I was greatly disappointed to learn during some of
my recent adventurous travels, that I get severe reactions to all the various
anti-malarial drugs. For this reason, I
felt that I would never be able to go on an African safari. Of course I
consulted my physician, but I also did a significant amount of research. In the
end, I took a magnificent trip to South Africa with Grand Circle Travels (www.gct.com)
on their Highlights of South Africa
trip. I traveled from May 12 to June 11 2016. I ended up taking a wonderful cultural tour
that hit all the high notes of South Africa, and also had 12 safari days out of
30, and not one mosquito bite!
The
Planning and Research
In order to ensure a malaria free trip, I did significant
research ahead of time. In addition to the CDC web site (www.cdc.org),
I also used a British version called Fir for Travel (http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home.aspx)_ which sometimes yields different results. One
of the biggest differences I have noticed,
is that while the CDC recommends drugs even for low risk countries, Fit for Travel suggests instead that for “low
to no risk” countries, bite
prevention measures only are needed. For
me, this made all the difference in the world. It is important to understand
the low risk factor, because a malarial mosquito needs to bite an infected host
to transmit the disease. If there are not many recent casas of malaria in the
country or area where you will be traveling, and you are traveling during a low
transmission season as I was planning to do, the risk factor goes down even
further. Additionally, the CDC web site for many of the countries I researched
has small print that says specifically, “This risk estimate is based largely on cases occurring in US military
personnel who travel for extended periods of time with unique itineraries that
likely do not reflect the risk for the average US traveler.”
The only area I had to work around was Kruger Park, South
Africa’s largest park that is home to the Big Five, which is in fact malarial.
But not during their winter, from May thru September according to the Kruger
Park web site. Then, once again, only bite prevention measures are necessary.
So this provided guidance for when to go and what to do in terms of bite
prevention, which I took seriously.
Another factor me, was that malarial mosquitoes bite
only from dusk to dawn. Mosquitoes that carry other diseases such has Dengue
and Zika, bite dung the daytime. So for this reason, I just didn’t want to get
bitten period. I also selected the Grand Circle trip, because their
accommodations were all in hotels, where I faced a very good chance that I
would not encounter a problem with mosquitoes in my room at night. I even did a
Google search on each hotel and location to ensure that the itinerary went to low
risk areas, especially during that time of year. The hotel web sites frequently provided this
information. I also paid close attention to the photos to see if they provided
bed netting.
From past trips, I already knew that deet,
eucalyptus spray on my skin, and permethrin spray on my clothes kept the
mosquitoes away from me. So the last part of my planning was to stock up on
these items and spray my clothes well before the trip. I did in fact, also travel with a bottle of
the anti-malarial drug Malarone left over from a past trip, as a post-bite
measure of necessary.
While the decision whether or not to take
anti-malarial drugs is a very personal one based on many factors, I was
additionally encouraged to read the CDC recommend that the risk of adverse side effects needs to be
weighed against the duration of the trip,
the style of travel, and the time of year. This may seem redundant, but
it was consistent with my findings, so added additional verification that for
me anyway, I was on the right track and stood very little if any risk. Specifically
they state, “You may need to take
prescription medicine before, during, and after your trip to prevent malaria,
depending on your travel plans, such as where you are going, when you are
traveling, and if you are spending a lot of time outdoors or sleeping outside.”
Arrival
and pre-Trip
I arrived in Johannesburg and spent two days there,
having been met by a Facebook friend at the airport. He is a professional
hunter, but he showed me around. I stayed at the Marriott Protea Hotel
Balalaika in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, right next to Nelson Mandela
Square. I paid my friend $250 for two days of touring, mostly in Pretoria and
sights in that area. On the third day, Outlook Safaris picked me up for the six
hour drive to Kruger Park.
The experience with Outlook Safaris was superb. With
the devaluation of the Rand coupled with
the strength of the dollar, my $800 included a
night safari drive by park rangers when we arrived; five nights in a
round, typically Zulu style hut with
full kitchen, bathroom, and daily service; two safaris a day; a huge breakfast and dinner daily;
a trip to the famed Panoramic route
instead of one safari; a hike into Kruger park with rangers one morning
instead of another safari (complete with
the sounds of baboons and lions, and a very close encounter with a mother rhino
and her baby); a pet warthog outside my hut each day; and roundtrip transfers to and from
Johannesburg. All of this with no single supplement! My contact there, Elsabe,
was quick to respond to all my email inquiries, and the online credit card
booking was easy and efficient with quick confirmations. Elsabe assured me that the huts in their
Skukuza Camp (by the Kruger Gate) were sprayed, with windows that had screens
to keep out mosquitoes. In fact, I
didn’t notice any mosquitoes while in Kruger. I did however, see the Big Five ,
spotting the elusive leopard on the last morning, in addition to mating lions,
a lion with a fresh male Kudu kill, and even two of the 150 or so cheetah that reside in Kruger.
Base
Tour
The base tour with Grand circle was everything I
could have hoped for. After two nights in Johannesburg and a city tour as well
as a visit to the townships, the next day we drove back up to Kruger, taking
the scenic Panoramic route along the way. I was a bit concerned about
duplicating what I had already seen with Outlook Safaris, but my fears were ill
founded. This time, we saw completely different lookout points, and even more
of the beautiful Drakensberg Mountains with a 45mntue hike. Our two nights at
Kruger had been changed to a tented camp lodge in the Nkambeni Safari Camp. I
was lucky enough to see the Big Five two more times, and yes, mosquito free.
The tented camps did however, provide citronella soap and lotion, which I used
throughout my trip for additional mosquito protection, and had mosquito nets.
We had the additional advantage of visiting a small rural village and meeting
the children, an experience that is part of every Grand Circle trip. This time
it was at once personal since our tented camp was on the same land as the
village.
This trip is one of the few that includes two nights
in Mbabane, Swaziland as well as trip to the Zululand part of South Africa. We
were treated to two nights in Bushman’s Lodge in Zululand, with safari
opportunities at Hluhluwe in the Kwazulu-Natal province. Once again, we were at
very low risk and really no risk for malaria during their winter months, all
according to their web site. That part
of South Africa has malaria due to its proximity
to Mozambique. However, I kept applying my mosquito repellent at night and
early morning.
The base trip ultimately ends up in Cape Town and
spends time in the magnificent Garden Route, which is all malaria free. Once we
reached that part of the trip, from Port Elizabeth all the way to Cape Town, I
was home free in terms of needing mosquito protection.
Post
Tour to Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe and its more year round moderate risk for
malaria was a greater challenge for me after leaving Cape Town. However, we
stayed at Elephant Hills Resort, which is very well protected, and they take
great pains to spray for mosquitoes. The hotel staff sprays upon request, and
this was the only other hotel that provided bed netting during the trip. Zimbabwe was in fact, the only place where I
did see a day time mosquito, but none at night. Not even during the Zambizi
River sunset cruise. After seeing Victoria Falls on the first day and taking
the Zambizi River cruse that night, the
following day I took the one day excursion to Botswana, which only whetted my
appetite for a more adventurous future safari after what I saw and experienced
at Chobe National Park. Malaria eradication efforts have been successful there;
the CDC now rates Botswana as “very low risk “for malaria. So a future trip to
Botswana during their winter is now in the planning stages – malaria free!
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