Hello!

One month from now I'm leaving on a trip with my husband and parents to go to South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia. I have never been before and don't know what to expect.

3FC is such a great community, I thought you all might have some experience that you could help me out. I'm nervous about everything.... what to wear, what kind of foods they'll have there (I have to be careful too because I'm diabetic), what over-the-counter medicines/first aid things to bring, will there be a struggle with my size when we get into their vehicles out on safari, how strenuous will it be -- because my back tends to go out of alignment under very strenuous situations like bouncing on rough terrain, etc., but I don't have a problem if it is the typical type of strenuous walking, etc.

I've lost 25 lbs so far and am pleased with that and will continue to lose before the trip, but I'm still not going to be an agile wisp of a girl without a concern in the world!

I want to be prepared to have a good time, so any advice, tips, pointers any of you have will be TREMENDOUSLY appreciated!

Thank you in advance!!

That trip sounds awesome!
Make sure your health insurance covers overseas travel.
Drink lots of bottled water, but occasionally drink some gatorade/sports drink, because your body will need salt/electrolytes that you'll lose through sweat. My friend when to Kenya a few years ago and got sick because all she drank was bottled water--they told her to drink some gatorade as well and it helped.
Be careful eating fresh produce, as it still contains lots of native water. Maybe bring some snack bars/protein bars?
My back goes out a lot too. I always make sure I have a towel with me when traveling, because you can fold it up into a pillow during car rides.
My FIL used to live in Zimbabwe and he loved it. He remembers making beer in car radiators....

Chickybird -- Thanks for the input! Insurance is top-notch, so no worries there. Excellent points about the sports drinks and the fruit! I will definitely keep that in mind. Good idea about the towel. That is packable and not intrusive.

Forgot to say also that we've had the required immunizations already and will be there for two weeks. We will be taking Malarone for malaria prevention and bringing bug spray with DEET.

Thanks again, chicky!

Take lots of pictures! And sunscreen

Haven't been to Africa, but I HAVE been to a 3rd world country (Albania...worked in an orphanage). Remember, when taking a shower...you are in water that can make you sick. Eating anything that hasn't been boiled can make you sick. Dishes may get washed in hot water, but then rinsed in cold water. We made sure not to eat anything that could have had non-bleach water on it, yet 3 out of the 10 of us (me being one) got sick still. I don't know what from, but probably the shower.

The gatorade is a good thing! If you want though, you can get little tablet things at REI or bike stores or things like that. You could put it in boiled water so you don't have to bring gatorade. It is essentially the electrolytes and a little flavour, but in tablet or powder form. Quite portable.

I don't know what the situation you are going to be staying in is like, but I know where we were...you got meat FIRST thing in the morning. That was when they killed the animals and if you got it later in the day it had been sitting on a table in the market all day with no refrigeration and a guy half heartedly trying to keep the flies away.

I've been to Namibia and South Africa and found that everywhere I went had absolutely amazing (and pretty healthy!) food!

I remember having a zebra steak once with maize meal and it was so lovely. However, if you eat at quite touristy places they will have more kinds of foods that you're used to. During the day we'd just make tuna sandwiches.

First-aid wise, we had a small kit each with some plasters, bandage, antiseptic wipes, blister plasters (walking a lot), and stuff like that. If you forget anything don't worry, they will have big shops (I encountered many shops that sold Oreos and I was in heaven) where you can get anything pretty much, so don't worry too much.

I wore some comfy 3/4 length khaki trousers with loose t-shirts to keep cool during the day and of course was never without my hat. Get 2 or 3 pairs of comfy khakis, 3-4 loose tops, a fleece for at night (it can get freezing), a pair of sports sandals as well as trainers or walking boots and a sarong comes in handy if you want to wear it as a dress for a night out. Thermal undies (how sexy) came in very handy at night too.

The strenuousness of trips in vehicles really depends on the size of vehicle. We were on a massive truck and still felt most bumps and stuff so I imagine for people in smaller 4x4s it was pretty hardcore so take a cushion for your back (I stole one from the plane )

Erm, I don't know if that's everything...but I must say, you will absolutely love Africa, it's an amazing place and the people are so amazingly friendly. I want to live there since I've been!

I would like to add actually to obviously be cautious about the water, but I drank the water there (including water from a river) and forgot to treat it and I didn't get sick at all, so don't worry too much.

Oh and I was severely dehydrated after the flight over there and spent my first night puking, so make sure you drink lots on the plane!

Not quite the same, but I just came back from an extended stay in India...

The first aid kit & meds: Bring what you'd use at home. A small kit with bandages & antiseptic wipes should be enough along with small travel versions of your usual painkillers (like Tylenol or whathaveyou). Sunscreen & bugspray with DEET (as you say you're taking) are definitely a must. My doctor gave me a few Cipro pills to take along as well. And told me to take them if I started to get any sort of bathroom-related sickness.

About the food: I can only advise that you taste the food you're eating & experience it, but also remember that you're not only there for the food.

Thank you all so much for all of the pointers! Alot of things that I had forgotten to think about, for sure.

Especially need to remember to bring something warm for the evenings, because I just normally think of the heat we will be experiencing.

Thanks tons! Let me know if you think of anything else!

Dyan

I lived and worked in West Africa for six months, and got back to the States a bit over a month ago. I've never been to the countries where you are traveling, though, although a good friend of mine lived in South Africa for a year. She told me that South African food is great--and there are plenty of Western-style options around, specially in Cape Town and J-burg if you get sick of the local cuisine. The food where I was living was pretty terrible, although I think it's a lot worse than Eastern and Southern African food. It was giant hunks of cassava paste, mounds and mounds of rice and an extremely fatty, spicy sauce. Meat was gross and hard to come by. I actually gained weight living there because I ate so many carbs. I ate street food everyday, which some of the locals warned against but I honestly didn't have a problem. I would caution against drinking any of the water. Even if it doesn't make you sick, it's still 98% likely to be contaminated. Besides, if you are going for vacation, you want to be able to enjoy time--why risk puking your guts out for no reason? Oh, and be prepared for a lot less variety than you are used to in the States.

One note of caution regarding health care: health care is poor in those areas (again, with the exception of major South African cities). Please be careful and bring as many things as you can to treat your diabetes.

Most importantly--have fun and be flexible!!!!!! You sound extremely prepared as it is