christabir

Sorry the thread got hijacked. But fun.

Thanks for that link, but in the fine print international travel insurance can't be renewed after age 72 or 75, depending on the policy. I will always have access to Medicare but I don't want to be forced to come home if I don't want to. Medicare can't be used outside the U.S. except in very, very limited circumstances. If we have a base (or two) and then we can always get travel insurance for short term trips - and as we age we will do less traveling. We can always move back to the states if we need or want to. There is a lobbying group, American Citizens Abroad, who are working on some of the problems. Lots of good info, including membership in a credit union that deals with all the problems we have living abroad. Tax accountants, meetup groups, etc. I hope they can get Medicare to cover seniors living outside the U.S. It's a lot cheaper.

Just as an aside, I just got my meds for the next three months today. I was billed just under $2000. Nope, not a typo. That's with insurance (crappy insurance, obviously). I priced the same meds the last time we were in S Africa and it would have been less than $200 for exactly the same meds. Outrageous. It's cheaper for both of us to fly to JNB, spend a few days in Kruger, buy a year's worth of meds and come home!!!!

For Botswana we stick to northern Tuli - great wildlife viewing and affordable (for Botswana). We recently did Marakele NP, northern Tuli and Kruger. Then we drove south to KZN to go real estate shopping and visit our favorite reserve.

Renting a car and going into Zimbabwe and Zambia is difficult - most don't allow it. Contact Bushlore for info and they also have some good self drive itineraries. Botswana can be tough going - safest to travel with two vehicles (I get slammed for that often, but I still believe it to be true). The national parks only have camping and few tar roads. Namibia is easy, but the accommodations aren't as inexpensive as S Africa's public parks.

No 4x4 required in S Africa. There are very few places you'd need one - the only place I can think of is Kosi Bay or Sodwana Bay on the KZN coast. Maybe in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi in summer because the roads can get destroyed. Of course Khalagadi Transfrontier Park. I can't wait to go there - but it sells out and I can never get availability. We rent a 2x4 small SUV for the height, added clearance and comfort on gravel roads. We will buy a 4x4 Hilux (my husband wants a totally kitted out Land Rover, including snorkel, like the safari lodges use! Yeah, for $120,000. Not likely....) Botswana can be done relatively inexpensively if you are open to going in a group and go camping. Here's a link to a few good options if you don't mind getting dirty.

http://www.eyesonafrica.net/our-african-safaris.htm

The best part is the world is getting smaller. You'll be back to do it all!

Ian

A great thread.

I do want to take a slight exception to your reference to ‘some collusion’ between high end travel agents. It doesn’t matter what product you market, the high end of the scale will always have a stable price & will not be discounted. Cars, boats, watches and yes . . . safari lodges & vacations. When was the last time you saw an ad offering a hefty discount on a Rolls-Royce or a Patek Philippe timepiece or a bottle of Petrus? The customer expects a premium shopping experience as well as a premium product experience & high end retailers/agents give this to them – at a premium price of course. Businesses providing the high end product will only sell to THAT SET of retailers/agents BECAUSE they don’t discount. Discounting a product tells the consumer that it is not worth its retail price. And that is not a message that any real high end product provider ever wants to convey. Even though the profit is high for everybody in this food chain, the volume is low compared to the types of properties that do discount; the ones that position themselves at the middle or low end of the market. And that is where the consolidators (Expedia, Trip Advisor, Hotels.com etc) do their business. They earn a much smaller percentage on each discounted sale but their volume speaks for itself. A small independent travel agent typically works in between these two.

I won’t comment (much) on your relocation plans other than to say that I hope it all works out. I walked away from SA – and we are going back next year – but I walked away with a sense that it is a potential powder keg sometime in the next decade. I had dinner with an Afrikaner in Johannesburg who works in the financial industry. He is planning a permanent exile as are many of his compatriots due to – his approximate words – the untenable income disparities in SA and the corruption that is rampant with its elected officials. One person’s opinion, I know, but driving on N2 in Cape Town with miles of townships on both sides of the highway certainly rammed the first point home. An amazing beautiful part of the world but . . .

PO: Sorry for the derail.

Ian

christabir

mishyq - I was poking around online today looking for a self drive in Patagonia and found a website from Safari Drive (or Drive Safari). It had some really interesting self drive itineraries in Southern Africa. I can't post it now - my iPad is not cooperating. They are pretty expensive but it might be a good starting point. By the way, if you want to self drive in Botswana or Zimbabwe both are seasonal. Winter is best. June-September. To find it, I googled self drive Patagonia Argentina. Surprisingly they mostly do Africa, but also a couple of Patagonia self drives. Ugh. So expensive! But I have learned to use premade itineraries to modify for us. Driving distances and touristy towns and things to see/do are already done for you. Good for places we know very little about. I don't remember if I posted this already for you, but eyesonafrica.net has some scheduled group safaris too.

Ian

I am sorry that you took such offense to my remarks. It was not intended as an attack or criticism. I truly wish you good luck in your search and your potential offer to be a local expert would be greatly appreciated by all.

And – once again - my apologies to the OP for the derail.

Ian

PS One could argue that Rolex is not truly a high end watch brand - merely an expensive wannabe. IMHO

mishyq

ian - dont worry. you are welcome to join in the thread, this is a public forum afterall!




christabir - wow, the topic of this thread just jumped from one continent to another LOL

are you heading to Patagonia soon? i visited there several years ago and thought it was one of the most stunning places i have been. you wont see as many animals (mostly camelids), but the landscape is breathtaking. you can also rent car easily to drive around too - but will be easier if you can speak some spanish.

oh i guess you mean this website http://www.safaridrive.com/ i think the pp price includes everything except gas, right? nevertheless it looks like a good website to get inspiration from on planning a road trip

thanks for the link. the eyesonafrica.net website is a good resource. it also has good maps to help you get a sense of orientation. often times i hear all these lodge names or this private reserve and that, but i dont know how they are situated relative to each other. i m a voracious map reader, so i need to see something 'concrete' otherwise i feel "lost"

check this website out if you are serious abt heading to patagonia. http://songoftheroad.com/countries/
i stumbled upon the blog one day and got hooked reading. i love their photos.