Thanks everyone for useful info.

Kaye, Lots of wonderful info. I agree staying in one place is nice. Our last trip in 2000 we were in Africa about 28 days and jumped between 8 places. It was nice in that we saw all the sites like Victoria Falls, Cape Town, Ngorongoro, Botswana, Tanzinia, Zanzibar etc. And now we can go back and enjoy the one place we love MM.

I can hardly wait to get there. Counting the days.

We have been to some other places to see wildlife since 2000 but none compare to Africa. Antarctica is probably second ... if you are a birder there are lots of penguins and albatross, etc.

Thanks again everyone,
-Granny Joan

Bump

Here I was worrying about what jacket to take and now I have major problem the blank pages in my passport are NOT the visa pages and now have to expedite to get additional pages.

Glad I was reading the fodors forums and noticed this .... thanks for the fodors forum.

Crossing my fingers that all goes well from here out.

-Granny Joan

" the blank pages in my passport are NOT the visa pages and now have to expedite to get additional pages. "

Granny Joan, did you fill up all your visa pages?! You must be a great traveler!

My favorite winter safari outfit is: start with a long sleeved T-shirt. Over that goes a fleece, then a down vest, then a gore-tex jacket as a windbreaker. The down vest provides a lot of warmth and rolls up with a rubber band into a very small package. The layers work, as it is easy to remove items as the day warms up. A hat that covers your ears and gloves are a must. With this combination, I was always comfortable.

Yes, I have decided to layer. I have nice Titanium Columbia jacket that is waterproof and wind proof and will layer this with a nice Columbia fleece jacket and long sleeve shirts. Gloves, hat, nice wool scarf. Maybe some handwarmers which won't take up much room.

I don't have a down vest. But maybe I can find a vest before I leave. Wonder if Mala Mala would have a nice vest? Then I could just buy it there?

Yes visa pages were all used up. We have been traveling since 1999 ... and have used them up. Panic set in this morning when I realized it. But have expedited passports and forms to get additional pages hopefully by next week. It would have been a nightmare to travel all that way to S Africa to turn around and have to come back because they wouldn't let us in country. Can you imagine? Not to speak of the cost of the trip.

I called the S African embassy and they said that the pages in the back of passport that I had (3 of them) were NOT visa pages and would not work. Wow!

Does MM provide wakeup calls? I can't remember if that is the case since our last trip there was in 2000.

Does SAA flight to MM only allow one carryon bag?

Thanks,
-Granny Joan

PS I need a glass of wine after this day!

Hi GrannyJoan

Yes MM ranger's do ring you up for your wake-up call. On entering the plane, their is a rack on which you place bulky carry-on items, which is then loaded on the plane. I mostly lock mine and I always have my camera and paper valuables with me. Taking a lot onto the plane is awkward, especially if flight is fairly full, so I would take what you have to and allow the rest to travel in the luggage compartment.

Do you guys need a visa for Sth Africa? I am a bit confused about visa pages and passport pages in your passport.

Kind regards

Kaye

Kaye,

Thanks for the info about bags on plane. I plan to travel light with small duffle and check it, but am taking camera, computer laptop and purse items (medication) in carryon and am concerned that they all need to be in one bag. I will probably just wrap my laptop in a wool scarf for padding and stick it all in one bag.

Glad they have wakeup calls ... I thought they might but having a time recalling things from 2000.

I don't need a visa for SA but need to have additional blank pages in passport for the officials to stamp coming and going. Anyway the SA embassy told me I would need 3 blank pages VISA type pages. If you look at your passport at least the US passport there are two types of pages. I have the blank pages at the very back of passport which are the "reserved for observations and amendments or endorsements".

I read the following this morning on fudor forum and realized I was in trouble.

... Author: Txtrav1
Date: 02/14/2007, 05:26 pm
"To help you out a little more. This is straight off the Washing D.C. web site of the SA Embassy. See below:

Foreigners intending to visit South Africa must have at least one unused visa page in their passports for the purpose of endorsement. The unused page needed for endorsement purposes is separate from pages in a passport reserved for observations and amendments. "

In that same forum the members talked about travelers that were denied entry into SA and had to fly back. Can you imagine flying all that way and having to return home? Egads.

-Granny Joan

GrannyJoan, it's a good thing you discovered your passport is out of pages!

I discovered I was out of pages with less than a month before leaving for my trip in January. I used one of the passport services that Sandy (divewop) recommended, www.traveldocs.com. It is expensive but I felt more secure with them than with the US government service. I didn't have any problems with mine.

Kaye (Hi!) - most of the pages in my passport are titled "Visas" and that is where all the stamps and visas are placed. The last few blank pages are called "Endorsements" (or something) and they are not used.

Yes they have vests, fleeces, shirts, jackets, beanies etc

Yes, that is the difference, my australian passport has pages from start to end that are the same, and I always make sure that I have 4 double blank pages for entry to south africa. Once again the gameviewing at MM looks amazing, I really wish I was there before December!

Kind regards

Kaye

Hi Sundowner, you have made plans to visit MM again, haven't you?

More questions:

Does the gym at MalaMala have a treadmill?

Should I take my field guide? Are there ones in the library that I could refer to or checkout?

I am going back and forth about taking the binoculars? I do like to view the birds though.

Is the total weight limitation for checked bag + carryon on SAA from JNB to MalaMala a total of 33lbs?

Thanks,
- Granny Joan

Granny, get one of those neoprene sleeves for your laptop and then put it in your carryon. Otherwise, it can get damaged by something seemingly innocuous in your bag, as I once found out.

Kaye, no plans for MalaMala this year. I went to Rwanda and Kenya in Jan/Feb and will be going to Botswana in July. I'm totally over budget this year. Hopefully I'll make it back next year.

Granny Joan,

You probably saw this on binocs. Here is a link containing links.
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34993787

I like my bird book with me or I forget to check when I get back or forget what the bird looked like later. The guide will likely have a book too. If the books can be checked out that would be good, but then they wouldn't be available for others.

The question on the gym and the treadmill was jarring to me. Certainly a reasonable inquiry if that's what is offered (and since I'm going I should probably be aware of the amenities) but it seems so contrary to the bush experience. I'm just a traditionalist.

Good luck with your passport. If you get at all anxious, call your Congress person. I did when I got incorrect information that my passport was being mailed back to me before my certified receipts said it arrived. My request was for extra pages as well. It all worked out.

There are some threads on the Europe board about passports and calling your rep.

Atravelynn,

Thanks, I will take the field guide and binocs.

I was wondering about the treadmill at MalaMala specifically because I broke my back in January and have found that walking on treadmill is very good for my back and has become part of my daily routine. I hope to get in a small walk each day after the morning drives.

I am trying to slim down the amount of items I bring this trip. Like to pack light and am limited to amount I can carry because of my back. Trying to pack as few items as possible and since we will be at MalaMala the 12 days, should be easier to pack this trip.

Do you have a trip planned?

Thanks,
- Granny Joan

Thanks for advice on passport situtation, but am feeling good that it will make it back in time. It arrived at the expeditiers past Thurs and hoping he got it to passport center and will indeed have it back in the four or five days that he promised. If it gets here this week, I will be a "very happy camper".

So sorry to hear about your back! I think I remember treadmills at MM. You might email them to be sure. They also have gamewalks at MM. Most that I have gone on there were walking along the road or an easy trail. That might be an option for you.

I'm in to Mala Mala on June 23 and out June 27. Visit #1.

Will you get an aisle seat for your flights to comfort your back, GrannyJoan?

Let us know when you become a happy camper. It is a relief to have that important document back in your filing cabinet.

Atravelynn,

Luckily we have decided to travel business class as we are about 30 hours away from S Africa in Idaho USA.

Thanks for the concern. My back luckily has been feeling great and I attribute that to the rehab and 6 weeks in body cast but still walked during that time. I was able to avoid any surgery, but had also broken my left wrist at same time and that was probably more painful and debiliatating. Thus the amount I can carry on plane is limited at this time.

I am trying to carry only the laptop and a few toiletries and documents, one book as carry on. My husband will handle the camera stuff. We should be fine.

Taking only the basics.

Well, if MalaMala doesn't have a treadmill, I will just walk outside back and forth between room and such. Figure I can use two water bottles and do my hand exercises. May take the hand putty to squeeze as I need to continue to regain some mobility and strength in the wrist. Guess I could jog after the jeep to keep warm and get my exercise ... but fear the lions might find me a tasty treat! Ha.

Will take a wrap for laptop as well.

-Granny Joan

Will let you know when passport arrives.