Your safety in Africa

On Safari

• Don't be a target. Don't travel alone; stay in company as much as possible. Tell others your destination, route and ETA. Avoid known danger areas, especially at night. Don't set up predictable patterns of behaviour if you are in one place for any length of time. Always keep your luggage padlocked and never let it out of your sight in unsecured places. Carry handbags and holdalls under your arm and never hang them on chair backs.
• Take the right cab. Use a reputable taxi, especially after dark. Never take a taxi if the driver is not alone. If in doubt select the second or third cab in the rank. Agree your destination and price including luggage before getting in. Place your hand luggage on the floor (out of sight) with straps around your feet. Make sure all doors are locked and your windows closed sufficiently to prevent someone putting a hand in. Pay the fare before alighting. If staying in one place for any length of time, befriend and repeatedly use one driver. In crowded minibuses hold your luggage on your lap and keep your elbows over your side pockets.
• Hire with care. Before boarding a boat ensure that it and the boatman are registered or employed by a licensed company. Check that it carries life jackets and back-up for engine failure. A working radio is essential on large lakes and the ocean. When hiring off-road vehicles insist on training in using the four-wheel drive, diff lock, winch and other fitted equipment before departure.
• Don't get car-jacked. Avoid driving through rural areas, homelands, back streets and down town in high-risk cities after dark. Drive with doors locked, windows up and handbag under the seat. Stop at least a car length behind other vehicles at traffic lights and be prepared to jump lanes and lights if threatened. If deliberately followed by another vehicle drive to a police station. In the case of a hold-up offer NO resistance - car-jackers are often armed and prepared for violence.
• Think before you go walkabout. Plan your route beforehand and take a torch and companions at night. Consider a personal alarm or self-protection device if nervous but don't carry firearms or offensive weapons. Take as little of value as possible and use innocuous carry-bags for cameras, etc. Don't amble or look lost, move purposefully and confidently. Avoid known high-risk areas and deserted streets, and walk in the middle of "suspicious" and ill-lit streets, avoiding shadows. Use lights of passing cars to search areas ahead.
• Deal with advances. Because of their dress and behaviour, some western women (and men!) are considered to be of easy virtue. To avoid being molested, dress modestly, wear a wedding ring and carry family pictures (real or borrowed), avoid eye contact with strange men, ignore rude or soliciting remarks and make it clear that you are there on company business. In Muslim areas, travel with at least one companion. Cover your arms and legs, and have a male escort if possible. When riding in minibuses, taxis, buses and trains, sit next to other women or elderly men. You'll probably still get some flirting and the occasional direct proposal, but a polite yet firm refusal will normally suffice.
• Don't get hassled. Hustling is the name of the game, particularly in Morocco and North African countries where many live off commissions for guiding tourists around sites and into shops, or on profits from direct sales. The golden rule is be polite but firm, very firm.
• Remember, everything is negotiable. Always establish exact destinations and prices before hiring a guide and if shopping is not included make this absolutely clear. Don't fall for "come-ons" such as "don't you remember me from the hotel?" or sales pitches like "special for today (or for you) only", or any of the thousand and one other persuasive tricks. If you don't want what is offered, be polite. Ignore abuse (racial or otherwise) and if they persist a polite mention of the police can often have a loosening effect.
• Don't get tricked. Confidence tricks abound in every country - and are played with consummate skill and highly plausible stories. Be particularly wary of street children (especially in gangs), anyone begging, soliciting sponsorship or spinning a hard luck story - assume it's a con. Steer very clear of black-market currency or gemstone traders; if they're not "pulling a scam" they're probably in cahoots with the police and you'll be tapped for a hefty bribe. And look out for all the normal pickpocket tricks - being bumped into, distracted, crowded or handled in any way.
• Don't get snapped up. Certain countries and officials are markedly suspicious of foreigners, particularly from nations with whom their country has strained relations. As a rule don't take photos of any structure, person, occasion or situation that may be of strategic, military or political importance, at least not without asking beforehand. Spying, a stock accusation beloved by perverted authorities, covers a multitude of "sins" and is conveniently vague. African detention facilities are usually primitive, unhygienic, overcrowded and thoroughly unpleasant.

Put it in Perspective

  Related Links
• 24 hours in a safari lodge
• Where shall we go now?: Adventures in Thailand and Laos
• Taking the kids on safari
• Adventure days out in the UK
• Travel Home
  Most viewed
• Prickly heat
• London's best day spas
• Child friendly hotels
• 6 romantic hotels
• Where in the world are you?

In Africa, tourists are always going to be targets due to their relative and conspicuous wealth. By contrast many Africans live below the poverty line, are unemployed and are simply trying to scrape together a living. Most of those you meet are not going to be a major problem. In fact you'll probably find them as honest, friendly and helpful, if not more so, than people elsewhere. However, prepare for the worst and enjoy the best.

For further information about travel in Africa, visit Travel Africa Magazine

Published in Travel Africa Edition Ten: Winter 1999/2000. Text is subject to Worldwide Copyright (c)