How much is real and how much is perceived?

New Namibian president, New gun laws in RSA and Ranch reappropriations in Zimbabwe.

How worried should the traveler be?

Shivering in his boots.

Be informed, don't be worried. If you stay home until all of Africa is problem free, you will never go.

New RSA gun laws? Where's the problem there? Fill out your form and stand in line or hire a Optima Handling to speed things up.

New president in Namibia? Old Sam is still running the show, he just doesn't have the title of President any longer.

Zimbabwe. Stay the hell away from ZIM. Don't go there. That way I can have the Zambezi Valley for myself. Can you imagine the kind of deal I could get if I was the only hunter in ZIM this season?

Go to RSA and hunt on a nice secure fenced ranch. Just don't get mugged or car-jacked in Johannesburg.

When was the last time any hunter had any real problem? When? I think the problem is more perception than reality.

Regards,

Terry

Just avoid the big cities, much the same as I do anywhere in the world. Don't go into the cities unescorted. Don't flash money, cameras, or jewelry. Don't attract attention to yourself. That's just asking for trouble-anywhere.

Many will disagree with me on this. But when I travel to Africa, I don't wear safari clothes (a lot of the other hunters do). I wear khakis and a nice shirt. I try not to stand out.

I carry most of my stuff in a neck wallet, with a little cash and a few fake credit cards (you know those ones that show up in the mail wanting you to apply for a credit card) in my pocket so that the muggers have something to steal. Hopefully they will be happy when I give them my wallet from my pocket and they won't search me for anything else.

Regards,

Terry

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Originally posted by T.Carr:
...with a little cash and a few fake credit cards (you know those ones that show up in the mail wanting you to apply for a credit card) in my pocket so that the muggers have something to steal. Hopefully they will be happy when I give them my wallet from my pocket and they won't search me for anything else.

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That's some good thinking! I never thought of the fake credit cards.

Cheers,
Canuck

quote:

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Originally posted by T.Carr:
Many will disagree with me on this. But when I travel to Africa, I don't wear safari clothes (a lot of the other hunters do). I wear khakis and a nice shirt. I try not to stand out.

I carry most of my stuff in a neck wallet, with a little cash and a few fake credit cards (you know those ones that show up in the mail wanting you to apply for a credit card) in my pocket so that the muggers have something to steal. Hopefully they will be happy when I give them my wallet from my pocket and they won't search me for anything else.

Regards,

Terry

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Terry,
I've been doing the same things as you. One additional thing I do is in my pocket, I carry a cheap money clip with a twenty dollar bill wrapped around 10 one dollar bills. When folded up in the money clip, it looks like quite a wad of cash.

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How worried should the traveler be?

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You'd rather spend a week in Washington DC? New York? Detroit?

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Originally posted by vapodog:

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How worried should the traveler be?

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You'd rather spend a week in Washington DC? New York? Detroit?

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quote:

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Originally posted by T.Carr:
a little cash and a few fake credit cards (you know those ones that show up in the mail wanting you to apply for a credit card) in my pocket so that the muggers have something to steal. Hopefully they will be happy when I give them my wallet from my pocket and they won't search me for anything else.

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What a good idea.

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When travelling through Eastern and Southern Africa in 1988, I used to carry my camera in a camera shoulder bag. Eventually I worked out it was constantly attracting a lot of eyes and attention. When I switched to a green dirty used day pack with camera etc wrapped in a cotton T-shirt or jumper, worn on one shoulder under my arm (so it can't be robbed as easy as on the back), I found I blended right in and no one paid heed hardly at all anymore.

Except by now everyone around the world knows this trick

Never post secrets on the Enet!

I'd say most of peoples african fears are unfounded. Having travelled thru over 20 african countrys by ourselves, with no one to help us, I've found that most bad situations can be avoided by using ones brain. And in eastern/southern africa there is very little to worry about. Just be careful where you go in citys, especially at night, and in some slums even in the day. And keep your appearance low keyed. Wearing flashy watches and rings while walking around town is just asking for problems. Just as it would be in many larger western citys. Washington DC or NYC for example. I'll admit that we felt a bit intimidated sometimes when entering a big african city, often without a decent street map, and without knowing where we were going, or where we'd even be able to sleep for the night, and park our Land Rover safely. Still, we did so time and time again, since we had no choice. After the initial natural dread of being in an unfamiliar african city went away, we found that many could be quite interesting, and have a special flavour of their own worth experiancing.

Don't worry to much, use you head, stay calm, and enjoy africa! It's not as bad as it is often made out to be in the media.

Erik

Thanks all,

I was wondering how much is just... africa. I am sure many other countries look with fear on travelling to LA, Chicago or NYC. Some apprehension is justified but obstension is not warranted.

Thanks for confirming what I already was coming around to believing.

Media portrayal is a funny deal. 2 years ago in Kyrgyzstan I was visiting (through the interpretor) with the camp cook. She said she would never visit the USA because of all of the machinegun toting gangstas, tornados & she didn't want to eat worms. Her perception of the USA was based totally on MTV, the History Channel & Fear Factor!

Mike