Baggage Allowances on Safaris
Flying is an integral part of many of
the itineraries in this brochure and is a wonderful way to get a bird’s-eye view
of the country you are visiting. Wilderness Safaris is closely allied to an air
charter company called Sefofane Charters. Sefofane is a Setswana word meaning ‘aeroplane’.
We offer inter-camp air transfers in Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and
Zimbabwe in Cessna 210s, Cessna 206s and Cessna Caravans. All aircraft are flown
by commercially rated pilots. Charters in larger and faster planes are possible
from Johannesburg to Maun and Victoria Falls as well as on some of the other
longer routes. However, most guests travelling from Johannesburg or Cape Town to
Maun, Victoria Falls or Windhoek use scheduled flights on SAA, Air Botswana or
other reliable carriers.
On safaris with daily departures, air transfers are usually costed on a
seat-in-plane basis where guests are flown with other passengers to their
destination. If you prefer to book a plane for exclusive use, at extra cost, to
ensure that you are flown directly to the next camp (and possibly to allow you
an increased baggage allowance), please request this when booking.
For inter-camp air transfers, space and safety concerns don’t allow for lots of
baggage, so the following should be taken into account:
Scheduled air transfers within Botswana and South Africa allow each guest a
luggage allowance of 20kg (44lbs) - this includes camera equipment and hand
luggage. Scheduled air transfers in Zimbabwe and Namibia allow each guest a
luggage allowance of 12kg (26lbs) – this includes camera equipment and hand
luggage.
All bags must be soft so they can be squeezed into tight corners.
12kg doesn’t sound like much, but as the dress code in the camps is casual and
as most camps and some safaris offer a free laundry service (unless water-use is
restricted), it is ample. For heavier-set passengers or those who insist on
having more baggage, it is possible to buy an extra seat on each flight, which
will allow up to an extra 70kg (154lbs), also in soft bags. If you have many
bags, but don’t need them in the camps, we can usually send them ahead to the
next town within that country as unaccompanied baggage. Work on about US$100 per
person for this service. We cannot afford to take a chance on safety, so any
passenger with more than the baggage allowance who has not made alternate
arrangements will need either to leave some baggage behind or arrange a private
charter at considerable extra cost.
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