Mala Mala - Snapshot Chronicles Roadtrip

Doug started doing research on travel agencies that could help us plan an itinerary and arrange the details for us. Susan, an experienced traveler, took on the airlines and also found us a marvelous Fodor’s reference book on African safaris that went into incredible detail on what you should do before you go, what you should bring with you when you do go (note: not too much! And nothing too heavy!) and what to see and do when you get there. Fodor’s also has a great website…no matter where in the world you are going, they have information for you.

And what did I do? Well, once we had decided on our itinerary…Mashatu Game Reserve and Pete’s Pond in Botswana, Victoria Falls in Zambia, and MalaMala Game Reserve in South Africa…I started putting notebooks together for all of us, with information about each destination. Mashatu and MalaMala both have excellent websites, with pictures and information about the wildlife, the accommodations, what you can see and do while there, even videos. I made copies of the basic information at each of their sites , and occasionally added updates to the books as they updated wildlife sightings…fun to get acquainted with the animals you might be seeing during your visit.

I also found a lot of information about Victoria Falls, from the history to maps of the area to the accommodations available, and made copies of the useful information I found there. It’s much easier to find Livingstone these days than back in the day when Stanley was searching for “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Copies of our itinerary, airplane reservations and travel insurance information also went into the notebooks, along with anything else that seemed useful or interesting..

A site to check if you are going to unfamiliar areas is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where you can get health information about the shots you may need, the diseases you could encounter, how to stay healthy. Once you have that information, you can call your local Work/Travel Health Clinic to make an appointment. Your doctor will know. Or your local hospital. Or Google will find one for you. How did we manage before Google? [Note: see earlier post by Susan about visiting the clinic]

Another particularly useful site I found was African Safari Journals which posted lists of safari gear, safari supplies, what luggage and equipment you might need, documents you might need for the countries you are going to, even checklists. Copies of those went right into our notebooks, and were tremendously useful in finding out which specific items we didn’t have and would need.

Next: Clothing

In September, my mom, brother and I will be going to Southern Africa for 10 days. It’s not a place I ever imagined that I would travel to, but I am looking forward to it immensely.

Why are we going?
Long story short, a few years ago, my mom got really involved in watching the live activity on National Geographic’s webcam at Pete’s Pond. Pete’s Pond is a man-made reservoir in the Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana that was created from an old irrigation system as an alternative to the Limpopo River and its poachers.

My brother Doug (not to be confused with my son Douglas) got the idea that we should go to Africa, and after crunching numbers, we decided to go for it. We also agreed that this was a trip for the three of us. My son, at nine years old, is really too young, and if he is to stay home, so must my husband. When we told Mum, she was flabbergasted, but quickly got into the planning.

We started with some very clear requirements:

Mashatu Game Reserve was a must
We couldn’t see going all that way and not seeing Victoria Falls
We expected some layovers in Johannesburg
Cape Town would be nice (but was eventually eliminated from itinerary due to both cost and time.)

My brother took on the job of sourcing travel and safari operators and I handled the airfare search.

First, the safari operators. Doug contact Rhino Africa, Go2Africa and Journeys of Distinction (the travel agency associated with Mashatu and Mala Mala in South Africa.) Everyone was responsive but we decided to go with Journeys of Distinction. Angela, the representative from Journeys, was very helpful in narrowing down the options for the trip and because she was the “house” agency for Mashatu and Mala Mala, was able to offer us a package deal for the two reserves.

We’ll be flying into Johannesburg, with a very small window of sightseeing time there. Our main destinations are Victoria Falls (staying in Zambia), and the two game reserves. The most likely time for Johannesburg sightseeing will be the Sunday we arrive, although we do have another afternoon there between Victoria Falls and the game reserves. We are bound to be tired… but I really don’t want to miss any MUST SEEs because odds of a return are slim. I don’t sleep much anyway.

So readers, please chime in with your thoughts for Johannesburg as well as any recommendations for Victoria Falls. We have two nights there, and one full day.

Airfare

Sometimes you need to be creative. When I searched Boston to Johannesburg, everything seemed to run through Europe, adding hours to the total trip. NY JFK however had direct flights to and from which were NOT available from Boston no matter how I sliced the am departure. I think it’s because the international flight requires a two-hour layover, and nothing from Boston on a Saturday morning qualified. Whatever.

So we’re flying down to JFK the day before our Johannesburg flight and staying in an airport hotel. On the return, we’re supposed to land in the morning, so I’ve booked an early afternoon flight from JFK to Boston. They are separate tickets, so we could always get screwed by time gods on the return, but we’ll deal with that if it happens.

Moral of the story: always look at alternate airports, other options for making the connection.

SAFARI

We’ll get into more detail about the nitty gritty of preparing for safari as the time draws nearer, but here are two books to whet your appetite:

Fodor’s The Complete African Safari Planner, 1st Edition: With Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa & Tanzania (Full-Color Gold Guides)
Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison. Terrific book, even if you aren’t planning an Africa trip.