Electrical Plugs
 

I have acquired electrical plugs for use in SA and at camp. However I was reading an article somewhere that indicated that a variety of outlets existed and that it might be wise to have a number of different plugs available. So my question is, is there a standard plug, and do camps (I'm going to be at Tinga) either have that standard, or the ability to 'lend' what is needed?

The ones I have I got through Walkabout Travel Gear's web site. They are triangular in shape with three round prongs. The large prong is plastic (5/16 diameter) as I did not need then to be grounded (all my plugs are just two bladed). The other two prongs, copper, are 1/4" diameter.

Will these be sufficient?

I would never count on being lent any adapter. In fact I always take 2 in case one breaks or I lose it or who knows what.

Here is a 5 photo album of my South Africa adpater. It was the only one I needed. No info on Tinga in particular.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/..._-Sharee-_-Top

Atravelynn,

That was great. Your pictures matched what I have other than the casing, but the prongs are exact. Like you I also have two of them.

Thanks for the reply.

In addition to the 3 round-pronged adapter some places in SA still use the 3 straight-pronged adapter (see South Africa on this page: http://electricaloutlet.org ). I would bring one of those, just in case. As atravelynn says, don't count on being able to borrow the 'right' adapter---much better knowing ahead of time that you have what you need.

Together with the 3 round-pronged adapter I always take an adapter kit along like the one shown here http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...809&CatId=1107
The kit includes the 3 straight-pronged adapter.

Finally I always have a 3 prong to 2 prong converter with me for when my electronics have a power cord with a 3 prong plug. See: http://www.amazon.com/Prong-prong-gr...3521105&sr=8-9

With all the above, which are not costly, not heavy and not space consuming, I'm set for almost all eventualitie.

Help!
i was told they don't have adaptors at JNB... i'm connecting to Namibia and later Bots. where can i get adaptors?

aby

Online catalogs have them: www.magellans.com for instance. My local AAA office also carries them.

Shaytay
it's too late for ordering (i usually use ebay )
what can i do got the message i'm going to Namibia while in Alaska (poor me :)... only a few days apart

Lucky you, Aby! Are there any travel or luggage stores near you? What airports in the US are you flying through? Perhaps you'd have some luck there. If you're in Windhoek, you might find them there, but the issue would be whether it would be US to local, not European to local.

Aby,

If you are in Alaska in August, you cannot claim poor you!

I got my adapter in Cape Town at a drug store. Maybe you can check the airport in advance and look over the selection of adapters. Luggage stores have them, as mentioned.

Can you contact the place you are going in Africa and ask them about acquiring the adapter for you in advance? If if you pay a premium, it's worth it.

The other thing I do is carry 3-4 batteries that I keep charged so if one of my stops has a weird/non-functioning outlet or no electricity or my plugs blow all the fuses, or who knows what, I can just get by until the next place where my adapters work.

Best Buy carries an adapter 5-pack for int'l travel. Check if they have one in stock near you. All the big box stores carry them - find out if any are in stock. If you shop online and add it to your cart, it should tell you if it's available for pickup. I just did it at bestbuy.com and it's in stock at one of three of my local stores. It's about $17.

CB, I think most of the 5-packs sold by various companies don't include the 3 round-pronged Type M adapter (needed for SA, Botswana and Namibia). The first time I went to SA I'd purchased the 5-pack kit, only to realize a few days before leaving that I still needed the M for SA. I think, if I remember correctly---a big if, that I ran over to Radio Shack and got one. Best, Steve

Ours included the two types they use in SA. Very nice having both.

I had sdb2's problem with the 5-pack and that's why I had to buy an adapter in Cape Town.

Most large supermarkets in SA/Nam/Bots sell SA to EU plug converters for about $2-3. So if you already have an EU converter, save yourself $15 by getting one of these locally and use them plugged into each other.

There is a camera/electronics store in the JNB airport that sells adaptors -- 1 door down from the CNA store.