Some hopeful Africa traveling tips..

WB
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Monday, February 12, 2018, 09:20 (2237 days ago)

As a total novice I gleaned this from a hunting trip to AK, not Africa (I have not yet been there). Doug asked to borrow a little pocket camera that I own which takes fantastic photos. I have owned it a very long time and it has been used to capture memories from many of our mutual hunting trips. Our phones now have commendable camera functions, fantastic really, but pale in comparison to a true dedicated digital camera.

My Camera is Cannon PowerShot model, I believe an 1100is. The main failing of the model was the battery door latch weakness. If this fails the camera will not power on until the door is closed and held closed. Mine broke about 10 yrs. ago and I managed a fix. Looking on the net I found a perfectly fine working Cannon camera kit Model 400 PowerShot almost like what I have currently. I paid $10 DELIVERED for it. Buyer beware but there are some bargains out there.

With a couple cheap SD cards and a half dozen regular AA batteries (the MAIN reason I bought a Cannon brand - normal batteries) you can take nearly 10,000 photos and even some limited videos. You are not supposed to fly with Lithium batteries as they can catch fire rather violently and kill everyone aboard the plane. But every phone and laptop has them. I never understood that, maybe it's only the ABC123 3V batteries. In AK they were totally unobtainable in the little burg where we stayed, but stocked in Anchorage, 4 hrs. distant. They powered by Bear illuminating electric torch. I was not pleased with it's gradual dimming. Lesson learned. Take batteries or equipment that uses normal easy to get sizes.

Also as a side note I washed the SD cards in my pants pockets! AND DRIED them in an electric dryer at the trading post in AK! No damage at all occurred and the photos were perfectly preserved. A hat tip to technology, but I do not suggest you test that.

Just a few little tid-bits I hope help. Doug will have a sound camera to take, not one using an American copper penny to hold the door closed.

Not certain if these were taken with the little Cannon but they are memorable shots from a hunt. The recording of events can be hugely important, don't take it for granted. You'll be glad later you didn't. These may be the SONY video hand camera I also used. It's better at video than photos but has a grand zoom feature. These shots lack the crispness I normally note with the Cannon.
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Driving in Africa

Jim Taylor
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Monday, February 12, 2018, 10:30 (2237 days ago) @ WB

In Kenya the drivers are only marginally less suicidal than lemmings. As we came over a blind rise at the foot of Mount Kenya, a heavily loaded matatu (taxi) came straight for us on the wrong side of the road, for the simple reason that his side of the road was potholed. Being bigger and tougher than us, we were forced onto the verge, nearly rolling as our wheels hooked a vicious ledge. Ten minutes later, the same thing happened again: This time we were ready for the bastard. As he drew level with us, we hurled rotten tomatoes at the driver. This is not recommended standard operating procedure, but is useful as a stress relief measure for Third World driving.

The last thing you want on an overland trip is to be involved in an accident. At the least, it will involve you in weeks of bureaucracy, and the probability of having to fork out money for a bribe or fine. At worst, it could wreck your vehicle, and severely injure or kill you. In extreme instances, you run the risk of being beaten to death by a mob if somebody has been killed in an accident in which you are involved.

We heard another tale of an overlander who flipped his vehicle in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui. As he hung upside down, dazed, bruised and bewildered, a crowd gathered around and after checking he was still alive, proceeded to strip the vehicle. As he hung here, imprisoned by his seat belts, dazed and wounded, he saw his wheels, windshield, luggage, tools, exhaust pipe, carburetor, distributor, springs, shocks, headlights, indicator and brake lenses, cylinder head, radiator, battery, wallet and cigarettes disappear while a traffic policeman directed traffic past the accident scene. So don't screw up: It could be disastrous.

NIGHT DRIVING:
Don't if you can avoid it. African roads are always hazardous, and the dangers are multiplied exponentially at night. Many vehicles drive without headlights, livestock wanders onto the road unsupervised, and there is a greater chance of drunk pedestrians. Dark people usually in dark clothing. This is also the time when carjackers and bandits are most active.

There is an inverse law of danger on African roads -- the better the road, the more dangerous it is, because good road surfaces encourage terrifying speeds. This is particularly true on the newly resurfaced north-south Tanzam highway. Here buses, called "Video Coaches" because they boast TV sets showing non-stop kung fu movies, tear along at speeds in excess of 140km/h, swaying from side to side and cornering on the wrong side of the road. The drivers also watch the movies.

South Africa has probably the worst record in Africa for road fatalities. It ranks third in the world for the number of deaths per vehicle kilometers traveled. Kenya is not far behind.

Zuma, the new Prez in South Africa has a lot of idiot

Gary Reeder
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Monday, February 12, 2018, 11:21 (2237 days ago) @ Jim Taylor

rules and regulations this year. But a couple that are good ones are the vehicles cannot go over 80 KMH (around 60 MPH I think) and on a trip taking more than 4 hours they must have an alternate driver on board. This makes our trip from Joburg to camp a bit longer but probably safer. We will be riding in a 20 passenger van with a trailer full of guns and gear in tow.
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Joburg is a big city with lots of skyscrapers and such and houses crammed back to back on the outskirts..
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Even on the busiest highways there are fruit sellers standing in the middle of the road. Some of them have everything from cameras to watches and other "necessary" gear..but most are selling fruit.
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We will be stopping for potty breaks and for lunch along the way.
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There are places we won't be stopping at for food..
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And when we get there, this is our welcoming committee..
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excellent

james
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Monday, February 12, 2018, 15:39 (2237 days ago) @ Gary Reeder

an excellent group of photos Gary.... Almost like being in the van and topped with the big black guy at the finish.... no need to say "The End".............

James, go with us next year!

Alcorn
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Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 05:46 (2236 days ago) @ james

- No text -

Al

james
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Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 12:29 (2236 days ago) @ Alcorn

That was really nice of you to ask.... As I told Gary once before "if I had the cash I`ed be there tomorrow"....this fixed income is for the birds but thank God I get what I get.....

James, hang tough my friend!

Alcorn
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Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 16:19 (2236 days ago) @ james

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I always recommend folks going to Africa to take

Gary Reeder
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Monday, February 12, 2018, 10:52 (2237 days ago) @ WB

2 standard cameras and one video. We will have electricity there to juice up the batteries, but will need the voltage adapter for South Africa. I take 2 of the Fujifilm XP cameras with me. They are fairly cheap, around $200 at Sams. All the pics on here are taken with one of them.

Last hunt I forgot my video camera and wished I had it when we were chasing the big Eland going full tilt boogie in the Land Cruiser with Larry Farley leaning over the roll bar in the back trying to get a shot in. He finally ran a 375 H&H up the Eland's ass and put him down. We were doing about 45 when he took the shot. But that would have been a great video. Larry took several long range shots with his 378 GNR and 310 GNR Encore that would have been great on camera too.
But I fugged up and left the video camera home.
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