South Africa: Stay Healthy on vacation!

Getting ready for any trip takes months and weeks of research, planning and packing. While preparing all the activities, transportation, documentation and securing loose ends while you’re are away, don’t forget to prepare your health for the visit too! It is important to make the most of your trip by participating in all pre-planned activities rather than experiencing South Africa from the tent or a local medical center; so be safe, vaccinate!

Planning to stay healthy while you travel is the MOST important part of planning for your trip.

The best ways to ensure a safe and healthy trip are to be educated about the health risks in South Africa and get vaccinated.

For travel to South Africa, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends the following vaccinations:

• Hepatitis A and B
• Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis
• Rabies
• Influenza
• Measles/Mumps/Rubella
• Varicella (Chicken Pox)
• Typhoid
• Polio
• Pneumococcal
• Yellow Fever
• PPD Test

Most of these vaccinations are routine for citizens of the USA and you have more than likely been adequately vaccinated for some, but it is important to see a travel medicine specialist to be sure you are prepared with the proper vaccinations and information to stay healthy in South Africa.

• Now that you know about all the diseases and viruses that have preventive vaccines, you are free to take other preventive measures for the rest of the "icky" things that can affect your trip.
• Insect-Borne Diseases(Dengue Fever, Malaria, African Sleeping Sickness, Leishmaniasis, Typhus/Rickettsial infections, etc): use appropriate repellents containing DEET, and prescribed Malaria medication.
• Travelers' Diarrhea: use antibiotics and re hydration powders (diarrhea kit available at Passport Health)
• Intestinal Infections: Swim only in properly chlorinated or salt water, wear shoes at all times (even on the beach), follow food and water precautions given by an expert.
• Jet-Lag, Motion sickness, Altitude sickness: several different medications available
• Deep Vein Thrombosis: Remain properly hydrated during flight, get up frequently to stretch your legs to maintain circulation, consider wearing pressure gradient Travel Socks
• Emergency Medical Evacuation: Obtain appropriate Travel and Evacuation Insurance

Don't let the possibility of getting sick in South Africa deter you from going. The best way to ensure safety and good health is to know the risks and take the right precautions against them.

Thank you to the CDC and our Travel Medicine Specialists for their contribution to this post.

Have you or anyone you know ever taken an overseas trip and found yourself unprepared? What happened and what did you do?

South Africa: Legal Documents Needed for Entry

First-time travelers may have a hard time figuring out all of the requirements and paperwork that it takes just to enter another country. In the United States, people can travel from state to state without interruption; however that luxury does not exist when traveling from country to country. South Africa requires certain legal documents as well as certain vaccinations. Entry requirements depend upon the country from which the traveler is arriving. Requirements can change any time, so it is best to keep up to date with the regulations by checking well in advance of your trip and a few months before you leave as well, to be certain nothing has changed that will effect your trip.

Let’s cut to the chase.
The U.S department of State recommends that the passports of all travelers to South Africa contain at least two completely blank (unstamped) visa pages each time entry is sought. It also says that these pages are in addition to the endorsement/amendment pages (as many as four) at the back of the passport. While South African statutes require only one completely blank visa page, this rule has been applied inconsistently by South African immigration officials.


The U.S department of State says that in addition, any trip to a neighboring country would necessitate another blank page upon return. Travelers lacking adequate blank pages in the passport may be refused entry into South Africa, fined, and returned to their point of origin at the traveler’s expense. South African authorities have denied diplomatic missions access to assist in these cases.

As a general precaution, all travelers are advised to carry a photocopy of the photo/bio information page of their passport and keep it in a location separate from the passport.

Short vs. Long Term Stays
Travelers do not require visas for stays of up to 90 days. If travelers overstay that period without a permit issued by the South African Dept. of Home Affairs, they may be fined up to 3000 rand (approximately 300 US dollars). All others (apart from travelers) including academics, students on educational trips, and volunteers, may need visas. Americans who want to work in South Africa must apply for work permits before arrival; or they can be refused and returned to point of origin.

Required Vaccinations and Proof
If you are traveling to South Africa, where yellow fever is endemic, you are often required to present the yellow International Certificate of Vaccination (ICV). If you are unable to do so, you must be inoculated at the airport in order to be permitted entry. That could be a great hassle considering you will need to spend extra money; and a planned great time in South Africa can turn into an unexpected stay at the airport!

You can get the yellow fever vaccination, as well as the internationally recognized Certificate of Vaccination as proof, all in about an hour with a visit to Passport Health.

Any questions?

Spring is Over....Now Its 7-on-7 Season

Now that Spring ball has concluded, we enter in the fantastic season of 7-on-7, hoping to strengthen our passing game and improve our coverage technique.

First instructional period starts tonight, with a tourney this weekend. 4 local scrimmages are planned with 2 state tournaments pencilled in prior to the LHSAA dead period.

Also promising, we plan to send 2 quarterback prospects to the Darin Slack Academy Camp in Texas next week. I can't speak highly enough about Coach Slack's coaching and impartation of pragmatic processing skills to his athletes.


Going over some issues from Spring Ball, we apparently don't want to play press man, and are going with loose/catch man which is fine, but a new challenge

Bored? Blonde? A little of both ... an Update either way!

So I've figured out that I get bored with my hair super SUPER easy and because of that my hair is suffering ... Don't worry I'm learning! My favorite hair stylist Anica trimmed and high-lighted it for me and I LoVe it! I love going to their house and seeing their cute little family, I also got to meet little Izzy and she is beyond precious! Her blond curls are too much, she really is one stinking cute little girl! Hopefully I'll get a few pictures at her blessing one Sunday!

I recently took a trip to the beautiful Spokane to visit Colby and it was so fun! Spokane is gorgeous and I swear I could live there! It was really good to hang out with Colb and to catch up, I really can't believe how much I miss him! I've been home for a week and somehow coming home and getting back in the swing of things was a lot harder than I imagined ... I'm trying really hard to stay busy and keeping myself distracted but time doesn't always fly the way I hope! I'm going back over the 4th of July because he has a few more days off and I'm pretty excited! Maybe I'll get some pictures this time?? He's enjoying his summer and he's working really hard! He's always super positive and I can tell he Loves his job and that makes supporting him in doing what he loves that much easier! I'll be the first to tell you that I could never send off a missionary ... EVER and I'm anxiously awaiting the end of the summer!

Mom and Logan leave for Cali tomorrow and I'm super bummed that I can't go but I've already taken off way too much work! I'm a little freaked out to stay at the house by myself with the two wimpy dogs just because I haven't done it for a while but I'm sure I'll be fine. I just hope they have a good time and more than that I hope they return ... My Mom keeps talking about moving to Cali while Logan is on his mission ... I don't know how I feel about that ... We'll see! which reminds me ... Happy Birthday Tessie, Congrats on the preschool graduation Owie, and I can't wait to see the video of your baseball game Cal, go get em!

I started another indoor soccer team, this one is at Ogden Indoor on 12th street and I'm loving every single second! I'm playing with a bunch of good friends and we're having a blast! I love playing with these guys and I forgot how much I love 12th street! Somehow I got put in charge of the team name and when I went to register us my mind went totally blank ... I couldn't think of anything serious, funny, or even stupid so I quickly googled 'soccer team names' and I was given 700 options ... I went with my lucky #14 and we ended up being the 'Alley Cats' ... FREAKING AWESOME ... if you ask me! A few of the players give me a hard time every week but we just end up laughing ... So far we're undefeated and rockin every game! We'll see how the rest of the season plays out but we're having fun either way!

Ps .. you're not getting any pictures because my laptop is currently down .. again! Cross your fingers tight and hopefully the computer wiz brother in law of mine can work his magic, I owe Jon big time ... maybe I'll make him some cookies? A cake? Brownies? Bread? Rice Krispy treats? You choose Jon!

South Africa: Some Facts About the Country

Population: 49,052,489

Capital City: Pretoria

Government: Republic - a representative democracy in which the people's elected deputies (representatives), not the people themselves, vote on legislation.

Country Size: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Culture & Heritage: South Africa has a rich cultural heritage. For those travelers looking to witness and experience cultures that are extremely unique, South Africa has just what the doctor ordered. Go on the Rastafarian Township Tour, or experience the cultural villages .



1993 Nobel Peace prize winner Nelson Mandela is part of South Africa’s history of amazing people that have stood up for what was right. To experience a great pride of South Africa, visit the Nelson Mandela Museum and discover a part of South African history that is full of hardships and triumph.

What else would you like to know and experience on your journey in South Africa?

South Africa: World Cup!

For all you soccer fans out there, you probably already know that South Africa won the bid to host the 2010 World Cup, but for those of you who didn't know, please allow me the pleasure of sharing the news!

For South Africa, hosting the World Cup has been a 20-year journey from the end of apartheid, the government-sanctioned policy of racial separation, and the release from prison of Nelson Mandela, to the World Cup. In between, South Africa’s unsuccessful bid to host the 2006 World Cup, which went to Germany in a close vote. South Africa persisted, and was awarded the tournament in 2004 when the president of FIFA, Joseph S. Blatter, committed soccer’s worldwide governing body to taking its major men’s championships to the African continent.

Still some are skeptical on two counts: Can South Africa develop the infrastructure and man power to pull off such a feat, and is South Africa safe enough for an international tournament?

Since winning the bid, significant progress has been made on the 10 stadiums in nine cities that will be used for the World Cup. All stadiums are due to be finished by the end of 2009 or earlier. South Africa’s recent pedigree of hosting other major sporting events is impressive as well. Those include the World Cups of rugby, cricket, and track and field. In recent months, the country also played host to the entire season of the Indian Premier League of cricket.

SA believes they have a security plan in place and the World Cup will be played without incident.

Congratulations to South Africa for winning the bid to host the 2010 World Cup!

What do you think are the biggest safety concerns for the players and spectators at the games?

Country of the month: South Africa

For the month of June we will be exploring South Africa in all it's wonder and beauty. Let's dive right in to the top 10 reasons you should consider making South Africa your next travel destination.

Top 10 Reasons to Visit South Africa

Affordable

During these tough times, who doesn’t want an affordable holiday? In SA, you can even afford luxury and have spending money for shopping and other treats!

Natural Beauty

South Africa’s scenic wonders are legendary. From Table Mountain to God’s Window, our mountains, forests, coasts and deserts will feast your eye and lift your spirit…

World-class facilities

Whether you opt for Afro-chic or authentic Africa, you’ll find it easy to get around, find a comfortable place to stay, have a great meal, connect.

Adventure

South Africa is the adventure capital of the world. With over 130 adventures and counting, there is something for everyone from mountain walks to shark cage-diving!

Good Weather

In sunny South Africa, our great weather invites you to enjoy the outdoors, play golf year-round and take advantage of the nearly 3000km coastline…

Rainbow Nation

The Rainbow Nation celebrates all its African and immigrant cultures. Find out how friendly our people are whilst you try your tongue at 11 official languages!

Diverse Experiences

Go almost anywhere in SA and experience the ultimate combo of nature, wildlife, culture, adventure, heritage and vibe – you’re spoiled for choice, so pack it in!

Wildlife

Warning! Watching wildlife is addictive. First you start with the Big Five in so many ways, then whales, penguins, meerkats, wild dogs, birds, dung beetles…

Freedom Struggle

Discover a nation’s struggle for freedom whilst following the footsteps of Mandela, Hector Pieterson and many other celebrated revolutionaries. It will touch and inspire you.

Responsible Tourism

In SA you can travel with care as you explore our protected areas, contribute to social and conservation projects, buy recycle art and stay green.

Ever been to South Africa, or know someone who has? Can you think of anything this list might be missing? If so, please share your experiences with us!

Thanks to Southafrica.net for info for this post.