After the long COVID layoff, we’re finally going this November. He’d been and was going to share with me things he’d found useful to take and what he’d wished he had taken.
Buddy, you still out there?? Sorry, can’t remember his handle.
Sorry, can’t help you there, but can help with any info you’d like on South Africa - there are several other South African dopers here.
I will say - depending on your itinerary, there’s not really anything you’ll need to take that you can’t get here - probably cheaper, too.
Thanks!! I doubt we’ll have an opportunity to shop, we leave OR Tambo & head straight out to safari camp.
I’m not South African, but I spend a lot of time in Kruger and Kgalagadi NP. I’m going there again next week. I’ll also be happy to try to help on anything relating to those two parks.
Bring a camera!
It is spring here, the weather is getting warmer, so light jackets are probably all you need. It is still a little chilly in the evening, probably less so in the north.
It is getting close to mosquito season, bring long sleeved garments (and take your anti-malarial prophylactics).
Much South African activity happens outdoors, including dinner - BBQ - known as “braai” here is ubiquitous, so you be exposed to insects.
Wear sunscreen. Bring comfortable walking shoes. The best safari experinces I have had are walking, rather than sitting in a 4x4 (though there was that one occasion where a lioness jumped onto the roof of the Landdrover and refused to move)
Depending on where you are going and what level of quality, remember there is something of a truism, something of a joke: African time. “Now”, “now now” and “just now” are all quite indeterminant descriptions that fit (very roughly) “soon”, “in a while” and “who knows?”. The pace of life is pleasantly slow.
I’m not sure where you would be going from ORT (typically tourists would go to Kruger National Park via Kruger Mpumalanga) but in any case let me give you advice that somewhat surpised me when I realised. In the south Kruger when I was last there I saw so many rhinos that i got a little bored*, they generally stand around and try to see you with extremely poor vision and do nothing. I am not really that much of a bird-watcher, but the quantity of birds - and the usual knowledge of the rangers makes even some small brown bird interesting, and that goes all the way up the diverse ecosystem. I found it extremely interesting and better than just chasing the “big five”.
Also if you get to see a leopard, I will be jealous. I have not seen one in the wild yet.
* 17 rhinos on the 10km / 6 mile drive as we exited the park, we did not even stop to look at them.
Thanks!!
Apparently US medicine doesn’t do any anti-malarial, we’ve been told bands and spray. I’d love to go walkabout, but I think we’re confined to a Rover. Which in case of a lioness, would be OK. I will look for a leopard.
Say you walk into an office and somebody is on the phone, my prior understanding was:
“I’ll be with you now” = I acknowledge your presence, and I’ll attend to you when I finish my phone call.
“I’ll be with you now now” = I acknowledge your presence, and I’ll attend to you when I finish my phone call, which will be brief.
In other words, I thought “now now” was at least a promise that something would happen sooner than the more indeterminate “now”. But it sounds from your description that I had these the wrong way around?
It is very fluid.
I’ll get back to you on this just now.
I would always have access to an antimalarial if I needed one–malarone; some people use doxycycline but this requires good sunblock. I always got it from my primary care, but my students got theirs from a travel clinic.
And you’re in the US??
Doxycycline (pdf link) is currently the SA Health Department recommended prophylactic
The guidelines [link in your post was broken for me] do say:
Atovaquone-proguanil has the best safety profile and because of compliance requirements is a better option for short-term travellers.
Malarone is a brand name for atovaquone-proguanil.
Unqualified “now” is fairly vague and can mean different things for different people. I think the only consistent statement that can be made about the South African “nows” is that “right now” is sooner than “now now” is sooner than “just now”.
Speaking only of my personal idiolect: in, for example, the case where a colleague asked me to do a task. If I said I would do it “right now”, that means I’ll do it within a few minutes - maybe I’ll finish the email I’m currently writing and then do it. If I say “now now” that means I’ll do it within the next hour or so - certainly I might make a cup of tea or handle a couple of other small tasks first. If I say “just now” that means I’ll do it after lunch - maybe. 
If I just said “now” it could mean any of the above.
This is fascinating. I had no idea that “now” could be so vague. I like it.
Wait until you you get into the common Afrikaans/English mongrel phrase “Ja, nee, but ja”; meaning “Yes, no but yes” which has even more vague meaning.
Even the pure Afrikaans “Ja, nee” is pretty vague.
Anyway, this foray into language is off topic, so I apologise to the OP.
In other, actually useful advice:
Tipping is not expected, aside from restaurants (usually 10% but those of us who worked in the industry loved Americans with their 20%). The guy who does your game drive will not expect a tip but will appreciate it.
Crime is fairly high but largely limited to certain areas, which a tourist is unlikely to visit. Watch out for pickpockets - though I have not had that happen in the 20+ years I have lived here.
Inside the major game reserves you will not even need to lock the door. But do close it; hyenas are scavengers and you don’t want to find one on your kitchen. Also baboons…
I cannot say anything nice about Johannesburg, except the Magaliesburg & “Cradle of Humankind” is worth a visit - I may be biased because I live in the Cape.
We drive on the left, but otherwise follow pretty much the same rules as the USA, just in reverse. Most of us use a stick-shift gear lever, so if you hire a car specify automatic if that is what you are used to.
I’ve been on several safaris. There are a couple of general rules:
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Stay very still when the vehicle is near lions and other large predators. They are habituated to the vehicles, but track movement like any cat. Startling them by jumping up to take a photo is a really bad idea.
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Never ever get out of the vehicle unless the driver/guide says it’s safe to do so.
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Never wander off by yourself from the camp.
Oh, and there are frequent power outages, so bring a battery powered charger for your phone and camera.
I’m pretty sure that’s what we got (here in the US as US citizens) when we went to India several years ago. I remember it being a checklist item for our travel. What’s the “US doesn’t do anti-malarial” mean? Was this a thing? Or is this a new thing? Or is it just not a thing at all?
I’d lock the door. Baboons can open doors, but suck at picking locks. I speak from personal experience with the Glencairn troop…