in the north
eastern corner of the country (including the Kruger National Park, the
St. Lucia wetland park and Tembe Elephant National Park). If don't
plan to enter anny of these areas do not take malaria pills! The pills
are rather cheap but may have side effects!
Consuly your own physician and have a look at
http://science.up.ac.za/delta01/malariainfopage.html
Have a nice trip - South Africa is a wonderfull country!
  #4  
Old March 17th, 2004, 10:56 AM
meeso
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Maleria in South Africa

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 09:35:50 -0800, billybob wrote:

Would we have to take them every
day of the 8-10 weeks we are there? Are they expensive?


Usually, you take them one week before entering a place where it si
possible to be infected, and all the time during staying, and one month
after going back to a place where tthere is no Malaria.
It's definitly not going to be every day, you take 2 pills a week,
together in some defined day and time during the week. If you forget once,
the whole system of injection breaks down (much the same like the
contraceptive pills). and then you'll have to spend one week after taking
a couple of pills in a place where there is no Malaria, for the system of
injection to be restored (or rather restarted).
It siad to have a very nasty counter-effects. I took them before and it
was okay. But anyway, this kind of stuff probably should be discussed with
a professional Doctor.
both the dosage and the prices vary from a medicin to another. So what I
said is not necessarily what you'll get.

Best,
--
Maysara
  #5  
Old March 21st, 2004, 04:32 AM
billybob
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Maleria in South Africa



--
Thank you for all the info. I have shared it with another couple that are
also planning on going next January/February. What should we expect to pay
for air fare from Vancouver? Is there a "best" time to book? (price wise?)
What airline did you use. thanks again for all the helpful advise. Val






"Scott Elliot" wrote in message
news:sTK5c.236543$Hy3.11859@edtnps89...
Val, you should go to a doctor that specializes in travel medicine. Your
family physician should be able to refer you to one. There are some
vaccinations you will need before you go. Not all parts of South Africa

are
prone to malaria, so what and when you take a malaria prophylactic will
depend on where you travel. Also some strains of malaria are resistant to
some medicines so a travel doctor should be up to date on what to

prescribe.
Most medicines have to be started a few weeks before you go to a malaria
area and continued a few weeks after. Some have to be taken daily and
others weekly. My daughter is currently traveling in South America and

the
Larium she is taking is giving her nightmares, although it did not bother
her when she was in South Africa. The last time my wife and I went to

South
Africa our travel doctor recommended a different medicine because of the
possible psychotic effects.

There are innumerable activities in South Africa, so where you go will
depend a lot on your interests. For 8-10 weeks I would consider starting

in
Cape Town and spending a few leisurely days doing wine tours, easy hikes

and
other attractions while I adapted to the time change from Canada and got
used to traffic on the left side of the road. Then I would rent a car and
start up the Garden Route, heading northeast along the coast. Be sure to
take lots of side trips for whale watching, cave exploring at Oultshorn,
surfing at Jeffries Bay and many other activities along that stretch.
Continue along the coast, finally making a big arc northwards through the
Drakensberg and Kruger National Park until finally flying home from
Johannesburg. Whether you like historical sites, hiking, game watching or
bird watching, there are many things to see and do along that route. On
that route you don't get to see the Kalahari Desert in Kgalaghadi
Transfrontier Park, but January and February would be extremely hot in

that
area. Save it for another trip, we have enjoyed our trips to South Africa
and are planning another one.

For car rental rates, check out Avis on the internet. They may not be the
cheapest, but will give you a good comparison and will quote in Canadian
Dollars.

Safety is always a concern, but we have not had problems. Try to find a
place to stay while it is still light, ask recommendations on places to

eat
and try not to walk around too much at night, especially in big cities.

Ask
local people's advice and heed their warnings.

Scott Elliot
Kelowna, BC
http://www3.telus.net/selliot/

"billybob" james@ wrote in message
m...
Hi, I am thinking of a trip to South Africa next January & February. I

do
not know much about malaria and the pills. Would we have to take them

every
day of the 8-10 weeks we are there? Are they expensive?

Also if anyone has some suggestions on a route around . How much is car
rental's and the safety.
Thanks , Val



Canada
--






  #6  
Old March 21st, 2004, 06:00 AM
Scott Elliot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Maleria in South Africa

The last couple of times we flew on points earned from other flights and
credit card purchases so we did not really look at the cost.

One time we flew with Canadian, before it was purchased by Air Canada. They
connected with British Airways through Heathrow. Both airlines had good
flights, but spending about 10 hours at Heathrow was a drag. British
Airways is now almost useless because the small size of permitted carry-on
baggage does not allow you to take any decent camera equipment.

The next time we had Aeroplan points and flew Air Canada to Frankfurt where
we connected with Lufthansa. Air Canada was OK and Frankfurt airport was a
tolerable place to spend 10 hours. The flight both ways on Lufthansa was
terrible. The seats they provided for people flying on points had some kind
of electrical box under the seat in front so there was no place to put your
legs. On the way back they would not seat my wife and I together, even
though the seat beside my wife was empty. (It had leg room so was too good
for points fliers. I should have known in advance it would be better to ask
forgiveness than permission.) I will never fly Lufthansa again.

We now have Avion points so we can pick whatever airline we want. We will
probably try to fly KLM or SAA for the Africa leg of the trip.

I believe you can book airlines up to about 10 months in advance.
Unfortunately you can book reservations in South Africa National Parks about
12 months in advance. We made the mistake of waiting until our airline
reservations were made before booking in the parks. Some of the
reservations we wanted were fully booked by then. Next time, if we want to
stay in the parks, we will book the parks when we can, then book airlines
around that.

Scott Elliot
http://www3.telus.net/selliot/

"billybob" james@ wrote in message
m...


--
Thank you for all the info. I have shared it with another couple that are
also planning on going next January/February. What should we expect to

pay
for air fare from Vancouver? Is there a "best" time to book? (price

wise?)
What airline did you use. thanks again for all the helpful advise.

Val


  #7  
Old March 21st, 2004, 10:32 PM
billybob
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Maleria in South Africa



--


Now I realize what happened. We were on aeroplan to Bangkok with United and
we got those seat too. The ones with the boxes by our feet. It was
horrible. So United gives those seats to airmile people too. On the way
home they gave us normal seats. Thanks again for the info. Val


"Scott Elliot" wrote in message
news:vj97c.261046$Hy3.217942@edtnps89...
The last couple of times we flew on points earned from other flights and
credit card purchases so we did not really look at the cost.

One time we flew with Canadian, before it was purchased by Air Canada.

They
connected with British Airways through Heathrow. Both airlines had good
flights, but spending about 10 hours at Heathrow was a drag. British
Airways is now almost useless because the small size of permitted carry-on
baggage does not allow you to take any decent camera equipment.

The next time we had Aeroplan points and flew Air Canada to Frankfurt

where
we connected with Lufthansa. Air Canada was OK and Frankfurt airport was

a
tolerable place to spend 10 hours. The flight both ways on Lufthansa was
terrible. The seats they provided for people flying on points had some

kind
of electrical box under the seat in front so there was no place to put

your
legs. On the way back they would not seat my wife and I together, even
though the seat beside my wife was empty. (It had leg room so was too

good
for points fliers. I should have known in advance it would be better to

ask
forgiveness than permission.) I will never fly Lufthansa again.

We now have Avion points so we can pick whatever airline we want. We will
probably try to fly KLM or SAA for the Africa leg of the trip.

I believe you can book airlines up to about 10 months in advance.
Unfortunately you can book reservations in South Africa National Parks

about
12 months in advance. We made the mistake of waiting until our airline
reservations were made before booking in the parks. Some of the
reservations we wanted were fully booked by then. Next time, if we want

to
stay in the parks, we will book the parks when we can, then book airlines
around that.

Scott Elliot
http://www3.telus.net/selliot/

"billybob" james@ wrote in message
m...


--
Thank you for all the info. I have shared it with another couple that

are
also planning on going next January/February. What should we expect to

pay
for air fare from Vancouver? Is there a "best" time to book? (price

wise?)
What airline did you use. thanks again for all the helpful advise.

Val




  #8  
Old April 2nd, 2004, 08:51 PM
Peter Schneider
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Maleria in South Africa

"billybob" james@ wrote:

: Hi, I am thinking of a trip to South Africa next January & February. I do
: not know much about malaria and the pills. Would we have to take them every
: day of the 8-10 weeks we are there? Are they expensive?
:
: Also if anyone has some suggestions on a route around . How much is car
: rental's and the safety.
: Thanks , Val
: Canada


We just got back from a one month trip to SA. It is a beautiful country
and people were very friendly. You just have to make up your mind what
you want to see. In the north eastern part of the country there are many
private game reserves and also the huge Kruger National Park. If you go
to Kruger plan at least 3 days. Drive slowly and drive on the dirt
roads. We had a small Volkswagen Golf City 1.4 L and did not encounter
any problems. The organisation of the park is excellent. If the
condition of a dirt roads are not good, then this road will be closed
by the park rangers. We rented the car from Jo'burg Intl. Airport
at Thrifty/Dollar Co. and it cost us 5000.- Rands for 29 days. Gas is
available everywhere and cost about 4.20 Rand.
From Kruger we passed thru Swaziland to St. Lucia to the wetlands.
Stay in St. Lucia Wilds, a really god place.
http://www.stluciawilds.co.za
We went on a boat trip on the lake and drove thru the St. Lucia National
Park. Then we took a guided tour thru the Umfolozi Park with Jeff
Asherwood. He is a fantastic entertaining guide who has a very broad
knowlede about all the plants and animals in the park. The cost was
465.- Rand per person for the full day tour including a fantastic
breakfast and a brai (south african word for a grill party) for lunch.
It was really worth the money and a nice change not having to drive
myself: http://www.watersedge.satel.co.za/

In Addo Elephant National Park north of Port Elizabeth you will be sure
to see a lot of Elephants.

The southern part of the country from Knysna to Capetown reminded us
more to Spain or Italy instead of Africa. Capetown is a beautiful city
and the drive down to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope took us a whole
day.

If you have more questions e-mail me at pns(at)gmx.net
regards
Peter
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Restaurants in and around South Africa zimba Africa 0 March 24th, 2004 02:33 PM
South Africa tours: Kruger Park, Pilanesburg Game Park, Sun City / Lost City, Soweto Tour, Cape Town Tour, South Africa Tour getabout tours Africa 0 January 15th, 2004 08:28 AM
SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA - OBSERVATORY AND PALEO SURFACE [email protected] Africa 0 November 14th, 2003 10:25 AM
SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA - OBSERVATORY AND PALEO SURFACE [email protected] Africa 0 October 13th, 2003 10:16 AM
South Africa Safariman Africa 5 October 5th, 2003 07:38 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:12 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 TravelBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.