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| Camps Bay beach |
First lets deal with visas. Some nationals may require visas and others not. You will need to refer to either your local embassy. Another handy site is this SA Tourism.
You could also utilise an agent who deals with foreign visas and they do all the leg work for you. For a fee of course, but hey, they know the business.
Next vaccinations. Depending on how you enter South Africa, you may require a yellow fever vaccination. Do an Internet search for a list of possible entry countries. If you have travelled through them, then you need the jab.
The list includes most of Africa and a few South American countries.
Malaria does occur in South Africa but not in Cape Town. It's possible to find maps showing high, medium and low risk areas as well as maleria free areas.
As a rule of thumb, the tropical bush camp areas on the east coast are where you need to be cautious. The recent high profile case of Cheryl Cole is proof that malaria does happen to visitors. That said, I will not take some of the new generation anti malarials.
I have seen too many people get very, very ill on them. The older generation anti-malarials are no longer effective against the new strains of malaria so you can't rely on them. I prefer to practise extreme vigilance and take my chances. I do not recommend my approach. However I refuse to be struck down by medication and ruin a holiday.
Here's how I do it.
Always cover your arms, neck and legs with light cotton clothing. Rub insect repellent gels and lotions all over exposed body parts regularly. I like Citronella oil. You won't smell good to your travel mates but the mosquitos will be put off you as well.
Sleep under a net. Eat loads of garlic and drink gin and tonic. Apparently tonic water has quinine which is supposed to be an anti malarial. I also take a few drops of the herbal extract of Artemesia three times a day in water.
Lastly I take homeopathic China. You can use search terms such as Cinchona bark or China malaria to find out more.
You should have plenty ideas to keep safe from malaria.
Go to - My Holidays and Trips - at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on - this link.
Labels: blog, blogsherpa, Cape Town, Green Point, information, Lonely Planet, malaria, natural remedies, news, South Africa, travel, vaccinations, visas
