Howdy mikegold -

As has been mentioned already - everyone with a 'bad-back' is different as to what works. I am now 45 you and had back pain since I was 21 - so have years of expereince at managing pain levels etc. I too was really worried about how my back would cope with a 17 hour international flight, safari vehicles, mokoros etc. I spent two months at my physio prior to departure 2 days a week to give myself the best chance, strengthening core stability, lengthening hams etc. All this work paid off and even during the 9 day camping safari where there was a lot of bouncing about in vehicles and with the use of an inflatable lumbar cushion that i took with me and used in every vehicle/mokoro/plane - I actually had a much better pain levels and overall my back was better than at home/work sitting in front of my computer.

Whilst I would recc. that your wife consults her Doctor I would also recc. that she is assessed by a physio and maybe pilates work or other core strength work may be of assistance. Of course! Everyone is different and this may not be a soluttion for her, at all. Just a suggestion!

Yoga can help too......

Hari

I can only say that it would be extremely difficult to lie down during a game drive. The benches are not that wide, and your wife would need to be bracing herself the entire time. Remember that the drives are each, twice a day, about 4 hours long. My recommendation is to stay at a camp where there are paved roads. I don't know all of them, but I have stayed at one in the Etosha National Park in Namibia, and also at Puku Ridge in Zambia. Both have paved roads. I believe that Kruger in SA also is paved, and can be self-driven. Maybe other Fodorites know of other places?

Puku ridge has paved roads? Is that inside the SL?

Hari

Boy, do I sympathise. We went on safari to Tanzania and the way I coped was having our own safari vehicle, so I could find a comfortable position, not doing more than 3hours inter-destination travel (Tanzania is great for that) and staying in places where I could swim every day. I was fine, but had been totally freaked out at the possibility of being in pain all day.

We finally made the trip to Kruger area (King's Camp, Leopard Hills and Singita). We had one row in a Land Rover and my wife laid down most of the time while we were moving. It worked very well and she was able to go on almost all of the daily trips (a few she decided to sleep through). She got up slowly when we were near animals so as not to startle them. Her back held up very well - better than when she works on the computer at home. We are ready to go back anytime.

She has had back problems for more than a dozen years, has had surgery (that worked for several years only), is a nurse practioner, sees her docs regularly, and knows how to manage her condition. We choose not to go to Tanzania or Kenya because we were told by a travel agent (with a similar bad back) tha their roads were a problem.

We really appreciate all of the help and suggestions.