When travelling to Africa, make sure to add this number into your phone before you begin your safari.

And that is the after hours emergency number for the country you are travelling to.

We all brought up knowing our local emergency numbers, such as 911 for the USA, and in South Africa in the cities we use 10111.

But what do you do when you go to the bush?

There isn’t any electricity, let alone telephone lines.

But, most (not all) camps do have wifi in the tents (the rooms). 

So you can make urgent WhatsApp calls from there.

Let’s Start at The Beginning

When you are at home in Spain, Ireland, Brazil, the USA or wherever in the world you are living, and you book your safari, you will usually book through your travel agent. 

Your travel agent will then book through a tour operator, or a DMC (destination management company) that operates in the country you are travelling to, such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania and so on.

A DMC makes most of the arrangements on the ground in the country that you are going to. They will book the meet & greet services at airports, road transfers, hotels, day tours, safari lodges, and more.

It is better this way for you because usually things run smoothly as it’s all booked in one place.

And if anything does happen and needs to be amended, you only have to contact one person.

For example – you land in Nairobi and get to your hotel, and it’s not quite what you think, and you want to add in a day tour as well, you can just contact your DMC. Some agents don’t like to give these contact details out but it’s so much easier if you contact your DMC directly,

1. If you contact your agent, they are going to contact the DMC anyway, so you might as well go directly.
2. Your DMC will be in the same time zone as you when you are travelling and your problem can be resolved a lot faster.

So, ask your agent before you leave, what is a local after hours emergency contact number you can contact while you are travelling, if there are any issues that need resolving.

The DMC will keep your agent updated as well.

What Really Classifies as an Emergency?

Out of all the numbers to put into your phone, this is the most important one. 

It will usually be in your travel documents so take a look, but if it isn’t, just ask them. 

So let’s first look at what is classified as an emergency. 

Here are a few examples, but not limited to, the following:

1. One of your flights was cancelled or delayed, so you missed your next flight into Africa. This has a knock-on effect to your safari.
   
2. You have a medical emergency (this could be anything from a fall, to an insect bite, to a heart issue). Anything can happen anytime you travel, it’s not just limited to a safari.
   
3. There is a medical emergency at home and you need to make travel amendments to leave the bush as soon as possible.
   
4. There is an animal outside your tent, it’s 3am, you are afraid, and communications are down with the camp management.
   
5. You’ve arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport and you’re ready for your flight to the Serengeti, and the airline says you don’t have a booking, even though you’re holding a confirmation for the flight.

So, make sure, before you leave home, that you get hold of the after hours emergency contact number for the destination you are going to, and save that in your phone!

Country Codes & How to Dial Them

Don’t forget, that the country codes work like this; lets use calling South Africa as an example:

For South Africa, the international dialling code is 0027

A mobile number in South Africa always starts with a 0 (zero). So the number might be 082 123 4567 (I’ve just made this number up).

When you are dialling the mobile number from your international phone, the first zero in the mobile number has to fall away.

So you will dial: 0027 82 123 4567

I live in South Africa and am work in the after hours emergency team. But that doesn’t mean we only cover emergencies in South Africa.

We actually handle a lot of cases across many countries in southern and East Africa, as well as in the Indian Ocean Islands.

We cover emergencies for bookings made through the company to the following safari destinations:  

• South Africa
• Namibia
• Botswana
• Zimbabwe
• Zambia
• Mozambique
• Kenya
• Tanzania and Zanzibar
• Rwanda
• Uganda

As well as Mauritius and the Seychelles

I’ve been in this safari industry for a long time, and just when I think I’ve seen it all, something new happens.

Safari life is amazing! But just like when you’re at home, you never know what will happen.

Find out the local after hours emergency number before you travel, and save it in your phone.

If you have any questions about this, or anything else about Africa, I’m happy to try and help you.