Preparing to go to Africa

We are travelling to Africa with Riviera Travel. We travelled with this tour operator when we went to the Holy Land and were very pleased with their efficiency, organisation and the quality of their tour guides so we were happy to use them again. 👍👏👌

To enter Zambia we have to have a Double Entry Visa from the Zambian Embassy in London. The Visa cost £60 but the only way we could pay for it was with a Postal Order which cost £8.00!! We both thought that Postal Orders didn't exist any more but we were wrong. Our Passports had to be sent off with two photographs so we had to register the postage to and from the Embassy which cost another arm and leg. The Visa Application Form we downloaded from the Zambian website looked as if it was designed about fifty years ago but after some trial and error we both managed to get the Visa into our Passport. Fortunately, we do not need a Visa for Botswana or South Africa. 📝 📬

After our Visas were acquired we then started to deal with vaccinations. We got our GPs to check what we needed for our visit against our records. We needed Diptheria, Tetanus and Polio, Hepatitis A and Yellow Fever. Sue was up to date with all her jabs but I needed a booster for the Diptheria, Tetanus and Polio jab because it had been ten years since I had been given the original one. We were also advised to take Malaria tablets. Malaria tablets are not paid for by the NHS so we ordered them on line for £1.00 each. We used a website called Travelpharm and they were very efficient and very competitively priced because in some pharmacies they can cost between £2.00 and £3.00 a tablet. We have to take one tablet each day starting one day before we enter Zambia and finishing seven days after we leave Botswana. 💊💊

After we had dealt with all our health issues we then started to think about the foreign currencies we would need to take with us on the trip. We decided, on the recommendation of Riviera Travel,  to take US Dollars for Zambia and Botswana and South African Rand for Cape Town. 💵💵  💳💳

This weekend we have both opened our suitcases and have started the process of packing. We are wrestling with the problem of how to use our electrical items in a round, three pin socket but I'm sure we will have it sorted soon. If we can get a Zambian Double Entry Visa then sorting a round, three pin plug will be child's play! 🔌🔌  👜👜