Tips/Medication
🦟 Calling All African Safari Travelers! 🦁🌍
I'm getting so excited for my upcoming safari to South Africa this fall! As I prepare, I have a question for those of you who have already experienced an African safari.
I'd love to hear about your experience with malaria medication.
Did you take malaria medication? If so, which one?
Did you have any side effects?
Did you feel it was worth taking?
I'm also curious about the mosquitoes.
Were mosquitoes a big problem where you traveled?
What time of day did you notice them most?
Did you get many bites?
What insect repellent worked best?
Did you treat your clothing with permethrin, or buy pre-treated clothing? Was it worth it?
Finally, if you've been on safari, I'd love to know:
✨ What is the ONE thing you packed that you're so glad you brought?
✨ And what's something you packed that you never used?
I appreciate any tips, tricks, or advice you're willing to share. Hearing from people who've actually been there is invaluable!
Thank you in advance—I can't wait for this adventure! 🦁🐘🦒🦓
Comments
We took Malarone. We started it a few days in advance of the long flights to gauge tolerance and were ready to stop and go without it if we experienced side effects (we did not). The doctor initially considered prescribing doxycycline, but we didn’t like the long timeline for use, nor the associated sun sensitivity. Again, if Malarone had caused side effects that hindered the trip experience then we just would have stopped it and (obviously) been vigilant about malaria symptoms.
Bugs… Luckily, they were barely an issue on our trip. We took individually packaged deet infused wipes and kept one in the small bag we always had with us to use as needed. I think we used 2 of them. The days were hot so we wore shorts most of the time, but if we had chosen to always wear pants and long sleeves then we probably wouldn’t have used repellent at all (but we still would have always had one of the wipes handy).
In terms of non-standard things to bring… Tauck will give you their branded full-size buff, but we preferred the colorful, half-neck, “cool” fabric BUFF brand ones that we brought. We wore them almost everyday. They were stretchier (could also be worn as a headband) and more comfortable to us and were deceptively helpful against the afternoon heat when doused with water. Although half as wide as the Tauck ones, they still easily cover one’s nose and mouth if dust is an issue.
In addition to the usual array of OTC drugs like Imodium, we always carry an as-needed antibiotic (e.g. Azithromycin) when we travel to places like Africa and India. We also take some electrolyte packets to mix with water. Because one of us acquired a GI issue, we used both items on our safari trip (and were glad to have had them).
We were extremely pleased with the quality of our photos just using 17pro iPhones. During the game drives we kept our phones on lanyards to enable fast grabs and to keep them safer from all the constant vehicle jostles. Although we also brought binoculars, we used a very lightweight Zeiss monocular (also on a lanyard) much more often.
The charging ports on the safari vehicles for our safari were often inoperable. We took a lightweight power bank on the game drives and while we didn’t have to use it ourselves (newer phones), we loaned it to others with dying phones twice.
As far as Malaria meds are concerned, you must talk to your doctor as there are different ones. Doses and timing of doses are different. We have taken the meds many times on nine safari trips plus other areas where malaria is prevalent. We have only had a bad reaction on one trip, severe diarrhea which was definitely the meds.
It isn’t just malaria that you can catch from mosquitoes, for example, dengue fever and yellow fever. On three trips to Victoria Falls we have always encountered them there. The mosquitoes that carry the latter two are active in the day, the malaria ones at dusk, night and dawn, they are tiny and single so people often don’t notice they are around, They tend to for example, lurk on your tent wall and pounce when you are asleep.
You can use Deet which is very effective, but it can stain clothing and damage plastics, like a strap watch or plastic eye glasses. You put this on exposed skin only. Some people use Picaridin which does not damage anything. The Premethrin spray for clothing is probably a cheaper option for clothing. The clothing with it impregnated in is expensive and if you are unlikely to wear it outside of safaris it might not be the best way to go.
Once you have malaria,, it can be treated but the parasite never really leaves your body, it hides and can resurface years later under stress and so on.
It is entirely up to you whether you want to risk contracting malaria, which often can appear up to a year after exposure. If you don’t want to take meds, then ensure you keep your body covered up and use the deet etc.
It’s worth noting that you might check you are up to date with vaccinations that are recommended whether you travel out of the country or not, as many people are not. Just last night, I was contacted by an acquaintance who was about to go to Japan, she is 80, her TA had suggested getting the COVID vaccine. She did not know that it is recommended every six months for people over 65
My husband and I just got back two weeks ago from a 36-day back-to-back Southern and East Africa safari. I'm still hearing the lion's roar, the hyena's call, and the hippo's deep rumbling — and still waking up early, ready for a game drive....
Our first leg was Tauck's Botswana, South Africa & Zambia tour. We extended with a post-stay at One&Only Cape Town before continuing on to the "Ultimate" Great Migration safari in East Africa with a different company. This trip covered more than a month across a wide range of Africa — quite a different world at each stop. It was absolutely one of our "ultimate" wonderful experiences, but the preparation was stressful and all-consuming. It takes real thought to juggle two different luggage restrictions: 44 lb duffel + 11 lb personal item on Tauck (the easier one), versus a mere 33 lb TOTAL of duffel + personal item for our second-leg East Africa safari.
To answer your question about malaria prevention: my husband and I took Atovaquone continuously for 45 days, starting two days early just to make sure our GI tolerated it fine. No side effects in our case. We also brought DEET repellent wipes (only used once, during the Eagle Island mokoro ride at sundown), wore long sleeves at all times, sometimes wore permethrin-treated clothing, and always wore permethrin-treated socks — both commercially pre-treated.
In my experience, every safari camp and lodge we stayed at had the mosquito issue well handled. Mosquito nets over every bed, repellent ready in the rooms (no need to over-pack). It felt like enough, and I know lodges and camps often spray to control numbers too.
✨ What's the ONE thing you packed that you're so glad you brought? My "flamingo party" shawl.
✨ What's something you packed that you never used? Over-packed repellent spray and OTC meds.
For our everyday in Africa, the itinerary was exceptionally well-constructed. Trust me — all the yellow fever, mosquito, and tsetse concerns take a back seat to the animal encounter drama and thrill.
First and foremost, the medication question is something you must discuss with your doctors. Some of these drugs are contraindicated if you are on or starting taking antibiotics on tour, and/or contraindicated with other meds. And some have psychological impacts such as hallucinations. What is good for me may not be for you. On multiple trips we have taken mefloquine. The advantage to us is that it is taken only once a week, starting about two weeks before departure and continuing for 4 weeks after. We have a chance to make sure we tolerate it well. And I try to coordinate the schedule with whether we will have a travel day or not in the event there are side effects. We had none, GI or otherwise.
We use DEET products for bug prevention and also used Sawyers to pretreat safari clothes.